This Imperfect World

no pictures...just text

2008-08-06T21:09:00.002-05:00

When I first started this blog, I honestly figured that I would talk about things that intrigued me...or annoyed me...or were etched in my memory. I even had readers that told me they enjoyed reading my posts because my stories were usually a "Tyler's view of the world" perspective, which really is weird at times.

Lately, there seems to be barely enough time to go to the bathroom, much less post on my blog.

Part of my problem is that blogger (among buckets of other stuff) is blocked at my new school. I would like this changed so I could actually use blogger as a educational dialogue tool with my HS band. I'm not going to go in demanding this. I am just going to go with the "spread the good news" approach. Ya know...just describe to the right people the immense possibilities. Probably slower, but more effective in the long run.

I apologize for not really expounding on the specifics of my new job. I started summer band rehearsals this week, and I am getting more and more excited about the possibilities every day. I'm becoming more and more convinced that Brazos is loaded with great kids! If you were to just watch my band for 20 minutes, you would totally agree. It's fun to work with them. They're wanting to get better, which is cool because that's what I can help with with!

Brazos is a 2A school, and I'm going to have about 40-45 kids in HS band. The reason I don't know exactly how many yet is because not all the kids have been able to come to summer band. Most of the ones that have schedule conflicts have let me know. It's very cool to get a phone call from a kid just making sure I knew they couldn't be there, even though I already knew the problem. I love these kids!

Hopefully this will serve as the beginning of a new era of blogging.

Stay tuned!

Brazos, Here I Come...

2008-07-02T11:30:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow, my family and I will be traveling back to Texas from Arkansas and diving into an activity that we have grown to hate over the last few years. MOVING!!! However, we've done it so much, we've gotten really good at it. This fact does NOT make the process more enjoyable or easier. We're keeping our eyes peeled for two things: 1) a moving company that packs up and moves people for free, or 2) someone feels enough compassion for us to send us enough money to pay for a moving company (one that actually requires money) to take care of the moving. If you are one of those, or know one of those, please don't hesitate to LET ME KNOW!!!

I find it difficult to describe how excited I am about working at Brazos High School. The more I talk to the administration (getting things ready for the year), the more excited I become. I'm looking forward to meeting all the kids and helping them dive into our show this year. I'm looking forward to getting the younger bands back into the habit of working hard. We're going to do great things this year, and I can't wait to get started!

Millennials Rising

2008-06-26T14:04:00.003-05:00

Kelly and I just finished week two of Uplift here at Harding University, and we are both BEAT! I have no title, and very little real responsibility (#1 responsibility is to keep Brandon sane), but I still end up staying up late every night helping Brandon out with the "get the kids to bed" routine.

High school kids are fascinating to watch. I don't get much chance to just sit back and observe them much. But this is what I've been doing for about two weeks now. I'll watch them during evening worship, during lunch, during class, even rec time. I'm absolutely blown away with how different kids are fundamentally now than teens were when I was one. They think differently. They communicate differently. The world relates to them differently. AND, in effect, they relate to the world in a whole new way.

See, they're called Millennials. Also called Generation Y. They've grown up being told to "be yourself," and, by example, learned that their beliefs are what matters. This generation is currently entering the post-college workforce, and employers of the world are realizing that these kids play a different game. This generation is going to be the group that brings us out of the 20th century (which the greatest generation led us through and helped create the incredibly prosperous society we enjoy today), and they will be the front man in helping the world define a new era.

Sounds exciting, right? Being a part of a cultural shift that is going to redefine everything?

Not so fast.

What about the Church? In a time when the Church of Christ is on the verge of a fundamental identity crisis, seems to me that this generation is that which the Church of Christ has feared for 4-5 decades.

A week and a half ago I got a chance to see the group "Acappella" perform live in the Benson Auditorium. This was a group that brought together churches of Christ from across the country and gave them a unifying flag to wave that could be recognized and admired...20 years ago. In the 90's, this group ventured into the "vocal perc" discussion, and, thereby, lost a lot of listeners.

Now, the five members of this group all have full-time jobs that AREN'T singing with the group, and this is just a side job. They're not as famous among churches of Christ. They're no longer heroes. They're now just a group that sings in harmony without instruments.

Watch out, Church of Christ. You've got a group of people that are preparing to tear down your walls. We've all heard about the churches of Christ across the country that are "going instrumental." Well, to this generation, this choice is not a cerebral one. In other words, these churches are not necessarily sitting down to weigh options, using theology and scripture to direct their path. Instead, they're asking themselves, "Why are we doing what we're doing, and is it effective."

Where will our society be in 20 years? What will the church look like in 20 years?

Watch out, Church of Christ. The millennials are rising.

These days...

2008-06-13T14:49:00.002-05:00

I've been trying to post consistently for about 4 weeks now. No kidding. Everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) has been absolutely unpredictable/crazy/memorable/tiresome/exciting. I've decided that since there is SO much that I should post about, I'm going to just do a list of current goings-on, and then, if time permits, later I'll create a post specific to an important element of the following list.

1) We (Ganado Band) got permission to arrange the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory show. That's right. I began working on the arrangement in lat April, and I finished it last week. A later post will be dedicated to describing this fine musical craftmanship.

2) Right now I'm in Searcy, AR getting ready for Uplift. My great friend, Brandon Tittle, is the director of the camp, and Kelly and I come up to work/help out/spend time with Claira/pick on Joy/etc.

3) We just finished a big, fat road tour to make it to Uplift. It started on Friday to an Astros game (with Brandon and Joy), then to Mansfield for a couple of nights (sister and brother-in-law's house), then a couple of nights at Kelly's Aunt Norma and Uncle Jack's house outside of Pryor, Oklahoma. We hadn't been up there in 5 years, nor seen them in 3 years, so we had a fantastic time! Then we left to come down here in Searcy on Wednesday. Oh, by the way, Keynan and Parker both came down with ear infections along the way. Good times.

4) This one's probably the funniest if you know what Kelly and I have been through the last several years. Last week I accepted a position as Head Band Director at Brazos High School in Wallis, TX. More later. ;-)

5) Parker is growing up like crazy (becoming curious and involved in his surroundings, using his lips to mumble pseudo-stories, laughing at his brother, all the good stuff), and although Keynan won't turn two until August, he is already at the point that everyone describes as "terrible two's." It's not all terrible. He loves going around the room and pointing to an object and telling you what it is (couch, shoe, bug), and he becomes shy when you ask him to do it for someone else. He also is becoming opinionated on what he does/does not want to do. We've had to begin drawing the line in the sand. Poor kid. Both his parents are teachers. He's got no chance!

Like I said, look for more developed posts later on a few of these topics.

Peace.

Drank the Kool-Aid

2008-05-25T15:27:00.002-05:00

Kelly and I have officially become that which we've hated for years. Yup, we're now the proud owners of a MAC LAPTOP COMPUTER. If you're disappointed that we've crossed over to the dark side, you have my permission to stop reading now.

You should know that I'm not actually typing this post on our new purchase. No, instead my wife has it in her lap and she's either doodling online or discovering new and quicker ways to do whatever it is she does. :-)

We also setup a wireless network at our home. In this case, we means me. Therefore, Kelly and I are both on separate laptops about 4 feet from each other, and we're both wirelessly connected to, quite literally, the entire world.

We're both very excited.

Dog tired

2008-05-19T21:58:00.003-05:00

I promise promise promise to do better about posting later. May is just absolutely loaded with stuff to do, and when I'm not busy doing something, I'm exhausted.

A quick rundown:

Week ago Saturday (the 10th) - took HS kids to Schlitterbahn

Week ago Sunday (the 11th) - Mother's Day

Last Wednesday - Drum Major Tryouts/Color Guard Captian interviews

Last Friday/Saturday - Local Solo/Ensemble contest (7th-12th grades)

Yesterday - Region UIL Meeting in Rosenburg (3 1/2 hours long!!!)

Today - Teacher workday/Jr. High Band Concert

Tomorrow - High School Band Banquet

Thursday - Go to Rice Consolidated HS to judge color guard auditions

Friday - Take Jr. High kids to Schlitterbahn

Saturday - SLEEP LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW... and mow lawn

Two more weeks of school left, and I haven't slowed down yet.

Royal Waste of Time

2008-05-03T08:29:00.006-05:00

I'm sitting here in my wife's classroom at 8:30am on a Saturday morning as a hired babysitter for high school kids that need to make up excessive absences.

That's right, everybody. I'm doing SATURDAY SCHOOL.

If you've ever watched The Breakfast Club, it's kind of like that, only the reasons for these kids being here are a bit less dramatic.

Most of the seniors that are here are here simply because they "couldn't wake up in the morning." There are several that are here simply because being at school isn't as important to them as it is to, say, someone who passes their classes.

My wife was nice enough to let them use her word searches and crossword puzzles to pass the time. There's even a couple of fella's that are drawing each other's faces on blank paper, then trading to decide which drawing was better. Shoot me in the face.

There's one student who is standing at the back of the room because "the doctor said he has a sore on his hynie and it hurts to sit."

What's driving me nuts is the fact that it's now possible to be a lazy bum and not take school seriously, and while the rest of us had to spend 7-8 hours studying, learning, working, testing...these kids can make up the time they missed from 8-10am on a Saturday morning doing crossword puzzles.

Welcome to our broken educational system, everybody.

Ok, I'll say it. Today would be a WAY cooler if Molly Ringwald were sitting on the front row. That would be totally radical.

Thoughts from a Wannabe American Idol Fan

2008-04-29T21:11:00.004-05:00

Having read extensively the fan site dedicated to this season's American Idol, and since I've loosely watched American Idol every year since Clay Aiken took runner-up, I consider myself somewhat of an American Idol know-it-all. I've considered doing this for a while, but after tonight's dramatic episode, I've finally convinced myself to share with you, my blog readers, my advice needed to make sense of the show.

In no particular order:

1) First of all, you in no way should assume that this show represents the best singing talent in America. The contestants that are left are simply the remnants of those who chose to wait for hundreds of hours just for the chance to either a) be told that they are as amazing as they think they are, or b) make it to the "worst singers alive" reel.

2) The singers that have made it THIS far are working pretty hard. They're not in it for fun...no, no, no. They're in it to keep their face on the television for as long as possible the easy way. Because, as soon as someone gets voted off, they have to find an agent that will book them either on Ellen or Jay Leno.

3) Randy will always be the first to speak. This is simply to supply two people after him that can say something that will make you forget the stupid stuff Randy said. By the way, when he says things like, "I dunno, man," he really doesn't know, man.

4) Paula is the only person on the "judging panel" that has a glimpse of an idea of what it's like to sing in front of crazed fans that want to see a little more skin. This, however, does not make anything she says more intelligent. She is a ditz and should be respected as a ditz should be respected (as in, don't).

5) People think that Simon is mean. Some think he's honest. In order for you to listen to what he says, you must remember that he's somewhat of a diva himself (man-boobs and all). He truly believes that everyone else's opinion is a moo point. So when he speaks to a contestant, he
honestly feels like the whole world should pause for a second and take his opinion as what is the most "true." He does have an agenda (to get his favorite to win), so his opinion is going to try to steer you towards his desired outcome.

6) America doesn't really vote. They call in, and a company does all the "tallying" and hands the numbers over to a bunch of producers. These producers don't tell America the percentages. This is done on purpose. There is a lot of room for "fudging," so by calling in you are simply involving yourself in a multi-million dollar investment that FOX has made to get you to watch their program.

7) People WILL get on this show simply by being cute (proof here and here). Some will do well, others will find out quickly they can't go through life with good looks without substance.

8) Being young and good helps you out. It won't win the competition for you, but it certainly helps.

9) People WILL change their hairdo on this show to get noticed. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I suggest playing a game each week: call in for the contestant that made the most drastic change to their hair. It's my little way of "pullin' for the underdog."

10) **MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF ADVICE** In order for someone to win on this show, they have to A) have a working knowledge of pop music, 2) know where they would fit into this genre, C) be able to take criticizm and learn and change because of it, and 4) have a functional "thank you, Simon" face for when Simon compliments a performance.

Predictions?

David Cook's got a marketable sound. He'll take it all the way. David Arc... is a young gun with remarkable potential, but he's a bit too nice, and I think his "not using his top lip to sing" is going to cause him to get runner up. Stepping out on a limb here, but Brooke will be gone tomorrow night.

Mac or PC?

2008-04-20T19:31:00.002-05:00

Ok, for a while now, Kelly and I have been planning to buy a laptop on or soon after May 20th. That date has no significant importance other than that will be the date that we will have saved up enough to buy the laptop (thanks to Dave Ramsey for our newfound budgeting skills).

See, over spring break, we stayed a few nights with our friends Brandon and Joy. Brandon had recently gotten a MacBook Pro. He let me fiddle around with it a bit, and now I, a lifelong PC guy, am actually considering a Mac!

I know! ME!!!

Since then, I have read buckets of stuff on the internet, talked to buckets of recent converts, considered buckets of compatability issues, and - well - now I'm resorting to comments on a blog.

