Is this thing on?

Uh...hi? No excuses - just haven't been blogging or missing blogging. Many good things have come my way, though.

School year #20 coming to an end. Mostly very successful and rewarding. Not sure what I'll do in the summer (except attempt to shed 20 lbs), but not feeling even a little rundown this year.

Playing might be on the uptick, too. Haven't been active in local music scene at all last few years, but a combination of better job prospects (booking agent enemy replaced by friendlier sort) and equipment change (gave up giant horn for midbore) has me considerably more positive.

Personal life is in transition: finally wed the most patient girlfriend ever (11 years!!).

Promise I'll be back sooner. Tired and full from overeating. Make that 23 lbs to shed...ill start tomorrow.

And the beginning of the end draws near

So the summer is winding up for me. How strange - seems like I haven't taught at school in a million years. By the time I start preplanning in August, I will have two consecutive weeks of all day band camps (marching, ya know). Earlier, I taught two consecutive weeks plus a day of jazz camps. So all told: one month of teaching this summer. No private lessons or anything and very few gigs, but overall all some relaxation was had. What do I have planned for the next year, then? Job #1 is to set the general music curriculum and all the accompanying assessments / projects for the year. The class won't ever be a performing class (unless guitars and keyboards magically drop from the ceiling), so there is no reason for me to spend time during the school day coming up with meaningless tasks to occupy the students. Simply put, I want to make 7th grade a straight-up jazz appreciation and 8th grade a straight-up western art music appreciation class. Symbols, works, composers, and styles can be mixed in with select videos to highlight particular aspects that are being discussed, but the amount of "hands-on" music making I've attempted in the past will be severely curtailed. I'll be able to give much better information and assessment without having to deal with the "buy-in" that can ruin projects and group assignments. This won't result in the class being the most popular offering in our extremely limited elective offerings at my school, but I know that I'll be exposing the students to more valuable content than they'll get otherwise. I'll let you know what I come up with. Good news: I'll be working with high school jazz students again! A position at the local college came open that features weekly rehearsals with the top high school jazz musicians in the area. I've worried about my declining interest in ever trying high school band directing again and the lack of opportunities to affect jazz instruction in the state, so this opportunity might be exactly what I need to recharge my teaching juices. The middle school jazz program is doing great and I have a ball with the kids, but I also know that my ability to really prepare a top-flight group is super limited due to the school schedule. I definitely will continue to develop my middle school groups, but knowing that the high school group will have "legs" (i.e. long term development potential) will be a real shot in the teaching arm. Performance-wise, I hope that the jazz related performing I've been doing since last January will continue to happen. I was pretty disappointed with a midsummer jam session performance that indicated I wasn't putting in the proper time to my practice, so I'm going to redouble my efforts in that area. My playing on the whole is fine; I just have to keep the soloing side up to snuff with more than occasional practice. Will I ever get really comfortable playing solely by ear without charts/chords? My friend in ATL has been working hard in that direction and is encouraging me to do the same. Maybe starting up the local group that went defunct a year ago and also getting a dixieland style group running will help keep me motivated. Ok, I'm gonna get my stuff going today...just as soon as I finish this cigar and take a nap ;)

