Farewell

Four years ago a large class of fresh, new students walked into the doors of Daviess County High school. Confused, naive, timid and unprepared, these students wandered the halls searching to find their way. Many of the faces were new and old friends were scarce to be found. The intricate schedule of classes were filled with a mix of students from all grades and ages which creates a foreboding atmosphere for any inexperienced soul. Always weary of the upper grades, the new students regarded each grade with a different manner of respect. The sophomores roamed the school with an air of cockiness thankful to have moved up from being on the lowest end on the totem pole. The juniors finally knew their way around the school well enough and discovered every secret and shortcut throughout the high school. The juniors had only just moved into the status of upperclassmen. They were cool and unwilling to share any secrets with the newbies, such as myself. It was our mission to learn the hard way just as they had to. The seniors were regarded as the most supreme power to ever walk the schools. Every freshman watched in awe as the seniors began to finish cementing their legacy into the high school's history. The seniors led by example and their example was law.
As the days turned into weeks, the weeks into months and the months into years, the "new" students found their way eventually becoming seniors. Just as the seniors before them these students not only created a legacy all to their own but created a bond with each other. A bond that will never be broken. No matter how far apart they are from each other or how much time passes without seeing one another after graduation, every one of those students had gone through the same bumps, and bruises and experienced every form of emotion imaginable throughout their high school saga. The memories that were made will exist forever and never cease to bring a smile to one's face. The laughs, the tears, the good days and bad days, the friends and teachers will be forever recorded to memory. When the bell rings it's final time on senior day and the seniors walk down the aisle at graduation to receive their diploma, the realm of high school memories will be complete and it will be those memories that create the legacy.
Getting through high school would not have been possible without the support from the many great teachers and friends made along the way. Whether it be a friend offering advice or a teacher showing what it truly means to care about their students and other people, high school would not have been as amazing and eventful as it has been. I believe I can speak for every senior when I say that I can hardly wait to graduate and begin on a new journey but honestly...I think I am going to really miss high school. High school has been the greatest ride I've ever been on and I would really like to thank all the special teachers who have made this ride as exciting as it has been. I can't thank them enough for what they've done for us. As graduation looms closer, keeping in touch with everyone will be a top priority but for now...farewell.

AP Testing

Once again... the Internet has failed. After writing a fairly long blog, the Internet decided to delete everything once I clicked publish. Here is a shortened version.
It's amazing to think how different AP testing is from ever other test you've ever taken in high school. Not even studying will fully prepare you for an AP test. AP tests are so unlike anything you've ever done that the only way to really prepare yourself is through experience. After taking my first AP (Stats) test, I realized how difficult and how hard I would have to study for the other tests. Taking the tests are very stressful due to the amount of required advanced critical thinking, logic and need to know every little piece of information you learned during your AP class. Even the little, unimportant side notes. Upon finishing my last AP test a sigh of relief overcame me and it felt as if a ten ton weight was lifted off my shoulders. Looking back on previous essays and other assignments, it is amazing to see how much progress I've made. I feel as though I think critically and analyze pieces of information a lot more and effectively now than I used to. Every little thing I do, whether it be writing a synopsis of a character in the Band of Brothers series in WWII history or analyzing a passage in a book, I feel inclined to look deeper and find something extraordinary out of something seen as ordinary. I actually want to find hidden messages and alternate ideas.
I still can't believe I'm about to graduate. The school days seem to become longer and the dates on the calender seem to pass at an increasingly fast rate. It feels good to be finished with AP testing and to know that as the end of the year looms ever closer, you can relax it a little more and enjoy the rest of the high school roller coaster ride.

Reunion

I've never really though much about high school reunions before. My parents occasionally go theirs every once in awhile but the importance of the reunions hadn't really hit me until now. People say that at a high school reunion, everyone has to wear some form of identification because everyone will look different and no one will be the same. There are many people I am going to miss after high school. It will be sad not seeing everyone in the oh so familiar class rooms and hallways. But I guess that's why we have high school reunions. Although I have graduated yet, I look forward to coming back to DCHS 10 years from now and seeing how much the school and everyone has changed. I don't want to wish my life away but it will be interesting to see how everything changes while I am away. I will miss high school.

Don't Do It!

Procrastination, procrastination, procrastination, procrastination, procrastination.... the best worst activity to ever exist. Ever since my sophomore year, I have procrastinated more and more on anything and everything. It has become one of my greatest flaws. Procrastinating always feels so good but when you have to stay up hours on end because you have to begin a project that is due the next day when you had a couple weeks to do it before hand. A little procrastination isn't too terrible but in the long run it is in everyones best interest to do what you need to when you have the chance. Besides, is relaxing and taking time to chill really more important than putting off writing those 7 blog posts for English? At this time of night, definitely not.
People say that college gives you more time to put things off and procrastinate but studying a little bit everyday should be a priority. I've slacked off in high school and will have to adjust to college. One of the best pieces of advice any student could receive would be to get things done when you have the chance. Don't procrastinate because you will only be digging yourself out of a hole.

