Music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting.

The Weekender:
This weekend, my last weekend of freedom before BOA takes over my life for the next five weeks, was a concert weekend. I wanted to make sure that I was playing, but not playing too much. On Friday, Anna and I were able to go see Guys and Dolls with the ISO. The box office was unaware of our free tickets and thought it was a scam. We still got our free tickets; however, they weren't the greatest seats. It was still a phenomenal show! Saturday, I was able to attend both the Choral concert and the Jazz concert. Both were great. I was especially impressed by some of the new pieces that the Choirs were singing, including a Nocturne that featured a small percussion ensemble and a new Morton Lauridsen piece. The Jazz concert was also great. They played two charts that I had played with my jazz ensemble in high school. Sunday was the WE concert. I was worried about the concert because of the ensemble's lack of preparedness, but we all came to perform on Sunday. Music for Prague and Mosaico both went fairly well. I was especially nervous because this was the first time that my parents had heard the ensemble. Ok now to my practicing:

Friday
4:00 PM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 3
Shenandoah - 2
Flexis - 5
Scales - 5
Pottag - 5
Kopp - 5
Beethoven - 5
Fantasy - 5
Morceau - 15
Warm Down - 5

Saturday
12:00 PM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 3
Shenandoah - 2
Flexis - 5
Scales - 5
Alph - 5
Kopp - 5
Beethoven - 5
Fantasy - 10
Morceau - 10
Warm Down - 5

Sunday
8:00 PM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 3
Shenandoah - 2
Flexis - 5
Scales - 5
Pottag - 5
Kopp - 5
Beethoven - 5
Persichetti - 5
Harrison's Dream - 5
Morceau - 10
Warm Down - 5

Monday
9:00 PM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 3
Shenandoah - 2
Flexis - 5
Scales - 5
Pottag - 5
Kopp - 5
Beethoven - 5
Fantasy - 5
Morceau - 15
Warm Down - 5

Tuesday
4:15 PM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 3
Shenandoah - 2
Flexis - 5
Scales - 5
Alph - 5
Kopp - 5
Beethoven - 5
Polka and Fugue - 10
Morceau - 10
Warm Down - 5

9:10 PM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 3
Gabriel's Oboe - 2
Flexis - 5
Scales - 5
Pottag - 5
Kopp - 5
Beethoven - 10
Fantasy - 15
Warm Down - 5

While I did not get to practice that much over the weekend, it was enough to keep me warm and ready for the concert. Fantasy is going very well and the only thing I need to work on is getting the last section up to tempo. Morceau is also going well, but the phrasing in the 2nd and 3rd movements is not as developed as the first. I am very excited for tomorrow. I can't wait for my lesson, but more importantly the end of classes for the week.

Quote: Gottfried Leibniz

Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue.

Today was another great day. I really hope this continues as my practicing has become much more focused and efficient. Besides getting plenty of practice time in on both piano and horn, I also had a great day at work. My first days at work have included doing research and finding contact information for band parents. Well, after all of that info, I finally got to personally call the band parents. Getting to hear these people and their stories about band was great. Getting to share my love of music with them was fulfilling. It is also great to see that people appreciate my ideas. My boss, the Development Director is actually not a band person and is in awe of my knowledge of band. The common joke is that if you are passionate about band , you have "Had the Kool-Aid." She extended that for me that I "Formulated the Kool-Aid." While I was slightly embarrassed that I was being called the biggest band nerds of band nerds, I realized that this is what I love to do. After work, I found out that I won tickets to go see the ISO perform "Guys and Dolls." I correctly answered the trivia question and received free tickets! Anna and I are so excited to go!!! Ok on to the practicing:

9:00 AM
Breathe - 10
Buzz - 3
Air Attacks - 2
"Oh Shenandoah"
Flexies - 5
Scales - 5
Dynamics - 5
Alphonse - 5
Pottag - 5
Kopprasch - 5
Beethoven - 5

6:45 PM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 3
"Oh Shenandoah"
Flexies - 5
Scales - 5
Pottag - 5
Kopprasch - 5
Beethoven - 10
Morceau - 10
Fantasy - 5
WD - 5

10:30 PM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 2
"Gabriel's Oboe"
Flexies - 5
Scales - 5
Alphonse - 5
Kopprasch - 5
Beethoven - 5
Morceau - 10
WD - 5

Having three full practice sessions today felt great! Even Thursday being my busy day, I was still able to practice three full sessions. I have really attached myself to the Reynolds idea of playing something familiar before you do maintenance work. I played both "Oh Shenandoah" which is one of my favorite songs to play around with and sing. It has the opportunity to open up the range a bit and be very very expressive. "Gabriel's Oboe" has a beautiful melodic line that has stayed in my head for a number of years. I have been using my metrotune much much more in my practice sessions to both grade achievement on scales and check intonation on nearly everything. Unfortunately, I am not sure how much practice time I am going to be able to fit in tomorrow.

