How do you DO that?

            Explaining music, how to play certain instruments, pitches, those wired dots, etc., can be a difficult task to anyone who hasn't touched a sheet of music. There are many factors that are involved in music that people may not realize. The simple concept of a major chord becomes difficult to explain.

            For many musicians, such as myself, the concepts come easy. When asked, “How do you do that?” is there any other answer than simply, “I just do.” Music is a hard concept to completely understand. To master an instrument or style, it may take years of practice and constant work to sound decent. Personally, I have spent the last 6 years of my life trying to master the saxophone. I have spent countless hours sitting in my room pushing myself to the limits. There are times when I have difficulty understanding a topic, such as the blues.These amazing musicians will be able to explain jazz better than I could: Ernie Watts,  Joe Lovano , Gerry Mulligan. 

            Over the weekend I was asked, “What is that you are chewing on?” I was at a gig over the weekend and I was getting ready, as usual, someone behind me asked this question. I turned around and said, in probably not the most respectful tone, “This is a reed. It’s what makes the sound.” I felt kind of bad afterwards because I realized my tone; I had spoken to that person in a condescending manner, like she was just supposed to know. It comes back to the main question, how am I supposed to explain something that seems so obvious to me? It’s hard to dumb something down when I have always been told, “This is the way it is and you will do it that way.” Is there a way where I can give a legitimate answer without sounding like a complete jerk? The answer, no. When it comes to music I just know the concepts and know what I can do to achieve my purpose.

When a complete stranger asks me, “How do you do that?” all I can say is, “Practice.” I can’t explain to them specifically how I do what I do because it would take 6 years to explain. I don’t mean to sound like a jerk but there are some musical concepts that I can't explain well enough. My lesson teacher once told me, "Don't practice until you get it right. Practice until you can't get it wrong." My best advice for those asking this question, pick up an instrument and try it for yourself. 

68th Annual

The 68th Annual All-State Music Festival was one of the best in the history of the festival. Alright, I might be a little biased, for I was one of the top baritone saxophones in the state. This experience will never be forgotten in my memory. For better or for worse, it is stuck with me until the day I die. 

My adventure of All-State started with one of the most stressful auditions I have ever had. I usually don’t get nervous for auditions but for some reason, I was this time. I was standing outside my audition room feeling my heartbeat throughout my whole body. For some reason, unknown by me, I could not calm down. The fact that nerves got to me might have contributed to the failure that was my audition. To make it worse, the cellos went over their planned time which made me wait even longer, which, in turn, made my nervousness grow. By the time it was my turn to go into that torture chamber, I had become so nervous that I could hardly stand. It was a bad situation and the storm of nerves was heard through my instrument. It was not one of my best auditions but I survived. When I was finished with my audition, I had about an hour to wait until I received the chair placement; that hour felt like an hour of impending doom. Finally, I look up at the clock, the hour I had despised; it was time for the results. I walk into the room first, the judges look at me and quickly glance away, not good. At that moment I knew I had not made the chair I desired. They handed out little red cards, this card was the color of my blood and as I read the number on the card, the room began to spin. 4. Not good. One chair too low, no, 4 chairs too low. 

I walked out of that room into the smiling faces of my friends. They could tell by the look on my face that I was upset. They tried to comfort me and help me accept my position. Try as they might, I was still disappointed with myself and I wouldn’t accept my fate until later on that night. I started to realize that being the fourth out of sixth bari player in Iowa wasn’t that bad at dinner. There isn’t a better restaurant to bring my hopes up than Hickory Park. Hickory Park is, without a doubt, the best restaurant in Ames. When my food was finally brought out, all my worries and stress went away. I was happy and I accepted my chair placement after two hours.  

Auditions were only the first part of the adventure I took part in, I had two whole days that I was going to play in the best band in Iowa! The start of the second day at Iowa State would bring back the self disappointment, but it would quickly be washed away. When I got to Hilton Collesuem and found my seat, in the very back, we warmed up and I finally met the person who I was stuck with for the next two days, the director. His name is Dr. Andrew Mast. He is an intersting person; he uses many analogies to explain how a part of the music is supposed to sound. My favorite was, “That tympani line should sound like orc drums getting ready for the battle.” It was a great way to describe a sound to copy. Most of the comments he made were confusing to other people; not me though, I take from Lynne Hart and have to be able to decipher strange analogies. One of the wierdest analogies he told us was something about a hamster ball and how the song is supposed to, somehow, make an impression like that. Can you tell it was a fun weekend? I enjoyed being part of Dr. Mast’s band and was glad I had that learning experience. 

