My Trombone Diary

So remember that time I promised to be good about updates?

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 19:24:07 -0400

That was literally the last thing I typed in my last post. On January 30th. And now it’s March 24th.

Oops.

So things that have happened since the opera - let me get you up to speed.

First off, the opera was awesome. Doris Lang Kosloff is an AMAZING person to work with. Her conducting was spot on and the opera went off without a hitch. We all had a fantastic time, and I actually miss it.

Wind Ensemble has been wonderful. It’s so much better than Symphony Band I can hardly contain my joy. Our concert this semester was challenging. Sinfonietta by Ingolf Dahl was by far the most challenging. It really tested my playing abilities, and I am certainly a better trombonist for having played it. Plus, playing with my TA and the grad bass trombonist helped because they gave feedback on my playing during rehearsals. The Hindemith was also challenging but more stylistically than technically. The Abe marimba rhapsody was UNBELIEVABLY fun and it’s such a cool piece, and Black Dog, the clarinet rhapsody, was also fun, though certainly the cheesiest piece I’ve played in a while.

COLLAGE CONCERT WAS AWESOME. I played 1st on a lot of stuff. We did a scene from the opera, a scene from Miss Saigon (it was very emotional, as we had lost Kevin Gray earlier that week…), a scene from Follies, some Gershwin ballet, and a massive arrangement of Hey Jude. Among other things, the concert also featured Maestro Cumming dressed as Abe Lincoln, a sax arrangement of the Toccata from Toccata and Fugue, my friend Adam’s AWESOME band Forward Motion, and my TA’s performance of the Rabe piece, “Basta,” which left everyone speechless.

I’ve been assigned to play in Hartt’s productions of The Drowsy Chaperone and Big River. DC is kicking my butt, and we haven’t had a Big River rehearsal yet, but I’m looking forward to it. I’m definitely becoming a better player as I work through all the tricky stuff in DC. It’s cheesy and fun but definitely technically difficult in some spots.

I’ve been taking a conducting class and it’s the greatest thing EVER and I’m going to TRY to take score reading class next semester if I can find a different section of financial accounting to take. BUT OH MAN I THINK I’LL GET TO TAKE HISTORY OF MUSIC THEATRE NEXT SEMESTER TOO AND I’M SO EXCITED.

I’ve switched mouthpieces! I have FINALLY graduated from my Bach 6 1/2 AL to a Denis Wick 4 1/2 AL, gold plated. The difference is like night and day, and I’m SO excited. Next equipment change may end up being my rotor cap. I play on a Conn 88HCL and I’ve had the heavier rotor cap that it comes with on since high school. Never occurred to me that it would cut down on my resonance. Derp. So I’m experimenting with using the lighter one again. So far, seems like it may be a good switch to make, but I definitely want to get some input from Matt and Rojak before I make it a permanent switch. Not that I can’t change them easily anyway…

On Tuesday, I’m visiting the new school that my old band director teaches at. I’m going to observe his band class and then give a mini master class to his middle schoolers. I’ll probably play some Rochut to keep it light and fun, and I’m thinking of pulling out the first movement of the Larsson Concertino to show them some of the cooler qualities of the trombone and how awesome solos can be.

I’ve been practicing like crazy because I’m home on break. Tomorrow I’ll be the only one home, so I will likely practice even more than usual.

Current etudes: Tyrell 19 and Rochut 19, 20. Still working the Arban’s, number 19 on page 21, number 20 on page 22, numbers 9 and 10 on page 31, number 25 on page 37, and number 26 on page 38. Plus that triple and double tonguing stuff in the back that Rojak must have forgotten he gave me…haha

But for real, I’ll be better about updates. I REALLY promise this time.

OH GOSH SO FAR BEHIND ON UPDATES

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:59:00 -0500

Jan 24th: I had opera and wind ensemble rehearsals again. This was too far back for me to remember too many details about. But they went well and we got lots more done with the opera. It has some really nice moments.

