ITG Jan 2012 - A reflection on my embouchure change

A day or so ago I got my Jan. 2012 International Trumpet Guild Journal.

It's always good to be reminded that there are thousands of trumpet players in the world who are just as excited about the art form as I am. Just reading the list of presenters at this year's ITG conference inspires me to consider my own potential as a musician.

I've come a long way since working I decided to change my embouchure in July 2008. Terrance Blanchard pointed out to me in a master class that by playing with my trumpet all the way to the left I would wear out the muscles and not be able to play very well after about 7 years. Both he and John Labarbera, who I also worked with that summer, said that mid-career they had to undergo embouchure changes. With daily coaching from John and Bobby Shew (during 2 weeks at Skidmore College) I came up with a routine to work on getting the mouthpiece in the center.

Immediately following the Skidmore Jazz program I went to play with the Tidewater Winds in Norfolk, VA for their 2008 summer season. With the support of the trumpet players in the band I could continue working on my new embouchure in a professional setting. Returning to the Crane School of Music that fall was difficult because my range, stamina and tone had lessend significantly.

Over the years I've been incorporating Maggio system into my practice and working regular on long tones, lip slurs, etudes and my Arban's, I can now play up to high G. My high G on my bigger megatone 3C has less body than when I use my Bobby Shew lead piece but so far my solo rep. and band rep only requires me to go up to high D.

I'm enjoying my last semester at Crane and my last semester as a student at SUNY Potsdam. I have come a long way since 2008. That fall I was placed on the third cornet part for large ensemble but this semester, for the fourth time, I am playing principal trumpet. I really love to lead the section, play the solos, and encourage a full, well tuned and blended section sound. As fun as it is to lead a fine, college large ensemble, reading my ITG makes me wonder: what's next for me as a trumpet player?

There are so many great players out there. When I first came to Crane I had one goal: become the greatest trumpet player in the world, at least as good as Wynton. A foolish goal (since it has no really quantitative or qualitative means of evaluating success!) but in many ways I still keep that goal with me. The biggest change to that goal since I established it for myself in 2006, is that rather than to practice and play to earn acceptance, I feel that more and more I simply love to play. Sounding good, playing well, playing perfectly, working on solo rep. and working with my quintet or the large ensemble, the sheer joy of music making only grows as I grow as a musician.

Do I still want to be the greatest? of course! But now I am striving for greater experiences, rather than to feed my pride, or sense of acceptance. Maybe one day, I'll be on that ITG list, too.

Musicians Effort: Freedom

I found this article today on the International Justice Ministries website.

"“Freedom,” a new two-disc album that supports IJM’s frontline work. Packed with new and never-before-released material from top-40, Dove- and Grammy-award winning artists, the album has already become one of the fastest-selling records in exclusive distributor Family Christian Stores’ history." - IJM


http://www.ijm.org/articles/spotlight

Above is the link to the website though I suspect it may change.

So there is one response to how musicians might end injustice. Compile an album and donate cash to the folks doing the work.

What to do?

My first post since my summer music projects class in 2010.

A few minutes ago I read this article

http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/146932/modern_day_slavery_in_america_--_over_300,000_u.s._children_fall_prey_to_sex_trafficking/?page=entire

about children falling into the U.S. sex slave trade. That's plain awful. But I hear it's happening all around the world. One of my trumpet teachers back in high school, a former Navy music school instructor, had this bumper sticker that read: Evil triumphs when good men do nothing.

But what can I do to end child-trafficking?

I've got some time before I get into my career. I'll be earning my Master' Degree in music education at the Crane school of Music until 2012 so I've got plenty of time to ponder these issues. Even then, what can a musician or music teacher do to end child-slavery, trafficking and prostitution?

Key issues from reading that have influenced my thinking

I like the new taxonomy of educational objectives found on page 47.

The from lower to higher order the objectives are: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create. I took this order into consideration while designing my two projects this week. Using these objectives is helping me to think creatively as an educator.

Some old undergraduate assignments had me asking questions like "how can I get my clarinetists to remember to sit up straight?" or "How can I get my 8th graders to be able to recite the Bb scale?" (again, the whole idea of teaching as manipulation that I mention earlier in my blog).
Through my MUSIC MOVES US project I am encouraging my students to use a medium they may not be familiar with to draw relationships between music that might be new to them in an unfamiliar culture. First they analyze different videos and then apply the information. Thinking in terms of connection will also probably help them to be able to recall the information since they will be able to draw up the memory of a context and then fill in the blanks

I like the idea of literacy found on page 49. What does musical literacy look like in the 21st century? Reading and writing music is part of it but my guess is that the majority of people in the world do not read or write standard notation. A literate 21st century musician is one that can act and think independently, is aware of music and its facets, and is productive.