Apart from the intersting director, the music was some of the best I have heard produced by high schoolers. Going from the Kennedy Wind Smphony to the All-State Band was mind blowing. The best part about it was that every section knew their music, every single one! There wasn’t a weak link, everyone there wanted to play and were good at it. From the first note, to the last, I was never disappointed or annoyed. Every section sounded amazing. At the concert, I looked up at the audience and saw total engagement. Our set was interesting and we were good enough to pull it off. I loved the experience at the end of the whole stadium standing on their feet and clapping, not out of pity, but because it was just that good. I can only hope that the 68th All-State Band was able to inspire and bring enjoyment. 

The All-State experience was wonderful, I learned about myself, about where I was in the ranking of bari players in the state, about what a band should sound like. I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. I can’t wait to go back next year!

                               

      

Madness

Madness. A feeling I experience and question whether or not I am truly mad. The song Madness by Muse is a song that is interesting at the same time that it describes my personality. 

This techno/hip-hop song has many different moving parts and a driving beat that make it appealing. To me, the slow start gives the climax a stronger effect. By starting out with a strong beat and a quiet entrance, there is more to build upon than if it was a sudden loud start. At the beginnings of songs I like quiet starts or low sneaking entrances; just like in Madness when the driving beat starts. I also like the mixture of techno bass with the electric guitar and sweet tones of the singer. 

Overall, there is a nice balance between new sounds with nice vocals to back it up. I like how Muse put together this song and the overall effect of the driving tones and strong harmonies.

http://youtu.be/Ek0SgwWmF9w

Rooms of Music

There are many different kinds of music: music that is soft and soothing, music that fills your soul with joy, and music that gets you excited. To me, music influences my actions. Without music I would not be able to function. 

I don’t have any one genre that pumps me up or makes me happy. I listen to all different kinds of music and it all depends upon which room I am in. For example, if I am alone and just trying to relax, I usually listen to jazz or some slow soundtracks, if I am in the weight room lifting, I tend to listen to rock or country. It depends upon the activity that I am doing as to what music I’m in the mood for. 

When I work out, I tend to listen to rock or music with a hard beat. It gives me more power when I hear the strong chords of an electric guitar rather than the soothing tones of a sax. Rock music makes me push harder than I would without music or any other kind of music. I’m not sure whether it is the beat of the drums, the hard bass, the rhythmic changes in the guitar, or the compelling voice of the singer that makes me feel this, but something in my mind changes whenever rock is turned on. There really is no other reason as to why rock has this affect on me. As soon as Thunderstruck by ACDC is turned on, the electricity flows through my veins, I feel more excited than I usually do. If rock music isn’t on when I work out, I feel as if I didn’t work as hard, as long, as much as I could have with it on. 

On the opposite side, jazz usually makes me feel more relaxed and mellow. If I need to unwind from the day, I can turn on the awesome beats of jazz players such as: Gerry Mulligan, Charles Mingus, Joe Lovano, Ernie Watts, Etienne Charles, Art Pepper, etc. The list goes on forever. That is what I love about jazz; each player brings a different element to the field, a different sound and style that no one can copy. When I listen to jazz I always hear something new: a new idea, a new technique, a new rhythm. Unlike another kind of music, jazz cannot be copied by another person. There can be new ideas and different styles of the same piece, but there are not two jazz players that are alike. If you look at other genres, the style and sound can be copied by a computer, but no machine can insert a human element into jazz. Jazz is, and always will be, the last of the genres that is truly soulful, that is played from the heart. That is why I love to relax to jazz, every piece is played with passion. 

Through music, my personality has changed, through music I am able to change my mood, through music I am able to create my mood. Music is the best tool for relaxing and for getting excited. Each person just has to know what each style of music does to them in order for music to be used for different situations. 

Band Teeter-Totter

Playing in an ensemble is harder than the musicians in penguin suits make it look. To be a successful and good sounding band/group, there has to be a balance of the vibrations of every different instrument. If one section thinks they are heroes and plays too loud, then the rest of the band will sound insignificant. The band is like a teeter-totter; without a counter balance, it wouldn’t be fun, and without balance between the sections the band wouldn’t be entertaining. 