Quote: Plato

Which is more musical, a truck passing by a factory or a truck passing by a music school?

So I need to start by correcting my quote from yesterday. The quote was from Sir Thomas Carlyle, not Benjamin Britten.

Today was a great day. While I did not meet many of my goals set the other day, it is a step in the right direction. The great thing about today was that I was able to practice plenty of horn and plenty of piano. I was also able to read a lot of the Reynolds Horn Handbook, Froydis, and Doug Hill. I applied most of it in my evening practise session. (I like the European spelling of practise).

10/7/2008
8:00 AM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 5
LT - 5
Flexies - 5
Scales - 5
Alphonse - 5
Kopprasch - 5
Morceau - 5
Horn Fantasy - 5

4:00 PM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 3
air - 2
LT - 5
Flexies - 5
Scales - 5
Alphonse - 5
Mosaico - 5
Kopp - 5
Morceau - 10
Fantasy - 10
WD - 5

10/8/2008
11:00 AM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 3
Air - 2
LT - 3
Flexies - 5
Scales - 5
Pottag - 5
Morceau Intro - 2
Fantasy Intro - 3

Lesson
C-flat and C-sharp Major
F-sharp and C minor
Circle - Fun Inversions!
Orch Excerpt: Beethoven 6
Flexies: Morceau mm 69 in all keys
Pottag 68

1:00 PM
Mosaico - 10
Prague - 5
Las Vegas - 5
Pottag - 5

8:50 PM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 2
LT - 3
Familiar Tune: "A Mighty Fortress"
Dynamics + Tuning (Reynolds) - 5
Flexies - 5
Morceau 69 - 5
Scales - 5
Kopp Transposition - 5
Pottag - 5
McCoy - 5
Beethoven 6 - 10
Horn Fantasy - 10
Warm Down - 5

I was able to stay very focused on horn today and partly yesterday. I had a few personal issues, but I found that if I didn't think about them and did something else, I would be fine. I went to the Chamber Concert on Tuesday and I absolutely love the Brahms Trio. My lesson today went very well. My scales did not go as well as I had hoped because I wasn't using enough air. I felt I made some great improvements on the variations in Morceau. I also started an orchestral excerpt as well, which is very exciting. I'm finally putting my $100 Thompson Edition to good use. My evening session was very experimental. I read the entire Reynolds section on practising and applied his dynamics and tuning exercise and his idea to have the first thing you play be a familiar melody so that you establish musicianship right away. This seemed to work and I focused on having a beautiful sound constantly. I believe that is it for tonight and I will hopefully be writing tomorrow.

Quote: John Cage

Music is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine.

Some say that radical events take gradual change. While it may take gradual change, it does take one radical step to initiate the change. I want to take that step today. I want to make myself presentable, take care of myself, care about everything and not just one thing, do something I love, etc. Here it is in my blog, so I have to keep to it.
1. Update this thing daily
2. Wake up in the morning and practice
3. Make a schedule and keep it
4. Go to the HRC!
5. Eat healthy

Ok, organization is key. Organization is key. So you may be wondering why I did this. At my internship, the organization is very mission driven. I want to have my own mission, my own goals in life. I really think that this possible arts administration path is where I want to go and I want to be prepared for anything it throws to me. Ok back to horn business. My goal for this week is to update this thing every night. If I don't, someone please slap me. I had a rollercoaster of a week practice-wise so I will inform you of all. And off we go:

9/29/08

10:00 AM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 2
LT - 3
Flexies - 5
Scales/Circle - 5
Alphonse - 5

8:15 PM
Breathe - 10
Buzz - 2
Air Attacks - 3
LT - 5
Flexies - 5
Scales - 5
Circle - 5
Kopprasch - 5
Alphonse - 5
Morceau - 15
Fantasy - 5

9/30/2008
4:15 PM
Breathe - 10
Buzz - 2
Air Attacks - 3
Flexies - 5
Scales and Circle- 5
Kopprasch - 5
Alphonse - 5
Pottag - 5
Mosaico - 5
Morceau - 10
Fantasy - 10
Warm Down - 10

10/1/2008
10:00 AM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 2
Air Attacks - 3
LT - 5
Flexies - 5
Scales - 5
Circle - 5
Kopprasch - 5
Alphonse - 5
Morceau - 15
Fantasy - 5

