Here it is, almost four months later, and I'm finally getting to the part about finishing the reeds -- meaning taking them from that cocoon stage that they are currently in -- and finishing them to a playable product!
This is the part that will take some time. You will need most of the same tools you used before, but this time, you will also need:
1. A block of wood (to protect your table or work surface from deep cuts). If you don't care about your table/surface, you are welcome to skip this. Sometimes, I cut against my knee (in times of need), so I use the block so I don't hack up my good pants/knees. A wood block can be purchased through double reed suppliers, or you can just use something like a cutting board if you are too cheap to buy one of these.
2. Reed Knife!
3. Pliers
4. Fingernail File
5. Exacto knife (unless you already cut in the shoulder/ledge/collar)
6. Plaque (bought from a distributor)
7. Time to spare (well.. kinda...). Once you get good at this stage, it might take you twenty minutes to get a reed playing decently well.
8.Cotton Crochet Thread (Buy some at a hobby store or steal it from your mother or grandmother). You can use nylon thread, but cotton is much easier on the hands.
With your reed on the end of your mandrel,
First, you'll need to soak up that dried-out piece of cane. Try and submerse it completely. It will need to be soaked on the inside as well as the outside for a uniform cut.
Take out your handy-dandy reed knife and wood block. Pull the reed from the water and shake out the excess. (Unless you like getting water everywhere. That's up to you). Cut about 1/4" or about 5 mm from the folded cane edge. Make sure this cut is as straight-across as you possibly can! I've had a few diagonal reeds that work well, but most have to be re-cut and fixed up and usually end up way too sharp to play with any decent group.
Now put your plaque in the opening at the tip of the bassoon reed. For now, rest the tip of your thumb against the side of the blade of the knife, hold the knife handle in your other hand and gently rock back and forth using your thumb as the fulcrum. The blade will rest against the cane with the not-sharp part against your thumb. Do not press down against the reed. You'll make your hands tired, compact the reed fibers, and may even dull your knife. None of these outcomes is desirable.
Your first task is to take cane from the two outer sections of your reed blade, creating a thumbnail shape when the reed is held to the light. Take more cane off from the outer extremities than the center, as we need plenty of "heart" to make the reed play well.
The goal is to get a near-white color from the outer corners with a darker center section (the heart). Next, you need to crow your reed. How does it sound? With certain combinations of gouge, shape, and profile, you may not have to do much of any kind of work on the reed at all. Others will require much more. If you get a good crow, you can then try it on your bassoon. If it doesn't fit your bocal, use the reamer to open the butt-end of the reed slightly. The reamer has a blade on it that will take some of the cane out of the inside of the reed.
Having listened to it, is it flat in pitch? Does it play with easy articulation? How is the pitch in the upper register? What does the bass register sound like? Each of these questions helps you figure out what to do next to your reed if it fails to work as you like.
1. Is the pitch flat? If the answer is yes, you will need to do the following:
>With the mandrel inside the end of the reed, pull the top wire with the pliers. Twist the ends of the wire slightly and fold it back down.Close the tip slightly with the pliers and pinch the second wire from the sides.
>If that didn't bring the pitch up enough, cut off about 1mm at a time until the pitch comes up. Don't cut too much at once and don't decide that it's too flat and keep cutting forever. Bad idea.
2. How is the articulation? Too hard?
>If the articulation on the reed is flabby or it is difficult to play quick, tongued passages, you will need to "whittle" the 1 mm from the tip on both blades of the reed.
>If the articulation is too soft, you won't really notice, I think... If it doesn't work right because it's to easy to tongue, clip the tip slightly (less than 1mm)
3. Upper register? Flat? Stiff? Unresponsive?
>If you can't hit the high notes of the bassoon, take a little more cane from the two diagonals on the sides of the reed. Remember not to scrape the heart! /o\
4. Bass register...
>Most of the problems with the bass register stem from articulation or tuning. If you can't tongue the bass register well, reference 2 above.
>If the tuning is an issue or if you cannot play piano or pianissimo in the low register, try "whittling" the lowest 2mm of the reed blade to loosen if up. Not too much, here, either, though! If you take too much out of this area, your whole reed can die!!
Over time, you will learn tricks as to where to shave, what to cut, where to avoid, etc, etc, etc. It takes time, practice, and some trial and error to get these things to play the first few times. I don't think I made a playable reed until my second year of college! Don't get discouraged. The website http://www.canit.se/~chrisdav/reedadj.html gives a great overview of places not/to scrape and otherwise. I love his diagrams and pictures. Much more informative than my wording, but you get the idea.
Good luck, and happy REEDING! :-D
Friday, November 25, 2011
Bored Rant
There's a little space between graduation and finding a job which is a hard place to find yourself in. Recently, I finished my student teaching, leaving me to really figure out which way I want to go next!
As long as I can remember, I've wanted to teach band, which thing I LOVE to do. Now, on the other hand, I also love to record music and perform it. This is that spot where I'm at now. While I love working with kids and being in the education scene, I also love doing the other things and would absolutely love to work with other professional musicians. When we went to China this summer, that's what we did -- play with a professional group. I was amazed at how well I could keep up with them, but then I realized that I'm a pretty good bassoon player!
This makes for all sorts of fun times, since I've got about another nine months before I'll have a serious full-time job, meaning that I need to look for other employment for the meantime. What shall I do? Long-term sub jobs come and go, I have seen a few band director positions open here and there, plus, in the middle of orchestra season, many professional orchestras are in full swing and do not need another bassoon player... Being bored is one thing, being broke is one thing, and looking for a job... well, that's a whole 'nother ball game altogether!
So, let's see... what to do in the spare time? I am learning to play the guitar, cooking all sorts of crazy stuff that my folks can't eat (special diets and stuff), and trying to fit into some kind of social niche here in town. Other things I'm into now? Video games, reading (yes! you read that correctly. I do read books), blogging, updating my website, possibly building websites for others, you know, the works. I'm finding things to do, but I'm also trying to figure out what direction the winds are going to take me. There's time mixed in here, too. Hmm...