Here's what I've got:

Pros - GarageBand (almost worth getting a Mac just to get this), a little quicker, no drivers to install (etc), let virus threat, great program pack (iMovie, etc), everything in a Mac works together because it's all made by the same company, all higher education institutions are switching to Mac (so if Kelly ever decides to teach college, this would be a plus), others?

Cons - more expensive, smaller, have to re-wire how I think, have to buy Office for Mac (a must for compatibility), less easy-fix-it-knowledge, I'd have to re-format our external hard drive (a big nuisance), others?

Ok, so we need some help. Let us know your wisdom/experience/thoughts.

"Maybe the whole world is becoming louder"

2008-04-20T15:56:00.003-05:00

Stop.

Before you go any further, read at least the first several paragraphs of this article.

Did you read what I did? London musicians are being required to wear ear plugs during rehearsals and performances? So the french horn player you sit behind is now an occupational hazzard (in more ways than one?)?

We should have seen this coming. Yup. Since our world is slowly becoming more and more "entertainment" oriented, audiences are obviously going to gravitate toward the higher, faster, louder pieces, especially now that there is more and more music being written and performed by (and for) professional orchestras. I mean, if I wrote a piece of music, it has GOT to be marketable somehow. Professional orchestras are only going to play music that is noticable. Therefore, they end up playing more and more higher, faster, louder pieces, and now someone noticed that the 3rd row viola player is whencing when the trumpet has to play the high C# fourteen times in the finale. Someone felt sorry for the viola player, so now earplugs are mandated. Makes sense right? bleh.

Call me biased, but musicians throughout history have had to put up with a lot worse than listening to the best brass players in the world every day. I'm not kidding when I say that I would put up with some eventual (if noticable) hearing loss over the years if I got to sit by Maurice Murphy every day for a job.

The Grand scheme of things...

2008-04-16T20:01:00.003-05:00

We got a III.

No kidding. A III.

Just to make sure we're on the same page, let me explain. We were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 by three judges. We performed three pieces (March of the Belgian Paratroopers, A Childhood Hymn, and Pevensey Castle) and the judges wrote comments on a sheet and rated us. I never spoke with them, they just listened, and scored. One judge gave us a II, the other two gave us a III. Averaged together - a III.

In the sightreading room, we made straight I's, across the board.

That's what makes the III sting a little bit (maybe a lot).

Ever since I found out, I have thrown myself into a rollercoaster of emotions (shift the blame, what could I have done different, what went wrong that I didn't catch, etc), but here's really what it boils down to:

The UIL system (for band) is designed to judge a band against a standard. Within this system, it's my job to have my band play 3 pieces that they can play "perfect" (that's not the best way of saying it, but it's true). That means that all notes need to be played correctly, in tune, and well balanced. If we play all of our notes correctly, in tune, and well balanced, we will be awarded a I...regardless of the music that we play. If we fall a little short of that "perfect" performance, a II. Further from "perfect," a III.

What today's results mean is that I overprogrammed for my band. I had them play music that was "too tough," and it shot them and me in the foot.

Today I'm going to talk to them about playing by the rules of someone else's game. When we walked off the stage, the kids felt great about their performance, and they honestly felt like they had done well. They felt like they had communicated musically to a high degree.

Then - the III.

I'd like to say that ratings don't matter, but in many arenas of life, they do.

Oh well, life goes on. I've got two cutey-pants boys at home that make those ratings a little less significant. I'm not going to dwell forever on something that, really, isn't the most important thing in life. I've got a job to do. I'm gonna do it well.

To be Proud or Happy?

2008-04-11T07:34:00.005-05:00

There is a saying that band directors in Texas often tell themselves (and their assistants):

"If a band gets a I, the credit goes to the kids. If a band gets anything less, the blame goes to their director."

There are several flaws with this statement (which is not the point of this post, therefore I won't elaborate on them), but ultimately the idea has merit. If my band gets anything less than a I, then I didn't do my job to the best of my ability.

My post on which march to play at contest spurred a couple comments as well as a couple emails. Every person that responded said that I should go with the hard one and hope for the best.

That's what I'm gonna do, and let me tell you why.

I'm in the business of helping kids learn how to challenge themselves. In this current age of "anything I can't get right now probably isn't worth getting," kids are crippling themselves in thousands of ways every day. The easy way is the way that gets the job done. BUT, the easy way misses the beautiful sunset, or the goosebump moments in a concert, or the once in a lifetime moment that you tell your kids about later.

Here's what I said to my 8th graders on Friday (almost word for word):

"On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the hardest piece you could play and get a I, and 1 being the easiest piece you could play and get a I), March of the Belgian Paratroopers is probably about a 10.2. Probably. In other words, it might be TOO hard for us. So the question is, do we work our rearends off for a piece that we love but could get a II, or do we play something easy so we can tell our friends that we're good. Seriously, how cool would it be if we played something easy and got a I on it? Not very, right? However, how cool would it be...if...we played something that was honestly too hard for us...and STILL made a I? How cool would THAT be?"

Twenty-five 8th graders will build a memory at 1:45pm on Wednesday. We'll find out then what lesson they will learn.

The Belgians. The BELGIANS!!

2008-04-08T13:17:00.002-05:00

My 8th grade band is going to contest a week from tomorrow. Here in Texas, you have to play 2 pieces from a prescribed music list, then a march of your choice. The march that we chose is tough. As in...it's hard. The band loves it. And they ALMOST sound great at it. There's just a few spots that are giving them fits, and they know it.

Anyway, when you go to contest, you are judged by 3 judges, all band directors (or retired directors). After listening to all three pieces, they give you a score that consists of a I, II, III, VI, or V. I is the best, V is the worst. Then the scores from the three judges are averaged together to give you a composite score. So if you get a I, I, II, that is averaged and you receive a I.

Last year, the 7th grade band (now 8th graders) made a I, I, I, which is awesome!

But they played 3 pieces that were pretty safe.

I challenged them this year to play a TOUGH march called "March of the Belgian Paratroopers" by Peter Leemans and arranged by James Swearingen. It fit the group well, and they liked it enough to think they would work on it.

Well, like I said, it's almost good enough to make a I next week. The deadline to enter is 30 days before contest (a few weeks ago), but I have until a week prior to contest to change a piece (tomorrow).

So here's the dilemma. Do I have them play the tough march that they love and possibly get a II, or do I pass out an easy march that they could easily get a I on so they can feel good about themselves?

So which is more important? Good music or good ratings?

I have until the end of today to decide. I'll let you know which way I go.

minor or Major?

2008-04-05T15:13:00.002-05:00

This week my head director and I have been discussing the possibilities of which students might quit band at the end of the year and which ones will stay in. The discussion mainly appears when we try to brainstorm for next year's marching show. We have a really good idea for our show this year, and, if everything goes to plan, I will be arranging it. Knowing which students will be in and which will be out becomes important when writing a show with certain students in mind.

Table that thought for a moment.

There are two basic forms of chords. Minor and major. There are all sorts of variations to mask the basic-ness of these two musical colors, but basically it boils down to whether there's a major 3rd in the middle or a minor 3rd. When i think about a certain chord, say Eb Major, those notes are going to be Eb, G, and Bb. Without the G, it's not really a chord. It's just two notes that work really well together. But, as soon as you add the G in there, suddenly the chord has a certain flavor to it. It's suddenly a major chord. It sounds good. It feels good. Major chords inspire lemonade in the summer and paying a buck to download a song that you like.

Now, instead of adding a G, make it a Gb instead. Now you've got yourself a minor chord. It sounds darker, less positive, maybe even forboding. People who write minor chords are usually depressed with the situation around them, or are always negative, or like to explore the darker side of life.

Although I'm speaking in very general terms, the point is still there. In a chord, the middle note decides what the entire group of notes sounds like.

I use this concept in a lot of arenas of my life. For instance, within every group of people, there's always going to be a sourpuss. There's always going to be someone who, maybe, doesn't want to be there, or woke up on the wrong side of the bed, or just got dumped by their girl/boyfriend, whatever. It's a sure thing in life. That person(s) is the minor 3rd. Minor is fine as long as it's still making music. However, once that minor 3rd gets to a place where it's making the entire chord, maybe even the entire composition, sound bad, it's time to eliminate it. Because, as everyone knows, a chord that includes three notes and TWO of them are minor thirds becomes a diminished chord. Nobody wants that.

Right now in our HS band we have a plethra of major 3rds. Just buckets of kids that brighten your day by being there. AND, they're spread throughout the band - front row, back row, percussion, everywhere! We, as band directors, just have to make sure that the minor 3rds don't overshadow the major 3rds. Our audiences like to hear major chords. It makes them feel like our band is a good one.

So what do you think you are? Are you the person that makes the chord minor? or Major?

Spring Sing is in the air...

2008-03-15T18:54:00.003-05:00

Later this week, Kelly and I will be making our annual pilgrimmage to the 2nd most magical place on earth.

Well, first we're stopping at my sister's house. Although the house will be full of fantastically fun characters, the place just ain't magical, at least not that I'm aware of.

The place I'm referring to is called Harding University on Spring Sing Weekend. Of course, anyone who has attended said university knows that the place transforms to a magical place one weekend a year.

This one weekend brings in, literally, THOUSANDS of alumni, prospective students, parents, and friends to Searcy, Arkansas.

I first made my appearance there in 1997 as a junior in high school, then returned in '98. The next year I played my trumpet part proudly on stage in the jazz band, as I did the following 3 years. Since I graduated, I've only missed one performance (it was in 2006, and I will never forgive myself ;-).

Many people have tried to describe in words what the show is and how it works. Just the other day I tried to give a basic outline to my head director. You can imagine the face of a man who 1) doesn't attend the Church of Christ, therefore does not understand our pride in our singing, 2) has only heard of Harding through me, therefore does not understand the role of the conservative Christian school within the realm of C of C schools, and 3) knows that there are some things that sound silly when described, but aren't in reality. (btw, I do believe that spring is silly, so those of you who just rolled your eyes should feel ashamed for assuming I'm a dork)

If you've made it this far into this post and still have no idea what Spring Sing is, google it. Go to YouTube and search for it. Better yet, make your way to Searcy this Saturday and watch the evening show (surely it's not sold out, the Benson holds over 4,000 people for pete's sake!).

Bottom line, I'm one of the annoying people in the world that looks forward to Spring Sing weekend. I've got several friends there (or coming in), so I'm guessing I'm going to be surrounded by good company.

And, I'll be taking bets on how many times my mouth eats a regular 4 on wheat from Lenny's.

Mobile Learning

2008-03-13T13:51:00.004-05:00

About 6 years ago, Kelly took a masters class with Dr. Donny Lee. One of the things they talked about in this class was how the basic idea and approach to education is the same as it was 100 years ago. Student desks in a room with a board at front, teacher standing while students sitting, textbooks, homework, August to May, 8am-3pm, Superintendent->Principal->Teachers->students, tardy slips, bells, the list goes on an on.

In the 20th century, it was a general style that worked well.

Now kids are different. Older people try to deny it, but the bottom line is that kids now have the entire world available at their fingertips. It's been moving this direction for a while, but...

...now education is trying to catch up.

You really should go read this news release, and I HIGHLY encourage you to watch the Connected video. It's very exciting for someone like me who is himself a visual learner.

Why don't I own one of these iPhones? Oh, yeah. They're at least $400, and I'm not going to ACU next fall.

works in progress...

2008-03-11T12:10:00.004-05:00

Every once in a while, someone asks what sorts of arrangements I'm currently working on. Well, in order to understand the answer, you have to understand my process of putting together a band arrangement.

First of all, when I say I'm working on an arrangement, that usually means that I've got it in my head, just not into Finale. I'm one of those that runs a piece through my head about a million times before I even create a file for it. I usually work out various melody developments, musical color changes, key changes, possible new key areas, articulation prioritizations, important part considerations,... basically whatever needs to be thought through prior to actually putting it down on paper/in the computer.

Once I've got it all in my head, I use Finale 2008 to create the file. This is where I line out what instruments will be playing, how many parts on each instrument, time signatures, key signatures, etc. Then, once I've created the file, I have to go through and change what I need to. For instance, Finale lets you create as many clarinet parts as you want, but they are labeled, "Clarinet in Bb 1, 2, etc." Since most of the stuff I arrange/compose is for school band, I don't want it to say "in Bb," so I have to go in a change the name of the staff once the file is created. I also go through and put in any key/time changes that may apply. I usually know exactly where these will be, simply because I've done all this in my head.

Then comes the tough part. I then have to transcribe what's in my head to the computer screen. I have a Yamaha piano keyboard at school and a Yamaha Clavinova keyboard at home that I hook up to my laptop using an Edirol MIDI to USB cord. This allows me to play the note I want on the keyboard and strike a number (5 = quarter note, 6 = half note, 7 = whole note, etc), and the note magically appears on the screen where I want it. This usually takes anywhere from a few minutes to countless hours, all depending on the arrangement.

Once the notes are in, if I haven't already, I then have to go in and place any needed slur markings or articulations. This is where a lot of the "Thinking through such and such's part" happens. I have to decide who is going to play this part, and then decide what it's going to take, notationally speaking, to play the part correctly.