Lesson:
Scales: F# Major
G and F# Minor
Major Minor Circle
Alphonse 9 and 10
Kopp in E flat

8:00 PM
Breathe - 15
Buzz - 2
Air Attacks - 3
LT - 5
Flexies - 5
Scales - 5
Circle - 5

10/2/2008
Day Off

A Break for explanation: Tuesday, I had one of the best practice sessions I have had. I did mock performances of most everything and played extremely well. I played for a while so I warmed down plenty. Wednesday, I did not feel too well at all. I felt pretty poor during my lesson, but was feeling a bit better by the end. In my evening session, I was not feeling well and felt I was doing more harm than good. I decided to rest up, consume plenty of Vitamin C and take a day off. And now to finish off the week:

10/3/2008
10:00 AM
Breathe - 10
Buzz - 2
Air Attacks - 3
LT - 5
Flexies - 5
Scales - 5
Circle - 5
Kopprasch - 5
Alphonse - 5
Morceau - 15
Fantasy - 5
WD - 5

10/4/2008
12:00 PM
Breathe - 10
Buzz - 2
Air Attacks - 3
LT - 5
Flexies - 5
Scales - 5
Circle - 5
Kopprasch - 5
Alphonse - 5
Morceau - 15
Fantasy - 5
Prague - 5
Mosaico - 10
WD - 5

10/5/2008
9:30 AM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 2
Air Attacks - 3
LT - 5
Flexies - 5
Scales - 5
Circle - 5
Kopprasch - 5
Alphonse - 5
Morceau - 10
Fantasy - 10
Mosaico - 10
WD - 5

10/6/2008
7:10 PM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 2
LT - 3
Flexies - 5
Scales and Circle - 5
Alph - 5
Pottag - 5
Upper Range - 5
Polka and Fugue - 5
Morceau - 5
Fantasy - 5
WD - 5

I was feeling much better by Friday and I felt that my playing was back to where it was Monday and Tuesday by Saturday. My only concern is to have a purpose and be proactive about organization. iCal is my friend. I also began to work on my upper range. My biggest issue in my upper range is my chin and pushing too much. I ordered a hand support strap so that I will be able to tell easier when I am pushing. Well in order to keep with my resolutions at the beginning of this blog, I need to get to work on my Chamber Music paper.

Quote: Benjamin Britten

If music is the food of love, play on.

I found this quote on my Chipotle cup tonight and found it fitting. BTW, for those of you astounded that I still have not had Qdoba, I still haven't, but definitely will once I make a trip back up to Broad Ripple. So since my last post, I officially am an intern for Bands of America / Music For All. My first official day is tomorrow! I am very excited. I worked the Sound Check at Lucas Oil yesterday and had a blast. I worked both the event level and the pressbox for the event. I was able to practice plenty but keep forgetting to post online. Here it goes:

9/23/2008
7:40 AM
Breathe - 10
WU - 15
Scales - 10
Articulation - 10
Horn Fantasy - 15

9:20 PM
Breathe - 10
WU - 10
Scales - 10
Articulation - 5
Kopp - 5
Morceau- 10

9/24/2008
9:35 AM
Breathe - 10
WU - 10
Scales - 5
Articulation - 5
Pottag- 5
Alph - 5
Fantasy - 15
Morceau- 10
WD - 5

Lesson:
Scales: B Major, Gb Major
G Minor, B Minor - w/ Art and Arpegg
Circle: Minor (Major Minor)
Kopp: 9 in Re, 13
Accents: "The Butler Way"
Alph 4

1:00 PM
Accents - 15
Prague - 10
Fantasy - 15

9/25/2008
8:00 AM
Breathe - 10
WU - 10
Scales - 10
Articulation - 5
Kopp - 5
Morceau- 10

9:35 PM
Breathe - 10
WU - 10
Scales - 10
Accents - 10
Alph - 10
Pottag - 5
Kopp - 5
Morceau- 10
Fantasy - 10
(I was feeling very god during this practice session)

9/26/2008
7:50 AM
Breathe - 10
WU - 10
Scales - 10
Accents - 5
Alph - 10
Morceau- 15

9/27/2008
8:00 AM
Breathe - 10
WU - 10
Scales - 10
Accents - 5
Pottag - 5
Fantasy- 10

9/28/2008
1:00 PM
Breathe - 10
WU - 10
Scales - 10
Accents - 5
Kopp - 5
Alph - 10
Morceau- 10
Fantasy - 15