On a completely unrelated note, my siblings should be back from overseas very soon! I'm excited to have them back in town and have someone to pal around with. Since Katy, Nicole, and Brandon left town, I haven't really had much to go off of. Oh, well. Life goes on.
As long as I can remember, I've wanted to teach band, which thing I LOVE to do. Now, on the other hand, I also love to record music and perform it. This is that spot where I'm at now. While I love working with kids and being in the education scene, I also love doing the other things and would absolutely love to work with other professional musicians. When we went to China this summer, that's what we did -- play with a professional group. I was amazed at how well I could keep up with them, but then I realized that I'm a pretty good bassoon player!
This makes for all sorts of fun times, since I've got about another nine months before I'll have a serious full-time job, meaning that I need to look for other employment for the meantime. What shall I do? Long-term sub jobs come and go, I have seen a few band director positions open here and there, plus, in the middle of orchestra season, many professional orchestras are in full swing and do not need another bassoon player... Being bored is one thing, being broke is one thing, and looking for a job... well, that's a whole 'nother ball game altogether!
So, let's see... what to do in the spare time? I am learning to play the guitar, cooking all sorts of crazy stuff that my folks can't eat (special diets and stuff), and trying to fit into some kind of social niche here in town. Other things I'm into now? Video games, reading (yes! you read that correctly. I do read books), blogging, updating my website, possibly building websites for others, you know, the works. I'm finding things to do, but I'm also trying to figure out what direction the winds are going to take me. There's time mixed in here, too. Hmm...
On a completely unrelated note, my siblings should be back from overseas very soon! I'm excited to have them back in town and have someone to pal around with. Since Katy, Nicole, and Brandon left town, I haven't really had much to go off of. Oh, well. Life goes on.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Ready... Set... WAIT!
Alrighty, then! Now that most of October is over and I'm still behind in my blogging, I'll get back to work on something that may or may not be meaningful to anyone else but me. :-)
This week, I've been on a fairly good "emotional high." It's been a good while since I really felt this good inside and out. I'm not sure really what's prompted this good mood this week, but I'm certainly not going to contest it!
I still LOVE working with middle school kids. The earlier posts about working with them (even with 385), yeah, still true. Each day brings something different, and each day, I get to start with brand new things -- even though we are still preparing for a singular concert or performance, the music we are playing never sounds quite the same from one day to the next. Recently, some of the students at the school have been asking how long I'll be a part of the band at the middle school. My answer is the one I give to all of them and to my colleagues and advisors -- November 17th. I'm excited that I'm getting ready to move on to another challenge and a new set of circumstances, but I'm also a little bit sad about leaving. I know these kids now, and I've come to really love working with this group. You know... that whole bitterweet thing about moving on and doing something different.
This week, I did something new! I taught two class periods of general music. Each class has about 25 sixth grade students in it, and they are a completely different breed of animal than the kids in band. While they were still just regular old sixth grade kids, the ones in the band have a different attitude about a lot of things. I guess that's not really tied just to sixth grade -- all music students are different than other students. There's just a kind of attitude linked to the ensemble or class. ANYWAY, we did a composition project. My instructions for covering this class were: "you can teach them whatever you like." Which, obviously, could go a wide number of directions, but this one is one where my mental wheels have been in motion almost constantly since the time the teacher asked me to work with her class.
Ultimately, I took an idea from a presenter at last years' UMEA (Utah Music Educator's Association) conference and used it in the classroom. It worked quite well, actually! We reviewed musical notation using a "Froseth"-like approach. (Play a drum loop, show a card with a rhythm, have them "perform" the rhythm to you) I tricked them a little bit and had them stomp their foot for a quarter note, clap for an eighth note, and snap their fingers for a sixteenth note. I purposely put in some tricky rhythms so they'd be challenged by the end of the class hour. Next, I split them into groups of 3-5 students and gave each group 2 paper cups, 2 rubber bands, and 4 paper clips with the instruction: "Find as many 'new' sounds as you can possibly find using these items." They took that challenge. I gave them about 5 minutes, then asked how many new sounds they'd found. Later, I told them there were about 5,000 different sound combinations using these materials and to keep trying. About another 5 minutes later, I stopped them, had them demonstrate a new sound they'd discovered, and then, still in their groups, come up with a song using their sounds. Actually, some of them might be half-decent composers!
All at once, I want to say that things outside of the school day are just peachy keen, but it's really just the usual: come home, watch a little TV, maybe take the dog for a walk, and spend a little time on Facebook, email, and "Dragonvale" on the iPad before I fall into a nap on the couch or easy chair until mom comes home and it's time to work on dinner or something. Kinda boring? Sometimes. Depending on the day and whether or not school is in session, I have jazz rehearsal on Tuesdays and Thursdays, then Orchestra of Southern Utah on Thursday nights, plus an institute class in the evening on Tuesdays. However, I still get bored from time to time. I should work a little more on my Teacher Work Sample for the education department than I do, but that's going to come with time. I'm only just a couple of days from being done with that nonsense. Oh... did I write that on the internet...?
Finding things to do is easy. There are plenty of things to do around the house, including, but not limited to, cleaning the fish tank and cleaning up in the basement, but finding the motivation and willpower to do them is sometimes difficult. Maybe I should go and visit a doctor? Either way, there are plenty of things I should be doing right now, but I'm just not either physically or mentally able to tackle some of the important things that need doing... Why? I just don't really know.
Anyway, life is good. I just get overwhelmed with some of the things I "have to" do. The "need to do" list keeps growing, and no matter how much pruning you do, it still seems to be too long. Thus, putting it off until tomorrow becomes super easy -- just don't get around to half of it. That's when you know there's something needs to be done!
I think that's it tonight. Adios.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Ummm... Kay.
Ok. Here's where the reeds come into play. (see! I remembered!!)
Wednesday afternoon, Kevin came to my house and we started making reeds. He felt like he is paying too much for reeds (and he probably is), so hewanted to larn how to make them himself. It's not too hard, but you need to make sure that you are precise with measurements and wiring, or else it can get ugly fast. For my reeds, I use a gouged, shaped, and profiled cane from Christlieb Products in California. It's usually a medium collar at 120mm overall length. I've tried a few different gouges and profiles, but I keep coming back to this one.