Now that the notes are in, and they're all the right length, I have to go through and place dynamic markings as needed. This is tough. Every band (if not each player) has a different concept of mf, pp, fff. It's my job to keep it all relative, and the tempation is to put what dynamic level I would want there if I were playing it, which is not wise. I have to put myself in my 8th grade clarinet player's shoes and imagine what she would be thinking as she came across a certain passage.

Once this is done, the score is basically there. I've held the belief for a long time that the "music" we see on the page is not the real music. The printed notation is simply an outline of what the music should sound like. This is a concept that I try to teach to every band I'm in front of. It's much like writing an essay. Before you write an essay, you probably want to sketch out the framework beforehand. This framework is not the real essay, but it is instead a guideline that will bring you from the beginning, to the middle, then to the end. Same thing with printed music. Music is aural. I have to extract all the different parts from the score (a process that is very easy with Finale 2008) so that each individual in the band has their own outline in front of them - SO THAT they can make music.

So what am I currently working on, you ask? Well, here's a list of things that are running though my head. Some are in Finale, some aren't. Some I have to get the rights to arrange, some I don't. This is all just off the top of my head, although there are others that are a little further back on the priority list.

Tambur - An old Hungarian dancing song. The Harding University Chorus sang this while I was there. I've wanted to arrange this for a long time, but the HS band I work with is perfect for this arrangement.

Charlie & the Chocolate Factory - This is possibly going to be our HS Marching show next year. Rights are pending, but I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Various chorales - I try to arrange a new chorale for my 8th grade band every couple of weeks. These are a large portion of our warmup, so I try very hard to make it work well for them.

Circus Days - My head director and I looked at this King March for my 8th grade band, but there were some range issues that kept us from passing it out. I put together an arrangement that took out some of the range issues, but we're not sure if they are going to play it or not.

New Piece (to be named later) - an original composition I've been sitting on for a couple of years. It's basically worked out, I just need the time to sit down and write it out.

Gershwin's Prelude #2 - Another I just need the time to put together. I will also need the rights to do this one.

Various marching band stand tunes - I'm a master at these, basically because the kids don't care how it sounds. I put one together that SUPPOSED to sound fun and rambunctious.

I'll keep you updated on the outcome of these.

Oh, the times, they are a'changin...

2008-03-09T21:17:00.006-05:00

Lately, I (along with my wife) have been somewhat of a revolutionary.

Let me explain.

There have been changes taking place over the last few years, and these changes are now spawning other changes, which will then spark new growth, and then... well you get the picture. You see, the term "Music Technology" used to refer to synthesizers and MIDI files. Not long ago (seriously, less than 10 years ago) the idea of the use of technology in the music classroom was still in its infancy. My freshman year at college (Fall '98), Harding University had just built their brand-spankin' new Reynold's Center for Music and Communication (ooooh, aaaaah), complete with a music computer lab with brand new Mac computers with electric piano keyboards at each of the 7-9 stations (I forget exactly how many). We were all sooo proud of the fact that we were now using computers to make music!!! WOW!!

Installed on these computers were a few programs that, now, seem pre-historic. Finale '98 and Practica Musica are the only ones that we used at first, although I'm sure there were more. It took us forever to learn how to even do anything in Finale, much less use it for an assignment. When they finally got Practica Musica to work, it didn't seem as useful as the well-marketed box said it was.

That was then.

Now, music teachers seem to have the world at their feet, what with all the resources available.

For instance, I've become a HUGE fan of Smartmusic. I'd even venture to say that this program could fundamentally change the way we teach band within 10-12 years. It's a home-practice system that allows a student to practice while listening to all the other parts of a piece of music. The program also allows this student to record himself and get immediate feedback on his performance. The program comes with roughly 40,000 song titles already in the program, as well as each individual part on the screen (i.e. if you play clarinet, you can pull up the 1st clarinet part for Molly on the Shore and play along with a really good recording of the piece). It even comes with a "Tempo change" feature that allows you to speed up/slow down the tempo. Also included is a real-time tuner and metronome. I could go forever. I haven't even gotten into the part about what sorts of music are included or the ways that you could use this program in the classroom!

That's not all.

I've been reading several new blogs lately, and I highly encourage you to start following the sort of things they talk about if your at all interested.

Music Technology in Education - James Frankel

Mustech.net

Music is Not for Insects

The Digital Music Educator

These guys/gals have just been intriguing me lately by suggesting alternate pathways of musical learning. I've even gone so far as to dream about ways that I myself could head up a new venture into the world of digital musical learning at my own school.

That's still not all.

I've recently begun using a wide variety of Google apps that have proven themselves to be VERY useful if implemented within the school learning environment. I really like gmail, but if you haven't looked at the numerous apps that Google offers, you should. First of all, Google Calendar is a way that I could communicate with my students on upcoming events. I could share a calendar with them and provide essentially everything they need to know (what time, where, what to bring, rehearsal agenda, who's involved, etc). Google Documents could be a way that I provide fingering charts, concert programs, behavior documentation, etc. Oh the possibilities!

My wife has been telling me that this sounds all great and all, but someone, somewhere, somehow is going to have to pay for this. She is correct, but I'll have to expound on THOSE possibilities in another post.

We are living in exponential times. In the 1960's, they had computers that filled an entire room. Take that times a billion and you have what today's cell phones are capable of. So take what we've got now...multiply it by a billion...what do you get? Where will we be in 40 years? Today's students will either laugh or cry about the education they received!

Oh, the times...they are a'changin.

What I've been up to...

2008-03-02T20:02:00.002-06:00

When a married couple that enjoys sleep has one child, it gets difficult to get rest.

When that same couple has a second child, suddenly the whole idea of "fast asleep" or "good night's rest" is something of the past. That is to say, "There ain't none of that goin' on in dis' house."

Although this lack of sleep has not been the one big reason for my (extreme) lack of posts on this blog, it certainly has been an underlying theme ever since January 13th. I have not necessarily been just avoiding a computer altogether. Blogging has just changed position on my list of priorities. I think I've finally reached a point, now, that I will be able to get back into the habit of more posts.

I've decided that it would probably be best to catch you up on the top part of my priority list. The list below is not meant to be a "Most Important to Least Important Things that Take Up Tyler's Time." This is just an attempt to brief you on the current goings-on in my part of the world.

1) Parker Wiggains is growing up like crazy. Today he turned 7 weeks. He's already following people around the room with his eyes, and it's getting easier and easier to get a grin out of him. When I come home in the evening, I usually hold him while Kelly makes dinner. Keynan, at this point, is usually running around the house playing with toys and showing us how cool they are.

2) Keynan is growing up each day. He's developing LOTS of words that he actually says (not just signs anymore). For a list of words, click here.

3) Our High School Band will be going to UIL Concert & Sightreading Contest a week from Wednesday (March 12th). We had a Pre-UIL Concert last Thursday with the Industrial HS Band and Edna HS Band. We are challenging our kids with harder music this year than they've played in the past. Although they're stepping up to the challenge, we're still not quite contest ready. We've been re-evaluating priorities after each rehearsal, which is great.

4) My head director and I are already thinking about/planning next year's halftime marching show. He actually wants me to arrange it, which came as a HUGE compliment. I'm very excited. Although I won't yet reveal the show concept, it's sure to be a crowd pleaser and contest highlight.

5) I've been spending a LOT of time reading LOTS of blogs/visions/research about the possibilities that current technology could provide in today's classroom/bandhall. I'll be posting about this more in the next couple of days, so stay tuned.

6) I mowed my yard a week ago. Growing up I HATED mowing. Now, it's not so bad...but don't tell my dad that.

7) Our church congregation is doing life groups, and we love ours. We're going through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace videos. Kelly and I actually bought his book, Total Money Makeover, last November, but now we're learning stuff from a new angle. Totally recommended.

8) I went to the TMEA Convention two weeks ago. I came back with a thrust of ideas and a better vision for how I can make my students learn better. More on that in later posts.

9) I've realized lately that there has been very little "Tyler Time" in my life. When we were working at WCS, I had a 45-minute commute to school and back, so I was able to do all my thinking/praying then. Here in the thriving metropolis of Ganado, we only live a block and a half away from the school. Most days I walk to school. Those four minutes are pretty much the only time I have to myself. Therefore I made a deal with Kelly that I would cook dinner one night a week if she would allow me to go to the bandhall one night a week and reflect/pray/plan/compose/arrange/etc. I think you, the blogosphere, are going to see the fruits of that time within the next several weeks. I'm excited.

Big things that are coming up soon:
1) Spring Break (two more weeks)
2) Trip to Harding for Spring Sing
3) Jr. High UIL Concert/Sightreading
4) Jazz Band Dinner Concert

I'm going to keep you more posted these days, so check back often!

Parker Duncan Wiggains

2008-01-14T08:57:00.002-06:00

Proud Aunt Harmony here to announce the arrival of Parker Duncan. Yes, Kelly was scheduled for a c-section this afternoon. But she began having contractions during church services yesterday morning. They decided to head to Houston and check into the hotel just to be safe. On the way there the contractions got stronger and closer. They called the doctor and headed to the hospital. By the time she was checked in, she was dilated to a 4. So Parker arrived around 5 pm. Mom and baby are both doing well. I will add pictures as soon as I receive some - so keep checking in.

The stats:
Parker Duncan
10 lbs 9 oz
21 3/4" long

Give 'em what they want!

2008-01-06T20:41:00.001-06:00

This writer's strike has gone on long enough. LONG ENOUGH I SAY!

Right now I'm sitting on my couch, watching "American Gladiators."

Give the writers what they want and put this current television programming back in the toilet where it came from!

good grief

I am glad to see that they finally got my self portrait in the mail. This was me before I became the chubby band director I am today. Ah, those were the days.

Life of a Candidate

2008-01-05T21:48:00.001-06:00

I have never in my life been so interested in what's going on in the race for the US presidency as I have been the last several weeks. I've never been one for politics, but the characters that are in play right now are absolutely fascinating to me.

First of all, I had no idea what a caucus was until about a week ago. Favorite thing about the Iowa caucus: it's flat-out raw politics. No secret ballot, no hanging chads, etc. There's a face to each and every "vote." In the democratic caucus, everyone gets in a big room, and you go and stand in the corner for your candidate. It's so uncivilized! It's like choosing a 10th grade student council rep! I love it!

I have also enjoyed watching the ups and downs of the polls. Now, it should be said that I get most of my information through tv media, which I know is not the most reliable. BUT, I'm kindof the guy that needs the television news to analyze what's going on anyway.

Tonight we went to El Campo for a grocery trip, and when we got back, I had several things to do before I sat down to turn on the tv. I had totally forgotten about the New Hampshire Debate on ABC. I only caught the last half hour or so of the democratic debate, but I couldn't help but notice a few things.

1) Barack Obama looked worn out. I'm pretty sure that he knows how to work a crowd, and he did so much of that in Iowa that now he's feeling it. Get a good night's rest Barack. Take a Tylenol PM and don't get up too early in the morning.

2) Hillary Clinton is a girl. Usually she tries to sell herself as a woman who's good at a man's game, but tonight she seemed a little defensive...similar to a bunch of jr. high girls that I teach. It's just a different kind of presidential debate when a female is in on the action. (Note: I do not mean to say that all girls are defensive. I just noticed tonight that she reacted more like a girl than usual.)

3) Way to go John Edwards. Tonight was the first time I actually saw in his eyes the possibility that he could pull this off. I appreciate his practicality of his solutions, too. Well done.

4) What the heck was Bill Richardson doing at this debate? Did they need a fourth debater and figured they should include a basset hound? He said at one point that he was the only one up there who had run a state government and balanced a budget before. Um, anyone who knows anything about the current state of New Mexico knows that education is the pits, law enforcement is corrupt, and there were few "improvements" he made in office. Poor guy. He's bragging about a record that he should actually be somewhat ashamed of.

I personally cannot imagine being a presidential candidate these days. They are all working their rear-ends off...all for the sake of momentum. They surround themselves with people whom they trust to tell them what to do and say. They have to stay on their toes every moment of every day. One little tiny slipup could cost them everything.

Although this doesn't mean much coming from someone who only holds a small corner of the internet, but...

I pray that God helps each candidate keep their integrity, and that we, the public, see the true person running, not a fake face that they present in hopes of winning. May God's Will trump any candidate's selfish ambitions, and the future of America be led in a way that cultivates Godliness.

Tossed Too and Faux...

2007-12-28T01:31:00.000-06:00

For the past 3 days, most of my time has been spent painting. I started with the boys' room on Christmas Eve, and spent most of Christmas day finishing that project. This morning Kelly and I began on the first coat in the living room. "We" chose a really cool faux finish...that was actually three coats. Of course, I had to do most of the tough stuff (up high, down low, precision painting around the windows/doors). About halfway through putting on the first color of the faux finish, Kelly had to bail (worn out, and her hands were turning red from the paint). So (notice the time of this post) I'm done with the third coat, and I'm pooped.

I should go to bed right now, but I wanted to post this list of tips I was thinking about while painting. Enjoy!