The first day of the last week has done come and gone

Mercifully, the school year is winding to a close. Between having a student teacher in the Fall (not a bad guy, just not me - can't help but get in the way) and some lackluster teaching I'm sorta ready to get away for a little while. As stated yesterday, I'm not looking forward to completely stepping away: planning an setup are the orders of the summer, so a bit of a break is all I plan on taking. Hoping I can get more motivated about the physical health thing, too. I certainly have some vices, but there is evidence that I'm ready to get into some positive routine changes. I believe the practice thing will remain a more or less regular part of the weekly ritual; adding an hour or so of exercise during the offseason shouldn't be that big of a stretch for me. Practice today was okay: plodded thru a few Schlossberg exercises and 9 Bach Inventions (right hand only part). Had to remind myself that the best way to play is just to relax and let it happen - the Shires doesn't need to be forced or coaxed; it'll take care of what needs to get done. Hopefully gonna work on that continuing lower-middle articulation issue I've been having and maybe even start shedding a few more jazz standards. Working on transcriptions wouldn't hurt, either....okay, tiger, slow down - this summer work program is beginning to resemble real work. Bought a couple of gruner veltliners, sauvignon blancs, and petite syrahs today. Really want to keep the beer to a bare minimum: I'm not exactly going on a weight loss binge, but I'd like to see some gut reduction and beer ain't helping that one bit. Gal has been really working the toning stuff lately and I gotta admit she takes off weight maybe faster than anyone I've ever seen (not that she was big at all to begin with - you can just tell that she's toned up now and looking great). My brother's wife and my BBF both dropped significant weight and seem to be trying to maintain (although sis-in-law wasn't shy at dinner yesterday afternoon). Hoping to watch a little movie, eat a little dinner, have a glass of wine, and hit the hay early. Been burning the midnite oil lately (for no reason) and I'd like to not feel like Mr. Sleepyhead tomorrow. One last thing: the Macon Miracle stuff was hilarious! My brother shared the pipe dreams of the resident loony in Macon who wants to completely revamp the school system. Sure, everything he says seems like a better deal than what they are currently doing; but all at once? Does this guy have a track record of innovative AND SUCCESSFUL educational leadership (besides getting run out of his last job in Massachusetts for wasting too much time galavanting to conferences)? Speaking of conferences, nice work for this Bibb dummy by arranging to travel overseas to a CONFERENCE in BELGIUM to present his plans (plans which, as of yet, haven't accomplished anything). Public education is doomed with morons like that being worshipped and not recognized as the charlatans they really are.

And the first thing I have to say is.....

Greetings, oh denizen(s) of the www that stumble upon this humble blog. About me: yes, I teach band and, also yes, I play trombone. I am not exceptional at math or chess, however, so I think I'm a pretty low-grade nerd - but I still enjoy being part of the nerd world.

Starting this blog at the tail end of another school year (15? 16? who the hell keeps track before 20 years) might give me some momentum moving into the summer. Haven't made any concrete summer plans yet besides 2 jazz and 3 (THREE!!!) marching band camps. Girlfriend and I will make a trip to Florida at some point to visit her daughter; otherwise, plenty of opportunities to do....nothing. And like it!

Actually, that's not entirely true. Some odd desire to really invest in summer activity that will make the next school year run more smoothly seems to be manifesting itself within me. 5 years ago, I stopped doing some of the summer work that used to really get things going well at the beginning of the year; was it burnout? Laziness? I seriously couldn't tell you. Suffice it to say that I am seeing the results of uninspired "management" as opposed to teaching that can occur in the 2nd decade of teaching. Maybe simply existing for a few years was necessary to give me time to sincerely desire a better quality teaching experience. All I know is, business as usual will have to end if I'm going to enjoy myself next year.

As far as trombone playing goes, I have a friend and colleague to thank for my renewed interest in playing. He invited me to join him in a group years ago; the group folded, but he and I still remain in touch and he asked me to solo with his band last Fall (Rimsky Korsakov - I know, I know, but being out of shape it was more than enough for me). I really worked hard to get into some kind of playing condition and since then I've picked up a "jazzyish" gig that gives me a few opportunities a month to perform. The results? I'm starting to feel like I want to take up playing as a true hobby again rather than just unpack it for gigs. I have shed some "unpack only" commitments and intend to focus more on things that require a bit more thoughtfulness and preparation. Maybe I'll finally work up the Bach Cello suites that I always hoped to tackle....

That's enough for now. I don't wanna make this a long, droning soliloquy (TOO LATE). Hope I keep active with this. The stuff I posted about will be the running themes throughout the blog (girlfriend, band, bone) with random access stuff mixed in.