Here's what you'll need for making reeds:
1. At least six pieces of cane - GSP, unless you have the machinery to do it yourself or the patience to do it by hand and measure constantly...
2. A drying rack with space for at least six reeds to dry at a time.
3. One long-pointed forming mandrel (it will just be called a "forming mandrel")
4. Some 22-guage brass wire
5. A fingernail file
6. Butcher's twine (about two feet worth and probably more than just one string)
7. An easel or 3/4" dowel (not more than a foot long - cut it)
8. Pencil
9. Ruler - I use mm, but you can find measurements for inches
10. A good, sharp knife. I've got a double hollow ground knife
11. Needle-Nose pliers
Start off by soaking your cane. You can do this one of two ways: cold water (overnight), or hot water (boil in 5 minutes). With cold water, soak it overnight or until the pieces of cane fall to the bottom of your container. I use a tupperware container with a lid, just in case my dog knocks things over in the night. My usual M.O. is to boil the cane. Stick it in a pot on the stove and boil for five minutes or until it sinks to the bottom. I stick it in the microwave sometimes, and have a five minute boil time overall. When you get to that point, take out a piece at a time and, using the easel, mark the points where you will put the wires at forming time: 5mm, 19mm, and 26mm. These measurements will be from the butt end of the reed! Mark it with the pencil and then use the side of the fingernail file to make a small score in the bark of the cane. That way, in case the pencil gets rubbed off later, you still have the markings!
Using the knife, cut from about the point of the second wire to the butt end of the cane at approximately a 45-degree angle. This helps the cane form in a good circle and seal correctly later. Illustrating this, cut about the way the slash (/) interacts with the parenthesis. -----> ( / and also \ ) my image isn't great, but the 45s go toward the inside of the cane.
Next, score the cane using the tip of your sharp knife. You will need at least 8 cuts across the external "bark" of the cane on each end. Remember, this is a minimum. The more times, the better. Be careful, though, that you don't strip all the bark from the reed. With these, the end by the wire should be more or less superficial, with deep cuts at the end of the cane. It will be a nearly gradual depth increase from the wire to the butt. At this point, place the reed back into the water for a while while you work with the other pieces of cane. Finish those up and put them into the water, too. Soak a few pieces of butcher thread with the cane, then get ready for more FUN!!
Take one piece of cane and a piece of butcher string and get ready to wrap! Carefully fold that piece of cane in half. Until you know where half way is, you may need to mark this, too... But I should tell you that four paragraphs ago... Anyway - you can use the knife as a fulcrum, if you should desire. I don't just because I've made so many reeds that I do it with my fingers now! Once halved, (not severed, just folded over) wrap it with the wet butcher string. Go from the butt end up, up to the blade. Wrap again to the butt, and make a loop to secure it for now. Take your forming mandrel, and (if you wish) heat it up.
Place your reed at the tip of the mandrel. Start to push the reed onto the mandrel. Go slow and easy, if you move too quickly, your reed will crack ...bad! As you are going, push the mandrel in about 1/8 inch, rest, and repeat. Then, using needle-nose pliers, mash on the butt end of the reed. You want the reed to be round at this end! Mashing helps the reed take shape and allows the scoring to take maximum effect. Don't be too surprised if your first few reeds get serious cracks in them.
Begin removing the string to the point that you can see the shoulder of the reed cane. Take a 3- or -inch piece of brass wire and center it on the back of the reed at your top mark. Wrap the two ends of the wire around the sides of the reed, holding closely to the sides of the cane. On the opposite side, when the two ends would meet, pass one end over another. Remember which end went over top - ie.: left over right or vice-versa - and continue to wrap the wire around the cane. Wrap the SAME end of the wire over the other, then twist them together. Wrap until you have a good amount to reach with your pliers. Grab the end of your wire with the tip of the pliers, pull (don't be shy... It can take it) and twist in the same direction you twisted before.
Remove additonal butcher string, and add the next two wires the same way. The only difference is, place two pointing one way and the other opposite from the previous two. That should make sense... Once you got the three wires on the cane, put the reed on your drying rack. Repeat all of these steps for the remaining reeds.
Just in case you wonder, this doesn't take all that much time. In fact, writing this (and maybe reading it, too) took longer than doing this procedure on three reeds. Maybe not... But it doesn't take that long. At this point, take a full 24-hours MINIMUM to let these babies dry and get used to their shape. In dry climates, like we have in Utah, they may be dry in an hour or two, but I suggest at LEAST one day to fully dry. Then, get ready for post number 2!! this is the colorful, time-consuming, precision part. Don't be afraid. It's not bad at all.
Now, Kevin and I took the next two hours and played Zelda (he beat the boss inside the Deku tree for me...), Super Mario Sluggers, and Smash Brothers Melee While waiting. Ultimately, he ended up leaving and I ate dinner, because the reeds needed more time to dry and I had things to do. :-)
Wednesday afternoon, Kevin came to my house and we started making reeds. He felt like he is paying too much for reeds (and he probably is), so hewanted to larn how to make them himself. It's not too hard, but you need to make sure that you are precise with measurements and wiring, or else it can get ugly fast. For my reeds, I use a gouged, shaped, and profiled cane from Christlieb Products in California. It's usually a medium collar at 120mm overall length. I've tried a few different gouges and profiles, but I keep coming back to this one.
Here's what you'll need for making reeds:
1. At least six pieces of cane - GSP, unless you have the machinery to do it yourself or the patience to do it by hand and measure constantly...
2. A drying rack with space for at least six reeds to dry at a time.
3. One long-pointed forming mandrel (it will just be called a "forming mandrel")
4. Some 22-guage brass wire
5. A fingernail file
6. Butcher's twine (about two feet worth and probably more than just one string)
7. An easel or 3/4" dowel (not more than a foot long - cut it)
8. Pencil
9. Ruler - I use mm, but you can find measurements for inches
10. A good, sharp knife. I've got a double hollow ground knife
11. Needle-Nose pliers
Start off by soaking your cane. You can do this one of two ways: cold water (overnight), or hot water (boil in 5 minutes). With cold water, soak it overnight or until the pieces of cane fall to the bottom of your container. I use a tupperware container with a lid, just in case my dog knocks things over in the night. My usual M.O. is to boil the cane. Stick it in a pot on the stove and boil for five minutes or until it sinks to the bottom. I stick it in the microwave sometimes, and have a five minute boil time overall. When you get to that point, take out a piece at a time and, using the easel, mark the points where you will put the wires at forming time: 5mm, 19mm, and 26mm. These measurements will be from the butt end of the reed! Mark it with the pencil and then use the side of the fingernail file to make a small score in the bark of the cane. That way, in case the pencil gets rubbed off later, you still have the markings!
