NSUMusician

Hey guys. Couple of quick thoughts. I'm currently teaching and don't practice as MUCH as I used to, but "back in the day" I had c above second ledger line c. I consistently still have double g and f range. I've had that since high school. Anyways, here are my thoughts: HIGH NOTES DO NOT MAKE A PLAYER! Clarity of technique and a clear, dark but brilliant tone make a great player (see Wynton Marsalis). As far as playing high notes, it's like this in my opinion. There is a Holy Trinity to playing high: firm embouchure, fast air, and a raised tongue. There you go. Think of the following too. Try playing "directionally" with your air. What I mean by that is if you think of playing down inward into the cup of your mouthpiece then your tongue will raise. Also, as trumpet players we normally talk about firming our corners. I don't like that idea. In immature players in causes us to clench our teeth. Instead think of pulling or firming the cheek muscles. As far as playing pedal tones for range, yes it works. It's all about air. You have to have an insane amount of air to play pedal tones and generally you use the same air speed on the higher range stuff. Try playing lots of Clarke Technical studies and scales. Add a note everyday. Make that note clear and brilliant before adding another note. Those are just some thoughts. PM me if you want to talk more.

Our top band is going to look at Ruslan and Ludmilla. Our second band is going to look at the Finale from Symphony #1 by Kalinnokov and my band is going to look at Pageant by Persichetti.

I think Crown falls a few spots. I think we'll see them in the 7 to 8 range this next year. With the "politics" of DCI, PR and the Cadets are due for a win. We'll see. I honestly could see it going: Cadets, PR, Cavies/BD TIE, SCV, 'Coats, Crown, and then I don't know after that. That prediction is just going by the politics of DCI.

All-time favorite has to been Wynton Marsalis. I've played with Allen Vizzutti. I was fortunate enough to spend a week with him the summer going into my senior year of high school. I've also played with Mike Vax on way too many occasions to count. With all that being said Wynton is my fav. I love listening to Arturo. Coolest one to hang out with is Mike. Oops. I forgot to add Chet Baker to that list. If you've never heard of him, go check him out. Guy from like the 20s and 30s with a sound from today. A TRUE BEAST!

Wasey Herbort is the name of the new director at Lake Dallas. He was the lead trumpet soloist in the Bluecoats' show back in 2002. He had the second solo in the opener and then the entire solo in the closer. He's a good guy. Probably doesn't remember me though.

58th consecutive 1st Division in Marching. 42nd consecutive Sweepstakes (I think). 8 or more All-State Students. 25 or more All-Area Students 60 or more All-Region Students.

Is "Bugz" the same show that Plano West did three (?) years ago?

SIX WORDS BABY!! I MISS YOU MOST OF ALL, MY DARLING, WHEN AUTUMN LEAVES START TO FALL! I can't be more proud to be an alumn than tonight! Enjoy the bus ride Bluecoats.

I really don't know what to say about Madison. 2000 is when the downward spiral started and it hit the bottom in 2002. I was with Bluecoats in 2002 and can remember seeing Madison EVERY NIGHT and all of us secretly saying, "Man, this ISN'T the Scouts we've always known!" That summer they didn't have the same feel. They didn't walk like Scouts, they didn't act like Scouts, it was weird. This year feels the same. Last year the tried to go in a different direction from what they had been doing. Same thing with this year. BRING BACK THE OLD SCOUTS!! I remember seeing Jesus Christ Superstar (the 1999 show for all you kids out there) and thinking, "THIS IS AWESOME!!" They had the patented cymbal toss over the hornline, the park-n-bark, everything! Next year they changed stuff and weren't the same! Oh well.

I hated it! I enjoyed Westfield 03 and Kennesaw Mountain 04 more than the Cadets show. TAKE OUT THE NARRATION! It does nothing for the show. I'm ok with some tasteful narration, i.e. Bluecoats 07, Cadets 05, etc. This has just gone too far. It takes away from the musical performance. Also, to me it seems a bit "snooty." They act like they are the only ones who make sacrifices and stuff. The music is awesome! They are playing really well, but the narration takes away from the whole show.

