Combo 2015

Show choir is a complicated machine that has to work almost perfectly for any results to occur. There are many separate parts that can be hard to combine to achieve the goals of the group. First, the singers have to dance, sing, and perform at their best, which is more complicated than it looks. Second, the tech crew has to be dead on with moving props and helping the soloists with mikes, all while being unseen. Lastly, the band, a.k.a. combo, has to provide the group with the music to sing to and it has to be perfect, in tune, on pitch, 100% accurate. All these make up a show choir and all rely on each other to sound and look good. 

I want to talk about the part I mentioned last, combo. I am in combo and play the bari sax for two of the three groups at Kennedy High School: Protégé and Happiness. I started last year with these groups and it was one of the best decisions I have made so far in high school. I made friends and found a new way to show off my skills with the instrument. It has been fun so far and have enjoyed the experience. 

Despite it being fun, I still have to work. Being the bari player, I am taxed with an important job; I have to keep a steady tempo and also provide a low voice in the instrumentation. Personally, I love the job. I get to jam and play some awesome music, at the same time that I provide an important sound to the band. I believe that the bari in combo is the best instrument; I get to play most of the fun, important lines and I get to do it loud. I can play super loud in this group without having the fear of covering up anyone. 

In the Protégé/Happiness combo there are 4 trumpets, 3 saxes (alto, tenor, bari), 2 (sometimes 3) trombones, a drummer, 2 keyboard players, a bass, and a guitar player. Overall there are a total of 15 players that provide the music for each show choir. 15 instrumentalists is a relatively small group but can hard to put together with the singers; we cannot cover up the singers but we also have to play loud enough to be heard by the audience. It can be a tricky balance and somewhat hard to hear playing behind the singers. Since we are in the back, and the singing is being projected opposite of us, we can’t always tell if we are too loud or if any one instrument is covering up the singers. Due to this fact, it is hard being in combo. We are criticized for being too loud and too soft. It takes many practices to get the balance perfect and everyone has to be committed to work for perfection. 

Another problem with 15 instrumentalists is that not everyone is as committed to it 100%. Some sections, especially last year, didn't want to put in the work or the time to sound good. They would show up to performances without practicing between rehearsal and the performance hoping it would be “good enough.” The problem, it wasn't even close to good enough. At the beginning of last year, about one year ago, the combo got dead last in the division. This did not help the choirs at all. The group would get in the top three for every division: choreography, vocal, etc., and the band would be dragging the score down being last in our division. The first couple competitions were slaps in the face and by the end of the year we were getting second consistently. 

This year, I am glad to say that we don’t have this issue anymore. By hiring a combo director, Ben Feuerhelm (my brother), the work ethic has changed and we sound better as a whole. With the addition of two new sax players, a trombone, and a great trumpet, our tone has evolved tremendously. This year we are able to jam as a group and sound good. Yesterday was our first competition and walking out of the auditorium, I felt really good. Last year at this time, I was walking out embarrassed; the group sounded terrible and I couldn't do anything to fix it. This year is a whole new story, I felt pumped and excited for our potential of this year. For the first time ever, our clinician said, “The combo either makes or breaks a group…this one didn't.” I am so impressed and proud to say that I am a part of the Protégé and Happiness combo. I can’t wait to see what this year holds. 

Overall, show choir is an organized clutter; and I only touched on one of the three. There are many wonderful musicians and people in these groups. I am excited to see what the rest of this year holds. 

Christmas Disaster?

Christmas musicals are usually happy and fills hearts with cheer. However, at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, the Christmas program is hilarious to see. There are people that don’t know music and they rely on the few of us that are very successful musicians, mainly my family. 

This Christmas “Cantata” was an interesting adventure. To start this adventure off well, I was required to play an instrument I had never played before. It was a fun adventure but I didn’t know how to execute the tenor well enough to sound adequate. All the music for this was unison and the band consisted of a flute, cello, and tenor saxophone. Not a great combo to start out with. And then, to make matters worse, the songs I played on, I had absolutely no music. I was improvising the whole time by ear, without any music or chord progressions. 

I’m sure the audience didn’t mind the complete disaster because the Santa’s Saxes played before and after to wash the bad parts out of their minds. The music wasn’t bad, but it definitely could have been better. 

Santa's Saxes

            Santa’s Saxes. A group composed of four musicians (a.k.a. a quartet). A group where I am 1 out of the 4. A group not connected by school, but by our private lesson teacher. Every year, Lynne Hart puts together a saxophone quartet (Alto 1, Alto 2, Tenor, Bari) which performs all around Cedar Rapids. I have the honor of being the Bari player. This group is one reason why I love this time of the year so much. 

            The amazing part about Santa’s Saxes is that not all the musicians are from the same school. People often ask, “So what school?” We all look at each other and stutter for a second before we introduce ourselves individually. In the group this year, there are three different schools represented: Kennedy, Washington, and Mount Vernon. It may be hard to believe that students from different high schools could get along but that is not the case at all. Through Santa’s Saxes I have made some friendships with people from different schools and I have enjoyed every year so far.

            Getting to the more interesting part now, the music. All of our music is arranged by Lynne and it is all interesting and fun to play and listen to. There are songs such as: I Saw Mommy Kissing Lawrence Welk, Rockin’ Around the Cheesy Medley, Let it Snow/Santa, and many more. All these songs have a twist to them that give them a fun atmosphere. In all the songs in our book, there isn’t one that you would be able to sing along to. Many people start to sing along cautiously thinking, “Yeah, I know this song.” And then, right as they start to sing more confidently, that’s when a twist in the melody appears that you would not expect; and suddenly, that person quickly looks around to see if anyone noticed them. It is actually pretty hilarious, knowing the music, when someone tries to sing along. We get to that part in the song where the melody changes and I hear the person who was singing slowly fade away with a confused sound in their voice. Some advice, if you are ever around to hear the Santa’s Saxes, just don’t sing, it’ll be more embarrassing for you.

