The week that was
I sit here in my messy office at work thinking of what I'll write for my weekly run-down. I like that I've started doing that, and I hope the positivity can continue. It seems that whatever you're looking for, you'll find. My personal exercise in doing, like the song lyric goes "accent the positive, don't mess with Mr. In-Between" is going quite well. And now for the list.
*I got my guitar Saturday, and it's better. My guitar isn't a great guitar, but it never was. I know that now, and I may in some future time buy a guitar that's actually worth having. I can actually play an F major chord in first position. Okay, so I'm a bass player and don't really want to, but I know now that I could do it.
*I dusted off an old fan fiction that I last publicly updated 2 years ago. (In the pre-NPG part of my life, I joke!) I reread the thing with new eyes, and I was impressed with how good it was. I'm working on a new chapter update with many thanks to the readers who've stayed with me even though it's remained unfinished though dreadfully close to the end for so long now.
By the way, on the fan fiction front, my original character Wolfgang Amadeus Lupin will be born on Sunday. In the original timeline I wrote for that story, he was born in 2008. It's so utterly amazing to think that I started that story over 4 years ago, and now we're here!
*In church music and bass playing on Sunday, I started adding some funky lines on this one song. It surprised me, but I was doing this ostinato thing that wasn't preplanned. It worked quite well. I might have to try some ostinatos on purpose and put that into my bag of tricks.
*Monday I woke up rested, but I went home and went to bed right away, too. I still don't sleep enough, but I'm sleeping better.
*Tuesday was orkestruuuhhhh. That rehearsal went well, too, and one of our other percussionists was there. He's the one designated as the new section leader, and yet it was me who was making all the leadership decisions in teaching our new youngster how to play, correcting parts that he wasn't quite getting during the large group rehearsal (Mostly boom-chick stuff. Typical, and once he gets it, it will be there forever.), and I was assigning parts. So the truth of the situation was that I was the leader, and I want the recognition as being such. I may be having a talk with the conductor soon.
One of my gripes is that growing up in musical situations and job situations, I wasn't really given leadership roles. I don't know if people didn't believe in me, and it bothers me that maybe they didn't. Well, no more. I have enough belief in myself to fuel an army. I guess this is my "Go, get 'em, Tiger!" attitude coming out.
Also of interesting note was that my comment in last week's orchestra run-down about hating the sound of snare rattle got several responses. I was going over that point again, and NG was saying how it irritated him, too. I found out that this young man loves music. He plays cello in a youth orchestra, and he also plays trumpet. (I did ask if he was doing his lip buzz exercises especially with his braces. If he's going to do it, he should do it right. It will help his range and flexibility like nothing else.) In his capacity as a trumpet player, he's often wanted to turn the snares off when errant drummers [read: not percussionists] forget. Well, now he knows the ways of the Force, oh, yes. (Sorry, George.)
*Most interesting of the week was that yesterday I joined a community choir. I've been wanting to join one, but there wasn't one around that I knew about. On Wednesday morning, I got notice of one starting with bi-monthly rehearsals. I went out last night to see what it's about. The material was about junior high level of difficulty, and it was a very small group of about 8 people so far. I have a large enough vocal range that I don't care which part I sing. I just asked to be put where I was needed. It ended up being soprano I, a surprise since I'd somewhat expected to be an alto.
I was acting very much like a soprano when I got into it. I was happy, for one, that I could access that upper range. I had thought my voice had actually shrunk because when I am doing solo and congregational singing in church, I am not up that high. I think the difference is the mind set as well as physical approach since I was doing the choir differently than I was doing the other music situation. But the "acting like a soprano" part of it was that I'd be all happy about my sparkling high notes, so I'd want to stay on them for a while making some of my entrances late. I can count. I'm a freakin' percussionist after all! But in that moment I was all very diva and "listen to me!"
Often it is said in choral music that the altos are the better musicians because they simply have to be and that sopranos can't sight read because they have the melody all the time anyway. In my own experience with working with altos, it's not that they are better musicians. The specific ones I have known have just been too timid to use their full voices, and I find that a shame. I do think these altos I met yesterday fall into that category. I truly believe that there ARE good musicians out there singing alto, but I've not had the pleasure of meeting many of them.
I also realize of myself that I'm used to a more competitive musical environment, and that's not what these various situations are. Oh, they're fun, and I'm happy to be doing something. I just want to do something that challenges me to the point of difficulty. That may come in time, but I do still have these things which are getting me back into that mind set. I am also realizing, perhaps slowly, as a counter to what I had told Joe about being shy about my music degree, that I am a better musician than I thought I was.