Saw the show last night via the webcast. Those tubas were kickin' hot! And yes, I've trademarked "kickin' hot!" You may use it whenever you want. It'll take off like wildfire in California!

What I meant about musical style of 03 was feeling that it was very top heavy. Percussion tuned really high. Lots of orchestral bell, crotale, and high end pit stuff going on. Lots of 10-part chords with emphasis on the higher end. I LOVED THE 03 SHOW! It was like they continued on with the 02 show and built on an idea there. The 05 show was just not really there. My best friend played trumpet in 04 and 05 with the Cavies. They called the 05 show "My Kind of Suck." It wasn't in your face or anything! I like more the 02, 03 style of Cavalier. On another note... How about those Bluecoat Tubas?!?! WOW! They would have won the Section of the Night Award from me! They played LOTS of notes!! The Bluecoats Tuba Section played almost as many notes as the Cadets Guard had drops tonight! ouch. My bad. That hurt.

Alright. Here's my take (it's going to be short): Spirit - LOVED the new unis. Enjoyed the new aggressive approach to their show. G'men - Honestly, I didn't watch it. Haven't been too big on G'men since 02 (Loved that 02 show). Crown - LOVED THE ENTIRE SHOW! What I liked the most about this show is that although it has a "theme" you don't have to know that to enjoy their show. Hornline sounds great and percussion is doing great things. My issue is that I feel their show is A LOT like Bluecoats the past two years. I think it's high now and will peak very early. Cadets - ugh. hum. I was taught that if you can't say something nice not to say anything at all. Actually, I dug the music tremendously. THE NARRATION HAS TO GO! It really is a BOA show done by a "Drum Corp." The guard was pretty down in my opinion. Cadets guard has year in and year out been pretty decent, but this years guard isn't up to guards of the past. They talk about "tradition" and such, but then have narration during the entire show. How does narration have anything to do with tradition? Like I said, the music book is pretty hot, but overall concept is very "high school'ish." Bluecoats - Oh yeah! This show is hot enough right now to get folks pumped, but hard enough that there are PLENTY of things to fix. Guard work is not yet finished. That hurt. The narration in this show works VERY well. I loved the "I'm watching you.." part. Very ominous. The 2 point spread behind Cavies was a bit much, but I think that it's a spread that can covered. Still not sold on the unis yet. Anyways, this show is great! The Cavaliers - Not sold on it. I love Billy Joel's music, but not sold on this show. I thought it was VERY visually dirty and wasn't that much harder than some other corps visual program either. Battery stuff is very clean with LOTS of notes. Huge surprise seeing as how basically everyone is a rookie. They've got the most to lose with this show. I compare this show to a mix of 05, 04, and 03. It's got SOME of the attitude of the 007 show, some of the same musical style of the Spin Cycle show, and somewhat the same program design of the My Kind of Town show. Those are my thoughts. Take them as you may. All in all it's going to be an interesting season!!!

I'd take AE over October purely for the emotional aspect behind it. I played the off-stage solo my senior year of HS at Region. On the other hand, though, I'd choose Whitacre ANY day over Ticheli. Ticheli, from all accounts, is just a jerk. Whitacre is an awesome guy! I posted a message on his myspace and he sent me an email thanking me for it and stuff. Just an awesome guy!

Ha. I can assure you I am no one's director on this board! Barisax, I know you were only comparing me to Mr. Geiger in looks alone. I greatly respect the things Mr. Geiger does as well as the things most of the other member's of this board's directors do! Yeah, sorry for a very lengthy sentence. One day maybe I'll be up there with them. I've got to start somewhere though.

Hum. Being compared to Mr. Phillip Geiger. That's some tough company to be compared to. Maybe someday.

Oh yeah, I also have a pretty nice burly beard. I look like a bear and can yell real loud, but I'm just a goofy teacher who demands certain things. It's great!

Doesn't everyone know what Bell is doing?? ::sarcasm off:: Seriously, though, good luck to everyone over the summer. Please be safe. As teachers, we love you guys and want all of you to come back safely in July/August.

Funny you should say that. I'm called Coach by most of the students and some of the teachers at my school. I guess when one is 6'6" and somewhat athletically built one could look like a coach. haha.