Lessons Learned...again

A couple days ago I wrote a very long post about what I've learned about people classifying people into groups such as the "popular" group, the "geek" group, the "almost cool enough to be popular" group and then the undesirables. Most of this classification took place in middle school. I noticed very little of it in high school.
Anyway, this blog website for some reason didn't save my last post and I really, really don't want to write it all again. Here is the abbreviated version. Looking back at middle school and how I see people in high school, people are just people no matter how different they are. People just want to be accepted and the best way to be accepted is to accept everyone no matter who they are. After all, isn't that the right thing to do? In high school, I have stopped worrying so much about what others think about me and what I think about others. In my mind everyone is popular and I just want to make friends. I have made numerous friends throughout high school and I am going to miss them all. Because of all the friends I have, I know I have learned to put middle school worries behind and just try to give everyone a chance. Life is a little easier when you give everyone a chance.

Explanation

To be perfectly honest, I have neglected updating my blog for the new nine weeks. This is partly due the end of the year drawing near and senioritis. Everything becomes much easier to forget with senioritis. Anyway, I have decided to change blog topics due to the lack of interesting material in my music life. Besides, I have learned many lessons from high school and it would only be appropriate to mention my various thoughts before I say farewell. Recording all these thoughts resembles writing in a diary in my opinion but since most people relate diaries to women, we shall call these posts journal entries.
A lot has been on my mind now that high school has started to come to an end. There has definitely been much reminiscing going on. Four years ago, back when I was a freshman, I remember hearing a senior or some important person give a little introduction welcoming all of the new kids into the school, giving us a look into the high school experience. I really don't remember all that much of the speech except maybe one sentence. "You find out who your friends truly are and what group of people you belong with your senior year." How was I supposed to understand this a freshman? Finding your TRUE friends? Pssh, I was one of the new kids in school. How was I supposed to find true friends when I didn't have any? (Not having friends was just a figure of speech. I had friends. I just didn't know many people back then.) I never fully understood the statement until a few days ago.
I have met many interesting people since I first walked through the doors of DCHS. I have made many friends and have lost a couple as well. It is tough to always be a good friend. Especially when one of your friends doesn't give much in return and starts doing unhealthy and immoral things. People say that everyone who comes into your life is there for a reason. I believe this to be true. We learn things about life and about who we are from everyone. Even when a person was only your life for a brief period of time.
Every once in awhile you will meet a person and think that you will always want them in your life. As time has gone on, it becomes more and more apparent who really cares about you and which friends you want to...need to stay in touch with. Many of my friends have graduated as I have gotten older and only a select few are still in touch with me today. Now as I get ready to graduate, there will be a select few that will make it all the way to the end. I hope to keep as many people in touch as possible but I realize it will be difficult. There are many people that I hope I never lose and there are also many people that I had more time to spend with. Wherever life takes me there will be people coming in and out of my life. I have many friends and I know I will make more. Sometimes I wish I had more time here in Owensboro but at the same time I am ready to start anew. These are just a few of the thoughts I have had recently. It feels kind of good to write them down.

Another High School Musical

It has been a tough few months for the cast of DCHS's "The Wiz." The cast has been working for months on memorizing their lines, choreography and vocals for the upcoming musical. Just last week, the pit orchestra joined the cast in order for both the musicians and the actors to get a better feel for each other to prevent any major timing mistakes from occurring during the actual performances which begin this weekend. This is the final week of practice and dress rehearsals before the musical. I am a part of the pit orchestra and this is my first year being involved in any type of musical. I knew it would take a lot of hard work and time out of my days but...I never expected this much. For the first few months, the pit orchestra has come together for practice once a week, gradually adding a practice as we entered the month of the performance. Practices usually lasted two hours. As I mentioned earlier, the pit orchestra and the cast came together last week and have practiced every day with practices lasting from 2-4 1/2 hours. My job as a musician is simple. Play when it's your turn, don't mess up and make sure you don't play louder than the vocalists can sing. Covering up the vocalists is a major no-no. In a musical, the vocalists tell a part of the story by singing. To cover that up would be like trying to read a book with a missing chapter. The pit orchestra also has to watch the director because he/she will cue the vocalist as well as the orchestra when to begin playing. The orchestra and vocalist must make sure every measure lines up with one another so as to not throw the flow of the music off. The pit orchestra is also in charge of creating sound effects. From birds chirping to genies appearing, the variety of sounds effects a pit orchestra must make is very large.
During this final week of rehearsals, it has become even more vital that the pit orchestra has every song, measure and note down and as close to perfect as possible. The actors must remember every line and dance number as well as being in time with the tempo of the orchestra when they sing. Practices will last much longer and will become more intense everyday...well almost everyday. For actors having a practice on the Wednesday before a performance is bad luck. It is a strange superstition but a good one for anyone looking for a break from rehearsal. I'm not exactly sure what lies ahead for the musical this week, but I invite you to join us sometime this weekend to see actors and musicians come together in order to put on a spectacular performance of "The Wiz." "The Wiz" is an urban version of "The Wizard of OZ." The show should be a sight to see as well as hear. I hope you can make it.