I have to deal with this careful equilibrium every day in band, just as any other good musician would do. I am constantly listening to the people around me and fitting into their sound and balance of the band. The best balance that a band could achieve is more on the lower end and less on the higher end. That means that the low brass, such as tuba and trombone, have to play out more to achieve an amazing balance. It also means that the other sections have to listen to the lower instruments to fit into this texture. The whole point of an ensemble is not to make yourself sound good, but to make others sound better. Without careful balance, a song will be too heavy in one instrument; to the audience, if the trumpets play louder than the other sections—which is more rather than less—the other sections would sound small and like they aren’t even playing. Sadly, the Kennedy Wind Symphony has troubles figuring out what the correct balance is. Even though I, and my section, listen and fit our sound with the band, it doesn’t help if another section doesn’t listen. Band is probably one of the biggest team activities that I know. If one person plays the wrong note, or is too loud at a certain time, then the whole song has a negative effect on the listeners. 

Generally, in the Kennedy Wind Symphony, the section that usually sticks out is the trumpets. I don’t know what it is about the trumpets that makes them think that they are better than any other section but I think that is part of the problem. Because they think they are better than everyone else, they might think that they should be allowed to play as loud as they want, whenever they want. That is what makes the wind symphony sound bad; the trumpets don’t want to accept that there are other players in the band. What makes it even worse, is that the trumpets don’t have the best sound so when they do play out it drops the whole band a couple of levels. If the trumpets were good I wouldn’t be as upset when they play out when they shouldn’t. 

The key to a great band or small ensemble is balance; without it, bands would not sound as full or effective. Without balance the teeter-totter would merely be a stick lying on the ground. I always try my best to make the band teeter-totter fun and enjoyable, I just wish the rest of the band would see this and jump on. 

A Tribute to a Good Man

  This past week, a good man fought a battle and lost. A good man was ripped out of my life. A good man is now dancing with loved ones. A good man will never die, he will always live on. My grandpa was truly an amazing man; he touched so many lives and will be missed by all. 

My grandpa was a music teacher in many different places around Iowa. He taught in several small towns, then spent a long time teaching in Washington, Iowa, where he was the vocal director. Around the time that Kennedy High School was due to open, Grandpa, moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa with his wife and three children. He started his journey here at Washington High School, only teaching there for a year, before Kennedy opened. He applied and was accepted at Kennedy as the first vocal director in 1967. He was the man who created the foundation for all of Kennedy’s success in the future. Without my grandpa and grandma, there might not be an original fight song and Alma Mater. Our fight song might be a song borrowed from another school, but instead Mr. Feuerhelm wanted to create a legacy for his sons and daughter and their families to live up to. What big shoes I now have to fill. Who could possibly do anything greater than set up a school for success? Just look at all the trophies overflowing in the music departments; that all started with my grandpa. 

My grandpa didn’t stop with the fight song and Alma Mater. He decided to set up a new tradition ; he created the first show choir west of the Mississippi. Happiness Machine was the original name but that was shot down quickly by the students. This group turned into Happiness Incorporated shortly thereafter. This first show choir was completely different than it is today. It was set up as a way for kids to get involved in music and to just have fun. The first group wasn’t even involved in any competitions, as there weren’t any competitors, and everything they did would be an example for others to follow. Every jazz hand performed would be a basis and every kick and big hit would be a building block that others would improve and copy. Another difference from show choirs today is that there wasn’t a whole team devoted to costumes. In fact, the first dresses ever to be debuted in Happiness Inc. were bought at K-Mart. I have never heard of any other vocal director creating an activity that was made simply to get kids involved in popular music. My grandpa truly wanted to try to give every student the feeling that music gave him. He wanted to share his passion for music and he wanted to pass it on through many different generations. My grandpa gave the keys to the car of music for others to take the wheel to prove what they could do. 