I like the idea of higher-order questions found on page 115. The authors say that these kinds of questions need to be a “regular part of the learning experience. (115)” These are questions that help the student to compare, analyze, evaluate and expand.

The authors mention that while the students are doing their work they may become stumped and come ask the instructor for help. Instead of giving the answer the teacher can guide the students thinking through higher-order questions. It dawned on me that an instructor of mine has been instructing me in this way for quite some time. It was quite frustrating at first (and still is sometimes) because I was used to just getting answers. After awhile I got used to it and got into the habit of using higher order questions as a part of my self-dialogue.

There are several teaching dispositions that arise from the idea of higher order questions.

1. Patience – the instructor has to be patient because the student may need more time to figure out a problem or grasp a concept.
2. Creativity – the teacher has to quickly come up with higher order questions that guide student perception rather than simply “get them to do stuff”
3. humility – the educator must be humble and not be rushing to show how they are masterminds of a certain subject.



I like the idea of higher order questions found on page

Practices to discard

I’ve got to stop taking my job as an educator so lightly.

Project-Based learning is both sophisticated and honorable. It requires tons of front-loading (preparation). A PBL instructor must be a master of the 重い手みちびき術 (omoi-te-michibiki-jutsu) or heavy-handed guiding technique. To guide students with a heavy hand is not to rule with an iron fist. To not use my knowledge and influence to manipulate students but instead use questions and preparation to help them to make educational progress.

Before and during the project I must be prepared and deliberately active. You can’t whistle your way through PBL…unless you’re doing a project on whistling.

Hopefully by being well prepare I won’t have to rely on my authority as a government employee to create an atmosphere where learning takes place.


I’ve got to stop taking my job so seriously.

There is a joy in helping others to arrive at places where at their understanding of existence has increased. Music is a big deal and permeates creation. As music (organized vibrations) is what makes up the universe we cannot rid ourselves of it. Each of us is music and our lives a symphony. Life runs in shuffle-play mode so you can’t get too hung up when things don’t go how you expect.
I have faith that God gives us what we need for each day. As an educator, this means that today I have what it takes to get done what needs to get done today. There’s no sense in taking responsibility for the workings of a universe I didn’t make and barely understand. Projects don’t “not work” they simply end up producing an unplanned learning experience. If I relax a little more maybe I can see how these alternate ends are really a part of the bigger picture - of my growing to understand and share my understandings of music (aka the universe).

Tranforming Practice

What performance practice am I going to transform?

I think that my group and individual lessons are a performance practice that I need to transform.

I do not like sitting around counting and clapping rhythms for teenagers so that they can make me look good. Life is sacred and can be used more responsibly than that. I think that I can use lessons to help cultivate some ways of thinking, like: resiliency of inquiry, wonderment towards music, problem solving, and creativity.

The few times I attempted to do those things I did not have a plan loaded enough to be successful in those ways.

Now, if I had a student who wanted to learn a solo piece or band piece, I might write up a little curriculum of questions just for that piece. I would encourage them to ask critical questions about the music they want to learn. We could treat the piece like a performance project. Throughout the process we could analyze, evaluate, apply and create. Sometimes, I simply taught !!!!REMEMBER!!!!

A long-term goal would be for the student to become musically independent, aware and productive. How is this piece they are working on a stepping-stone towards a richer experience of music and life?

Response to Reinventing Project Based Learning Chapter 2

2010, july 6th
PBL reading response pg 187 Question #2

What connections do I see between teacher collaboration and student learning.

I would guess that there are positive outcomes in student learning when teachers collaborate.

1. When several people work on a project less will be overlooked in terms of preparation and problem prevention.
2. The project will be richer since more teachers are contributing to the preparation. Each bringing unique skills and perspectives
3. What happens in leadership percolates down to followers. Teacher collaboration will set the trend for student collaboration.

Where do I find opportunities to collaborate with collegues

1. I collaborate with other RA’s to put together programs
2. I collaborate with other IVCF leadership to put together programs

How could I bring more collaboration into my teaching life?

1. By participating in education-themed social networks
2. I think there is an attitude of humility that a collaboration requires. One can’t say “I have all the answers” or “I need all the credit.” I am reminded of a quote I read online “It is amazing what we can achieve when no one cares who gets the credit.”

Who would I want to incorporate into my dream team for collaboration?