8:00 PM
Breathe - 10
WU - 10
Scales - 10
Prague - 10
Mosaico - 15
Fantasy - 10

I had a wonderful practice session on Wednesday that I was able to practice for the longest that I have been physically able to. I probably should have warmed down a bit more after that one though. I also had the issue, like the rest of the Freshman Horn Awesomeness, of Anna interrupting and causing the loss of focus. It is comic relief and that practice time could be for the worse, but it did get a bit annoying. I have attempted to keep absolute focus during my practice sessions, but I can only have fairly short sessions if I keep very focused; however, I seem to improve much more in those short focused practice sessions. I was very glad that I worked on Prague and Mosaico today. DeRousha lit a fire under many to bring up the work ethic, so I practiced these just to make sure I was confident. I was actually sight reading Mosaico when DeRousha was gave us the speech, so I was very scared. I am excited to begin my internship tomorrow and have Freshman Horn Awesomeness!

PS: New POLL!!!! Please Vote!
Quote: William Shakespeare - Twelfth Night

It is cruel, you know, that music should be so beautiful.

So college has begun to kick in and I have lost much time. One of the first things to go in that case was my blog. I still keep a paper journal, but I want to keep up the blog for all to see. I am finally setting in to the college practice life and seem to have a decent schedule with my practice sessions. Without further adieu, here is my practice schedule for the many days.

9/16/2008
7:45 AM
Warm up: Breathe, Buzz, LT, Slur - 10 min
Scales - 5
Kopprasch - 5
Pottag - 5
Morceau - 15
Fantasy - 20
WD - 5

2:30 PM
Warm Up - 10
Scales - 5
Pottag - 5
Alphonse - 5
Morceau - 10
Fantasy - 10
WD - 5

9/17/2008
8:00 AM
Warm Up - 15
Scales - 10
Pottag - 5
Morceau - 10
Fantasy - 5
WD - 5

Lesson:
D-Flat Major Scale w/ Arpeggios and articulations
B Minor - thirds, trips, articulation
Circle of 5ths in Major Triads (I'll try minor as well)
Find Morceau recordings

1:00 PM
Morceau - 10
Scales - 15
Pottag - 10
Alphonse - 10
Warm Down - 5

9/18/2008
8:00 AM
Warm Up - 15
Scales - 10
Kopp - 5
Morceau - 10
Fantasy - 5
WD - 5

7:30 PM
Warm Up - 10
Scales - 5
Pottag - 5
Alphonse - 5
Morceau - 10
Fantasy - 10
WD - 5

9/19/2008
7:40 AM
Warm Up - 15
Scales - 15
Pottag - 5
Kopp - 5
Morceau - 10
Fantasy - 10
WD - 5

12:00 PM
Lesson

9/20/2008
Random MP Buzzing throughout the day

9/21/2008 Concert and Rehearsal

9/22/2008
8:00 AM
Warm Up - 10
Scales - 5
Pottag - 5
Alphonse - 5
Morceau - 10
Fantasy - 10
WD - 5

2:30 PM
Warm Up - 10
Scales - 10
Pottag - 5
Kopp - 5
Morceau - 10
Fantasy - 5
WD - 5

Wow, tons of practicing (not really). I have really been finding improvement from day to day in my practicing and playing. I attempt to inform myself of those accomplishments as well. in my second lesson, DL and I talked alot about my breathing and articulation. We worked on keeping steady, big air even while playing soft. We also discovered my articulation issue with not using the very tip of my tongue at the tip of my teeth. However, I had an epiphany at the end of the rehearsal when I used strong, constant air and the new articulation worked well! I immediately worked on that in my scales. It was difficult to apply it to my music during Wind Ensemble though. Like an embouchure change, I need to take this slowly and steadily. I am excited to keep working on this so I can become the best performer and player I can be.

Quote: Benjamin Britten

PS! On Saturday, I went home to volunteer for Bands of America. My work resulted in an internship at BOA headquarters. I am very excited as music advocacy is one of my fortes!

"When words leave off, music begins."

So I haven't posted in long long time, so I better get straight to it.
9/11/2008
7:50 AM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 2
LT - 3
Slur - 5
Scales w/ Art - 10
Pottag - 5
Kopp - 5
Morceau - 10
Warm Down - 5

5:55 PM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 2
LT - 3
Slur - 3
Scale - 5
Pottag - 5
Kopp - 5
Alphonse - 5
Morceau - 12
Fantasy - 10
WD - 5

9/12/2008
8:00 AM
Breathe - 2
Buzz - 3
LT - 2
Slur - 3
Kopp - 5
Pottag - 5
Morceau - 10
Fantasy - 10
WD - 5