Using the knife, cut from about the point of the second wire to the butt end of the cane at approximately a 45-degree angle. This helps the cane form in a good circle and seal correctly later. Illustrating this, cut about the way the slash (/) interacts with the parenthesis. -----> ( / and also \ ) my image isn't great, but the 45s go toward the inside of the cane.
Next, score the cane using the tip of your sharp knife. You will need at least 8 cuts across the external "bark" of the cane on each end. Remember, this is a minimum. The more times, the better. Be careful, though, that you don't strip all the bark from the reed. With these, the end by the wire should be more or less superficial, with deep cuts at the end of the cane. It will be a nearly gradual depth increase from the wire to the butt. At this point, place the reed back into the water for a while while you work with the other pieces of cane. Finish those up and put them into the water, too. Soak a few pieces of butcher thread with the cane, then get ready for more FUN!!
Take one piece of cane and a piece of butcher string and get ready to wrap! Carefully fold that piece of cane in half. Until you know where half way is, you may need to mark this, too... But I should tell you that four paragraphs ago... Anyway - you can use the knife as a fulcrum, if you should desire. I don't just because I've made so many reeds that I do it with my fingers now! Once halved, (not severed, just folded over) wrap it with the wet butcher string. Go from the butt end up, up to the blade. Wrap again to the butt, and make a loop to secure it for now. Take your forming mandrel, and (if you wish) heat it up.
Place your reed at the tip of the mandrel. Start to push the reed onto the mandrel. Go slow and easy, if you move too quickly, your reed will crack ...bad! As you are going, push the mandrel in about 1/8 inch, rest, and repeat. Then, using needle-nose pliers, mash on the butt end of the reed. You want the reed to be round at this end! Mashing helps the reed take shape and allows the scoring to take maximum effect. Don't be too surprised if your first few reeds get serious cracks in them.
Begin removing the string to the point that you can see the shoulder of the reed cane. Take a 3- or -inch piece of brass wire and center it on the back of the reed at your top mark. Wrap the two ends of the wire around the sides of the reed, holding closely to the sides of the cane. On the opposite side, when the two ends would meet, pass one end over another. Remember which end went over top - ie.: left over right or vice-versa - and continue to wrap the wire around the cane. Wrap the SAME end of the wire over the other, then twist them together. Wrap until you have a good amount to reach with your pliers. Grab the end of your wire with the tip of the pliers, pull (don't be shy... It can take it) and twist in the same direction you twisted before.
Remove additonal butcher string, and add the next two wires the same way. The only difference is, place two pointing one way and the other opposite from the previous two. That should make sense... Once you got the three wires on the cane, put the reed on your drying rack. Repeat all of these steps for the remaining reeds.
Just in case you wonder, this doesn't take all that much time. In fact, writing this (and maybe reading it, too) took longer than doing this procedure on three reeds. Maybe not... But it doesn't take that long. At this point, take a full 24-hours MINIMUM to let these babies dry and get used to their shape. In dry climates, like we have in Utah, they may be dry in an hour or two, but I suggest at LEAST one day to fully dry. Then, get ready for post number 2!! this is the colorful, time-consuming, precision part. Don't be afraid. It's not bad at all.
Now, Kevin and I took the next two hours and played Zelda (he beat the boss inside the Deku tree for me...), Super Mario Sluggers, and Smash Brothers Melee While waiting. Ultimately, he ended up leaving and I ate dinner, because the reeds needed more time to dry and I had things to do. :-)
Reeds and Zelda
So... I am not sure how this post will really turn out, since I'm exhausted and haven't really put much thought into what I might put here... With that said, I am going to attempt to throw down some of my dealings this week and outline the way to make reeds for a bassoon... Maybe not at the same time, but multiple posts.
This week, I kept falling in love with teaching middle school. These kids are great. Yeah, I know, it's not the same at all schools, but generally, the kids in that age group are really fun to work with. Three day weekends are terrific, but I was still totally messed up today from starting on Tuesday. I kept thinking that today was Thurday, when it's been Friday the whole time! Aye yai yae... I don't know that i've shared any of my student teaching experiences yet, but I've had a few good ones already, even with it only being the first fifteen days. :-)
Since starting over at CMS, I've filled out forms, attended meetings, dodged others meetings, created grade sheets, made assignments, eaten junk food, had a contest, listened to "pass-offs," taught six classes a day, taught in place of a sub (with her in the room), played tuba, trombone, saxophone, trumpet, flute, and percussion, made copies, and visited with evaluators from the university. I think that just about qualifies me to teach full-time, right? It gets better! I get in at 7:30 and visit with kids until the bell rings at 8:00, work with a class, maybe march a little bit with them, monitor the lines (to make sure the lines are straight), yell into the megaphone, give the copies to the kids, conduct new pep band music, AND class change. Next hour...
It's pretty well the same. I answer questions, work out of the Essential Elements book, and teach the band about gettin performance ready.of course, second hour is the one where the band just could not play for their lives while we were observed. I was impressed, though, that the next day, they sounded better than usual. This particular group gets a little rowdy, but they are not too bad. I tried a chorale with them yesterday. They didn't do too poorly, but I wasn't thrilled. We've got a little ways to go with them. They're going to be ok. Haha!
Today, I felt quite alone. This week, I had plans to go to L.A. To see a football game, but was unable to go, mainly because I had jo other drivers who were willing to go with me. I had a few people who wanted to go and couldn't, etc. My friend, Erik, was going to come with me, but I was not going to have an unlicensed driver on roads in Southern California, just out of fear that something might possibly go wrong. It was a big disappointment! The lonely feeling is not an unusual one to me. I haven't had much energy to go do things after school, but many of the people I'm used to spending time with are no longer in or around Cedar City. That normally would be fine, but then the weekend happens... My parents are great, but what shall I do with people my age? Hmm... And with whom? Interesting thoughts. Needing to call people should be enough, but I've gotten to a point of hating the telephone... I'll have to work on that a little bit.