Tips in case you are asked to paint 2 rooms before guests come
1. First of all, if you pregnant wife plans for the two of you to paint two rooms in 3 days, she actually means YOU. Don't complain. She'll call you "grown up" if you finish the task without complaining. This could be useful later on.

2. When you are asked by your pregnant wife which color "you" want to paint the living room, quickly deny the opportunity to choose and hand the decision over to her.

3. When she chooses a color that requires 3 coats, THEN let your opinion be known. Do not, however, assume that your opinion will be taken into consideration.

4. Make sure your ipod is synced with any Christmas cd's you might have received.

5. Before you begin painting, make sure there is a 12pack of Dr. Pepper sitting in the fridge. Make it a goal to constantly have a can of said soft drink close by, in case you want to look like you're "thinking."

6. If there's even a remote possibility your wife might be helping, make sure you keep your computer hooked up (even if your painting the room it's in). In bleak situations, iTunes will cover a multitude of sins. It's difficult for her to get mad at you for making a mistake when you've both been singing along with the Newsies soundtrack for the past half hour.

7. Don't feel bad about eating too many Double Stuf Oreos on breaks.

8. Be proud of the job you did. Even if you think it looks awful, suck it up and deal with it. You're not going to want to do anything about it anytime soon.

A Blog on Blogging

2007-12-21T08:30:00.000-06:00

If you've been watching the sitemeter on the right side of this page, you've probably noticed that it crossed over 1,000 page views yesterday morning. I had originally placed there the first free hit counter I found when I googled "free hit counter." It looked dippy, but noticed quickly that there were a lot more people looking at my blog than I assumed (I thought that my mom was the only loyal visitor).

A few weeks later, I happened to be looking at Mark Elrod's blog where I noticed he had a fancy sitemeter on his site. See'in's how he's a much more involved blogger than I, my curiosity shot through the roof and I did some research. So a few hours later, I had put this new sitemeter on my blog.

Since that moment, I have been able to watch what brings my viewers to This Imperfect World. I've had viewers from all over the US, as well as countries in Europe and South America (I know, what in the world?) I've been able to see what google searches people do that lead them here, as well as which one of my friend's blogs they visited before they came to mine.

For the first time in my life, I think I actually found a non-musical hobby - something I had been searching for for about 5-6 years now.

I love getting comments on my posts from friends and family. Whether it be what crossed their mind when they read the post, or a response to what I said, I enjoy it all the same. Keep 'em coming!

Here's to the next thousand!

5th row back, far right

2007-12-17T21:37:00.001-06:00

I don't post much about my son. There are several reasons for this - one being that I don't want him all over the internet (at least not until he's famous). However, I have decided to put that aside for this evening.

Tonight was our High School Band Christmas Concert. We started the night with our HS Jazz Band. Because of a lack of trumpets, I actually play with the group. I really enjoy the workout, and it gives me a chance to stretch my chops. The show was slated to start at 7pm, but the kids were supposed to be at their spot at 6:45. I was all warmed up about 10 minutes 'til 7, so I was standing at the front of the auditorium just watching the people walk in. I noticed my wife sat down with Keynan. I saw her trying to get him to notice 'Dad,' so I put on the big grin that I knew he could pick out. When he finally made eye contact, he exploded with laughter. She even got him to wave really big to me. He kept on pointing to me and saying, "Daa-Daa!"

This was my first concert since he began talking (my last one was this past May, and he began talking in late July). Although he's only got a few words under his belt, he is still becoming more and more perceptive every day. In fact, upon hearing music (whether on the radio, on the marching field, or on tv), he doesn't just dance like most children do. No, he actually shoots his hands straight up in the air and waves his arms around.......just like his Dad. No kidding! Does he hear music the same way I do, only to a different degree? Is he just imitating what he sees? Who knows. All I know is that when he does it, there's nothing in the world that could make me more proud.

BTW, one of our 'bonding times' is when we sit at the computer together 2-3 times a week and watch marching band shows and DCI shows on YouTube.

He is his father's son.

Did I say that?

2007-12-13T16:02:00.001-06:00

Today during 6th Period Jazz Band, we were working on an arrangement of Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire. Our bass player, who has learned how to play bass only this year, so his skills are less than significant, stands right behind me during rehearsals. When my head director stopped the band to work with the saxes, I turned to the bass player and said these words: "The 'F' you have at 73 is just as important as the 'F' you have in 74."

He heard:

"...'F' You blah blah 73 blah blah blah 'F' You blah 74."

First of all, imagine his face upon hearing me say that.

Secondly, imagine how well he played the next couple of minutes have just been "cussed out" by his band director.

There were 2 other people that heard me. 1) Coolest piano player ever, and 2) head director. We all got so tickled later that I decided I should post this here.

Babysitting 101

2007-12-11T09:33:00.001-06:00

Today is "Benchmark Testing" day here in G-town. My head director took off to San Antonio to look for solos our HS kids could play for UIL solo and ensemble contest. Me? I get the outstanding opportunity to stay in the bandhall and babysit 12 seniors who don't have to take the benchmark tests. Of course, 8 of them are in Yearbook, and, in true senior form, these kids waited until today to work on their spreads that...no kidding...are due today. So I'm here watching 2 kids play Guitar Hero, 1 kid is sleeping, and one kid is listening to "Carry On My Wayward Son" over and over while studying for a spanish test.

If you ever find yourself in this situation, here are a few tips I've collected that would help you out:

1) If a kid asks to go to the bathroom, mess with him a little bit and make him think that you'll be timing him for a study you're doing for the school board.

2) Don't be uptight about what the room looks like. Chairs will be used in ways that were never imagined by the company that built them. Right now I'm looking at a 3-chair desk made by spanish-studying-kid that is nothing short of an engineering phenominon.

3) Don't try to get too much accomplished. (Hence, this blog post)

4) Don't be afraid to listen in on conversations. You WILL learn something you didn't know before, even if it's something you thought you knew.

5) If you find yourself trying to get something accomplished, stop and try to draw the kids' faces on post-it notes. These could come in handy if any of them give you any lip later on.

6) Whatever happens, no matter what, never EVER try to...

Principal's here...gotta go...bye. ;-)

Believe me, it's better on the other side...

2007-12-08T14:12:00.000-06:00

So today Ganado is hosting the Region 13 All-Region Band Auditions. I know, sounds all cool, right?

Days like today I give the big "S" for "Stupid."

First of all, I wasn't entered as the assistant at Ganado during the entry process, so I wasn't put down as a judge....until yesterday. Of course, at that point all the good judging panels had been taken, so I got the leftover.

Today I judged the Bari Saxes, Alto Clarinet, Contra-Alto Clarinet, Bass Trombone, and Mallets. The reason I had to judge 5 SECTIONS was because these 5 sections had the least amount of participants. So the judges that were put on this panel were the people that didn't play any of these instruments, and the hope was that none of us were too stupid to mess up the audition.

To my knowledge, none of us were too stupid...

...but it was close.

When I was in high school, I loved all-region auditions! I saw my friends/rivals, pigged out at the concession stand, "flirted" with the cute female flute players (and stayed away from the male ones), played my horn a few minutes before I went in for my audition, made the band, went home happy and told my parents how proud they could be of me.

Now, I have to sit and listen to a bunch of ungrateful idiots who don't know their music try to fake us judges into thinking that they are good musicians.

Shoot me in the face.

Today after school

2007-12-05T20:19:00.001-06:00

My day is usually totally full. Seriously, I have a 40 minute break from teaching at 9:05, then a 25 minute opening at 11:10. Now, don't be fooled. This 1 hour and 5 minutes is used to do about 3-4 hours of work. When I'm not in front of a band trying to get the kids excited music (which, by the way, is exhausting), I'm just short of running all over campus trying to take care of this, that, and the other. Then, when I come back into the bandhall, I have to put the chairs and stands back into rows before the next band comes in, pick up any music that the previous band might have forgotten to pick up when packing up, and write on the board the order of tunes to be rehearsed.

Needless to say, I end up staying quite a while after school every day taking care of things I didn't get to during the school day. Of course, this is also the time when hoards of kids come and practice/get help in the bandhall. My first year of teaching, my head director didn't really push kids to practice (I know, what the heck!?). My 2nd year, I got a new head director that had a nack of getting kids to come and practice in the bandhall. Even though he made my life miserable, I learned a lot from this guy - namely, how to get kids in the bandhall to practice.

Today I counted 13 students after school today. This was an incredibly small crowd, as usually there's close to 30. These kids range from 6th grade through 12th, and the music they are practicing ranges from "just learned Jingle Bells this morning" to "Mr. Wiggains, this all-region music is HARD!" Of course, being the fantastic assistant band director that I am, I play a great game of tag with these kids. I've gotten really good at working with a kid for about 5 minutes, then giving them something to work on while I go work with Derrick on "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."

Today, Lauren came in. She is a precious little 7th grader who Kelly says looks like a character from a Beverly Clearly book. She's shorter than her peers, thick brown hair, big, bright eyes behind circle glasses, and a sweet, shy composure that makes you want to take care of her and shield her from anything bad. She's very bright, but has a very tough time playing the clarinet. Her pitch is just consistently about 20 cents flat. I sat her in front of the tuner and worked with her to get her pitch up, telling her to bring the corners of her embouchure down, flat chin, the works. Nothing was working.

Then I sat her in front of smartmusic. This is a program I have on my laptop that is a home practice system that helps kids practice at home (or in the bandhall). It has a great tuner feature on it. I showed her how to work the program, showed her the goal, then left. 20 minutes later (after working with about 4 other students), I came back to see her working on the exact same thing, and with much better results. She assured me I could go and work with other kids while she kept on working alone.

Favorite moment of the day: At about 4:15 (she had been working for about 35 minutes straight on playing just one note), I walked into my office to see Lauren staring at my laptop screen, playing a G on her clarinet... and it was in tune. She turned to me and said, "I got it right, Mr. Wiggains!" She got up and gave me a big hug and walked out with a grin on her face saying, "See ya tomorrow, Mr. W."

Smartmusic for your laptop: $25

Working clarinet to get you through 7th grade band: $485

Actually getting to see the look of success on Lauren's face: Priceless

Marathon, anyone?

2007-11-28T19:59:00.000-06:00

So in a little less than three weeks, I will be putting on a tuxedo and standing in front of thousands of camcorder-holding parents and grandparents to validate their hopes and dreams of their son/daughter/grandaughter/grandson/stepson/next-door-neighbor being a child prodigy on his/her instrument.

Our Christmas concert is coming up.

It will actually be a two-night event. On Monday night, we will listen to the HS Band and Jazz Band perform. The HS Band will be performing roughly 8-9 pieces, ranging from 3-7 minutes each. It will not be a short concert, because, from what I understand, the Jazz band will be performing about 7 tunes, each around 3 minutes long. All of these peices will be seperated by 2-3 minutes of talking, introducing, joke-telling, floundering, and, of course, kid-praising.

Remember, that's only Monday night.

On Tuesday night, the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade bands will be performing (in that order). Their program will be (in no particular order):

6th Grade Band:
Jingle Bells
Up On the Housetop
Countdown to Christmas
to include: Jolly Old St. Nicholas, Good King Wenceslas, Jingle Bells (...again)

7th Grade Band:
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)
Jolly Old Sleigh Ride
Jolly Old St. Nicholas (trust me, there's a difference)
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

8th Grade Band:
Twenty Carols in 2 Minutes (you could probably guess the 20 it includes)
White Christmas (as in...I'm dreaming of a...)
Santa's Classical Christmas
to include: March Militaire, Bridal Chorus, Ode to Joy, Hallelujah Chorus, the Can-Can, Deck the Halls, Oh Christmas Tree, Angels We Have Heard on High, 12 Days of Christmas, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Joy to the World
A Crazy Mixed-up Christmas Concert
to include: 12 Days of Christmas, Go Tell It on the Mountain, Up on the Housetop, Hallelujah Chorus (...again), Oh Christmas Tree, Deck the Halls (...again), Jingle Bells (...again), Silent Night, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Oh Come all Ye Faithful, Jingle Bells (...again), Deck the Halls (...again), Hallelujah Chorus (...again), We Wish You a Merry Christmas
The Little Drummer Boy (...not the short version)
I'll Be Home For Christmas
Carol for Christmas

'tis the season eveybody!

Biggest difference between me and my wife...

2007-11-27T13:48:00.000-06:00

Last night, Keynan was toying with the idea of a fever (ya know, 100.9, then half an hour later it's 98.6). We could see it on his face when we picked him up from daycare yesterday. Red eyes, puffy face, he even had the most precious, raspy cry. Kelly and I made the decision for me to stay home with him today so that Kelly didn't take any more days away from her maternity leave.

So this is me being mommy.

For lunch, I (along with Keynan) wandered around the kitchen trying to figure out what he should eat. Kelly has the ability to do this with such grace. She'll walk right into the kitchen, then 5 minutes later, there are the sounds and smells that make Keynan's mouth water.

Poor little guy, he would point to the box of Fruity Cheerios and say, "Bite?" Of course, being the fantastic father that I am, I try to reason with him. "Keynan, would you rather me make you a hot dog, or just have a bowl (no milk) of Fruity Cheerios?" Naturally, he responds with, "Bite?"

