Repertoire Write Up

1. This year I found I developed mostly range wise, at the beginning of the year I struggled for a D then just a few weeks ago I hit the D an octave above that. I have really worked hard on bringing my dynamic levels to makes sure I am in the background when I need to be and bring the melodies out.
2. I struggle rhythmically, I often forget to count when I'm playing and only remember when I'm holding longer notes and when i have long breaks. I struggled through some of the Chillers and Thrillers parts in the Darth Vader section trying to get the dotted eighth sixteenths correctly. I also struggled trying to stop my lip from popping up and out of the embouchure, I have struggled for the last three weeks for that and I think I have control of it now.
3. My greatest musical highlight this year was Mariachi Band. It was a lot of fun playing in a smaller group. I enjoyed playing with my friends on a song that was fantastic and performing it days after first getting it was a bit of a thrill too if not a little scary. I also had a lot of fun playing at Zeller's with Aaron and Mr. Stevenon. Again it was a lot of fun to perform in a smaller group with a group of people that I feel very comfortable around.
4. I feel that the band is very strong when it comes to playing musically. Sometimes notes and rhythms are missed but I feel as a whole the band really sounds like music. I felt that this came through especially at National's where I thought we sight read very well and it really came together nicely even though it was our first time playing it. I feel sometimes that band struggles at commitment. Almost monthly people were getting in trouble for not practicing and when told what the band needed to do to get better 95% of the band members would say practice but then only maybe 20% actually would. I felt that this improved with the addition of the practice blogs but still not everyone was practicing on a regular basis. The most annoying part was listening to people complain at festivals about how we should have done better and how we deserved higher than we got when very few of them were prepared to do anything about it. I think over the past four years a mentality set in that some people obviously weren't going to practice so some of the people who would've practiced said why bother if the other people are going to. I always felt this way about the band from the beginning.

Practice Blog

Today I practiced for an hour and a half. I started with mouthpiece blowing fifths as quietly as possible. I then worked Schlossberg 11, 36, and 18. I can do all the keys for 36 but I need to work on C # and F#. For 18 I need to work on the higher range part. I then played through the exam stuff. I kept missing the D# in the chromatic starting on B but eventually worked through it. I then worked on the scale of a and thirds and have that down . I need to work in the rhythm study on tonguing all the sixteenth notes more clearly, i might need to slow it down a little to do it without double tongueing. I then played around a little on My Funny Valentine on Flugel just for kicks. I found that the one part where it jumps up to the E from the lower F came really easily. I then did Suite in F major by Lloyd Webber, the first movement. I need to work the rythm to get it right through the five four bar. I then played Rondo for Lifey. In that piece I need to work on the key change, I keep forgetting that its in C and keep playing B flats. I finished the night off with the Haydn concerto which was proabaly the best i played it this week, I worked really hard to hit all the trills and dynamics and it sounded really musical.

Practice Blog

Today i practiced an hour and a half. i again started with 2 minutes of mouthpiece blowing. I then did studies 11 and 36 from the Schlossberg book. I did Clarke 3. I then finished with the exam stuff still need articulation work on the rhythm study and G flat chrmoatic. I then finished with the first page of the Haydn.

Belated Practice

This practice blog is for Saturday, May 30th. I practiced for an hour and a half today. I started again with mouthpiece blowing, as quietly as I could and I can feel a difference from before it gets quieter faster and easier. I then did 11, 36 and 18 from the Schlossberg book. In number 18 i need to work on the higher range staying steady. I then played the exam material again. The chromatic scales im stil;l struggling on A flat and G flat. I have all of the stuff in the key of A mastered , scale , thirds and study. i need to work the articulation in the rythm study along with the tie of the quater note to the 16 th.

Belated Practice

This blog is for the date of Friday, May 29th. Today i started out with 20 minutes of mouthpiece blowing. I was doing intervals as quietly as i possibly could to build lip strength. I then did studies 11 and 36 from the Schlossberg book. I worked these quesitly as well, in 36 i need to work in C# major key as well as B major. I then did the exam stuff. I need to work on the chromatic starting on g flat, i also need to work on the articulations in both studies. I have both the scale and the scale in thirds down for A major.

Practice Blog

Today I practiced for an hour and thirty minutes. I worked on lip slurs for about twenty minutes then did lines 1 and 2 of study 14 from the Shlossberg book. I need to work line 2 more lyrically. I then did Clarke 3,4. Then lastly i did the Haydn Concerto. I got up to the part right before the high E flat, I feel I need to work the parts before more musically and lyrically

Practice Blog

Today i practiced for an hour. I did half an hour hour of low lip slurs to try and strengthen my lip while playing properly. I then did Clarke studies 4 and 2, I like to work on the lower register on number 4 to try and keep it quiet and still hold the pitch. I then did the 2nd study from the Charlier book, I always miss the rhythm at the begninnng of the second line i turn the 3 eigths into sixteenths. Followed by a little bit of the Haydn.