            Anyway, I Saw Mommy Kissing Lawrence Welk. This song is an interesting song it starts off with the traditional, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, and ends with some themes from the Lawrence Welk Show. Living and growing up in the 21^st century, most people these days don’t understand the whole Lawrence Welk thing. The music for this show was really cheesy with heavy vibrato and incredibly short articulations. Since the show is rarely on anymore, most people just think it is a funny little diversion of a song. This song is fun to play at nursing homes because mostly everyone there has seen the Lawrence Welk Show and understands where the tune is coming from. To help out understand this song better, here is the Lawrence Welk show and the Santa’s Saxes rendition of I Saw Mommy Kissing Lawrence Welk.

            One of my favorite songs to play is Rockin’ Around the Cheesy Medley. This song is a compilation of 6 different “cheesy” Christmas tunes, including: Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, Holly Jolly Christmas, Here Comes Santa Claus, Jingle Bell Rock, Blue Christmas, and Santa Baby. It is a cool arrangement of the 6 different songs. I like it because it is fun to play and interesting all the time. You can form your own opinion, but this is one of my favorites out of the whole book.

            Another of my favorite, out of the two hour book, is Ukrainian Carol. This one has a cool base line that I get to play and it might just get stuck in your head, I know it gets stuck in mine. It is a fun version of Carol of the Bells and I love to rock out on it.

            I hope you enjoyed this selection out of the Santa’s Saxes book. To hear more fun songs, come out to Chick-Fil-A on December 22^nd, 2014 between 5 and 7pm. 

Musical Cheer

            It is that time of the year, tis the season to be jolly, my favorite time of the year. Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year, as every song suggests. The best part about Christmas, the music. There isn’t one thought that runs through my head without music, no matter the time of year, but around this season, my thoughts are jollier, if you will.

I’m guessing that as soon as someone thinks of Christmas, their favorite carol or jazzed up version of it popped up in their heads. It’s inevitable, at some point in every human’s life a Christmas song has gotten stuck in their head. What makes a simple song about a reindeer so catchy? Any other song about, say, a squirrel with a glowing tail would just be weird. If you truly think about it, what is so significant about a reindeer born with a birthmark? It’s the simple, elementary, style of the song that we are taught as young children that just sticks with us.

All Christmas songs are taught at a young age, that’s what makes them so dang catchy. Every time the radio plays a rendition of simple songs such as Rudolf or Jingle Bells we can’t help but start humming along. We are all guilty, hell, even I can’t help but sing along to Sleigh Ride. It’s also what makes this time of the year so wonderful. The only time of the year where everyone gets along and truly cares for each other.

Christmas songs bring the best out of each and every one of us. Simple melodies bring flashbacks of simpler times, of times where you thought the world was perfect, of the times before you knew all the corruption and destruction the human race can bring. Essentially, Christmas is a time to repair relationships and build new ones. All this could not be achieved without the help of the cheerful music in the background.  

Remember that the cheer of the season is up to you, the music is only a kick start. I hope that your days may be merry and bright, may you have yourself a very merry, little Christmas. 

Tenor Madness?

            Tenor. A simple word that has many different meanings: a vocal tenor, a clef, a range, a tenor sax. The latter is the most interesting to me. Saxophone is my specialty and I recently got the privilege of learning how to play tenor saxophone.

            You might be thinking, aren't all saxophones the same? You couldn't be more wrong. Every saxophone has a different personality that a non-saxophone player wouldn't understand. Each sax is like a person; no two are alike, each has a unique personality which a player has to figure out. The saxophone is an interesting object, you have to caress it and learn to love it or face the consequences.

            I normally play the baritone saxophone in jazz band and alto sax in concert band. Both these intricate machines have different sounds, tones, personalities. The bari is the low humming engine of a roaring Hummer, it always gets the job done. The alto is the high intoxicating sound of a Lamborghini, the more interesting and, in its own way, beautiful sound. Coming from the same family, these two machines could not be more different.

            And then there’s the tenor, the Challenger, not quite a tank but not quite a sports car. A beautiful machine that has the sweet purr that runs through your body, but also, a sense of power. I have gotten addicted to this wonder, tenor madness if you will. No, not tenor madness, but might as well be.

            Tenor is fun, it’s like nothing I’ve ever played. Last night, the first time I ever played a tenor sax, I realized why there are so many more tenor sax players known than any other sax. For example, to name a few: Ernie Watts, Joe Lovano, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt. And that’s just the few off the top of my head. Tenor madness must truly be real. I've caught a virus that is all consuming, I can’t wait to let it take over, that is, if it hasn't already.

            I caught this bug all due to my church. This coming Sunday I am involved in a musical, if that’s truly the word for it. This virus overcame me when I was asked to improvise, without chord progressions I would later find out, and the instrumentation called for a b-flat instrument. I don’t own a tenor, (hard to get addicted to it then huh). I was planning to just play alto until I was offered a tenor to borrow for this one occasion.

            Instantly I took up this opportunity, as I have wanted to play a tenor for a while. The question is then raised, did tenor madness reach me before I had even touched the brass keys of a tenor? In any case, I currently have a bad case of tenor madness. I am figuring out how to play and sound good all for a silly children’s program at my church. This one time, I could not be more happy about the opportunity given to me.

            Perhaps this tenor madness could lead me to an award winning album, (I highly doubt it but go big or go home, right?) In all honesty this epidemic will most likely lead to further studies in saxophone. Maybe this is how all great musicians get their start, by playing at their churches. Only time will reveal the truth.

            

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!