9/13/2008
4:00 PM
Buzz Warm up - 5
Solfege Morceau - 10
Buzz Morceau - 10

9/14/2008
12:50 PM
Breathe - 5
Buzz - 5
LT - 5
Slurs - 5
Scales - 5
Kopp - 5
Pottag - 5
Alph - 5
Fantasy - 10
Morceau - 10
WD - 5

9/15/2008
8:50 AM
Breathe - 2
Buzz - 2
LT - 3
Slurs - 3
Scales - 5
Pottag - 5
Alph - 5
Fantasy - 10
Morceau - 10
WD - 5

12:40 PM
Breathe - 2
Buzz - 2
LT - 3
Slur - 3
Scales - 5
Kopp - 5
Pottag - 5
Alph - 5
Fant - 15
Morc - 15
WD - 5

6:45PM
Buzz - 2
LT - 2
Slur - 3
Scales - 3
Pottag - 5
Alph - 5
Fantasy - 15
Morceau - 20
WD - 5

Phew that was a lot to write. I felt very confident about most of these practice sessions. The main thing I have been noticing is that the Lawson that I am playing on seems to be giving me a mroe thin sound that I really am not too much a fan of. Perhaps the more bowled shape would be better for me. Moosewood has a hybrid between the conical and the bowled, so that may be a fit for me. I also found out that Giardinelli discontinued their C8 and C12 models so I am very unhappy about that. Hopefully I will find a mouthpiece that fits. I really hope that we actually get to my solos during my lesson so that I can get some guidance on them.
Quote: Heinrich Heine

There are some experiences in life which should not be demanded twice from any man, and one of them is listening to the Brahms Requiem

I actually fancy the Brahms Requiem, but I can understand this writer's qualm. Today was so so, but my playing was great. I was really looking forward to my lesson today and it ended up being fabulous; however, my practice session after my lesson was interrupted abruptly by my lunch not agreeing with me. By evening, I had semi-recovered and got back to practicing.

8:00 AM
Breathe - 3 min
Buzz - 2 min
LT - 2 min
Slurs - 3 min
Scales - 5 min
Pottag - 5 min
Fantasy - 10 min
Morceau - 15 min
Warm Down - 5

11:15 AM
Breathe - 5 min
Buzz - 2 min
LT - 3 min
Slurs - 5 min
Scales - 5 min

Lesson

1:00 PM
Articulation/Scales - 10 min
Alphonse - 5 min

and Lunch returns with a vengence

7:40 PM
LT - 2 min
Slurs - 3 min
Scales/Articulation - 10 min
Alphonse - 5 min
Pottag - 5 min
Kopp - 5 min
Morceau - 10 min
Fantasy - 15 min
WD - 5 min

Lesson Stuff:
My lesson went pretty well. We worked mostly on scales and Pottag. I am trying a new mouthpiece this week - a Lawson (ooo). It has a larger throat and bore than the C15 I was using. So far it is working great. the inside of the rim seems a bit to sharp for me. Assignments for this week:
Scales - E major, D Minor
Articulation/Scales - Art. excercises on major scales up to 4 sharps/flats / some minors
Arpeggios!
McCoy - Sightread
Alphonse - Through 7
Pottag - 43-44
Kopp 1 - Mib, Sol
Kopp 9 - Mib, Re

My practice sessions seemed very productive today. I am really liking the Lawson mouthpiece, but we will see where it is after a week, we my have to even go deeper to an C8! Morceau and Fantasy are improving very well. My final run of Fantasy in the evening was really good. I couldn't find a recording of the Fantasy there, I'll have to look at the library or on Naxos.

Quote: George Bernard Shaw

My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary

What a busy day! Nothing much beyond the regular classes occurred today. Horn studio was fabulous. Egmont is amazing and props to Adam for the wonderful arrangement of the Carol. Today, I had my first "late night" practice session. Adam was also there, so we chatted for a while during and afterwards - it kept me awake! I also finally joined MENC and IHS, so I have been reading a lot of articles and such, especially Froydis'. Froydis has become my new hero and I really would like to study with her at a music camp or something.
7:50 AM
Breathing - 5 min
Buzz - 5 min
LT - 2 min
Slurs - 3 min
Scales - 5 min
Kopprasch - 5 min
Pottag - 5 min
Morceau - 15 min
Fantasy - 10 min
Warm Down - 5 min

10:15 PM
Breath - 5 min
LT - 2 min
Slurs - 3 min
Scales - 5 min
Pottag - 2 min
Kopprasch - 3 min
Alphonse - 5 min
(I heard a horn, so I took a break to talk to Adam)
Fantasy - 10 min
Morceau - 10 min
Warm Down - 5 min

Total Practice Time: 1 hr 55 min

So I almost got to two hours on my busyiest day that also includes a piano lesson and practicing. My morning session was still difficult to get through with the troubles I was having. The evening session was great! While my tone was not the greatest, I felt that I accomplished a lot running my etudes and solos and then working on certain specifics. I am very excited for a lesson tomorrow!

