It's been quite a while since I've updated this.
I have another busy semester this spring, but it's a lot of fun.
I'm taking lessons with Paul Rennick and Ryan Kilgore.
Paul is trying to teach me not to let go of the stick so much; that sometimes rebound isn't necessary and control is a better option. I don't really have too much to do with him this semester, but he's helping me with my technique and he always has cool stuff to say.
Ryan and I are mostly working on solo literature, which I've recently realized that I don't enjoy as much as I think most percussionists do here. I guess playing marimba has always been something that I've enjoyed doing, but has never felt like something I could do professionally, especially as a soloist; I think I would be fine in an ensemble setting, and wouldn't have trouble playing a part, but marimba has gotten a little stale for me as a solo instrument. Nevertheless, we're playing "Rotation IV" (Eric Sammut), which is a wonderful piece, one of my favorites, and Keiko Abe's "Wind Sketch."
Recently some people have asked me if I played something or was playing something because it was popular, or because a lot of people had played it before. That seems like a silly reason to play something, to me. If everyone was playing only Bach chorales, I would not only play Bach chorales. If everyone was playing the Rotations, I would still play the Rotations. My choices of what I like to play as a soloist aren't dependent on what anyone else likes to play. I play it because I like the piece, it sounds good to me, and I could make music with it. Not much more to it than that.
It feels kind of nice to not be working on barrier material very much. In the past, I've really stressed about it, and thought it was so important that I spent most of my time on it. I played through it all the time, but that wasn't necessarily the right approach. Paul has taught me the right way to look at the books I need to pass this semester, and even though I haven't played them in a while, I still feel more confident about them than I used to. I'll still practice them a lot before I have to perform them though, don't worry.
I'm also practicing a lot of drum set, because I think I want to be a Jazz Studies major. As a performance major right now, I like playing in classical ensembles and playing timpani, but I don't like playing so much marimba, and I don't like being in concert band. In my opinion, there is hardly any job market for marimba players, and focusing more on drum set would be much more practical. I would also like to learn how to improvise, and be musical on the spot, and there is almost none of that as a performance major.
If I was a Jazz Studies major, I would be playing in a lab band, and I would have a practice room where I could play drums whenever I wanted to and not bother anyone. I would be taking Improv, and Jazz Arranging, which I think is very cool, and I would be playing with friends and playing a whole lot of shows, which is one of the things in my life that I like the most. I would be focusing on a more practical instrument, and networking with people and performing in a real-life setting.
So I told Ed Soph, UNT drum set professor and awesome drummer/thinker/person in general, that I was interested in being a Jazz Studies major on Friday, and he told me to come play for him on Tuesday, which was 4 days to be prepared. Except I was gone all weekend (we'll get to that later), and busy Monday night (we'll also get to that later), so I didn't really have any time to prepare. So I just came in, dressed up a little, and hoped for the best.
As I sat down, he asked me some questions.
What are my strengths and weeknesses?
Strengths: Funky stuff, keeping time.
Weeknesses: Latin things, hi-hat integration.
How do I know I keep good time?
Practicing with a metronome, practicing with recordings.
There was another question, but I forgot. I was nervous, okay?
He said that my strengths and weaknesses were too focused on drumming, and not enough about general musicianship. He said that my first goal should be to make music, and then to play drums; music is the art, drums are the tool. I should be focusing on things like dynamics, phrasing, tone, and balance.
Then we played Joy Spring, but just the melody, on just the snare drum. I was a little awkward at first. He then asked if I was thinking of anyone playing it in my head, and told me to think of the way Clifford played it. I was a little less awkward, and I got even better when I started singing Clifford's interpretation while I was playing it. And then we played time, and he told me my ride hand was too loud, which kind of makes sense, since I'm right-handed.
I have a lot to work on, but he offered to teach me lessons in the fall, and if all went well, then I could be a Jazz Studies major next spring. That seems like a long time from now at first, and it still does to me. I don't mind if I'm in school for a while though. As long as I'm not breaking the bank and I'm not bored, I'll be alright here. I like it here. People are good here, there is a lot of music.
I'm playing in Concert Band, South Indian Ensemble, the 12:00 Percussion Players, singing in Singers III, and sight-reading three days a week in Paul's Arranging class. I'm also arranging in that class, performing with Arthur Barrow and Tommy Mars in a band in the class on Frank Zappa I'm in, and playing in an ensemble led by performance artist Nick Cave. I'm pretty busy.
Outside of school, I'm playing timpani for the Santa Clara Vanguard. Our show is "Music for the Starry Night," and we're playing "Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine," "Hymn to a Blue Hour," "Mars," and "Jupiter." I love the music, the horns already sound great, and Paul always writes great drum parts. I go to California every once in a while to rehearse with them, and I'll be busy with them all summer starting the 19th or 20th of May, all the way up to the second week of August.
I'm also in a band called Señor Fín, and we're pretty cool. We're playing more shows than usual recently, which makes me pretty happy, and we're working on recording an album or an EP or what not. We're playing a free show this Sunday, maybe a show on the 14th, and probably a few more shows soon, I'm not really the one who keeps track of these things. But we play cool music and I really like playing with those dudes.
There's a music festival called 35 Denton rolling in to town this weekend. I love lots of music, and I'm kinda bummed that I can't go to anything this summer, so I'm going to make the most of this event.
I also saw Radiohead for my birthday, and they were pretty great.
I'm also teaching a little bit, and managing a website, and some other smaller things. They don't really matter very much.
So yep, that's a summary of two months into about a half an hour of distracted writing. Makes me want to do more with my life so I have to spend more time writing about it when I chose to write about it.
M
