kcbari

Bedposts or bassoons? Same thing...;-)

CC 2014: A Henry Rollins Retrospective.

I only wear my corps shirt (the ones that fit, anyway) at corps shows...hot pink with a big star on it gets some ODD looks otherwise...

I felt bad about it...after all, you gave me water in the Indy 500 parade during the Star Alumni performance in 2004...thanks again!!

For once I gotta disagree with you. I sat at Finals in 2000 and could clearly hear a bright, pinched sound from Cadets compared to the Cavies (in addition to not hearing Cadets finish any phrases in their closer on the cd recordings)...and this from a guy who normally hated the Cavies. BD, on the other hand, was truly a step up on the Bb and should have won brass in 2000 (and Cadets should have won brass in 2001).

Nah, we already know that...

I'm betting that Crown's percussion are more than happy with their gold medals... But, I had the chance to march brass with either 90 Star or 90 Cadets...I could have had either one (but I wussed out in the face of my father's wrath), and to this day I'm not sure which would have meant more...

http://tonematrix.audiotool.com/_/29.0.1.2.1.4.0.8.4.0.1.0.4.0.2.0 Have fun...

Kudos, gentlemen. Class x 2.

When clicking "Ignore this warning", I suddenly start getting pop-ups, something that almost never happens, as a band dad set up this computer very carefully...

...and cut.

When Limbaugh or Beck mentions it is when it will get really funny...

I marched Star in 1989 because of the cost and because I had friends there already. Only once tour started did it really sink in how serious this group was...camps were truly nothing next to the intensity of that staff once we belonged to them on the road (remember, no cell phones, just letters and the occasional collect call home). They truly remolded our minds into the machine of excellence that became the Star hallmark...I would not trade it for the world.

Work hard, don't showboat. We still laugh about some of the old-school stuff that used to happen at Star..."What part am I on? 4th sop. Where's that? Hallway..." Kid walks out, no one there...you've been cut.

Being an old guy and very music focused (drill is secondary to my --hoped for--emotional response to music), I fell asleep during the quarter finals performances of several corps, Blue Knights being one of them. So many corps' designs are the same anymore that I was bored by all but 4 corps..."motivic fragment, drum/run, same motivic fragment up a 1/2 step and faster, drum/run, same motivic fragment up ANOTHER 1/2 step but now with a mellophone counter-melody...chord...pose to hide dirty drill set, fade into next motivic fragment section of show...". Yep, I'm a cynic. I miss emotional responses to the power of the performance in the moment by the kids in front of me instead of intellectual "appreciation" for the designers' purported "cleverness". Bah, time to go smoke a cigar and wonder where my gray hairs came from so fast...;-)

Morehead State in Kentucky. Small, but a powerhouse music school. The head director is rather well known in the music education field...

Stephen Hawking lost his bet on that one...

As I may have said before (and say to my students all of the time): Opinions are like noses; we all have one, and we only get to pick our own. After that, it's a good idea to make sure that you have an informed opinion so that people can't blow you out of the water with facts that destroy your position (are you listening, politicians?). Another thing I tell my kids is: lack of knowledge is ignorance. Ignorance is OK...once. Willful ignorance is way past stupid. Avoid this. Whether you agree with facts or not, learn them so that when you take a stand, it is strong.

...and no one's attempts to lead this person to an understanding that allows enjoyment have worked. Next.

One of the cassettes I grew up listening to...

Neat link, good read. Never give up thinking. You're doing a pretty good job of using your brain. Having taught public school for 20+ years, it's always refreshing to come across a young person who is willing to consciously step outside of the box that their parents gave them (their box of beliefs may be fine, but it should be accepted on its own merits, not just because they felt that way). I am a doughnut.

Good job on the research. You now have the information about "Einstein on the Beach" to have an informed opinion. Whether anyone agrees or disagrees with you is immaterial because you are speaking from the standpoint of knowledge. Keep going...

Research the origins of the show music to discover the meaning behind the counting...and the poem...HINT: they're part of the show design and meaning. Since you cite your age and relative lack of experience with the activity, I suggest doing some historical watching/listening. Have fun.

I've been a band director for 22 years. Whenever a student comes up to me and say they want to be a band director, my reply is always, "What did you think about when you woke up this morning? If it was anything other than band, pick another career and keep music as a loving hobby. If it was band, you might be crazy enough to make it." Band directing is not a job, it's a lifestyle...one that--in order to achieve at the highest levels--can consume much of your life. The benefits of helping kids can be huge, but so can the costs, and the costs are getting higher as all teachers are asked to do more with less for fewer people who actually know what is happening or even care. When my son was 3, he was very confused on the weekends when I was home...he didn't understand because I was usually away (on average, something to do on 30 out of 36 school weekends). That lead me to rethink my priorities...but I still wake up thinking about band.