Marching Band. Developing Mental toughness

To be successful in marching band, band directors preach three things. Memorize your music, memorize your specific sets and movements, and do them both at the same time well. Mentally, marching band is one of the toughest sports invented.
Memorizing your music is just as tough as memorizing a play or formation in basketball or football. Now add your sets and formations to the memorization pot. That's a lot of work to do. Spending countless hours working on music as well as marching allows memorization to come a little easier to you but if you don't have some idea of how the music should sound or where you are supposed to go, you will be holding the rest of the band back. From day one, the band directors will beat every note, measure, beat, set, move, formation and articulation into your head. By doing so, being able to perform all of those tasks at the same time becomes easier, although still difficult. If you are able to march well, play your instrument well, remember where you are supposed to go every set, play your music with style, stay in formation and articulate each phrase, you are very capable of marching in a band. It is very difficult to perform these tasks all at once but when many people bring all of these challenges together onto one field, an amazing acomplishment will be performed.

Pep Band

At the end of my last blog I mentioned that I would begiin explaining the mental challenges of marching band. The DCHS girls basketball has been playing extremely well in these tournament games so I decided to talk about pep band and the role we play.
This past week, the pep has had to play both the boys and girls district basketball tournament games which takes a lot of time out of your day. Unfortunately, the boys lost a close battle against Apollo but a good game nonetheless. In order to keep the crowd energized, the pep band must learn many different songs and add the occasional body/instrument movements and sometimes have the wonderful opportunity to sing a song verse. The school's fight song is the ultimate song played by a pep band. When played at the right time the right way, your team and your crowd's moral can get a needed boost.
A true pep band will watch the game and react as the crowd reacts. Without the pep band, an atletic competition becomes somewhat dull. The pep band is what keeps the crowd entertained when nothing exciting is happening. It is a fun experience to play in the pep band and having a good basketball team makes it even better.

Physical Training and the Rigors of Marching Band

I know marching band has long gone and the band has moved on to another section of the musical saga but I feel that marching band deserves to be discussed. Around the world, the debate over whether or not marching band is a sport still runs strong. The number of nonbelievers has lessened since the "sport" has intensified but nonetheless, there are still nonbelievers.
In order to prepare for your first game of football at the start of a season, the players on the team must make sure they can last a full hour without becoming fatigued. I have never been on a football team but I imagine their practices consist of running 5-10 miles every practice, at least 100 push-ups and working in the weight room. Granted, a marching band show only lasts 8-10 minutes compared to football's 45-50 minute games but in order to last an 8-10 minute show, you still have to be physically ready. Members of the marching must stretch throughout each practice just like any athlete must. Members also have to run a mile almost every practice. Unlike football, push-ups aren't required to help you perform but they are used as a punishment for misbehavior and mistakes. Depending on how many mistakes you make in a practice, a member could be doing from zero to as many as 100 push-ups in a day. Talking with members of the DCHS football team, they practice for about 5 hours a day 3-4 times a week during the summer. The marching band practices from 8-12 hours 4 times a week in the summer. Aside from what I've already mentioned, there really isn't any more to add. Although marching band doesn't involve weight training in their season like the football does, I would say practicing at least 3 hours longer makes marching band just as physically draining. Both SPORTS require physical readiness to last a whole competition. Physically, there is nothing more to discuss but mentally, a whole new discussion will emerge.

Nerves

Like any athlete, pressure is always added for you to succeed whenever you perform in front of hundreds or thousands of people in a big stage such as a playoff event or cross town rivalry. My stage was just a little different. Last Saturday, I traveled to Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio to audition for a music grant and be admitted into one of many of their different music programs. People had been asking me all week if I was nervous and my answer was always the same. I was not nervous. I had no reason to be nervous. For many weeks, I had been practicing the two songs required for the audition and besides, it's not like my entire college decision will depend on how well I performed at the audition. Nonetheless, when I took my first step onto the campus, all the courage I had mustered vanished and like any competition, the nerves hit me. It is normal to be nervous, Some people actually say being a little nervous is good for you. In a way, I agree. If you truly care about a performance and you have been practicing then you should be nervous. Being a little nervous just means you're ready for the challenge at hand.
Unlike the superbowl, I didn't have the eyes of the nation focused on my every move. My stage consisted of one person wielding a notebook and a pen. The judge was friendly but he didn't have anything to worry about. We introduced ourselves and after a quick discussion he asked me to begin. The first piece started off a little rough. Definitely not how I imagined it but when planning things, it is best to expect nothing to go according to plan. The judge stopped me halfway into the song and asked me to begin my second piece. The second piece began wonderfully, I had finally gotten used to the nerves that ravaged my first song. Again, the judge stopped me halfway. I never did find out if having me stop was a good thing or a bad thing but the judge told me I was well prepared. Hopefully he wasn't just being nice. I have learned that nerves are just something you have to deal with, even if they make things a little more difficult. Like I said before, nerves mean you care and that you're ready. In a few weeks, the final auditions will be finished and I will find out if I have earned a music grant. Then we shall see how much help nerves played in my audition.

