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Today was productive! I’ll start with that, because I don’t always get many of them when I’m here.
We spent nearly the entire day in rehearsal taking advantage of the time we’re getting with our drumline arranger, Bret Kuhn. The basses had some good time to ourselves as well as time with the rest of the drumline and pit. Every day I’m getting more and more excited about this show.
One of the greatest experiences I’m having here is the experience of running bass sectionals. We’ll get anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours by ourselves. We’ll always spend some time warming up our hands and then spend time on new music and/or cleaning old music. I’m always trying to think of new exercises that will get us to think about the same thing a different way, an exercise to help solidify basic fundamentals, or something that just challenges every member in the line. I think what helps keep me going (even when I have two hours to fill) is the level I’m used to setting for myself. Anyone who knows me close knows I will keep trying at something not only until I can do it, but until I can do it right repeatedly. This ranges from throwing three consecutive strikes in the driveway to playing one bar of music over and over until I KNOW I can play it perfect (and fyi, I never think I get there). Anyway, my point is I never feel content. I’d consider this one of my greatest strengths as well as one of my greatest weaknesses. It helps me strive for perfection (strength) but I’ll never feel like I get there - or anywhere close to that. Usually I feel quite inept (weakness). The way this translates into teaching is taking that high bar I set for myself and applying it to the whole line. I’ll never feel content about how we play our music, so I’ll always have stuff to work on. I’ll always try to think of new ideas that may be the solution to one (of many) problems we’re having. Besides this aspect of running bass sectionals, I’m also learning a great deal about time management and group goal setting. I’m so used to only pushing myself, but now I’m learning how to do the same with a group. These are skills I know will apply sooner rather than later down the road. I’m excited for that.
Well, it’s very late and we have an even longer day ahead of us tomorrow so I should get to bed.
Thanks for checking in,
Chris
p.s. Sorry about the several grammatical that are probably littered throughout this post. I’m a little too tired to think straight…
p.p.s. Wait, does that contradict everything I just talked about.