Quote: Martin Luther

I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland.

Today was a busier day than expected for me. I only have two classes plus band on MWF, but I also had tons of homework and laundry to do. I ended on a pretty poor note on Sunday, having a not so great rehearsal, but I remained optimistic. We also had our very first "Freshman Horn Awesomeness" today. In the first order of business, we decided that we will have some horn quartet awesomeness, culminating with of course, the Konzertstuck. The second order of business was breathing of course. We did some great breathing excercises that I immediately incorporated into my practice sessions. I discovered that after only three tries on the breath thing, I hit 700! However, good ole Wendell Rider once again informed me that it is not the capacity, but the percentage. Ok, on to the practice sessions:

8:00 AM
Buzzing - 2 min
Long Tones - 2 min
Slurs - 2 min
Articulations - 3 min
Scales - 5 min
Kopprasch - 5 min
Pottag - 5 min
Morceau - 12 min
Fantasy - 10 min
Warm Down - 3 min

12:15 PM
Buzzing - 2 min
Long Tones - 2 min
Slur - 3 min
Scales - 3 min
Kopprasch - 5 min
Pottag - 5 min
Alphonse - 5 min
Morceau - 15 min - included solfege-ing parts of it
Fantasy 15 min
Sight Read - 10 min
Warm Down - 5 min

7:00 PM
Breathing - 10 min
LT - 2 min
Slurs - 3 min
Scales - 5 min
Pottag - 5 min
Alphonse - 5 min
Morceau - 15 min
Fantasy - 10 min
Warm Down - 5 min

Total Practice Time: 3 hours!!!!!!

I finally made it to 3 hours on a school day!

My morning session was very similar to my Sunday evening. My lips didn't seem to want to work and I had a sore of the tip of my tongue. During my midday session, things started to get a little better and by the evening session, I felt pretty good. I didn't sound as good as I did on Friday, but I was back. After the Freshman Horn Awesomeness, I am definitely ready for a lesson to further my understanding of the pieces I am working on. I sure hope the sore on my tongue goes away and my tone is back to where it was on Friday!

I almost forgot!
Quote: Woody Allen

My music is best understood by children and animals.

This weekend was incredibly busy for me, starting with Friday.  I was only able to practice for 70 minutes; however, I also had Wind Ensemble.  After Wind Ensemble, I left for Greenfield to be band babysitter for the evening.  We took the kids to see the band documentary "From the 50 Yardline."  If you have not seen this movie, I suggest you do (It has just been released on DVD) not only because I am in it, but because it is very inspirational.  The kids loved it and asked me many questions afterwards in the Q&A session.  I also gave autographs after the screening as well. :)  

I stayed in Greenfield that evening because we had our first competition on Saturday near Louisville.  I did bring my mouthpiece along so that I could buzz some of my music.  The highlights of Saturday were the amazing run before we left for Corydon, the phenomenal lunch that the boosters prepared, the awesome performance at the Corydon competition, the director's hospitality room and judge's critique.  They served a full meal at the hospitality room!  And it was good!  Critique was also a great experience of the teaching and critiquing process.

After staying the night in Corydon, I arrived back on campus Sunday, today.  I was able to fit in two practice sessions.  Here are the practice logs from Friday-Today.

9/5/2008   7:40 AM

Buzzing - 5 min

Long Tones - 5 min

Slurs - 5 min

Articulation - 5 min

Scales - 2 min - "Performance"

Kopprasch - 3 min - Just #9

Pottag - 2 min - "Performance"

Morceau - 30 min

Fantasy - 10 min

Warm Down - 3 min

9/7/2008   3:30 PM

Buzzing - 5 min

Long Tones - 2 min

Slurs - 3 min

Articulation - 5 min

Scales - 5 min

Kopprasch - 5 min

Pottag - 5 min

Alphonse - 5 min

Morceau - 15 min

Fantasy - 15 min

Warm Down - 5 min

7:15 PM

Buzzing - 5 min

Long Tones - 5 min

Slur - 3 min

Articulation - 2 min

Scales - 5 min

Pottag - 5 min

Alphonse - 5 min

Fantasy - 10 min

Morceau  - 5 min

Warm Down- 5 min

Total time Sunday: 2 hours

Friday was a very productive practice.  I broke down Morceau and took it at a slow tempo to get the triplet variation and the sixteenth variation.  I also broke down the Adagio section and the final section.  I also did performance runs of my scales and Pottag.  Both sounded very good and prepared.