Audition week

After many weeks of practice, it's about time to see how much my practice has paid off. I have finally moved up to a harder, stronger reed for my saxophone. Changing strengths of a reed is difficult but once you have made the switch, your tone will improve almost overnight. The downside to switching to a harder reed is that you should never EVER play on a softer reed again. Doing so will undo all the hard work you put into trying just to get a sound out of a harder reed. I am now playing on a reed strength of 4. Four is about as hard as most reeds can get but there is the occasional strenght 5 or 6.
Saturday, I will be travelling to the University of Xavier in order to play my scholarship audition and be admitted into their pep, jazz and concert band. I will be performing Introduction to Czardas and something else...I forget what it is called but it begins with an A. I'm fairly nervous about it but I should do well enough to get in. I have a lesson tonight with Mr. Clark, the band's renowned woodwind instructor, just to make sure my performance is solid. I have heard that colleges require musicians to know their basic scales which, I don't know but hopefully they won't want that. Overall, I feel ready for this performance but wish me luck because a little bit of luck never hurt anyone.

College

I would have liked to compare the rigors of marching band to many sports but at this time of year college auditions seems more appropriate. Like any athlete, playing a sport in college is almost as good as hitting the big time. Every athlete begins preparing for their college sport the moment they enter highschool, if they're serious about it. In a few weeks I will be performing auditions at various colleges for a spot in their music program as well as scholarships. The colleges require that you play a technical piece which is much more difficult involving fast fingers, good hand position and lots of practice. The second piece must be a lyrical piece which is more about the you put out of your instrument. Tone is the sound that comes out of your instrument. I will be playing at Xavier in Ohio, University of Evansville and Bellarmine. I will be minoring in music so the auditions aren't as big of a deal unlike majors in music. Nonetheless, practice is expected as well as a good performance.

My Musical History

In the first grade, I was inspired to take up the piano by Elton John. My dad used to listen to him all the time when I was little. My dad's interest in Elton John's music led me to take interest not only in Elton John's style of music but the fact that he was actually creating it. My thoughts and feelings about music have greatly changed since I first began my musical saga. It is true that most people's opinion on everything changes as you grow from childhood to each new stage of your life. I can't say exactly why I liked music so much as a child. Probably because I don't remember why. I do know that music gives people an indescribable joy and energy when the right song hits the right emotion. Music has that power on every person of every age. Maybe music was just something to dance to in first grade, something that just brought entertainment. But like I said, opinions change.
I've been playing the piano for 12 years now. I use the piano for not only entertainment now but as a way to let out all the emotions that build up inside me. I had always wanted to weild the power of music. To play what brought people so much comfort and happiness. Music has the power to touch the soul and send your mind on a journey to unrealistic places. I admired Elton John's ability to possess such beauty as music but now I too am able use music's power. Besides just playing the piano, I also enjoy composing songs. Composing songs is difficult, especially recording them since...I don't know how to. I compose songs all the time but usually forget most of them.
In 6th grade I began to learn another intsrument. I started to learn how to play the Tenor saxophone. Starting with my grandpa, my dad's side of the family has played the alto saxophone and passed down the same saxophone to each generation. In sixth grade I decided to break that tradition. I am currently playing the tenor saxophone in every band event known to man that Daviess County High School has to offer. I plan on minoring in music in college. Music has brought me joy and my plan is to expand on what I've learned to better share that joy with others. If not for Elton John, I may never have know the thrill of working alongside music.

Athletes go through many hours and days of training to prepare for their event, especially if the athlete wants to make it into to the professional field of famed athletes. Most people may think of an athlete as someone who is proficient at sports such as football, basketball or even lacrosse but athletes come in many different forms and take a variety of different shapes. There is more than one type of atlhete. An athlete is works hard at what they do to become more experienced at their sport. Likewise, a musician must practice their instrument for many hours as well as learn the many different techniques, chords, pitches and numerous other tasks required of them. In a sense, doesn't that make musicians a type of athlete?
Throughout my blogs, I would like to take you inside the mind of musician and the many tasks they must perform in order to prepare for the world of music they hanve chosen to enter.