School Days

I got a new mouthpiece for my flugelhorn! It's a Bach 1 1/2 B cup mouthpiece. I was out with my girlfriend a few weeks ago and we ran into Sam Ash like we normally do because we're music fiends. I got nicer service at the Carle Place Sam Ash than I normally do. Usually they don't care but this guy really listened to me. I came in asking for a 1B Bach mouthpiece for flugelhorn because that what the guy said at Catalano's when we measured the old mouthpiece that came with my Amati. I explained to him my situation: Bach just came off a long long strike, and everything is backordered. I really needed a new mouthpiece because I'm an active flugel player in my jazz band and the old piece was not doing much for my performance.

The Sam Ash guy looked it up and saw he could get me a 1 1/2 B, and I said I would take it. Originally I was going to try to stay true to the 1's so the footprint of the mouthpieces wouldn't screw me up, but I got a new 10 1/2 C for trumpet, so I'll just deal. He said to call after 10 days to see if it came in.

I called last Monday I believe and after waiting for 18 minutes, they found it and I dragged my mother to pick it up. 40 dollars later I have a brand new sound on my flugelhorn. I can't even believe it's the same horn that I was playing on before. It has that nice deep sound that I was really looking for. I have more control over my sound than with my last piece, I'm not squeaking when I hit high notes. I just wished I had it earlier for my first concert.

Over the past two weeks or so, I have:
~Gone back to school
~Got my industrial piercing
~made an appointment for a new tattoo
~almost got into a fist fight at work
~severely pissed my girlfriend off
~almost dropped my trumpet lessons this semester
~Bought $70 worth of music, and equipment

School is going well so far. I'm taking:
Music Theory II
Sight Singing II
Literature in English I
Intro to Computers and Their applications
Pre Calc
Jazz Band
Trumpet lessons

all for 16.5 credits

Theory is going smoothly. We're making a smooth transition into four part writing in root position from last semester. Sight Singing is the same, just longer exercises and we're getting into 16th notes in rhythm. We're going to be able to bring in our pieces that we're working on in other classes, and she's letting us (who play instruments...there is an obscene amount of vocalists in the class...all very good vocalists too...which makes me nervous when I have to sing outloud)use our instruments in class.

English is pretty interesting. We are starting with old Irish Folktales and will cover 600 years of literature in 16 or so weeks. Computer is the basics and I'm going to make a website as a result of the class..more info coming on that. Pre Calc remains me of my Math 12 days back at Holy Trinity. The nice thing is Computers meet half of the time since half of the class schedule are online days and the others are in class days.

Tomorrow I have my first Jazz Band class. We have more people coming in. Thursday I have lessons with my private instructor.

I got my industrial done on my right ear. I now have a bar going through my entire top portion of my ear.(pic isn't my ear, I haven't gotten around to taking a pic of it yet)

I also made an appointment to get this tattooed to my right wrist

Pictures to follow around Feb 16 for that one. I got a new Bach silver polishing cloth for my trumpet Diana. The last one was really dirty and made the trumpet dirtier than ever. She's residing in a case as I practice on my old Wierl trumpet, Becky. I got new head tuners for my Washburn, they're black. It looks sick:

I put on my new Jimi Hendrix string along with those babies,and bought some new guitar picks. I love it. Guitars, trumets, flugelhorns and other instruments make me giddy...

Did you ever know?
I want to play saxophone just so I can wear a neckstrap after I'm done. I always thought it was cool because my old band director wore his all the time. I mean...I carried my trumpet mouthpieces everwhere (I was/am a band geek), but a neckstrap would be easier to deal with than lugging around 5 pounds of metal hardware.

SmartMusic Part 2

Oddly enough, the package from smartmusic came in 3 or 4 days after I ordered it. I was surprised with the quickness. I decided to set it all up. It comes with two installation cds, and the mic is a little clip on mic. I plugged the mic into my computer and clipped it onto my horn and inserted the first disc...and waited.

After about 20 minutes of installing the software, I was ready to explore the smartmusic world. I decided to decline on watching the videos on how to work the program, and went in head first. I had problems with adjusting my mic level at first, but after realizing I had to switch the defaulted mic (my computer microphone) to the input of the smartmusic mic, I was chugging away on the smartmusic train.