My first Sunday session felt very good as well.  It was nice to have a break and the lips enjoyed it.  I had to pay special attention to my chin and make sure it wasn't curling up.  I also broke down parts of Fantasy and prepared all four Alphonse exercises.  

I would not be able to say the same thing about my second session.  I felt recovered from the first session and decided to play.  When I warmed up, I sounded great; however, after playing through a few things, my lips became very fatigued.  I ran through everything to make sure that I did not lose the fingers and muscle memory.  I then warmed down extensively to make sure that I would not injure my lips.  I need to be very careful in these first few weeks in taking care of my lips.  Otherwise, I felt that I did not lose too much from the loss of practice on Saturday.  Many of the etudes are ready for my lesson and others are getting close.  Since the solos are new, I am still breaking them down and learning them.  I look forward to getting back on schedule and hopefully my lips will recover.

Quote:  Igor Stravinsky - Yay atonal music!

An intellectual snob is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture and not think of The Lone Ranger.

My Tuesdays and Thursdays are quite busy and today was especially busy. I was actually able to wake up on time and get plenty of practice in before class. I officially started my job working in the Education Department at Clowes Hall. Besides doing the regular deskwork, I will also aid in the planning of educational projects through Clowes. The programs for both little kids and educational advancement are planned and governed in large part through the Kennedy Center. It seems like it will be a great fit for my music education and arts advocacy interests. Along with classes, convocation, and Clowes, (yay alliteration) I also taught at Greenfield. They have their very first competition(s) this weekend in the Louisville area and I am very excited. I will have to bring my mouthpiece along since I won't be able to practice. Perhaps on the way, I can solfege my etudes and solos! And perhaps not. So to the practicing:

7:40 AM
Buzzing - 5 min
Long tones - 5 min
Slurs - 5 min
Articulation - 5 min
Scales - 5 min
Kopprasch - 10 min
Pottag - 5 min
McCoy Sightreading - 5 min
Morceau - 10 min
Fantasy - 10 min
Warm Down - 5 min

7:25 PM
Buzzing - 5 min
Long tones - 5 min
Slurs - 5 min
Scales - 10 min
Kopprasch - 5 min
Pottag - 5 min
Alphonse - 10 min
Morceau - 15 min
Fantasy - 10 min
Music for Prague - 5 min
Warm Down - 5 min

Total Practice Time - 2 hours 30 min

I did not reach my goal of three hours, but I think this is about as much practicing that I will be able to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I found my McCoy's Low Horn Book today and used it for sight reading until Dr. Lewis assigns some exercises. I read through both of my solos during the first session and then broke down Morceau a bit in my second. I am pretty familiar with Morceau listening-wise, but not too familiar with the Horn Fantasy. I still need to find a recording of it. I am surprised at the results that I am still getting from the mouthpiece trial. I thought my high range would suffer; however, range was no more and issue than it was with the other mouthpiece (But it is still a big issue). My endurance was not affected too much, as I was able to play the high C's in Music for Prague at the end of my practice session. This may also be due to me playing much more than normal and building endurance by practice sessions. I have been watching my chin as much as possible and am trying to find small improvements each day to keep the progress going. Both of my sessions were pretty long, but I did not seem too fatigued and I made sure to play plenty of low range during my warm down to get the blood flowing in my lips.

Quote: CBS Anchor Dan Rather

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.

One of my former teachers posted a quote on her door every week.  I will continue this tradition with my practice journal.  Any guesses as to who said this?  I'll post it at the bottom of each post.  

Today was my first day of a regimented schedule with my handy dandy practice journal.  Because I was up so late last night creating this blog and finishing homework, I woke up a bit later than I anticipated.  My alarm clock on my phone was set to 9:15 for the weekend and consequently went off during my theory class.  The whole class received an interlude of "Harmonic Journey" - Phantom Regiment 2003 as my alarm ringtone (Yes, I have a slight obsession).  Needless to say, I woke up a bit late and was still able to practice for a little in the morning.

8:20 AM

Mouthpiece buzzing - 2 minutes

Lip slurs - 3 minutes

Long tones - 5 minutes

Articulation(legato and staccato tonguing in Real World) - 5 minutes

Intermezzo - 15 minutes

Warm Down - 5 minutes

11:35 AM - Mouthpiece buzzing and warm up for lesson

11:45 AM - Lesson

There was barely any playing due to the need for planning and organization.

