The em-Phasis is on the wrong syl-Lable

This one is all David Krehbiel, however, I have read the same from Ed Kleinhammer and Warren Deck teaches the same thing.

1234

The meter is very important.  One must treat, pick-ups, after-beats, and the meter with respect or the phrase sounds mispronounced.  As students we spend a ton of time making everything the same, when in fact it is rear for anything to be the same.

Kickstarter...but not mine.

Will White and I met at the Pierre Monteux School in the summer of 2009.  While in Maine, Will was the assistant conductor for the festival and lead us through, the Stravinsky Octet and Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man.  He was also a huge supporter of the the pig roast and meat eating projects throughout the summer.  He seemed to always be at parties with a glass of Wild Turkey.

Will is the one in glasses.

Currently, Will is doing is own Kickstarter campaign in an effort to record some of his music.  Will is a great musician and deserves to have his music recorded.  The campaign will raise money to pay for musicians and the recording engener.  Check out his website to get a taste of what he is about.

Will is the assistant conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony where his responsibilities include working with the youth orchestra.

Good luck, Jack.

Famous Again

The Aspen Music Festival and School has posted some concerts to InstantEncore.com.  They have posted several concerts from the past three years.  They have recitals from many incredible musicians, as well as top notch orchestral concerts.  If you have time check out the Festival Orchestra playing Mahler no. 5 or no. 2 from this past summer.

Trombone Section and Matthew Rhys

If you want to hear me play check out A Midsummers Night Dream or Firdbird.  The Mendelssohn is narrated by Matt Rhys, which adds to the piece.  Both concerts are with the Aspen Chamber Symphony and are worth a listen.

Frustration is Weakness Leaving the Brain

In an effort to increase my practice time without increasing time on the horn, I have started myself on a healthy regiment of sight-singing and rhythm study.  I have already noticed and increase in my musical thought process while practicing.  I encourage everyone to find ways to practice away from the horn.  This helps fix the problem, your brain, without wasting your face.

I am reviewing A New Approach to Sight Singing by Berkowitz, Fontrier, and Kaft, the text we used in my undergraduate sight singing course.  This time with some diference, fixed-do and persistance.  I have been using fixed-do to prepare my solo repertoire and excerpts for awhile, however the addition of scales and sight singing will hopefully help intonation and understanding of intervals.

For rhythm I am using Rhythmic Training, by Robert Starer.  This book was recommended by a clarinetist in my undergrad and utilized by Al Otte in my eurhythmics class at CCM.  Al would basically have us mark time and clap or count the rhythm on each page.  I, however, have been counting the rhythm and clapping the "dead" subdivision.  The physical manifestation of the subdivision is a great way to do it correctly, and makes cheating much more difficult.

Both of these can be incredibly frustrating.  But, I am fixing the problem and keeping my musical mind engaged for longer without wasting my face time.

Musical Creativity III

This one is stupid awesome.

When I was at Carolina, there was a music-ed trumpet major one year younger than me.  I never knew Tommy Miserendino really well, but he is up to some cool stuff.  As far as I know he is done with classical music and straight onto what he says sounds "like Jack Johnson with a whiskey edge."


Tom Dino's Nothing But Problems, is mellow in nature and lightly influenced by reggae.  The relationship to Jack Johnson and other college rock singers is apparent in the vocals and acoustic tracks.  The album is a great listen and I am sure I will have it on at the next party.  The lyrics are optimistic in nature but reflective at times and should appeal to twenty somethings.  Tommy plays guitar, trumpet, bass, and does the vocals on the album.  Check out his facebook page.  The album is on iTunes.

I hope Tommy keeps this up.  I cannot wait for the next one.  Seriously, check it out.

Travel: Part ?

I find myself in the Frankfurt airport more than slightly jet lagged, after a very short night of attempted sleep at 30,000+ feet.  I have another short flight before I get to Oslo, where I will be auditioning for the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.  Preparations have gone well since we received the required music less than three weeks ago.  This past week was filled with Trombone Choir and Brass Quintet more than preparing excerpts.  However, I was able to perform the required solo (the Lebedev) and play a few mock auditions.  If it were not for my exhausted state, I would be psyched for the audition.

Tomorrow (or today) is Liszt's birthday.  Liszt was an incredible pianist and changed the music world.  Miles Hauffman, of NRP, however, does not think he should be count among the great composers.

Thoughts?  I am to tired for outrage.

Found it!

Trombonists talk about sound quality, constantly.  Searching for the perfect sound is a life long process and sometimes a frustrating one.  We are luck to be in an age with great musicians and easy access to technology.  We can listen to Charley Vernon, Matt Guilford, Paul Pollard, Jim Markey, and practically any working trombonist in the world with a few clicks of the botton.  We can also listen to remarkable musicians of the last generation, people like Pavarotti and Sinatra, through CD.

However what happens when you want to listen to an artist who was active before CD's and the internet?  Usually a library will help, even if you have to listen on an LP.  But what happens when this artist is a little know bass trombonist, say the Talented Mr. Roberts?

Pretty much everyone of the bass trombonists listed above talk about Mr. Bass Trombone and sound quality.  You can scarcely read an ITA Journal without someone mentioning the famed bass trombonist. I remember my first lesson with Matt Guilford in 2005 when I was a sophomore at USC.  He mentioned George Roberts as one of his influences and I have been on a quest to find his CD for the last six years.

The wait was worth it.  Just look at how easily he produces a great sound.  You can order his "CD's"

 at worldsrecord.com.