Friday, September 2, 2011
August is Over
Ok, I'm starting to realize that I'm a horrible blogger! :-) One post a month? Hmm...
Over the last two weeks, I've both hit a major high in my college career and a major low in my personal life. Not that my life sucks or anything, it's just not what I was expecting... That's all.
Today concludes my second week of student teaching. This is a very exciting thing. My student teaching experience so far has been great. My mentor teacher is great to work with, is super encouragin, and has allowed me to jump right into the middle of everything from the get-go. The kids at the middle school are great. We have been working hard from the first day of school, and there are tons of great progress things happening in the classes.
At the school where I am working, we have 9-period days, of which we have students in class for 6 periods. This is great. Over half of the school is in the band - about 400 kids!! I feel like I've done a pretty good job. A few mistakes here and there, but most of the time, I am pretty comfortable with the things happening in the classroom.
I am having a hard time, however, coming home after student teaching. The house is quiet, and most of the people I know that are still in town are in classes at the university, so it's just me and Ginger at home for a while. With a limit on energy and a lack of interesting things to do (besides what needs to be done), it is hard sometimes just to get back up and do a ything else after school. A lot of times, I come home, water my garden plants, and check Facebook. What else should I do? I'm sure I can find a few things that I need to do... But why? Haha!!
Today, I was teaching in the percussion ensemble at the school. The teacher had some family business to attend to this afternoon, so I got class started while we were waiting for him to get back. In the mean time, one of the students asked where he was. I mentioned that he would be back today, but would probably miss the beginning of class. The student then told me that would be ok because I am awesome. I'm glad to know that the kids like me at least a little bit.
:-)
I have got a little following of seventh-grade saxophone players. One of the kids was in the fourth grade class I worked with at the elementary school a couple of years ago, so when I came into the class that hour the first day, he was kinda excited to see me. Truth be told, I was excited to see him too. I think it really helped to have a few kids there thay were from the other school where I worked. Anyway... The other two boys in the saxophone section decided I was pretty cool, too, so they ask me different ways to sound better on their saxophones. Plus, the one invites me to eat lunch with him every single day. They're funny kids.
This year, there are 170 sixth grade students who are signed up for band. Because our band rooms are so small, we usually try and have about 30-40 playing at one time. So, we have a 3-way rotation between me and the two band directors. I have been manning a computer lab, where students play some training games with rhythms and notes. The 2nd band director works with the SmartMusic progam, which is another trainer for students on rhythms and such. The first band director works with the students on their instruments. We work in 20-minute rotations with the students. Otherwise, I am busy pretty much constantly from the time I get there in the morning at 7:30 until the time we eat lunch around 12:15. Then, it's prep period and percussion ensemble to finish out the day.
During this week, I finished an arrangement for grade 2 percussion ensemble. It's a little too hard for the percussion ensemble right now, but I think they'll get it in time for the concert. I hope so, anyway. What I did was take two well-known video game songs and arrange them for percussion ensemble with two xylophone parts, a snare drum and a bass drum. It's pretty fun, if I do say so myself.
I started taking an institute class this week. This one is the "Hymns of the Church." we are taking a look into the hymns of our hymnbook and discussing their origins and the doctrines behind them. Last week was a little boring, but I was sitting next to my friend, Tyician, so we did our own analysis of the hymns. While the instructor did her analysis of the background od the hymn, we did a *chordal* analysis of a couple of hymns. lol - we are such nerds!!
Also this week, I assumed a role as an alto sax player in the jazz ensemble at SUU. Even though I really should not have taken two nights a week to be busy, I decided that it will help my social life a little bit. Right now, I have a few close friends, but I don't really do much of anything with anyone. I feel kinda bad about that, but at the same time, a good part of the day (after school) is spent being too tired to feel like doing much. I guess that means I need to figure out how to get a little rest and do some fun things, too!
That about sums up the last two weeks. I've been totally rocking this student teaching assignment. Hopefully, I will be able to find a decent job afterward! :-)
Over the last two weeks, I've both hit a major high in my college career and a major low in my personal life. Not that my life sucks or anything, it's just not what I was expecting... That's all.
Today concludes my second week of student teaching. This is a very exciting thing. My student teaching experience so far has been great. My mentor teacher is great to work with, is super encouragin, and has allowed me to jump right into the middle of everything from the get-go. The kids at the middle school are great. We have been working hard from the first day of school, and there are tons of great progress things happening in the classes.
At the school where I am working, we have 9-period days, of which we have students in class for 6 periods. This is great. Over half of the school is in the band - about 400 kids!! I feel like I've done a pretty good job. A few mistakes here and there, but most of the time, I am pretty comfortable with the things happening in the classroom.
I am having a hard time, however, coming home after student teaching. The house is quiet, and most of the people I know that are still in town are in classes at the university, so it's just me and Ginger at home for a while. With a limit on energy and a lack of interesting things to do (besides what needs to be done), it is hard sometimes just to get back up and do a ything else after school. A lot of times, I come home, water my garden plants, and check Facebook. What else should I do? I'm sure I can find a few things that I need to do... But why? Haha!!
Today, I was teaching in the percussion ensemble at the school. The teacher had some family business to attend to this afternoon, so I got class started while we were waiting for him to get back. In the mean time, one of the students asked where he was. I mentioned that he would be back today, but would probably miss the beginning of class. The student then told me that would be ok because I am awesome. I'm glad to know that the kids like me at least a little bit.
:-)
I have got a little following of seventh-grade saxophone players. One of the kids was in the fourth grade class I worked with at the elementary school a couple of years ago, so when I came into the class that hour the first day, he was kinda excited to see me. Truth be told, I was excited to see him too. I think it really helped to have a few kids there thay were from the other school where I worked. Anyway... The other two boys in the saxophone section decided I was pretty cool, too, so they ask me different ways to sound better on their saxophones. Plus, the one invites me to eat lunch with him every single day. They're funny kids.