Long story short: My assignments...

Scales: Eb M 2 octaves + various patterns

      A m 2 octaves + patterns

      E m 2 octaves + patterns

Etudes:

Kopprasch  - #1 in Do, Mib, and Sol

#9 in Do

Alphonse - Review 1-4 of Bk. 1

Pottag #67

Solo:

"Morceau de Concert" Saint Saens

"Fantasy for Horn" Sir Malcolm Arnold

Other Notes:

Chin (Practice in Mirror) - My chin likes to roll up rather than stay flexed.  I have tried countless times to fix it, but by the time I about had it, I switched back to a teacher that didn't focus on it.

We also discussed mouthpieces.  The mouthpiece I have been playing on is quite shallow and narrow and the rim is extremely wide.  The wide rim explains why I had to work so hard on lip slurs!  I have been trying out the Giardinelli 15 and really enjoy it so far.

12:50 PM

Already warmed up 

Kopprasch 1 - 10 minutes

Kopprasch 9 - 5 minutes

Scales - 5 mintues

Pottag 67 - 10 mintues

Alphonse 1-4 - 20 minutes

Kopprasch 9(again) - 5 minutes

Warm down - 5 minutes

7:30 PM

Buzzing - 5 minutes

Long tones - 5 minutes

Lip slurs - 5 minutes

Articulation - 5 minutes

Scales - 5 minutes

Kopprasch 1&9 - 5 minutes

Pottag 67 - 5 minutes

Alphonse 1-4 - 10 minutes

Overture for Band - 5 minutes

Original Suite - 5 minutes

Intermezzo - 5 minutes

Warm down - 5 minutes

Total practice time: 2 hours 40 minutes

My practice time was a bit under my goal; however, I also played a little during my lesson and had Wind Ensemble.  For my last two practice sessions and Wind Ensemble, I used the Giardinelli 15.  I really felt great playing on that mouthpiece.  some of that is the "new mouthpiece effect," but I was able to glide through partials easier and the high range didn't seem that much more difficult.  I will most likely start using my Holton MDC once I have to return the Giardinelli.  I felt that my practicing today went very well.  I get very excited about organization for some reason, so this regimented practicing worked out for me.  The Rider book was a great start for the articulation.  During the Intermezzo, I was having some issues with upper lip slurs and bumps in all of my lip slurs that seemed to be alleviated by the new mouthpiece; however, I will still work on mastering those slurs.  The etudes seem to cover all aspects of my technique and during a rep of each, I try to focus solely on my chin.  If I pay attention to it, it stays flexed.  Hopefully, I will soon be able to create some muscle memory and open up my upper register.  I made copies of my solos tonight so that I can begin to work on those tomorrow!

Quote of the Day: Aldous Huxley, dystopian science fiction author who wrote Brave New World.

The First

First of all, thank you Adam for this wonderful idea of horn-blogging.  Second, thank you Phil Farkas for the inspiration of the title of this blog, "The Art of Horn Blogging."  Henceforth,  I will be posting my comments, concerns, and all information deemed necessary that have any association with the Butler University Horn Studio and specifically my practicing/performing/music educating.  

It has now been over a week since I first officially called Butler my "home."  My official residence is Ross Hall, but Lilly seems to be my primary residence.  So far I have been able to keep up with the 3-hour per day practicing routine, but it is merely the fourth full day of classes.  I have luckily been able to catch up on my lack of 3-hour practicing over the summer.

My first block of practicing on school days has been from around 7:45 AM until 8:55 AM.  This is what I hope to block as my most intensive warm-up and technique building session.  In my past practice sessions, I have done my mixture of Dr. Chenoweth's "play anything" warm up and Dr. Carr's "strictly regimented" warm up.  I started out with the standard 135b78 lip slurs to warm up the lips.  My plan for this block in the future is extensive mouthpiece buzzing, long tones, and lip slurs.  I have also been working during this block on articulation.  I find that my biggest weakness in playing is my articulation.  The Wendell Rider book has seemed to work well with this and I plan on using it extensively to build my articulation.

This week  I prepared the audition music and the Gliere piece "Intermezzo."   I felt that I did not prepare enough before getting to Butler to sufficiently audition for the orchestra.  I was playing the music pretty well; however, nerves took over my playing.  I prepared the Gliere in the Spring/Summer for my Senior Recital.  I spent most of my time after auditions bringing this piece back to the quality I prepared it in May.  I also read some of the etudes that I had played in the past to see how well I had remembered them.  I look forward to starting new etudes tomorrow!

Well, this is all for now, but from now on, I will hopefully post on every day's practice progressions.

SethW