1. I’ve certainly met some innovative teachers this week up in Potsdam. I hope that I have to opportunity to work with such positively minded faculty. Educators who view their students as people not as walking labels.
2. I have a couple ideas for where and who I’d like to educate but I can’t really say that I have an educational dream. This being said I’m not sure who I’d ask to be a part of my dream team.

How am I using technology to connect with peers?

1. Well, I’ve started this blog as well as a wiki page: deansa.wikipages.com
2. I expect that I will also use flickr, diigo, facebook, and gmail to connect with peers

 

composing in a cultural context

Now I'm thinking about how to frame and scaffold m¥ project designed for students to compose a piece of music based on a culture they will study.

1. Prior knowledge
2. Gather info
3. Synthesize info
4. plot out the composition.
5. perform and share
6. reflect

MUSIC MOVES US

I'm really trying to focus in on my MUSIC MOVES US project.

1. student groups will compile prior knowledge on movement in music in cultural contexts. Students will choose three types of movement to think about (i.e. dance, marching, synchronized swimming...).

2. Students will use choose one of the brainstormed movements.
Students will use videos to collect information about the musical and cultural aspects of the movement.

3. Students will use webs to synthesize the information gathered from the three videos.

4. Students will choose a piece of music representative of the cultural they've been studying.
They will then choreograph a movement that is representative of the culture in which it was found. If they wanted to convince someone in the culture that they were part of the choice culture what should their movement look like?

Students will share what they have learned with the audience.

5. Reflection

Students will reflect on what they have learned about the connections between music and culture. Students will reflect on what they would do differently next time.

LEARNING GOALS for my culture connections projects

Students will learn how their topic fits into a culture.

Students will learn about the connection between their topic and the people groups associated with that topic.

Students will learn to participate in their topic in expert roles such as: researcher, performer, creator, composer, choreographer, etc.

Students will learn how to present their projects.

Students will learn how assess their progress.

Students will learn how to reflect back on their finished projects.

.....trying to think of end goals that will help me to shape the lessons and to maintain a flow and common links from one part of the project to the next.

MUSIC: THE CULTURE CONNECTION

 This is a project that Darryl K. and I have been working on for two days. We want to take students in a high school band setting and give them opportunities to explore the big idea:

How is music connected to culture? 

This big, driving question includes the questions:

• What is music?
• What is culture?
• Who experiences music in a culture and in what ways?
• What is the role of music in a given culture?
• What are the roles of people in relationship to music in their culture?

Working definition of folk music: music that is an expression of the people in a community.
We will approach folk music as the music of a community of a people so that the students don't automatically assume that this will be a project on American-Appalachian music.



The projects I am proposing are: Music Moves Us, Folk Tuning- In, The Musical Spy,
These projects will be part of a school culture fair. Students will share (perform) their projects as well as talk about their investigations and how they came up with the final product.

Students will also use their band journals to keep track of their progress. Whether these journals are paper or electronic would depend on the school's resources.

1. Music Moves Us - Do you have trouble sitting still when you hear music? So do people around the world! Students will choose a type of musical movement to perform. They will explore its connection to the culture in which it is found. This could be some type of dancing, marching, part of a ceremony or anything they discover. The students will answer questions like:

• Who participates in this kind of movement?
• What are its origins?
• Where can you this music? 
• When does the movement take place?
• What is the role of this kind of movement in the culture?

2.  Folk Tuning-In - Students will choose a piece that they will perform on their instruments. They will then investigate the piece. What are the origins of the piece?

• When was it made? 
• Who was it made for? 
• Does it have a special function in society? 
• Who listens to the piece today? 
• Does the piece have any special significance to the people for whom it was written? How about to the people who listen to it today?

3.  The Musical Spy - Students will choose a culture and explore it. They will then compose an original piece and have it performed. Investigate and undercover the secrets about this people's music. If you were placed into this culture and asked to write a piece of music in order to convince the people of that culture that in fact you are also a member, how would you do it? Students will compose and perform an original folk piece in the culture that they choose to study. Students will answer questions such as:

What are the common trends within the music of this culture?
What are the sounds this culture uses?
What are the performance practices of this culture?

What does PBL mean to me.

Project Based Learning is much more complicated than it sounds. Not only does it take a real life approach to education but it also encourages student driven learning.
Also, the course overall needs to be context driven not content driven. This means that the minute details come from a need to know in order to succeed rather than for its own sake.
Through project based learning students can adopt, adapt and become adept at the ways of thinking needed to be successful in the 21 century.

getting

I've heard a lot about "getting" students to do stuff. That seems so manipulative to me. Perhaps we can think about it as "inviting" students or "encouraging" students.

When I get someone to do something for me I am exercising power over them. There ought to be a way of thinking in which students participate while also being empowered.