This year, there are 170 sixth grade students who are signed up for band. Because our band rooms are so small, we usually try and have about 30-40 playing at one time. So, we have a 3-way rotation between me and the two band directors. I have been manning a computer lab, where students play some training games with rhythms and notes. The 2nd band director works with the SmartMusic progam, which is another trainer for students on rhythms and such. The first band director works with the students on their instruments. We work in 20-minute rotations with the students. Otherwise, I am busy pretty much constantly from the time I get there in the morning at 7:30 until the time we eat lunch around 12:15. Then, it's prep period and percussion ensemble to finish out the day.
During this week, I finished an arrangement for grade 2 percussion ensemble. It's a little too hard for the percussion ensemble right now, but I think they'll get it in time for the concert. I hope so, anyway. What I did was take two well-known video game songs and arrange them for percussion ensemble with two xylophone parts, a snare drum and a bass drum. It's pretty fun, if I do say so myself.
I started taking an institute class this week. This one is the "Hymns of the Church." we are taking a look into the hymns of our hymnbook and discussing their origins and the doctrines behind them. Last week was a little boring, but I was sitting next to my friend, Tyician, so we did our own analysis of the hymns. While the instructor did her analysis of the background od the hymn, we did a *chordal* analysis of a couple of hymns. lol - we are such nerds!!
Also this week, I assumed a role as an alto sax player in the jazz ensemble at SUU. Even though I really should not have taken two nights a week to be busy, I decided that it will help my social life a little bit. Right now, I have a few close friends, but I don't really do much of anything with anyone. I feel kinda bad about that, but at the same time, a good part of the day (after school) is spent being too tired to feel like doing much. I guess that means I need to figure out how to get a little rest and do some fun things, too!
That about sums up the last two weeks. I've been totally rocking this student teaching assignment. Hopefully, I will be able to find a decent job afterward! :-)
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Return from China
Hello, world! I'm now home from China. What a fun trip. :-)
This post will likely be a mixture of stories along with some additional follow-up posts with more stories and experiences that we had while there. Among all these experiences, I'll have a few parallel stories with my good friend, Katy, but as told from a different perspective.
First off, we had to get to the airport. Cedar City is a great little place, but the flights don't really go anywhere, so we started by going to St. George to catch up with the shuttle to the airport in Las Vegas, flying to Los Angeles, and then to Guangzhou, China and finally to Wuhan, China. My parents took Heather, Katy, and me to the rendezvous with the airport shuttle. At first, we went the wrong way in St. George, but got turned around and got there just in time to get on board the shuttle.
In Las Vegas, we had to be "corralled" for a while because we were so early for our flight. The lady running the flight queue was well-dressed... joke... She was kind of manly in the first place, but then had her blue uniform top with a black knee-length skirt, mid-calf white socks, and black heeled shoes. It was kind of funny. We were corralled for about 30 minutes, then got our boarding passes and headed for the gate. Since we were so early, we ended up finding something to eat in another terminal, thus going through the security line not once, but twice!
Our flight boarded about an hour after lunch, and was uneventful. In LA, we had to head into the international terminal. When we got there, we had another 5 hours to wait before our flight, so we just kinda hung around and enjoyed the air conditioning. Around 11, we boarded our flight to Guangzhou. This is that kind of flight that takes 280 people overseas. This thing was HUGE! Over the next 13 hours, I slept in about 30-minute increments. It was a little rough, not gonna lie. Until we were on the way, I didn't know that our flight plan was to fly up the western coast of the US and Canada, follow the coastline in Alaska into Russia, down the coast along Korea and eastern Asia, and going through China to Guangzhou (on the south end of China, near Hong Kong).
Our project in China was a "Large Modern Dance Drama," which is kinda like a ballet. We had two composers working on the project. All in all, there were about two hours worth of music and dancing, incorporating some of the major events during Helen Foster Snow's life. From Cedar City, Helen went to China in the 1930s and stayed for much of her adult life. She was a journalist and spent the next several years working for the US government in China, documenting the events of the revolution and the changes in the culture and so forth. She met Edgar Snow, whom she later married, the two of them helped keep China economically sound following invasions from Korea and Japan. The work we did was to celebrate Helen's life and her compassion toward the Chinese people.
The first morning we were in Wuhan, we had a rehearsal with the orchestra and dance company. My section was a 28-year old bassoon player, me - a 25-year old bassoon player, and a 25-year old contrabassoon player. We had such a great time. Those two were super nice and we had a lot of fun with this production. On day one, I made a reed for each of them, because of the limited availability to get reeds in Wuhan. I guess (at least for contrabassoon) they have to special order bassoon reeds in Beijing, give some money to the orchestra liaison, who flies to Beijing to pick up supplies for orchestra members, and come back to give them to the players. Usually, it costs around $20-30 per reed to buy them this way. In Chinese currency, that's 120-180 RMB (Yuan) per reed. It doesn't seem like a lot, but that a lot of money if you play a lot, since a reed is usually only good for about 8-10 hours of playing time before it get worn out, you need at least two of them to use during a week.
I think that's probably sufficient to now. I'll write another one or two with more funny things that came up. :-) All in all, it was a great trip, and I'm happy to have been there.
This post will likely be a mixture of stories along with some additional follow-up posts with more stories and experiences that we had while there. Among all these experiences, I'll have a few parallel stories with my good friend, Katy, but as told from a different perspective.
First off, we had to get to the airport. Cedar City is a great little place, but the flights don't really go anywhere, so we started by going to St. George to catch up with the shuttle to the airport in Las Vegas, flying to Los Angeles, and then to Guangzhou, China and finally to Wuhan, China. My parents took Heather, Katy, and me to the rendezvous with the airport shuttle. At first, we went the wrong way in St. George, but got turned around and got there just in time to get on board the shuttle.
In Las Vegas, we had to be "corralled" for a while because we were so early for our flight. The lady running the flight queue was well-dressed... joke... She was kind of manly in the first place, but then had her blue uniform top with a black knee-length skirt, mid-calf white socks, and black heeled shoes. It was kind of funny. We were corralled for about 30 minutes, then got our boarding passes and headed for the gate. Since we were so early, we ended up finding something to eat in another terminal, thus going through the security line not once, but twice!
