26 January 2007

My Job, Defined...

Oh Strong Bad, you make life better, no matter how evil the world thinks you are!

Technology Email

And there you have it~

The Amphitheater...

Okay, so this is just a little plug for myself, but I'm not sure how many of my faithful readers (both of them) are aware I keep a second blog. It's called The Amphitheater, and it's meant to be a slightly more serious attempt at thinking and writing. Although I fall short of my own high standards all too often, I think my most recent post, Great Speeches, is almost decent. I'm especially fond of, besides the Churchill speech, the Dr King speech I found.

I wish I wrote more prolifically, but my daily life doesn't always allow for free time and clear thought, so I write when I can (often at work). I've been tempted to combine the two blogs to give the illusion that I write regularly, but I still like to draw a distinction between my personal life and my 'legitimate' writing. Besides, it's not a exactly a long and treacherous bridge to cross between the two.

Toodles~

25 January 2007

Oh the Anticipation...

I'm sure by now, you, my avid readers, have been on pins and needles to find out just what happened at my first Jazz Band rehearsal. Well, I'll tell you. It's amazing just how far months of reminders and getting kids pumped and excited for a new thing will do for its success. Even with the drastic change in scheduling, kids were still up for what would be a new experience for them. It's always nice to see some eyes light up at the prospect of learning more, completely different music. So when three o'clock rolled around on Monday, I had my horn out and a stack of music to sightread and a pair of drumsticks to click a backbeat. I was ready and raring to go.

Well, after all this preparation, four kids showed up. Just four. They were four great kids, but they were only four. So what to do? Go forward as though nothing was different. Two trumpets, a trombone, and a sax make for a nice starting point for a group. These guys were all over it, though were a little daunted by the look of the music itself. However, once they learned how to feel a bit of the groove, how to lay back and blow, it was great. By the end of the rehearsal, I felt very satisfied with their quick progress and with my own work as their teacher.

I have since sent them out to recruit more players, and I have done the same. I think with them having a good first impression and telling their peers about it, this fledgling music program could get on its feet. I do have hope.

Along with the Jazz Band, I have started the Jazz Combos class. Open to all instruments wanting to learn styles and improvisation, it is intended to be a reinforcement of the Jazz Band proper. Many flute and clarinet players expressed intense interest in playing jazz, even after being told the Jazz Band would not be open to non-big band instruments. So what could be assumed is that Jazz Combos would have a larger attendance than that of the big band.

Reality and assumptions rarely line up, do they? I had one kid show up yesterday, the trombone player from Jazz Band. I felt so unmotivated and heartbroken that he and I just sat around talking jazz and hanging out until the early bus could take him home.

I was at a loss, and I still am. I'm not sure what it'll take to get these kids that say they want to play jazz to actually get up and play it. Jr High Jazz Band was what motivated me to learn saxophone at all. I started playing clarinet in elementary school because I loved Benny Goodman and old style Dixieland jazz. But when I got to Jr High, that's not how it worked. So I made a very conscious decision to learn tenor sax over the summer and make it in my eighth grade year. I picked it up and learned every single note of the horn and some scales, and sealed my fate as a saxophonist. I wish I knew how to evoke the same motivation for music from these kids.

Now, I know that I was a different case, since I went on to become (nearly) a music major. I still don't really know what to do with myself in music. I play a little bit with the beginning band kids during my lunch breaks, but it is mostly me exploring the unfamiliar world of brass and helping keep percussionists' heads in the game (hand an eleven year old boy a pair of drumsticks and see how long he'll stay still). Nothing I do now is for myself in music, nothing to expand my playing ability, or even to bring it up to where it was at this time last year. I'm languishing in music, as well in general because I don't play anymore.

I miss dearly playing in my old jazz combo and working with a great teacher. I felt as though I was finally on to something, then I had to leave it, far far from finished. (Alliteration anyone?) I have said numerous times to my wife that I have to truly admit to myself that I am actually a musician. And I have said many times that I wish I had had one more year at Stanislaus to dive deeper into jazz and finish my bachelor of arts in music as well. C'est la vie, though. There really is no time for or point in regrets.

The best thing for me to do, I think, is to find an outlet or two for playing. Get myself into a big band that plays during evenings, find a group of people to jam with and learn from. Anything, really, to get my fingers wiggling and my toe tapping. The world is so much duller without music, and I truly am an incomplete soul without that magic art in my life.

Ta~

22 January 2007

Nerves of Noodles...