I looked at some of the music they offered, and there wasn't a huge selection of jazz music. I however, found a ton of classical choices, including my two current projects-Haydn and the Hindemith. It allows you to slow down the piece, allows you record and playback how you sound. there's accompanment, and a solo line to play along with. I had a problem staying on the beat, or I thought I was on beat but when listening to my recorded performance, I was a beat behind the entire piece.

I also got an email from my professor on what we're playing this semester. A lot of Miles Davis. This should be really cool.

My 20th birthday was last wednesday. I got a new 10 1/2 C trumpet mouthpiece and put in an order for a 1 1/2 B flugelhorn mouthpiece. I went back to work. My boss is leaving after the next show, and they're still looking for a new manager for the front of the house. I'm getting a trumpet tattoo very soon, I'm going for a piercing appointing next week and I'm going to talk to the artist there to see what we can do.

But right now, it's all about the L Word


...and Bret Michaels

Smartmusic

I was talking to my lovely girlfriend on the phone after receiving a message from a bar looking for acts to book (you know those random myspace messages that sees a genre and automatically asks if you wanna book with them) when I checked my school mail and there was an email requesting that we all buy a subscription to Smartmusic.com

From what I've gathered (and have paid $45.95) is this site helps the music student practice. You purchase a subscription (the average is $100 a pop), and then you purchase the necessary accessory (a foot pedal, a vocal mic, a instrument clip, and some other deal), and in a week or two you will have the software and mic at hand.

I guess in two weeks I shall review my first time experience with this product. I've ran into this product before when I was a Music Ed Major. I had to sign up for the MENC and with that I received a subscription to two journals of music, and one reviewed or listed gifts for your musician in your life-Smartmusic was one of those gifts.

I think I'll check it out even further, and comment on it later in the month.

But I saw the Departed


I'm not one for guns and blood but damn I enjoyed this movie...

Maybe it was the Irish ass kicking

or Dropkick Murphy's "I'm Shipping Up to Boston"

Happy New Year's

What did everyone do for the holidays? Or in my case...what have I done this past month of not updating my blogger??

School has come and gone, and now I'm on my winter break. I am glad to say that my hard work paid off with a 3.9 GPA for this semester and a 3.98 GPA as my cumulative GPA (Which means...I got a 3.9 this semester and last semester).

The holidays came to fast and went by to fast. The theatre was rocking with spirits for John Edwards, and then with some country christimasy music by Kenny Rogers (just know when to hold 'em...know when to fold 'em....err...don't get me STARTED!!)We finished the year at the theatre with a little of ALY AND AJ (Into the rush...I would NOT mind going into the rush with those two if you know what i mean ^-^) and a little ditty of nastiness with Jim Norton. How much can a girl hear about ass sex and blowjobs in one night?

My christmas was full of musical gifts. I received a guitar foot stand, guitar polish, my Jimi Hendrix springs, and several jazz cds. Yes cds...there are just some albums you NEED to own physically...not digitally.

I got Diz n Bird LIVE! at Carnegie Hall, which is awesome. You can hear Diz and Bird talk and shit, but listening to Bird LIVE, is an amazing thing.

I got Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain...which is another awesome album. It combines the genius of Gil Evans and Miles being backed up by a full orchestra. Along the classical jazz fusion is Bird's Charlie Parker with Strings. Oh man, amazing.

I also got Miles Davis's Birth of the Cool, which I haven't had time to really listen to. I've been excited over the previous 3.

But my christmas isn't christmas without some KELLY CLARKSON. I got her new album, which is pretty cool. I just wish I had the song NEVER AGAIN when my first girlfriend broke up with me....

I was really hoping that I was going to secure a 1B Bach flugelhorn mouthpiece but unfortuately BACH is only producing standard moutpieces...no special orders because of the strike they just settled. I'm going into the city next week for my 20th birthday and I'm going to ask people at Sam Ash what they could recommend if I can't get a Bach mouthpiece, and on the cheap side since Bob Reeves mouthpieces are expensive. I need to get one before I go back to school.

Did I forget to mention I had my first concert in over a year and half in December??

With the jazz band at school, it was pretty sweet...topping any concert I had in high school. Probably because I felt completely at ease, but the line up consisted of "Don't Explain", "Lonely Woman", "Tico Tico", "Our Spanish Love Song", "Night of a Thousand Eyes", "How Deep is the Ocean", and of course... "Watermelon Man". I somehow recruited a few more musicians and we should have a pretty sweet line up next semester.

I'm going to try...keyword try to update as much as possible.

Til next time!

PoJ