Our flight boarded about an hour after lunch, and was uneventful. In LA, we had to head into the international terminal. When we got there, we had another 5 hours to wait before our flight, so we just kinda hung around and enjoyed the air conditioning. Around 11, we boarded our flight to Guangzhou. This is that kind of flight that takes 280 people overseas. This thing was HUGE! Over the next 13 hours, I slept in about 30-minute increments. It was a little rough, not gonna lie. Until we were on the way, I didn't know that our flight plan was to fly up the western coast of the US and Canada, follow the coastline in Alaska into Russia, down the coast along Korea and eastern Asia, and going through China to Guangzhou (on the south end of China, near Hong Kong).
Our project in China was a "Large Modern Dance Drama," which is kinda like a ballet. We had two composers working on the project. All in all, there were about two hours worth of music and dancing, incorporating some of the major events during Helen Foster Snow's life. From Cedar City, Helen went to China in the 1930s and stayed for much of her adult life. She was a journalist and spent the next several years working for the US government in China, documenting the events of the revolution and the changes in the culture and so forth. She met Edgar Snow, whom she later married, the two of them helped keep China economically sound following invasions from Korea and Japan. The work we did was to celebrate Helen's life and her compassion toward the Chinese people.
The first morning we were in Wuhan, we had a rehearsal with the orchestra and dance company. My section was a 28-year old bassoon player, me - a 25-year old bassoon player, and a 25-year old contrabassoon player. We had such a great time. Those two were super nice and we had a lot of fun with this production. On day one, I made a reed for each of them, because of the limited availability to get reeds in Wuhan. I guess (at least for contrabassoon) they have to special order bassoon reeds in Beijing, give some money to the orchestra liaison, who flies to Beijing to pick up supplies for orchestra members, and come back to give them to the players. Usually, it costs around $20-30 per reed to buy them this way. In Chinese currency, that's 120-180 RMB (Yuan) per reed. It doesn't seem like a lot, but that a lot of money if you play a lot, since a reed is usually only good for about 8-10 hours of playing time before it get worn out, you need at least two of them to use during a week.
I think that's probably sufficient to now. I'll write another one or two with more funny things that came up. :-) All in all, it was a great trip, and I'm happy to have been there.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Double "Reeding"
Now that I got the sappy post out of the way, I'm ready to write something else!
(Don't get me wrong, either. I'm just ready for a happier topic)
This summer, I have an opportunity to play with the Hu Bei Dance Company in a performance called, "The Dream of Helen" in Hu Bei, Wuhan Province, China. While I'm super excited, I'm also nervous. I've never been out of the country before! In fact, I never have had a passport before this year, and I'm going to go play bassoon with a professional orchestra!! WOW!
I know this post may not get a ton of responses, but I'm curious to know - readers: what do you think I should do while I'm there? What kinds of things should I find to bring home? What should I "brace myself" for when I get there - in terms of culture shock?
My biggest question (OK! Fine, not my biggest, but pretty high up there...) is what's going to happen to my reeds?! Non-reeders won't understand. For people who play musical instruments, especially double reeds, you know that little changes in the earth's atmosphere, humidity, condensation, ambient temperature, wind speed, and air turbulence above 90,000 feet all play some kind of havoc on your precious instrument! (Ok... the last one was supposed to be funny...) I live in the mountains in southern Utah and find myself having to adjust reeds constantly. A reed that played well 10 minutes ago suddenly dried out, shriveled up, and practically died. Then, 10 minutes later, the barometer shifts again and the reed suddenly "springs" back to life! I swear I will never understand...
Single reed players have it bad once in a while, too, but it seems like oboe players have it MUCH worse than bassoon players, and bassoon players get it pretty bad.
Frank Morelli once said at an IDRS conference that he - when changing climate, altitude, etc - would close down the reed tip - both wires - and adjust as needed when he got where he was going. Sage advice from a Juliard professor. I guess the other alternative is to have a billion blanks ready to rock and roll, so when I get there, I can work on a few and get them all set for playing. That might be more bother than it's worth!
My question now is... do you have any tips or tricks for keeping your reeds from dying on you? What about keeping my instrument from physical damage (ie.: cracks - going from very dry to very humid)? Any comments are welcomed!
(Don't get me wrong, either. I'm just ready for a happier topic)
This summer, I have an opportunity to play with the Hu Bei Dance Company in a performance called, "The Dream of Helen" in Hu Bei, Wuhan Province, China. While I'm super excited, I'm also nervous. I've never been out of the country before! In fact, I never have had a passport before this year, and I'm going to go play bassoon with a professional orchestra!! WOW!
I know this post may not get a ton of responses, but I'm curious to know - readers: what do you think I should do while I'm there? What kinds of things should I find to bring home? What should I "brace myself" for when I get there - in terms of culture shock?
My biggest question (OK! Fine, not my biggest, but pretty high up there...) is what's going to happen to my reeds?! Non-reeders won't understand. For people who play musical instruments, especially double reeds, you know that little changes in the earth's atmosphere, humidity, condensation, ambient temperature, wind speed, and air turbulence above 90,000 feet all play some kind of havoc on your precious instrument! (Ok... the last one was supposed to be funny...) I live in the mountains in southern Utah and find myself having to adjust reeds constantly. A reed that played well 10 minutes ago suddenly dried out, shriveled up, and practically died. Then, 10 minutes later, the barometer shifts again and the reed suddenly "springs" back to life! I swear I will never understand...
Single reed players have it bad once in a while, too, but it seems like oboe players have it MUCH worse than bassoon players, and bassoon players get it pretty bad.
Frank Morelli once said at an IDRS conference that he - when changing climate, altitude, etc - would close down the reed tip - both wires - and adjust as needed when he got where he was going. Sage advice from a Juliard professor. I guess the other alternative is to have a billion blanks ready to rock and roll, so when I get there, I can work on a few and get them all set for playing. That might be more bother than it's worth!