Jan 25th: I was done with class at 2:30. I really don’t remember what I did for the rest of the day to be honest. I probably practiced at some point…

Jan 26th: Hartt Audition Day! Trombone Ensemble is playing at the audition days this year. We played an arrangement of How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place from Brahms’ German Requiem, an antiphonal piece called Echo Song, and a jazzy, fun, very commercial arrangement of Take Me Out To The Ballgame. Overall it was a huge success. Everyone enjoyed it. Then Becky and I went on an adventure to pick up car parts that Evan bought on craigslist. We drove 45 minutes. Becky and I got Subway. Then we drove back. Then I have opera rehearsal from 3-6 and 7-10. And it sucked. And I don’t mean the rehearsal itself sucked, it was just SO long. It was our first time with the singers so we had to hash out a lot of stuff and remark things. It was a long process.

Jan 27th: I skipped a day of practicing and went to Boston with Evan and Ben to see a Reel Big Fish concert. I met some of their friends from home and generally had a totally awesome time. Reel Big Fish puts on quite the show.

Jan 28th: I was supposed to have a dress rehearsal for the opera but the university closed at 2:00 due to a snow storm so I went home and did pretty much nothing all day. Not even practice. Bad Hayley.

Jan 29th: I was SUPPOSED to see Tegan and Sara in NYC but they rescheduled because Sara was sick. Looking on the bright side, I got to go to my rehearsals. Wind ensemble rehearsal was alright, but it wasn’t my best rehearsal. It was a slightly off day. We had opera dress rehearsal, which I guess it was good I got to go to since Monday’s was cancelled. The show actually went surprisingly well. We didn’t have to stop and restart at all, and for the MOST part the pit sounded good. Much better than it had previously, anyway.

Jan 30th: Today I practiced 10:30-11:20 between classes and now I’m sitting in a practice room again. It’s 4:00 and I don’t have class till 5:00. I already practiced a little before I sat down to write this. I’m at the beginning of my Arban’s book because Rojak told me to go back and honestly it’s the best thing I could be spending time on right now. For real. Paying close, close attention to the quality of each and every note. Also, he’s got me trying to even out my double tonguing even MORE by playing all of those exercises on just the “ku” of the “tu-ku” articulation set. Also, I’m working on Rochut 16-18 and Tyrell 16 and 17. Tyrell 17 is hard, man…but tomorrow is opening night for the opera so I need to keep practicing and be in top shape! I’ll be better about these updates doing forward. Promise!

Update for 1/23

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 23:01:56 -0500

Yesterday, I had my first rehearsals for the opera and wind ensemble. We didn’t accomplish a whole lot with the opera, but I definitely really like the overture. Wind ensemble rehearsal was SOOOOO much better than any symphony band rehearsal I’ve ever been in, and the pieces are way more fun.

Today, I didn’t have any rehearsals, but after class I practiced for a solid hour at least, maybe closer to an hour and a half.

Tomorrow, I have opera and wind ensemble rehearsal again.

Ok, here's the final IPO update

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:47:43 -0500

Ok, so no symphony band and, as it turns out, no musical for me.

Matt thought I was going to be first chair in symphony band, but apparently I skipped that ensemble entirely and am now an official member of wind ensemble. Which is AWESOME because Glen Adsit is one of my favorite people at this school and I love his conducting.

I was assigned to the musical, but the musical director contacted Glen Adsit and told him there’s not actually a trombone part in On The Twentieth Century. So clearly I’m not a part of that.

I AM in the opera, I AM in wind ensemble, and I WILL BE in orchestra for the 1812 Overture later this semester.

Lied. No symphony band for me. Which I’m actually super stoked about because now I don’t...

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:28:34 -0500

Lied. No symphony band for me. Which I’m actually super stoked about because now I don’t have to put up with the conductor who I’m convinced absolutely hates me and doubts my abilities as a musician.