Jake, school size doesn't matter. It's all about the willingness of the leaders and non-leaders of a band to make it work. I've implemented the same techniques in a very large, very successful 4A band.

Actually, I keep up with various infractions and make students march laps after practice or during water breaks. I give generous amounts of time for water so it's pretty easy to make your lap and still have time to cool off and grab some water. I also make it clear that rehearsal/class is not over until I release them. Therefore kids don't leave until after they've marched their lap(s) or else they are skipping rehearsal/class and there is other discipline to be done then. I'm in a pretty sweet deal that my head principal and 1st asst. principal are both former GREAT band directors. They are very supportive of the discipline we have.

I'm a director and here's my opinion. I don't like push-ups and laps for discipline. I like doing a lap before rehearsal to stay in shape a little bit. I'm not too big on push-ups at all because most people don't do them correctly to be beneficial. Here's my take on physical discipline. I like making students MARCH laps instead of running. Set a met or a gock-block to 180 and make them march laps with perfect technique. Not only does it hurt, but it will help make their technique better. As far as upper body strengthening, I like doing wall stands. If you don't know what I'm talking about, what you do is put your heels up against a wall like you are backwards marching. The only other part of your body that should touch the wall is your butt. Then hold your horn at carraige or playing position. If you want to do it on your own, start out small and get larger with time lengths. If you are doing it for discipline, the longer the better.

Here is a GREAT tip for tempos. Don't try and MEMORIZE a tempo. Memorize familiar songs that are at that tempo. For example, try and find a march that is at exactly 120 (most King marches at are 120) and memorize the tune. Then just sing that in your head and you should be able to conduct patterns much more easily. For me, I have the melody from Peacemaker march memorized and have for years. I can still sing it at exactly 120 everytime! Also, when working with your conducting, remember that your pattern must been seen from AT LEAST 30 yards away. Get a buddy and go out to the practice field, put them at random spots, and get them to see if that can recognize your pattern. If they can't follow you, ask them why. Chances are it will be because either your pattern is too small or you rebounds aren't defined enough. Lastly, when trying out you need to ask yourself a couple of questions: Why am I trying out? Will I be an asset as a DM? Why will I be an asset as a DM? Would I be better served to the band as a Section Leader instead? If conducting and doing discipline more important that playing and marching? Hey guys, if any of you want anymore tips, I'm more than happy to help you out. I've judged DM try-outs on the high school and college level and wouldn't mind talking with you a bit. Just drop me a PM and I'll give you my AIM name.

Trumpetman, non-varsity bands read two levels lower than the varsity band. 5A reads level 6, 4A reads level 5, 3A reads level 4, 2A reads level 3, 1A reads level 2. CCC Middle Schools read level 2, CC Middle Schools read level 1. So you can do the math on non-varsity groups. I believe a SUB Non-varsity group reads three levels lower than the varsity group. Not too sure on that though. Positive that non-varsity groups read two levels lower!!

Here's a pretty good list of songs that work REALLY well in the stands. Folks know them, football team gets hyped, fans get hyped, and they are fun to play. Back in Black - AC/DC I Want You Back - Jackson 5 Shout It Out - From Drumline (yes, it may get over played at times, but it's still a pretty awesome song to do in the stands) Get It On - Bill Chase Shut Up - Trick Daddy (I did a SHORT arrangement of it in high school and we'd play it when the other schools band would play annoying junior high stuff! It would make people from other schools MAD, but our folks LOVED it!) HeartBreaker - Pat Benatar (USC did an arrangement of it and it's pretty sweet!) 25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago Let's Groove Tonight - Earth Wind and Fire Carry On My Wayward Son - Kansas Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne Enter Sandman - Metallica (There are some arrangements out there, but I'm afraid of most arrangements of heavy metal stuff. It sometimes loses it's "heavy metal-ness" in an arrangement) So those are just a few songs that I think work really well in the stands. Most of them folks will recognize because A LOT of rap artist have sampled from those songs. There are maybe only 2 or 3 songs on there that aren't hard-core driving songs or whatever. Hope that helps.