My question now is... do you have any tips or tricks for keeping your reeds from dying on you? What about keeping my instrument from physical damage (ie.: cracks - going from very dry to very humid)? Any comments are welcomed!
Deployment
Tonight was a lot different than I thought it would be. Anyone who has wished well for a soldier who is close to them understands what is going on in my head right now. Those people who have never had someone close to you go into the military, I want you to understand: it's REALLY hard.
Maybe it's my genetics, maybe it's just that I'm a softie at heart, but I got weepy tonight. My two younger siblings are headed off to "the sandbox." My brother left about two weeks ago and my sister is leaving in the morning. Both head to Indiana for a few weeks of training and then it's out to Kuwait or Iraq (probably the first) to help close the base. In my last post, I mentioned decisions and the difficulty it can be to make up one's mind about what they are going to do. In the case of deployment, no one has a choice. Well... yeah, you do, but you can be sent to military prison, and you REALLY do NOT want to be there.
It's been a hard couple of weeks. With this math class I'm taking, the siblings leaving, I'll be headed for China in a few weeks, and my parents preparing for a move to another state, there's a TON to do and think about and stew over. This is not to mention the excitement with going on a trip, being finished with a college degree, and summer break. This is the first time for a very long time that I've cried openly. When my brother left, I kept it in pretty well, but this time, ...well..., the tears flowed! MAN!
So, what got to me? This is my baby sister. My little brother (who is taller than me, and probably better looking) left, and now my two youngest siblings are headed for a very dangerous place. Who knows what could happen! (Mom: If you are reading this... that's the end of the sad part) Luckily, LOTS of people pray for our troops around the world. People who don't believe in God pray for our troops. How nice that people support the ones protecting us on many fronts.
Now I'm about finished being sappy. My siblings and I have always been close. It was hard when my older sister got married and I rarely got to see her anymore (she lives 500 miles from here, so it's hard to get to see her often). Don't worry, though. Skype is a wonderful thing.
If you are not one supporting our troops in combat, maybe you should get to know someone who has a soldier. Not just a little bit, either. Go - talk to them, get to know them as a person, as a human, and then see how it feels when they get deployed. I am honored to have people in our military who would be willing to "give it all" to the cause of freedom for our nation, and those around the world.
God bless the soldiers, guard members, and support staff of the United States Military!
Maybe it's my genetics, maybe it's just that I'm a softie at heart, but I got weepy tonight. My two younger siblings are headed off to "the sandbox." My brother left about two weeks ago and my sister is leaving in the morning. Both head to Indiana for a few weeks of training and then it's out to Kuwait or Iraq (probably the first) to help close the base. In my last post, I mentioned decisions and the difficulty it can be to make up one's mind about what they are going to do. In the case of deployment, no one has a choice. Well... yeah, you do, but you can be sent to military prison, and you REALLY do NOT want to be there.
It's been a hard couple of weeks. With this math class I'm taking, the siblings leaving, I'll be headed for China in a few weeks, and my parents preparing for a move to another state, there's a TON to do and think about and stew over. This is not to mention the excitement with going on a trip, being finished with a college degree, and summer break. This is the first time for a very long time that I've cried openly. When my brother left, I kept it in pretty well, but this time, ...well..., the tears flowed! MAN!
So, what got to me? This is my baby sister. My little brother (who is taller than me, and probably better looking) left, and now my two youngest siblings are headed for a very dangerous place. Who knows what could happen! (Mom: If you are reading this... that's the end of the sad part) Luckily, LOTS of people pray for our troops around the world. People who don't believe in God pray for our troops. How nice that people support the ones protecting us on many fronts.
Now I'm about finished being sappy. My siblings and I have always been close. It was hard when my older sister got married and I rarely got to see her anymore (she lives 500 miles from here, so it's hard to get to see her often). Don't worry, though. Skype is a wonderful thing.
If you are not one supporting our troops in combat, maybe you should get to know someone who has a soldier. Not just a little bit, either. Go - talk to them, get to know them as a person, as a human, and then see how it feels when they get deployed. I am honored to have people in our military who would be willing to "give it all" to the cause of freedom for our nation, and those around the world.
God bless the soldiers, guard members, and support staff of the United States Military!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Post Graduation Funk
Well, the big day has come and gone, and now that things are winding down, the college scene is about to become a big part of the past. In 2004, I entered college at the University of Northern Colorado as a naive and obnoxious freshman. Since then, I've transferred colleges, moved out and back into my parents house, gone on a mission, and struggled with some of the worst depression of my life. That rambunctious freshman whom I used to be and this handsome college graduate who I am now are two completely different people. Lots of things have changed in my life, and they will in yours, too.
The biggest question I have now is,
The biggest question I have now is,
"Where do I go from here?!"
This question is on many peoples' minds. With the college degree in music education, I am now considered "highly qualified" to teach a musical ensemble anywhere in the United States. At the same time, I have studied privately with an amazing teacher on the bassoon. I could potentially audition for a symphony orchestra or tour with a military band. Yet another possibility exists, due to my overscheduling during my undergraduate degree, I could record live performances or do studio recordings.
Decisions, decisions... Again, the echo: Where do I go from here?!
At some point or another, it's time to face the facts:
1. You are now a "responsible" adult. That means it's time to act like one. Move out of the parents' house, get a real job, and start being a member of adult society. It's not weird, and it's not that scary. You've been getting prepped for this for 20+ years. Move into it and love it.
2. Make a choice of career, mate (if you haven't yet), and make it the best choice you could have possibly made. No matter what, whether or not you like your choice, that is the decision you made - stick with it. At least for a while, anyway. You might decide it is what you love to do and you could do it for the rest of your life.
The reality is that everyone goes through some kind of a funk at times, even after graduating college. Life goes on and time waits for no man (or woman!). What separates someone who does something with their life and someone who hates life is how they respond to challenges and opportunities. Does a challenge cripple you or do you live for it? Can you make a mountain with the sand before you?
Maybe you do something that has nothing to do with the degree you earned in college. That's ok, too. Just make the best decision you can and go with the flow. You were made to be something great, whether that's in your own eyes, your parents' eyes, or your spouse/loved ones' eyes. Don't let them down by not living up to your potential!
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