WIND ENSEMBLE

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 10:09:34 -0500

Also playing in wind ensemble. This semester could not get any better.

First chair symphony band
Principal trombone in the opera
Only trombone in the musical
Wind ensemble
Parts in orchestra

Everything is kick ass and nothing hurts.

IT GETS EVEN BETTER!!!

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 22:40:39 -0500

I JUST GOT AN EMAIL THAT I’M ASSIGNED THE ONLY TROMBONE SPOT FOR THE MUSICAL “ON THE 20TH CENTURY” THIS SEMESTER YESSSSSSS

IT PAID OFF!!!

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 21:12:05 -0500

That’s right! Guess who made first chair in symphony band, and also gets to play with the orchestra?! :D

I’ll get to play a lot of big, awesome parts in symphony band, according to my TA, and as of right now I’m scheduled to play the opera, Die Fledermaus, and the off-stage trombone parts for the 1812 Overture.

Life is awesome.

I beat 3 people in my studio, and my TA says that my sound has gone through a HUGE change and is so much better.

Excuse me while I just explode with glee.

Updates 1/19, 1/20, and 1/21

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 13:33:49 -0500

Ok so I’m a few days behind because of the moving back in process. Now that everything has settled and auditions have passed, let me get you up to speed.

Saturday, 1/19:

I practiced minimally and packed for school. I read half of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and was in bed by 11:15. It was not a very good night, so my practicing wasn’t very productive. Oh well.

Sunday, 1/20:

I was all moved back in and settled by 1:30. I headed to Hartt to practice and ended up meeting with Mike to go over some stuff. He sounded pretty good. He told me about some slide position stuff that I didn’t really care to pay attention to because I didn’t want to change things so close to the audition. I told him to play his B-flats in trigger third for the Organ Symphony. We played minimally and chatted a lot about the pieces. After he left, I ran all of my material like it was a mock audition, signed up for an 11:10 audition spot, and went to dinner. I didn’t practice for the rest of the day.

Monday, 1/21:

Audition day! I woke up around 8:00 and got ready for the day. I sat down with a glass of apple juice and listened to a few of the excerpts and the solo so that I could have them in my head going into my warm up and audition. I met with Evan and Carter around 9:45ish. We warmed up and I played a few things for Evan (Including a mostly memorized Larsson he said sounded lovely and a William Tell that sounded the best it ever has!). After a while I decided to stop so I wouldn’t blow my chops. I think I went up to the audition area around 10:30 or so, perhaps a little after. We waited for our auditions in Sukman Foyer outside Millard Auditorium. The auditions got behind so I didn’t end up going till about 11:30-11:40ish. I got to hear everyone who went before and after me, which was good but also a little disheartening. It sounds like everyone worked really hard over break, and it’s going to be a close call as to whether or not I made it out of last chair. Here’s a breakdown of how I did in the order we were asked to play them (instead of my usual order):

LARSSON: They only let us play the first page (about half) because of how far behind we were getting. I think it actually went pretty darn well. Everything up to my high B-flat sounded great. The eighth-note run after that was a little muddy. The low stuff that follows actually rang pretty well. Everything after that was good until the bar before the ritard where I played my E-natural too early and messed everything up a little, but I managed to get back on track. Then everything went well until 2 bars before the next ritard when I messed up the eighth-note runs again, but not too severely. Overall there were a few minor blips that couldn’t be helped.

MAHLER: My first excerpt pretty much kicked ass I think. They cut the second excerpt, and then before I could start at the Sehr getragen (as posted on the audition door), the asked me to move onto the Organ Symphony. Unfortunately, I didn’t hear that the first time the asked, so I started playing that part of the Mahler and they asked me again to move on.