I can't believe how incredibly nervous I am right now. In about an hour, I will be starting the first rehearsal of my school's jazz band. I'm doing my best to remind myself how raw these kids are and how I still have the feeling of jazz in my gut and feet, even though I'm desperately out of practice. I'm just nervous as hell, and that feeling won't go away until I've done this more, this being the primary teacher for a group of students. I still remember how nervous I was as a young music student and now know how I feel these days that getting up and performing is no big deal.

What makes these nerves a little tougher is that although I love jazz and love trying to play, I always feel as though I'm just trying. Maybe I hold it in too high of regard and myself to too high of standards, but my sense of self worth in this field is somewhat lacking. Okay, greatly lacking. Regularly I find myself wishing I had just one more year back at Stanislaus to learn more jazz and become more fluent in its expression.

Oh well. I'm here, and I'll be fine. I know it. People have most certainly survived through worse. I'll probably duck downstairs a little early to prep myself a bit, but I'm somewhat discouraged toward doing so because of a rather tiresome substitute who was the former band director at this school. I pity the kids sitting through his rehearsals right now, because he has a tendency to talk a lot with the few kids that are related to his former students. Those poor kids get so bored, especially the ones coming in there, dying to play.

Wish me luck, it's one of the few things I believe in this world~

20 January 2007

Austin's Present...

What's the best part about receiving packages in the mail? Please, allow my son to demonstrate:

18 January 2007

New Joke...

Why doesn't 007 come out with his own line of adhesives? The ad campaign would write itself...

"Need to glue something? Bond. James Bond!"

12 January 2007

The Time of the Techie...

I think now that the lovely Minnesota winter has set in, it's high time that my Californian friends come out to visit! It's been reaching into the teens the past few days with plenty of sunshine. And pay no heed to that 'wind chill' that people always talk about, because it is such nonsense as to warrant a laugh. Ha! Besides, there isn't much better than the life-affirming feeling of your boogers freezing in your nose. Sadly, there isn't much snow on the ground, as up until a couple days ago, it was nearly hitting forty and most of the snow melted away. Still, now is as good a time as any to hop a plane and stay a spell!

I'm writing most of this entry while sitting in a district technology meeting. Luckily it's practically required to have my computer in front of me, so I can write instead of having my eyes roll into the back of my head and passing out. One just has to love listening to people who aren't good with technology talk about technology. Along with blogging, which yes I don't do nearly enough of, my downtime at work is usually spent reading the news or, more recently, playing Tower Defense. Be careful with Tower Defense, as it is very quickly addictive.

My time as jazz director at school will soon arrive. As of the 22nd, I will be teaching Jazz Band on Mondays after school, and Combos on Wednesdays. The Jazz Band is designed to be the classic big band instrumentation and will work on style and playing together and have lots of charts to read. The Combos is meant to give those jazz band kids more opportunity to work on improvisation and learning charts by ear and rote, plus it will open up jazz to the instruments not normally found in big bands. Also, combos will give the rhythm section more time to work as a group and keep the groove.

It is all very exciting, the idea that I'm teaching these kids the music that made me want to be a musician myself. But it all comes on a rather sad note. Originally, the plan was to have jazz band every morning before school, just as I and so many other had done. The kids would be fresh in the morning, and would be playing jazz daily. Everything was set in place, I had the approval of the band director, whose program this is an extension of, and I had the approval of the principal of the school. Sadly, another teacher with more seniority simply said that there has never been daily rehearsals, that it simply isn't done, and that there won't be daily rehearsals. This was said just before winter break, and jazz band was slated to start the week after returning from vacation. So at the last minute, after kids and parents arranged to have mornings work, and were happy to do so since these kids all have something going on after school too, it all had to change. From an hour rehearsal daily down to two hours once a week, it's a shame. I'll make do with what I have, but it still seems a loss to the kids who want more to play. It's an arts school, for crying out loud.

Work in general is going well. I've become primarily a technician for media arts, and so far have recorded and edited all of the school's podcasts. I've found a wonderful niche for myself, combining my affinity with technology with my talents for teaching and music. Now I'm working toward getting back in school and earning my teaching license. I still dream of having a classroom of my own, and can't wait for that day to happen. And I will do all that I can to ensure that it does happen.

Austin's been obnoxiously funny lately. He's decided that anytime something doesn't go his way, he'll just bring out the tears. If it didn't happen constantly, it probably wouldn't be so grating. But still, it's funny how easy it is to tell the difference between a forced tantrum and when something is actually wrong. Other than that, he's getting better and better with his manners. Michelle and I have effectively banned the word 'want' from our house, which means he actually needs to say 'I would like' or better yet 'may I please' in order to get anything around here. Oh, and if any of you have any advice on how to potty train a very stubborn little boy, please send it my way!

My best to all of you, and I hope I'll be writing again soon.