For some reason, Kelly would rather give up her job, put aside her master's degree training, and face living on the edge of poverty to do this with her boy(s) EVERY DAY! As to why she desires this, I can't say. The only part of it that does make sense is the idea of playing with toddlers all day, every day. That would be fun. For some people.

Me, I'd much rather spend my day dealing with ungrateful adolescents, irate parents, and school politics. Apparently, that's what I'm better at.

Who knew?

PS - I promise to start blogging more...oh, and I apologize for the lack of posts over the last month. I've barely had enough time to put on socks lately.

Day of Greatness

2007-11-06T09:30:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of going to San Antonio to watch the State Marching Band Contest held at the Alamodome. If you're not in the band world here in Texas, you should know that our state does a really stupid thing and alternates advancement years for bands. During Year A, only 1A, 2A, and 4A bands can advance past the Region level. Year B, 3A and 5A bands advance. It stinks for those kids who are junior this year and get to advance this year, but not their senior year.

I digress.

Anyway, yesterday was the 1A and 2A Prelims and Finals. If you'd like, you can skip over and see the results (1A Prelims, 1A Finals, 2A Prelims, 2A Finals). I had a blast watching literally the best small school bands in Texas compete. Just to be there was an honor.

There are roughly 210+ 2A schools in Texas. Not all of them go to UIL, but I would say that most do. So just to compete at the state level would make your band in the top 7%. Then, they invite only 7 bands to return to finals. Although this is not the end all of measures of success, those kids who made it last night are feeling pretty good about themselves today.

A quick congratulations to Jim Rhodes and the Forsan HS Band for winning the 1A competition last night. Jim is one director I absolutely admire, and winning state could not happen to a better guy. If there were more Jim Rhodes's in the world, world peace would be a thing of the past and no children in Africa would be hungry.

Now, on the better things - like concert band.

Halloween 2007!

2007-11-04T22:10:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween everybody!

(I know, I know, 4 days after the holiday I wish everyone a happy one. Doesn't make sense to me, either. I just wanted an excuse to post this cool pic of our family of four..."Deuce" is the basketball)

The sound heard around the bandhall

2007-10-30T21:56:00.000-05:00

Funny story.

So yesterday, I was working with the entire 6th Grade Beginner Band during 7th period. Now, you should know that I work really hard to keep these kids as focused as 6th graders can be. That said, I decided we needed to isolate our breathing technique and address a couple of issues. I had the kids take a 4 count breath...just a simple breath. Several of them held it at the end, most just exhaled loudly like trying to blow a house down. I had expected this. So then I said, "Ok, now we're going to do it again, and within those four counts, you are going to fill up your entire lung where there is no more room in there for anything." (That will be important later) "Then, on count one, we are going to hold it for four counts without closing your mouth, then exhale for 4 counts. Any questions?" No hands raised, so we proceeded.

I gave them the usual "1, 2, ready, go," and in we breathed. However, once we reached the apex of our breath, that one sweet little boy in the middle of the back row accidently squeezed out a little toot that was clearly audible to the entire bandhall. Of course, since everyone was holding their breath, there was absolutely no sound to cover up the toot. It was also one of those toots that even SOUNDED like it couldn't be held in another second. Almost fake.

Now, since everyone's lungs were totally filled with mouths wide open, there was a collective wheez that filled the bandhall. There were kids falling out of chairs laughing so hard. I, for one, got tickled at the boy's face at the sound of his own toot. It was a combination of "Ah, man!" and "Aahhh." He remained very mature and wasn't noticably embarrassed. For that I was proud. He's the kid that is going to remember that moment for the rest of his life, but never speak of it to anyone again.

We ended the breathing exercises once we all calmed down, for fear that it might be a real stinker...which it was.

As unprofessional as it was, that was the first time those 6th graders had seen me laugh uncontrollably.

What is success?

2007-10-28T16:15:00.001-05:00

I've had to ask myself this question a lot lately: "What is success?"

On the one hand, a band can work as hard as possible, then put on the performance of their lives and just do ok in regards to ratings. This, I guess, would be called success, because they tried their hardest. They performed at their own 100%, but other bands' 100%'s were better. I could comfortably call this success because the band could not have done any better than they did. If doing their best was their goal, then they achieved it.

On the other hand, a band can work less than their hardest throughout the preparing process; then, when performance time comes, they don't do as well as they had hoped, but they had performed to the best of their prepared ability. However, since they didn't prepare as hard, their ability wasn't where it, let's say, "should have been." Would this then also be considered success?...since this band, too, performed to the best of their ability?

It's so easy for us as humans to evaluate our lives through our own perspective and make it out to be "a success." Shouldn't we ask ourselves how we could have done something better?

I see people every day settle for something less than stellar simply because they aren't constantly looking on down the line and envisioning their own greatness... and designing a journey that will get them there. Sometimes I wish for everyone to spend less time looking at how good you DID do, and start looking at how good you COULD do.

I guess that what I am saying is this: Don't just set goals. Setting goals just might hold you back. Instead, commit yourself to excellence. You may find yourself at a much higher level than you could have ever imagined.

Enjoy your week!

-TW

Today I:

2007-10-22T16:46:00.001-05:00

Today I:
Kicked off a fundraiser
Watched our contest performance 9-10 times
Ate 5 donuts (provided by band boosters)
Popped 14 balloons (provided by band boosters)
Entered 0 grades
Put on a jacket

Yesterday I:
Spent $120 at Wal-Mart on groceries (including Pop-Tarts)
Unlocked the bandhall for 10 ecstatic band parents
Was amazed to see 1,600 balloons blown up and sitting in the bandhall floor
Was present for a fantastic AM Worship Service at El Campo CoC
Ate lunch in a park with our small group from church

Saturday I:
Drove a gigantic, maroon dually pickup truck to Needville
Pulled a Band trailor with said truck to Needville
Watched a fantastic band make a Division 1 at
Region Marching Contest
Felt abnormally nervous for my band

Last Week I:
Was very proud of my band (had the goosebumps and everything)
Became frustrated with my band
Found myself embarrased at a situation
Taught a fourth grader that the lines of a staff mean something (something the rest of us learned together during the first week of school)
Crossed my fingers in hopes of doing well

Had Monday night rehearsal rained out, so I ran a bass drum sectional

Laughed out loud at a funny joke told by a student
Gave 2 tests (but entered 0 grades)
Came up with a great idea for a Halloween costume

Now, I highly suggest going back and reading it again backwards. This is the life I live these days. Thanks to my beautiful and tolerant wife, I have a great home to go to at the end of the day. In case you missed it, our HS Band got a First Division at Region on Saturday, which qualifies us for Area in San Antonio this coming Saturday, the 27th. YEE-HAW!!

----------------------

In other news, the first cold front of the season came in today. It's cold outside.

Sports vs. the Arts...

2007-10-17T15:13:00.001-05:00

This is so disappointing. Apparently the Athletic Director at Princeton thinks that it's time for athletics to hold the same acedemic value as the arts. What!?!?!

What have we done? Within the band director world, it is simply common knowledge that the best PR we can find is performing a great halftime show. If it weren't for this, our concert attendance would limit itself to parents and grandparents of student performers. It's a tragedy, but it's the truth.

But I guess we got too good. We have developed our "artform" of halftime shows to splice a high level of art with an astronomical degree of physical strain...and I guarantee the physical aspect played a large part in this guy coming to his conclusion. Let's face it. We've wanted the world to see how hard we work for a while. Now that they see our hard work, apparently their missing the "art" of it all.

I am not "anti-sports." I just don't want the resentment that musicians have had through the years towards sports to be returned. Shame on us, and now shame on them!

I'll be watching the ramifications of this statement closely.

Watching Blast!...again

2007-10-10T10:46:00.000-05:00

About a year ago, I decided to make a purchase that I'd been needing to do for a couple of years but I had just never done. I forked over the $20 and bought "Blast!" on DVD. Although I bought this for me, I also bought this to show my students on "short schedule" days or "don't have anywhere to go after school so I'll go to the bandroom" days.

Right now I am in one of those days. Today is fair day. That's right, folks. My school only has school for half a day because the county fair is going on in Edna. So my head director told me to not worry about trying to teach anything and to just watch either DCI or Blast. Since Blast is a bit more user friendly to show to students, I showed that one.

If you've never seen Blast!, you should. It's really quite something. Although the initial reviews were less than stellar, the show had 3 touring shows traveling the country within a couple of years of opening on Broadway in New York. I'm pretty sure that the reviews were tough on them because they, well, were trying to put a square peg in a round hole. Broadway had never seen anything like this before. Sure Stomp, Riverdance, etc had come along, but Blast had a quite different formula. It's tough to judge the show using a criteria used before.

Anyway, if you haven't seen this show on DVD, it's worth it. I would lend you mine, but I've already had a bunch of kids ask if they could borrow it to show their parents.

Long if you sigh...

2007-10-07T21:51:00.000-05:00

For many years, the Concert Choir at Harding Unversity rehearsed in what was called the "Recording Studio" in the Claude Rogers Lee Building close to the middle of campus. The group was usually around 90-100 members and has, since it's inception in 1988, been under the direction of Dr. Arthur Shearin. At the back of this recording studio was a set of double doors which, if my memory is correct, served as the only entrance to the room. Over this entrance hung a clock, and on the face of this clock laid a quote that is forever etched in my brain.

In 1998, my freshman year, the music department made a move to the state-of-the-art, fancypants facility called the Reynold's Center for Music and Communication. The Concert Choir began rehearsing in the "Omni Room," saying goodbye to the recording studio and the clock. Since I never rehearsed in the choir's previous residence, I never had the pleasure of meeting this clock, nor did I see the quote the same way that so many Choir members before me had.

However...

My freshman year Dr. Shearin decided to put this quote on the back of the Choir shirt, which every choir member wore for many choir concerts. In fact, it was in this shirt that I had my first encounter with Kelly Duncan, who ended up changing her name to Kelly Wiggains about 4 years later.

"Little by little time goes by; Short if you sing it, Long if you sigh."

We want the funk...

2007-10-01T22:13:00.000-05:00

Currently, this is my favorite commercial. Priceless.

New Counter

2007-09-30T15:22:00.001-05:00

If you look on the right side of your screen and scroll down below the Archive, you will see a number. I have decided to actually put a hit counter on my blog since there are people reading my blog now that I didn't know about. Curiosity has officially gotten the better of me.

I must say I enjoy writing blog entries a lot. I learned something interesting about myself a few days ago, though. On my home computer (a desktop, which is set up on our clavinova), we use a wireless keyboard and mouse. I have never really liked typing on that keyboard, because it sounds like a keyboard. I hate the "click, click, click..." sound that it makes. I pride myself on a being a very fast typer, so to be hindered by an annoyance is...well...annoying. Recently the school purchased a laptop for the band directors to use. I've been taking it home many an evening to do work at home (I know, what kind of horrible father does that?). I realized that I enjoy posting from the laptop more than the clicking keyboard of death. Weird, I know.

In other news, yesterday I went up to our house in Katy (which is STILL on the market after four months...what the?) to mow and do some general yard work. I hate yard work, and let me tell you why. First of all, it's in the yard - which means it's outside. Since I've never been an "outside" sort of guy, I'm already pre-wired to hate the task. Secondly, it's work. I have always hated work. It's not that I'm lazy, it's that the idea of 'work' gets under my skin. I don't mind doing something as long as it doesn't smell like work. As soon as I get a whiff of reality, I immediately prefer not to do it. You can ask my mother, sister, or wife about the trueness of this fact.

Lastly, I've been thinking about Jan Jones a lot this week. Her husband, Craig, made a comment on my post about her that showed me that he's doing well. Funny how just a few words can tell someone a lot. My friend, Daisha (Stockstill) Sheets, posted a recording on her blog of It Is Well sung by herself and accompanied by Jan. Daisha knew Jan a lot longer than I did, so this recording shows a truly deep friendship.

Tootles.

Cool shots

2007-09-27T14:17:00.001-05:00

This was taken during the second day of Freshman Band camp. Great kids.

Bathtime is always enjoyable. He gets mad if we try to get him in bed before he's had his evening bath. He even knows the sign language for it. Seriously!

This past summer I got to go to China with the Houston Symphonic Band. The Great Wall is over my right shoulder. There's a tower at the top of the first hill, then a second tower just above my right ear. It took me about 45 minutes to get to the second tower before I pooped out.

Til next time.

The person that witnessed the moment...

2007-09-26T20:22:00.001-05:00

I remember walking through the front door and seeing Robin. I honestly had little idea what to expect. Robin checked off my name, gave me a few important papers, and showed me where to go and what to do. Over the next several minutes, I remember meeting many people that I would end up getting to know well over the next few years.

This was my first music scholarship audition, and, up to this point, I did not have a good idea of how good I was. I had made the Oklahoma All-State Band that year, which gave me confidence, but not a good frame of reference. I remember sitting in a room with a piano teacher, and she would ask me to do various things displaying my piano skills. I was nervous, and I ended up making a fool of myself, even though at that point I had been playing piano for 12 years. Why I was nervous, I wasn't sure. Maybe it was because this one actually counted. The outcome of this weekend would affect the rest of my life.