SAINT-SAËNS: In a slight panic, I started the Organ Symphony a little too fast and with poor support, so my notes were fizzling out and I was dying. Fortunately for me, they realized this and stopped me. One of my judges (who shall remain unnamed) told me that they were cutting part of the excerpts for time reasons and that they didn’t mean to rush me onto the Organ Symphony. He told me to take a deep breath and start again and not to worry because I was doing great. I started again and it went pretty well. It wasn’t until WAY after my audition when I realized the one thing I’ve been doing wrong on this piece the WHOLE time I’ve been playing it. The crescendo up to the B-flat 3 bars before the end of the first part of the excerpt? Yeah, it’s piano after that. Me being stupid, I blew right by it every single time and the end of my excerpt was a little too loud as a result. Hopefully not a huge problem…

ROSSINI: I had really good time for this. Not too fast, not to slow. It was a little muddy at the beginning but cleared up a good deal enough to be deemed “really good” by Evan. Except the end. Like 7 bars before D I lost my focus a little and played that first downward run wrong. I shook myself out of it in time for the last 3, and at D my sforzandos had pretty great strength is I do say so myself, but some people may say otherwise.

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: I mean…I don’t know what to say about this one. I played it. I kept it a little slower than I usually play it, which is good because I think it was supposed to be a little slower. Not much else to say about it though…

SIGHT READING: Tenor clef. 12/8 time. It was a mess. It really was. Some people sounded really good on it but I was just awful. They stopped me somewhere between halfway and three-quarters of the way through. Which I was actually thankful for. It was rough…

Still waiting for results, but I’ll be sure to keep you posted on that!

Updates for 1/16, 1/17, and 1/18

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:06:20 -0500

January 16th:

Chops too sore from over-practicing the day before. Didn’t practice.

January 17th:

Didn’t practice. No good reason for this, just didn’t.

January 18th:

My audition is on Monday and today is Friday and I feel AWESOME. I played the Larsson the best I’ve ever played it today after mentally telling myself that I just needed to use a lot of air and basically just not make mistakes. Because I shouldn’t be making mistakes. So I didn’t. And it was awesome. Everything else is in fairly decent shape save Billy…I just don’t know what to do about it. If I slow it down, my articulation gets all messed up and nothing sounds like a distinct note, just a punctuated sound. If I speed it up parts of it sound great and parts of it sound muddy and awful, particularly in the lower register. I have less than 3 days to figure it out :\
Oh and I neglected etudes again…

Dammit! Over-practiced by a little yesterday. Chops were sore when I started practicing today....

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:30:00 -0500

Dammit! Over-practiced by a little yesterday. Chops were sore when I started practicing today. I’ll practice later tonight and hopefully they’ll feel a little better :\

le-tbone-duck: My life described in a sentence

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 23:55:08 -0500

le-tbone-duck:

My life described in a sentence

Update for 1/15 #2

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 19:36:18 -0500

OH MY GOD CONFIDENCE THERE YOU ARE I MISSED YOU DID YOU ENJOY YOUR VACATION BECAUSE I CERTAINLY DIDN’T.

Well now that things are back to normal here’s a for real update.

LARSSON: Dear lord, finally. My triplets are starting to smooth back out and I couldn’t be happier. Everything else is pretty much there. And I’ve still got just under a week to polish it! There are like one or two little spots that I need to fix up a bit but mostly because I rush the hell out of them and eventually hit a tempo I just can’t hack it at. Will remember to work with a metronome on those tomorrow.

ROSSINI: Cleaner! Yay! I slowed it down just a wee bit and everything kinda clicked back into place. It’s still not perfect but again, I’ve got just under a week to polish it! It’ll be there!

TYRELL No. 16: All good I suppose? I worked on this with John before break and he basically just wanted me to revisit it a bit because I didn’t have much time to work on it during finals week. I’d say it’s back to where it was before break, so that gives me just under a week to make it lesson-worthy.

TYRELL No. 17: Kill me. I dunno how Luke got this one down so well. It’s going to need a lot of work. It’s really fun and I can play the first few lines of it really well but then starting at like the a tempo on the 5th line everything goes downhill and I have to slow it way down and then the very end it way too slow. I’m just too stubborn about using alternate slide positions, or as Doc would have us call them, “i” positions. So meh. Metronome time tomorrow.