  After his great success at Kennedy, he moved on to Grant Wood Elementary to become the music teacher there. This was the longest part of his journey in teaching music and he would eventually retire there. He wrote a Grant Wood loyalty song, too. Many people that I met over the past week that had him as a teacher all had great things to say about him. The most frequent comment was that he was passionate about music. In the time that I knew and loved my grandfather, I can tell you he was more than just passionate about music; my grandpa loved. That’s just it, the only way to describe him, all he did was love, that’s what made him great. He truly cared for his family and friends and would do anything for us. I can only hope to continue to make him proud.
        I am doing my best to keep my grandpa alive through my music. We had a great connection through music and he loved to hear every note I played, whether it was correct or not. I loved to play for him because he was always grateful. I knew if he was in the audience I would always have at least one fan by the end of the performance. I would get comments like, “How do you do that?”

         “You sound great, I loved hearing you play again.” 

         “You’ll do great, I know it.” 

I truly miss and long to hear those words in my ear again. Without my grandpa, I might not have ever gone into music; he was and always will be a true inspiration to me. No one can do what my grandpa did. He was my leader, he is what I want to copy. To the very end of his life he believed in me and wanted to see me succeed. Everything I do from this point on in music is through him, I love him and he will always be with me for every note I caress into the ears of my audience.

  Not only was he a music man, he was my favorite grandpa. Over the past 16 years I developed a relationship with him that a tank couldn’t pull apart if it tried. I remember when I was about 4 or 5 years old I would go over to his house to spend time with him over the summer. I remember that my parents would drop me off and leave me to hang out with my grandpa for the whole day. Each day, after lunch, around noon it was nap time. He would take me down stairs and sing me to sleep with “Old McDonald”. I loved this even though I didn’t realize it at the time. Every once and a while he would say a cow said ‘oink’. I’m sure he did this to see if I was paying attention or to see if I was really falling asleep, he caught me every time as I would realize the accidental and spring up to tell him the right answer. Gramps did this kind of thing with me all the time, until the very end he had a humor around him that was precious to me and I will miss it greatly. I always remember that he had a cookie jar, and every time I was about to leave he would say, “I wonder if the cookie monster got in here again.” That was my cue to race over to the counter to grab a cookie out of the jar. 

  In the recent years, my grandpa has become even more special to me. Gramps would have me come over and do simple tasks for him, like change his razor blades. When I got these jobs done in 2 minutes he would look at me, shake his head, and say, “How did you do that so quickly? Your old gramps would be at it for at least 30 minutes.” I would just look at him, smile and reply with, “I’m magican.” We would then both laugh and tease each other for another five minutes or so. Another little tradition, if that’s what you would call it, is that he hated milk so every time we sat down to eat I would say, “What do you want to drink? Milk?” He would laugh and make some witty remark followed by, “I’ll give my portion to you, ‘Lij.” He could always make me laugh, whether it was one of our traditional teases or a completely new phrase never heard before, I always laughed when he was around. If you never had the chance to meet him, I am dearly sorry because he was the funniest comedian the world has ever seen. He was also caring and kind to anyone he talked to, even when he was starting to get older and slightly crazy. I loved him to pieces and he loved me back with the same enthusiasm. 

  My grandfather was a great man, all he wanted to do was set people up for success and he would do anything to see them achieve their goals. My grandpa truly loved to teach kids and had a great passion for music. He was eternally grateful for his family and he always showed his love in every way known to man. There are very few left of the great generation, very few that would do anything to make people succeed. My grandpa was one of the greats and no one will be able to fill his shoes, to take music to his level of success, to love unconditionally and whole heartedly, to do anything for anyone no matter the request, to love his family more than words can express. He is now dancing with my grandma in a better place. Dance away you two!

  Thanks Gramps. Thanks for all the love, inspiration, and lessons I’ll never forget you. I love you, always have, always will. 

Moanin'

  I came across a new song to me that is amazing. It is entitled Moanin’, written by Charles Mingus. 

I first discovered Moanin’ because this song is actually one of my assignments for me to learn. I am excited to chow down and learn the awesome bass line that the Bari has. This song starts out with just the Bari playing the main melody and Ronnie Cuber just continually honks away. I am inspired and want to sound just like that, I want to sound like a crazy sax man who loves to play. 

I get to learn this piece/bass line to make me sound better at jazz. It will be a challenge but I am ready. I can’t wait to get the chance to sound like a professional musician playing awesome music.

Take a minute and listen to this piece. 

http://open.spotify.com/track/6n9GGoiLwNlY5Ro7NsdbJP