After leaving the "how much do you stink at the piano" room, I had to sit for a while and wait to meet my accompanist. I had been late mailing in her the music, which I felt bad about. This gave the person who would accompany me very little time to learn a difficult piece of music. When they called my name, I was ushered into a small room with a piano and a lady with a fantastic smile. She introduced herself as Jan Jones "Your Accompanist." I asked her if she had trouble getting the music, and she said no, but it was difficult to learn. Oh, great. I knew it. She was probably going to stink it up. If she didn't know how to play it, then she could make me sound bad - which meant that the pivotal scholarship would go down the tubes. She told me she would try her best, and we began.

This lady was phenomenal. Her fingers ran around the piano like I had never seen, all the while staying right with me. Her skills were as stunning as her smile. After we played through my pieces once, I asked her to let me rest for a bit. I was not used to playing my trumpet a lot, and I didn't want to enter the scholarship audition room with an obvious case of "doesn't practice a lot" fatigue. She asked me if I played piano. I told her yes, but I didn't plan to play for the audition. After several minutes of prodding, she convinced me to at least play for her so she could see if me playing would help. I sat and played "Georgia on my Mind," an arrangement that I had gotten from Floyd Cramer, but had dressed up and made my own. As I finished the song, I remember her looking at me, shaking her head in amazement and saying, "Tyler, you should play that piece."

It was a Wednesday night. My parents and I had just rolled into town that afternoon before the audition that evening. It had been a long day on the road. My parents (I found out later) had met several current Harding students in the lobby while waiting for me. I caught a glimpse of them after leaving the warm up room with Mrs. Jones. I walked into what was called the Recording Studio (a large room with a stage at the front and chairs set up in rows) holding my trumpet, my music, and my pride. There were several tables lined up with about 8-9 music faculty sitting behind it. This was by far the most musical knowledgeable group of men and women I had ever performed for. And, like I said before, this time it mattered. Mrs. Jones had given me a thrust of needed confidence, and the next half hour, she sat and became my silent friend as I was asked questions about my musical experiences and knowledge.

During one of my pieces I remember having a 16 measure rest. I didn't want to look at the huge room and feel small. I didn't want to look at the faculty's faces and feel judged. Instead, I watched Mrs. Jones play.

The next day, the faculty posted a list of students they had invited back for the Final Recital. When I saw my name was on it, I literally jumped. The evening audition went very well, and I knew that things were working. I didn't get a chance to see Mrs. Jones until the recital. She was the accompanist for many of the other players. This was nothing short of amazing, seeing how she played each of the accompaniments without noticeable flaw.

When it came my turn, we both walked up on the stage, and I'll never forget her winking at me before we began. I played my best. So did she. I ended up getting a hefty scholarship, which was the main reason I went ahead and majored in music education. Who knows where I would be now if it weren't for the confidence that Jan Jones provided.

Over the next several years, I got many opportunities to work with Mrs. Jones. She was the rehearsal accompanist for all of the musicals that I played for, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Once Upon a Mattress, for which I was student conductor and conductor respectively. We enjoyed seeing each other, and always had a great time making fun of everyone from cast members to production staff members to maybe even ourselves. She gave so much time and energy to help with major productions (she was also the Spring Sing rehearsal accompanist), and she always dealt with the situation with the utmost care and professionalism.

I found out today that Jan Jones passed away early this morning after a 6 month battle with pancreatic cancer. I wasn't aware of her battle until today. I don't feel like I didn't tell her how much she meant to me, because I did. I remember having the conversation with her where I told her about how she got to witness the moment that started me on a journey, and how she was a huge reason why that journey was travelled. I don't think I have a picture of me and her together, but I certainly have a lot of memories that, especially now, I will cherish. This lady altered the course of my life, and I am indebted to her.

Thank you, Jan Jones. We will miss you.

Detail, atten-HUT

2007-09-22T21:04:00.000-05:00

First of all, I would like to apologize for the absolute neglect I've demonstrated in regards to this blog. Four weeks ago, I began teaching at a new school, and quickly found out that time is something that is not readily available when I need it. The first week of school, I felt horribly sick, and found out that Friday that this was, in fact, due to pneumonia. Even though I'm still fighting it off, I managed to only miss one day of school because of it. I also caught the 24-hr flu bug last week that's been going around. Kelly had it this past Monday, Keynan had it Tuesday, I caught it Wednesday. Did I stay home? Nooooo. I took one for the team and put my job ahead of my health. You might say I'm a rare kind of idiot.
These last several weeks, I've been working with our high school band in a lot of different ways. As the assistant director, it's not my call on exactly what we do each day. However, my head director and I have been collaborating a lot on decisions regarding the best path to take. I honestly believe that our high school band has what it takes to make it to the State Marching Contest. My head director said a few weeks ago that we'll either make it all the way to state, or we'll get a II at Region. Either way, I think our High School Band is great. No kidding. It's a lot of fun to work with them. For a lot of different reasons. My favorite being that there are ONLY good kids in the band. Over the years, the "trouble causers" have made their way to Art or Ag, and what we have left is a dynamic group of personalities that actually understand that they are not more important than the group. How great is that!

Now, it should be said that I've had to confront a couple problems within the ranks. One student talked back to me in front of other students. Of course, I had to deal with the problem in a way that protected the kid while stating to the rest of the students that that is inappropriate. Although I happen to think that I'm very good at this action, it's one aspect of my job that I hate.

See, I have to deal with the products of roughly 200 different styles of parenting. Kids these days think they are entitled. Although this is nothing new (as I'm sure I, as well as my father and probably grandfather, had the same attitude to various degrees at that age), I feel like I'm teaching students that immediately nail a label on my forehead that says, "Don't pay total attention to me. I'm not essential to your future."

What really stinks is that I actually know what I'm talking about. We're constantly talking about things like body carriage on the field and the best way to do a prep step. A lot of these things I actually know because a few short years ago I marched (quite well, I might add) when I was at Harding. You might say I've done it enough to know the best way. So when I tell a kid the best way to do something, and they don't do it, it kindof ticks me off. We've already had 2 players roll their ankle and one fell flat on the field during a performance. Why? Because they weren't doing it the way they were supposed to!

Of course, it's a big part of being an adolescent to do something your own way. It's what forms these kids into the adults they'll become. But one of the biggest speeches I give to jr high and high school kids is this:

"It's easy to be an individual. All you have to do is buy a pair of shoes that no one else has, and BAM you're an individual. You're being told from every angle of culture to 'be who you are.' However, it's HARD to be part of a group. To lose yourself, lose your own identity for the sake of something bigger is tough. To do something exactly the same as 55 other people and at exactly the same time is extremely difficult. That's why it's good."

But who am I suggest greatness? I'm paid to be there.

Since my last post...

2007-09-03T12:07:00.000-05:00

...I've pulled a muscle in my back, perspired buckets of sweat, arranged 9 pieces of music, had 1 bad day at work, put together 1 baby crib, come down with pneumonia, watched 1 football game, made countless trips to the football practice field, taught around 260 kids either 2 or 6 times, and coughed enough to make the kids notice I'm sick.

I've also...

...helped 1 kid learn his music, listened to about 15 kids play off their music with flying colors, made around 100 kids smile either 2 or 3 times, encouraged one student to never make the same mistake again, helped around 50 kids understand time signatures for the first time, been proud of myself for staying the whole football game even with pneunomia, ...all the while been encouraged countless times by various colleagues.

I'm tired, and sick, and should slow down. Why should I? I'm a band director. I've got a fantastic job to do.

Transition

2007-08-17T16:55:00.000-05:00

There was a time this summer that I went on a blog-binge. Between going to Uplift and starting work, I published several, sometimes daily. However, since beginning work at Ganado, my desire to write on here was beat out by my desire to either sleep or eat ice cream, which I did a lot of between coming home from work and going back the next day. I figured this would happen. But I also figured that once I got into the groove of work again, I would get back into the habit of writing. We'll see if the second comes through.

These last three weeks, I have been working the Ganado HS Band as their assistant Band Director. This band has already impressed me in its integrity of character. My head director told me this summer that the individuals in the band either love him or hate him...and the ones that hate him eventually change their schedule. I gotta say that this band is quite full of kids that enjoy band. Very few bad attitudes, which is a real switch from my other public school gigs. I'm very excited to see what the future might hold for this group. I would not be surprised if we do well enough at Area to qualify for State. I would love to see these kids accomplish that.

In other news, Kelly and I will be actually moving to Ganado tomorrow. The reason I'm posting right now (instead of packing) is, believe it or not, we were called this morning for a showing this evening. That's right, the night before we move, we have to leave our house for 2 hours while someone comes and sees our house. I can't imagine what they're seeing. When Kelly and I were looking for houses a year ago, we went into some that were vacant, and some that were fully inhabited. None were in between. We were able to get our stuff situated in a way where they can actually see the house and not ONLY our stuff. We thought about bailing on this showing, but we figured that at this point we would take what we could get. Maybe this is the family that we've been praying for.

I've seen my wife do a lot this week that was above and beyond her call of duty. She not only has worked hard to pack up most of the house while I'm at work, but also she worked her tail end off to clean our rent house we'll be moving into tomorrow. I don't know how this all would have happened (or will happen) without all she's done. She's awesome, and I love her.

The next time I post I will be in a new residence. Farewell, Katy, Texas. We have enjoyed our acquaintance.

The day I was born...

2007-08-12T19:41:00.001-05:00

In 1979, on the morning of August 12th, two astronomic events coincided, making each of the other a beautiful event. It was that morning that my father drove my mother to the hospital in the early morning hours because a colossal child was on his way. My mother tells the story about how on the way there, they watched between labor contractions a fantastic meteor shower that happens annually. These two events (my birthday and a heavenly fireworks show) have met each other annually for 28 years now, each time celebrating their first meeting with a re-creation of their introduction. Sometimes things get in the way of our ability to witness this annual assembly. Clouds, too bright a moon, need for sleep...I've not seen all 28. Tonight, however, clear skies, a new moon, a desire for spectacle...I'm excited.

Another reason I am excited is because from now on I get to share this event with my new niece, Jacey Leigh Wiggains who was born this morning at 4:40 am to her parents Mitch (my brother) and Katie. Besides sharing a birthday with me, she also gets to claim the meteor shower as a heavenly celebration of her birth. One might guess that I was jealous of her stealing some of my thunder. I am not. I am proud. I haven't even met her yet, and already we are sharing two astronomical events.

Happy birthday, Jacey!

Thanks, God

2007-08-11T20:56:00.000-05:00

I was sitting in my chair earlier, pretending to watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkeban, but actually thinking about how it's really easy for us to say that God has a plan for us, but to understand the idea is a whole different game. Anyone that says "God has a plan for you" has either experienced the heartache attached to that reality or heard about it from someone else. By heartache, I mean that God doesn't really want to make you grow while you're comfortable. No no, he waits until the perfect time that you are going to fall on your face and look up and realize that God's the one with the best road for you.

We graduated from Harding not having jobs, only to move in with my sister and brother-in-law for a month while we traveled around Texas going to job interviews. We told ourselves that God would take care of us, and sure enough he "came through," providing us jobs in Monahans and Fort Stockton. There we were able to be part of an amazing church that needed us desperately. God had a plan for us in Monahans. The next year, I got a new boss, and in early November I was re-assigned. The night I found out, Kelly and I decided once again to "throw our lives into God's hands" and resign at Christmas. God "came through" again, landing me a job at Iraan, allowing Kelly to keep her job and us to live in Fort Stockton and gain a new set of fantastic friends.

That semester, I had an extremely difficult time working with my head director, and suddenly got a call from the Head Administrator at Westbury Christian School, asking if I'd be interested in coming to work there. Kelly and I decided to "throw our lives into God's hands" yet again, and, about six weeks later, accepted the job, knowing full well we would take a pay cut while moving to an area where cost of living was considerably higher. God "came through," and we were able to make it work.

That December, we found out we were pregnant. By "we" I actually mean Kelly. We then realized that our current living situation was great for us, but horrible for us AND a baby. So, we found ourselves "throwing ourselves into God's hands" yet again. We found a fantastic house in the southern part of Katy in a price range we thought we could afford. Little boy, Keynan, came along and proved to us that "what we could afford" was now defined by a different set of rules. That next year of teaching became one of my most difficult ones. It's very hard trying to run a band program in a school that doesn't really want a band program. I found myself praying things like, "God, if you want me to work in your kingdom, ya gotta help me out some."

We "threw ourselves into God's hands," ...again...and he, again, "came through." Next week Kelly and I will be moving to Ganado, Texas to begin working at the 2A school there. The problem, so far, is that our house has been on the market for 2 months, and still hasn't sold.

Here's the weird thing: as I'm sitting in my chair, thinking about God's plan for me, I get a phone call saying there's a man interested in our house and wants a second showing.

Did God "come through?"