ROCHUT No. 16: I’ve played this one dozens of times for All State and with Doc and just for funsies so it’s pretty much mostly set. My tendency is to feel too comfortable with it and then I mess up or don’t use enough air or something so it just needs some minor work done and it’ll be fine.

ROCHUT No. 17: I actually really like this one musically and it sounds really nice and I can REALLY hear the differences in my playing given all the high stuff and how smooth it sounds. Woo! I’m still not super familiar with it so I don’t have much else to say.

ROCHUT No. 18: Pretty much the same as with No. 17. High stuff is smooth. Gotta remember my G-sharps a little better. Overall this one and the last one have some fun jumps that show off my lip slurs pretty well and I’m pumped about how good they sound. Yay for progress!!

Tomorrow I’ll retouch these, hit some Arban’s, run the Larsson and Rossini, and pay some specially attention to the excerpts I’ve been neglecting!

Update for 1/15 #1

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:45:11 -0500

First practice session of the day:

My intonation was really weird today.

My LARSSON is meh. Most of it’s good but the triplets at the very end are still kicking my butt. I will work on it again later I suppose.

MAHLER was pretty good. Weird intonation here though with my As…which is ironic.

SAINT-SAËNS was actually I think the best it’s ever been today. So yay on that.

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV has that weird A intonation going on too…hmm…

My ROSSINI actually sounded pretty good during my FIRST run through, and then it sounded pretty crappy the other few times I played it. I’ll revisit it tonight.

Update #2 will be later tonight and will include Larsson, Rossini, and probably some Tyrell/Rochut/Arban’s.

Update for 1/14

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 23:08:15 -0500

I took a day off today. I just really needed a day to NOT feel like I was going to throw something out the window because my Larsson isn’t good enough, my Mahler isn’t expressive enough, my Saint-Saëns isn’t smooth enough, my Rimsky-Korsakov isn’t…I don’t even know what it’s supposed to be…and my Rossini isn’t clean enough.

So today was my break day. Instead of playing trombone, I napped, read, watched TV and a movie with my parents, and played with my hair.

Back to practicing tomorrow.

Update for 1/13

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 19:01:00 -0500

I played some Tyrell and Rochut today. Neither were very good considering I haven’t looked at them in weeks. My sound was pretty decent and I felt like I was keeping my air more constant.

I started in on the Larsson and it just wasn’t working for me today. I got very frustrated after a while and decided to just stop before I got angry and upset with myself. I had already played a bit out of my etude books so I figure a lot of my missed notes were the result of tired chops. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for practice.

Overall though, playing my new Rochuts and Tyrells, I definitely feel the changes that I’ve made as a player in my playing now that I’m applying it to things other than my IPO material. Which is exciting.

Mostly I really love playing trombone, so I’m trying not to let one bad practice day get in my head and make me insecure again.

EDIT: Also, I can feel some possible congestion starting that kind of plugged up my breathing a bit today and made for some awkward breaths. Probably wasn’t helping my situation.

Update for 1/12

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 18:56:14 -0500

Meh. I played through everything. It sounded ok. I was mostly just spending all of my time today playing with my new haircut. Not a very productive day.

Update for 1/11

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 23:02:00 -0500

It was late before I got to practice today so I only got to play through the Larsson a few times and that was it. It sounds awesome though. All the notes are there and it’s pretty nice musically. Sorry for the crappy updates for today and yesterday. I’ll get back to my better update writing tomorrow.

Update for 1/10

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 23:00:00 -0500

Super great. Things sound awesome. I don’t have much to say. I neglected my etudes again. Oops.

Reasons why Evan is the man #672

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 19:32:00 -0500

“Hayley even if you don’t get the results you want, you still tried really hard and became an obviously better trombonist. I can’t wait to hear you! And you feel great about yourself. It’s a win win all around.”