I rock. And so do you. Much love, my friends. Now respond if you feel so inclined, and tell me how you are. :)
*I got my guitar Saturday, and it's better. My guitar isn't a great guitar, but it never was. I know that now, and I may in some future time buy a guitar that's actually worth having. I can actually play an F major chord in first position. Okay, so I'm a bass player and don't really want to, but I know now that I could do it.
*I dusted off an old fan fiction that I last publicly updated 2 years ago. (In the pre-NPG part of my life, I joke!) I reread the thing with new eyes, and I was impressed with how good it was. I'm working on a new chapter update with many thanks to the readers who've stayed with me even though it's remained unfinished though dreadfully close to the end for so long now.
By the way, on the fan fiction front, my original character Wolfgang Amadeus Lupin will be born on Sunday. In the original timeline I wrote for that story, he was born in 2008. It's so utterly amazing to think that I started that story over 4 years ago, and now we're here!
*In church music and bass playing on Sunday, I started adding some funky lines on this one song. It surprised me, but I was doing this ostinato thing that wasn't preplanned. It worked quite well. I might have to try some ostinatos on purpose and put that into my bag of tricks.
*Monday I woke up rested, but I went home and went to bed right away, too. I still don't sleep enough, but I'm sleeping better.
*Tuesday was orkestruuuhhhh. That rehearsal went well, too, and one of our other percussionists was there. He's the one designated as the new section leader, and yet it was me who was making all the leadership decisions in teaching our new youngster how to play, correcting parts that he wasn't quite getting during the large group rehearsal (Mostly boom-chick stuff. Typical, and once he gets it, it will be there forever.), and I was assigning parts. So the truth of the situation was that I was the leader, and I want the recognition as being such. I may be having a talk with the conductor soon.
One of my gripes is that growing up in musical situations and job situations, I wasn't really given leadership roles. I don't know if people didn't believe in me, and it bothers me that maybe they didn't. Well, no more. I have enough belief in myself to fuel an army. I guess this is my "Go, get 'em, Tiger!" attitude coming out.
Also of interesting note was that my comment in last week's orchestra run-down about hating the sound of snare rattle got several responses. I was going over that point again, and NG was saying how it irritated him, too. I found out that this young man loves music. He plays cello in a youth orchestra, and he also plays trumpet. (I did ask if he was doing his lip buzz exercises especially with his braces. If he's going to do it, he should do it right. It will help his range and flexibility like nothing else.) In his capacity as a trumpet player, he's often wanted to turn the snares off when errant drummers [read: not percussionists] forget. Well, now he knows the ways of the Force, oh, yes. (Sorry, George.)
*Most interesting of the week was that yesterday I joined a community choir. I've been wanting to join one, but there wasn't one around that I knew about. On Wednesday morning, I got notice of one starting with bi-monthly rehearsals. I went out last night to see what it's about. The material was about junior high level of difficulty, and it was a very small group of about 8 people so far. I have a large enough vocal range that I don't care which part I sing. I just asked to be put where I was needed. It ended up being soprano I, a surprise since I'd somewhat expected to be an alto.
I was acting very much like a soprano when I got into it. I was happy, for one, that I could access that upper range. I had thought my voice had actually shrunk because when I am doing solo and congregational singing in church, I am not up that high. I think the difference is the mind set as well as physical approach since I was doing the choir differently than I was doing the other music situation. But the "acting like a soprano" part of it was that I'd be all happy about my sparkling high notes, so I'd want to stay on them for a while making some of my entrances late. I can count. I'm a freakin' percussionist after all! But in that moment I was all very diva and "listen to me!"
Often it is said in choral music that the altos are the better musicians because they simply have to be and that sopranos can't sight read because they have the melody all the time anyway. In my own experience with working with altos, it's not that they are better musicians. The specific ones I have known have just been too timid to use their full voices, and I find that a shame. I do think these altos I met yesterday fall into that category. I truly believe that there ARE good musicians out there singing alto, but I've not had the pleasure of meeting many of them.
I also realize of myself that I'm used to a more competitive musical environment, and that's not what these various situations are. Oh, they're fun, and I'm happy to be doing something. I just want to do something that challenges me to the point of difficulty. That may come in time, but I do still have these things which are getting me back into that mind set. I am also realizing, perhaps slowly, as a counter to what I had told Joe about being shy about my music degree, that I am a better musician than I thought I was.
I rock. And so do you. Much love, my friends. Now respond if you feel so inclined, and tell me how you are. :)