It seems that the easy part is looking back and realizing how God did something in my life that set a lot of good things in motion. However, it's also very easy for me to say that God "let me have this (or put me through this) so that I could get this." What happens with this thinking is that we end up bouncing through life, going from one opportunity to another like a pinball machine, all the while claiming that God invented the rules by which the pinball machine functions. We look back and can trace the steps we took to get where we ended up, and we say, "Thanks, God." But what really happened? Isn't it more logical to claim that I myself made a bunch of good decisions that wound up setting me where I am now?

Are you ready to hear this? God invented logic. He not only invented the pinball machine and the rules that govern it, but He also invented the pinball in a way that it can't see/feel/etc it's true controller. The pinball is shot around the machine by paddles (that are controlled by the controller), but the pinball never knows it's controller. He made us to see Him as mysterious.

God is a God of hindsight. The clearest picture we have of Him and His workings is in retrospect. Looking back on my life, I've seen Him from a lot of different angles. Every time he sets me up in a new place in life (like the one I'll begin in one week), I only learn more about his workings in my life and how they affect the people around me.

Biggest thing I've learned so far: it's not about God's plan for me. It's more about God's plan for other people, and how I get to be part of those plans. How cool is that? God thinks enough of me to put me into people's lives that need helping, directing, uplifting. I can only take that as a compliment.

Thanks, God.

Happy Birthday, Keynan!

2007-08-10T21:01:00.000-05:00

Keynan's first birthday was this past Wednesday, the 8th. I have just resorted to the fact that he will not stay that helpless little wod of DNA, and we decided to celebrate that fact by sticking a mound of sugar in front of him to see what happens. Here are a couple of the many shots I took throughout the festivities.

Happy birthday, son!

Coffee breath...

2007-08-01T11:55:00.000-05:00

So the other day I had to leave at 6am to get to my new job. I was running a little late, so I didn't have time to make coffee. I realized about 5 miles into my 70 mile drive that that wasn't going to work, so I stopped at a convenience store to get coffee. Now, you should know that I rarely actually make the coffee. My wife or mother-in-law usually makes it, and I walk in the kitchen and it's just there. I've never ventured into the wild world of flavored coffee, it's just plain o' regular coffee with a generous dose of French Vanilla creamer and 2 packets of splenda (sometimes 3). So I walked into this convenience store outside of Rosenburg, Texas, and there are about 12 different coffee pots full of coffee, all with different flavors printed on the them. Everything from cinnamon something or other to "Dark blend" to some french word with more vowels than my tongue wants to attempt. So I stand there for about 2 minutes just looking at all of them, trying to figure out which one might be closest to what I'm used to (this is me not even imagining to be adventerous).

So I finally decide on one that says "French Vanilla," and I fill up a cup. Then I find the creamers. Well, there's about 12 kinds of those, too! Finally, one that says French Vanilla (didn't matter that's the coffee was supposed to be, too) makes its way to the forefront. The cup I grabbed was larger than the one I usually use, so I put 3 creamers in there, then 3 packets of Splenda. Found the stirrers, found the lid, we're good to go.
As I'm walking to the counter, I realize that the likelihood of having dragon breath after this experience is quite high, so I figure I could just grab some gum close to the counter. As I'm looking, I see a package of Dentyne Blast, and my mind goes directly back to the days of juicy filled gum, and I think, "Hey, I bet I would like that." Pay for it, go to the truck.
When I get out to the truck, I realize that what I have paid for was gum that is "Cool Lime" flavored. Not being a fan of limes, I was apprehensive. However, I had already paid for it, what a great time to try it out. After I drink my coffee (sure enough, dragon breath), I pop in one of my newly acquired adventures. About 6 seconds after it went in, I realized that I'm going to have to stop somewhere to get "real" gum so I can now get rid of this nasty lime breath.
So now I'm stuck with coffee flavored lime breath, and I feel like I just ate a raw ferrett. Next gas station I stopped and got the trusted Dentyne Ice and finished the drive to work.
There is nothing "cool" about cool lime flavored gum.

On the Field, from Rosemont, Illinois...

2007-07-29T11:08:00.000-05:00

I had the most amazing experience this past week. I had gone to San Antonio for the annual Texas Bandmaster's Association convention. The DCI Southwestern Championship was held on Saturday night of the convention weekend at the AlamoDome. Tickets to this show are over $50, so I had to wait to the right moment to just be able to buy tickets. Well, the week before the show, I still didn't have tickets, and we weren't where we could shell out the money; therefore, I decided that I could just go and watch the corps warmup in the parking lot (which, by the way, if you've never done, it's a show in itself!).

So about 7pm'ish, I hooked up with my friend Joe and walked over to the 'Dome parking lot, and enjoyed myself for the next 4 hours. I saw a bit of the Phantom Regiment warming up (video here and here), the Blue Devils drumline doing fundamental alignment exercises (video here), the Cadets hornline warmup (video here), among other amazing moments. The cool thing about walking around in the parking lot is that there is always something to watch, whether it be a full brassline doing tuning exercises, or a drumline showing off their cadences for the crowd, or a trumpet line working on their horn visuals. In 3 hours time, you can see more and learn more than sitting in a seat watching a show.

The last corps to perform that evening was the Cavaliers from Rosemont, Illinois. Of course, as soon as we saw them warming up we stayed as long as we could with them. I recognized the person rehearsing the brassline as a guy I had seen on one of my Cavaliers DVD's. The things he did with the group were very insightful, making me re-evaluate my entire approach to the brass sound. When he was finished, I went up and introduced myself. He said his name was
David Bertman, and he invited me and Joe to come onto the field to watch the Cavaliers show! How amazing! He also introduced me to Scott McAdow, director of bands at Langham Creek High School. So we got to watch the show from the "directors only" area of the stands. After the show, we went down to the field for the announcement of awards as well as the Cavaliers encore presentation. The whole thing was absolutely unreal. I called Kelly from the field, and asked, "So, guess where I am." So few times in my life have I been able to answer that question with a situation similar to this. Thanks go to David Bertman for allowing me this unforgettable opportunity.

"This I Believe..."

2007-07-18T20:43:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while, you stumble onto an essay that 1) has something to say, and 2) says it well, and 3) makes you act. I found two.

2 showings - any beans?

2007-07-17T15:31:00.001-05:00

At about 11am this morning, I got a call on my cell phone:

"Yes, sir, we have someone interested in seeing your house today between 1 and 2:30. Is this okay?"

"Yes, that's fine."

"Thank you."

**hang up**

"KELLY!!! WE'VE GOT A SHOWING IN TWO HOURS!!! WE'VE GOTTA CLEAN UP!!"

At about 12:45, we went to Lenny's and had a fabulous lunch. While there, we got another call asking about a showing between 4:45 and 6pm. After lunch, we went to go test drive a Toyota Sienna. Seeins' how we are currently driving a Camry that was once a rental car (no extravigant features), this vehicle totally rocked my socks off (if you don't mind me being a 12-year-old). It even had a DVD player in the headrests of the front two seats, allowing the seats behind them to watch TWO SEPARATE THINGS simultaneously. How cool! Obviously that feature came out about 20 years too late.

I need a...

2007-07-16T23:20:00.000-05:00

...laptop. A few weeks ago, Kelly and I had a chance to go to Harding to work at Uplift. It was a great experience - one which I hope we can repeat year after year. Anyway, that was the most I had been on Harding's campus since graduating. This trip more than others I became remarkably aware that Harding has changed dramatically. One thing that is a fantastic move toward the better is the fact that there is free wi-fi in most the buildings.

It's great, except I don't have a laptop.

Week of Unknowns

2007-07-16T12:38:00.000-05:00

This moment - right now - is a strange lens into my coming week. First of all, I'm eating a salmon salad sandwich. It was going to be a tuna salad sandwich, but Kelly noticed that the only kind of tuna we had was "Herbs and Garlic" tuna. Apparently, one must only use "Plain o'" tuna to make the said sandwich. I wasn't sure how having a salmon salad sandwich was going to work out, but I must say I'm pleasantly surprised. Being the writer that I am not, I am going to use this experience to create a cheesy metaphor for my coming week. Look out:

This afternoon, I've got a doctor's appointment to check out some digestive problems I've been having. I am afraid he's going to have to do the exam that makes most grown men cringe. I, now, am cringing at the possibility. I've had the exam before by another doctor, and you can be sure that, although uncomfortable, it wasn't as bad as one would think. Let's just hope that this doctor is just as...gentle.

Tomorrow I am going to be going down to Ganado to get a lot of the "beginning of a new job" stuff out of the way. I'll be finding out how to log onto my work computer, going through the instrument inventory and assigning instruments to students that I still haven't met, picking out stand tunes for a band that I still don't know the instrumentation, etc. See what I mean - a lot of unknowns.

This weekend, I am going to San Antonio for the Texas Bandmaster's Association convention (TBA). I am going to have to pay for everything up front, then turn in my receipts for a reimbursement check. I still am not quite sure what the school will cover; therefore, since Kelly and I are in the financial crunch that is causing this move in the first place, I will be extremely stingy for fear that I will be spending on something that the school won't cover.

Now for the cheesy metaphor. Just like the sandwich, each of these experiences has a lot of question marks. I've been seeing this week coming for a while, and I've done everything I can to eliminate as many of the question marks as possible, but, as in life, there are still question marks. I can only hope that, like my salmon salad sandwich, I will be pleasantly surprised come next Tuesday (when my crazy week sort of ends).

I'll keep you updated.

Solo Synchronized Swimming?

2007-07-15T18:21:00.000-05:00

So last night my wife and I were having the hardest time going to sleep. I attribute this to what I call the "summer syndrome." During the school year, I do plenty during the day that make me long to go to sleep. Usually I pass out in my recliner around 9:30'ish (I know, that makes me officially old), and Kelly wakes me up to move to our very soft bed, at which point I turn on the tv and find something mind-numbing that I can go to sleep to. I set the timer on the tv, and usually doze away to dreamland within 15 minutes. It's a great system.

During the summer months, this is totally thrown out of whack because during my day I usually don't do a whole lot more than watch tv, sit at the computer, or play with Keynan. Therefore, when it becomes night, my body doesn't think it has done enough activity to constitute slumber, but my mind says, "Go to bed. It's after midnight." It usually takes a while to go to sleep under these circumstances.

Such was the case last night, only I actually had a partner in crime (if it were a crime to be awake at 2:30am). Of course, at that hour, there is nothing on tv, so we resorted to watching a PBS documentary on a group of synchronized swimmers called "The Santa Clara Aquamaids." One wouldn't think this would be intriguing. Quite the contrary (as far as the criteria for intriguing television at 2:30am goes).

We watched this documentary for about an hour and a half before Kelly decided to call it quits and bail. I still couldn't go to sleep, so I continued the saga set forth by the Aquamaids. The part that I began to gafaw at was when they began the section on the Solo Competition. There was a girl that was doing an aquatic rendition of the pain and agony caused by World War II. This, to my untrained eye, was nothing more than kicking and turning in pretty blue water to orchestral music. Seriously, it was syncronized swimming, ONLY BY YOURSELF! Apparently there's a part of our competitive culture that I have yet to be exposed to.

Who knew someone could be the best "water artist" in the country?

8 Random Things...

2007-07-14T17:35:00.000-05:00

About 4-5 months ago, Travis Smith tagged me to write 8 things about myself. This is not something to be taken lightly (as I am a deep and complex being); therefore, I've worked very hard at putting this together. Allow this window into my soul to be a beakon of light in your life.

1) My feet stink. All of the time. At the end of the day, my favorite thing to do (after playing with my son) is to take off my socks and shoes, and scratch my feet so hard they turn red. This is usually followed by a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

2) I am a really good band director. Although only a handful of noteworthy people have noticed this, I am often silently amazed at my band directing skills. This is by far the most bold and outspoken I've ever been about this, but oh well.

3) My favorite meal is two peanut butter with grape jam sandwiches with a side of Puff Cheetos. Seriously, if I were on death row, and I were asked what I want my last supper to be, I would probably say, "Two peanut butter with grape jam sandwiches made by my wife, with a side of Puff Cheetos." I wonder if the guard in charge of that would oblige me.

4) The only books that I have ever really read are all the Harry Potter books and a few by Donald Miller. You'd think being married to an English teacher that wouldn't be. But it's true.

5) My wife thinks this is weird, but I have freckles on my hand. Not on the back, on the palm. There are 3, and all are on the left hand. If you were to use a map of Michigan to find the freckles, they would be found at Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Roscommon. I looked it up.

6) I like to play the "If I were given $10 Million, what would I do with it" game. Kelly hates it, but I sometimes play it when I'm on the road, or waiting on someone, or tired of being poor.

7) I am deathly afraid of snakes. Seriously. I've never screamed like a girl before, but I'm pretty sure that the first time will be in the presence of a some sort of snake. Probably a small harmless one.

8) I hear music in everything. I used to have the tune memorized that the bumps in the road made on my way home from school where I grew up. I hear a beep of a car and I immediately notice which notes are in the chord. Someone says something "sing-songy" and I wonder how I could put that tune into a piece I'll write someday. Although that may seem unreal, it's the way I've always been. I call it a curse though, because I can't hear the world the same as everyone else.

There ya go. 8 random things about Tyler Wiggains. Ta-da!

On the Market...

2007-07-13T11:00:00.000-05:00

I hate selling a house. It's yet another fantastic fruition of the usefullness of the phrase, "Hurry up and wait." I mowed my front yard twice this week. TWICE! Right after I mowed my backyard yesterday, I blew all the dead leaves to the back corner of the yard up against the fence, then spent the next 20 minutes picking up those pesky leaves. Two hours later, I looked in my backyard and...that's right...covered with a fresh crop of dead leaves. We have two very bushy trees back there, and apparently they're so ticked off about us selling the house that they're molting. What do I do? Apologize to the trees? I guess I'm not above that, yet.

The other side of selling a house is that we have to find a place to live at our new location. Apparently the house market is pathetic, because there are only two houses available within a half hour drive that we can actually afford. It's so difficult to go back into a rent home after living under "your own roof" for a year. I'll do what I gotta do, but I'm not looking forward to the sore jaw I'll get from gritting my teeth.

Back from China, and what did I come home to?

2007-07-12T21:46:00.000-05:00

This summer seems to have been a whirlwind! Staging a house to put on the market, 2 weeks traveling China, 2 weeks at Uplift, now 2 weeks before starting work at Ganado! Man, I just want to sleep in!

So for the first time in my life, I've been reading stuff all over the internet about "ooooh, what's going to happen in Harry Potter #7?????" I've kinda been driving myself crazy, but I just find myself so intrigued! There are some great theories out there. This, this, and this have been things that I've just been enthralled with these last couple of days.

Kelly and I got her mother to come and spend the night with Keynan while we went to a midnight showing of Harry Potter #5 on Tuesday night. This was the first time I walked out of the theater blown away by the immense rewrites, steering the movie away from the book. Of course there's going to be stuff left out, but to flat out change the climax plot at the end is, in my mind, crude. It's almost as if David Yates (director) is saying, "If I had written the book, here's what would have happened." There is no excuse for that. I understand that to transfer a book to a visual medium things like that will happen, but I have grown tired of each director doing his own thing, therefore taking out 90% of consistency from movie to movie. I do appreciate that the only personnel change has been in Dumbledore's character (of course they had to after Richard Harris's death), and there is something to be said for strong contractual agreements.

I for one cannot believe the speculation that these books have brought about. For there to be so much writing (now me included) about "what might happen" is nothing short of amazing. I am a trumpet player in the Houston Symphonic Band here in Houston. We rehearse every Thursday night from 7-9:30pm. When I leave (usually around 9:40), I have about a 35 minute commute home, during which I almost always listen to NPR, which, sure as the sun sets, will be playing a concert put on by the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra. I'm usually still driving when the concert ends, at which point a commentator gives his perspective on the great musical decisions that the conductor made for this performance. A few months ago, I got in the truck and immediately noticed we were on the 2nd movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. It wasn't finished when I got home, so I sat in my driveway and listened through the end of the concert. The commentator immediately started going through all the little tiny nuances that were brought out very well in the performance, and, before I knew it, it was about 11:30 and the guy still wasn't done! He had talked about those little tiny things for over an hour!!! Why do I talk about this? Well, that was Beethoven. You can talk for an hour about the details of the piece. Call me a cenic, but JK Rowling is no Beethoven. She may be years from now, but for us to get all involved in what she's hiding is sort of weak. Seems that we could involve ourselves in things that are a bit more important.

Of course, being enthralled is (excuse me) part of the magic. :-)

Back from the Beach...

2007-03-17T11:31:00.000-05:00

Kelly and I just last night got back from a wonderful week on the beach at Gulf Shores, AL with Brandon and Joy. Joy's uncle owns a condo building on the beach and lives in a house about a block from the beach. We stayed in the "Brown House" about 2 blocks from the condo. It was beautiful! We'd sleep in late, go eat FRESH seafood for lunch, go walk on the beach, go swimming in the condo indoor pool (too cool for the outdoor pool), come back and cook dinner, stay up talking, go to bed late...all in a hard day's work.

It was fun hanging out with Brandon and Joy, and they LOVED playing with Keynan. Keynan had a great time, too! The days that he goes to the school nursery, he's on a pretty specific schedule (things happen at a certain time of day). But this past week has been "feed him when he's hungry and let him sleep when he's sleepy." That's really how all of us should live.

Keynan wasn't as fond of the sand as the res of us were. We had four of us, so we kept rotating the 17 lbs of curiosity. I loved the way the sand feels on your feet. Growing up in Oklahoma didn't give me much respect for the beach...I had to grow into it. We're already trying to plan our next trip to Gulf Shores.

We bought the CUTEST swimming trunks for the little guy. I think he felt cool when he wore them. :-)

I took this picture while in the pool holding my thousand dollar camera. I know - not smart! BUT, I got this incredible picture of Keynan with his mom. He loved to splash his hands in the water. We had to hold him, so whoever was holding him got a good dose of pool water in the mouth. It was hysterical!

I'm holding the camer on the dash of our car. Brandon's driving, and Kelly and Joy are in the back seat. Keynan's in the car seat facing the rear. Good times.

We saw this in the Original Oyster House gift shop. Keynan thought it was funny for a second.

Priceless photo!

First of all, Joy didn't know Brandon was going to shar his bite with the camera. This dessert was HEAVENLY!!! It's called Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pie. The chocolate chip/peanut butter part was like a cross between a mouse and chocolate chip cookie dough. The crust was perfect, and the whole thing was topped with, as you can see, a boat-load of whipped cream. Kelly and I gobbled ours up quite fast, before Brandon could snap a picture of us eating. I love eating things that don't have anything to do with good health!

Have a great week!

Hurry up and wait...

2007-03-07T23:53:00.000-06:00

I've been listening to Andy Stanley's "Fool Proof" sermon series. He uses the idea in Ephesians 5 where it speaks of not being unwise, but instead be wise. It's a great listen. I've got a 45 minute commute to school, so I've been listening a lot. There are several things that as I'm listening I want to write down so I can remember to tell my friends. I wish I could put all my notes on here. Maybe one day I will. His lesson on how we spend/invest our time is truly incredible. One idea he explores is that there is a cumulative value in investing small amounts of time in doing something important over a long period of time. He says that if you spend 5-10 minutes a day doing something that you feel is important or wise (spending time with spouse/kids, reading Bible, prayer, cleaning the kitchen, whatever), then 6 months after you started you'll be able to look back at what you've done and it will have a cumulative value. For such things there is no regret.
I highly recommend anything by Andy Stanley you can get your hands on. He is a very wise speaker and has much to say on practical matters and how to live the life that you want to life. My friend, Casey, gave me the sermon series on cd, and I've been eating this stuff up. I love listening to it!

Today I had to stand in line at the Post Office for over 2 1/2 hours. Why? Because that's what has to happen in order to get a passport. It's almost as if they have a system designed for you to REALLY want to leave this country to actually do it. While I was there I saw a parent of a former student. We joked about the long lines (easy for her, she was only there 15 minutes), made small talk, told each other travel plans for the summer, etc. I couldn't help but notice that most of her side of the conversation revolved around her daughter...what she has read, where she's going, how she's holding up these days, this story, that story. Seriously, this lady seemed to have lost her own identity, while attaching herself like a leach to her daughter's being. The more I thought about this, the more I realized it is SOOOO easy for parents to become that. A leach. I would even venture to say that it takes a strong persons to overcome that temptation. How do you overcome it? I don't know. My friend, Casey, is apparently pretty good at it. He seems to be a great school administrator, friend, Sunday school class teacher, and father, too! He always spends time with his 4-yr-old son, is a great mentor to his colleagues, an outstanding "go to" guy during rough times. All this, and he even has his own personality and uniqueness. How? I don't know. He's the sort of guy that everyone wants to be around. What would it take for me to be that sort of guy? I wonder.

Love and peas.

It's time.

2007-03-03T22:36:00.000-06:00

I love playing with my son. I love to make him giggle. It really is priceless to hear him giggle at something that I'm doing. I'm glad he knows me...my voice, my face, my way of holding him. Honestly, I was very afraid that he wouldn't know me very well, since my job demands a level of detachment from things that aren't my job. I think I've reached, as of now, a tough balance of work and home. Tough for me to say after these last several months...

Lately, I've reached a remarkable low. I mean, I don't claim to know very much, if anything, about clinical depression. But listening to people talk about it, reading a "Are you Clinically Depressed?" test in an article from a waiting room magazine, and feeling these unexplainable feelings that are difficult to understand if you are not me...I think I'm a recovering clinical depression statistic. I put this picture with this post because it was taken about 6 weeks ago. You might be able to see the smile on my face, but I can see something else. Something...weak. Is there such thing as forced happiness? That's what I see. I'm pretty sure I'm pulling out of if now (Kelly agrees), but I can honestly say that I've never faked more smiles in my life than I have been for the last couple of months. I hated it...always feeling like people didn't want to know what was actually "going on," or "what's up." I won't get into the things that fed these feelings now (maybe later).

Tonight I played a wonderful concert with the Houston Symphonic Band. Kelly got her mom to come and watch Keynan while we went "out on the town." I had on my tux, Kelly her "goin' to a concert" outfit. It was elegant. The concert was amazing. No one can play Malcolm Arnold's Four Scottish Dances enough in their lifetime. Cartoon (by Paul Hart) is also a phenominal piece of music. Eric Ewazen grows a little more genius every time I hear/play a piece by him. Anyway, after the concert, Kelly and I went to Starbucks for a few minutes. She (and probably the rest of the world) would call it a stop at Starbucks. I, on the other hand, would call it a "much-needed break after a tough marathon of emotions." We sat and talked (well, tried to - blasted starbucks music was incredibly loud). I love my wife more every time we get a chance to do that. That's what she's REALLY good at...sitting and talking. I stink at it. Always have. That's why I LOVE to talk to with her. Sounds small and simple, but there's no substitute for a great conversation with your wife after a great concert.

I believe it's time. I've decided I'm going to start writing in my blog more. I'm changing jobs this summer. I'm taking a tour to China with the Houston Symphonic Band in a few months. I've got more music arranging projects now than I ever have. Tomorrow morning I'm going to go to church and experience real worship, regardless of the barriers. It's time.

2006-09-06T23:56:00.000-05:00

I think we all should be in charge of something. Everybody needs the feeling of failure in order to truly understand leadership. Me, I've failed a thousand times - doing billions of things. Sure, there are many things I can do, but many times I forget about those things. There is something about being in a position that forces us to either fail or deal. I've always had the problem of blaming my failures on the circumstances surrounding my failure; he didn't follow through, she didn't do what we needed, he didn't get it in time. It's always someone else's fault. Wouldn't that be great if that's how we could get ourselves into heaven? "God, I'm sorry about that lust sin. It was that blasted girl with the tight shirt!"

I talked to my 5th graders today about what cuss words really are. How fun. We talked about the difference between the "S-word" and the word "pooey." Really, it's the same thing. One might be considered more appropriate than the other, but both refer to the same bodily function. So what makes one word more acceptable to say in public? We also talked about taking the Lord's name in vain and what it really is. When we say, "Oh my stars!", what we're refering to, kindof, is the heavenly bodies, somewhat referring to God himself. So, saying, "Oh my stars!" is similar (not exactly like) to saying, "Oh my God!" These kids were blown away. One kid asked, "Is it ok to say Geez Louize?" Right after he asked it, he realized what it was, and I barely had to explain.

I love helping other people realize things that they might not have realized before. I mean, I'm not into the whole "teach the world to sing," but I enjoy the "ah-HAH!" moment. It's a little addictive. Ya know, being a band director is almost worth it when you come across those moments.

Have a great week!

Revving the engine...

2006-09-05T00:17:00.000-05:00

Here I am. I'm way overworked, way underpaid, way over-committed...yet, here I am starting up a blog. Maybe everybody has to find out what they're NOT good at by trying it. I was talking to my wife this evening, and I couldn't help but realize that I needed to start blogging. My wife asked me if I ever felt like I didn't have enough direction in my life. Although she was mainly referring to herself, I couldn't help but think about me and how I'm not doing what gives me energy. I love to talk to people on a "deep and future" sort of level. That is to say, I like to tell people things that make them better people in the future because they thought about something at the fundamental level that changed who they are, or were. Starting a blog, I figured, would be a good way of feeling like I'm doing that.

I like to watch the ATSSB chatboard (Association of Texas Small School Bands). I see all sorts of stuff on there - everything from other directors woes of their current directing position, to marching band show ideas, to the latest stupid story about bats in the attic of the bandroom. Anyway, I saw a post that was entitled "How to be a Band Director for 35 years," or something like that. I thought, "Ya know, I need that sort of stuff!" I clicked, and one of the things on there was the advice to find something away from music or band, and do it every day for about half an hour. I told my wife this evening that spending a little time every day blogging would get my mind off of my job and onto making myself a better person.

I'm looking forward to the things that will be explored on this little corner of the world wide web, although there's a voice behind me and to my left saying, "Go to bed. You have to work in the morning."

Have a great week, and keep everything in the right perspective.