Alright, so here's just a bit of info for you: I play French horn and I love it. But, unfortunately, the French horn is not a jazzy instrument, so I've had to figure out other ways to be in jazz band. First, I played trumpet, but after playing an instrument with such a warm, mellow sound, the nasal nastiness of the trumpet was basically unbearable. So then I played piano, but I'm not the best at jazz piano, there are definitely people at school who do a WAY better job than I. So this year I decided to learn...*drum roll*... Trombone! I'm still pretty patchy at it, but I'm catching on for sure. I decided on this 1) because there's only one other trombonist (?) and it's definitely a cool part that needs to be heard 2) because I've always secretly had the crazy hots for trombone, and if I didn't play French horn, I would definitely play trombone for everything and just be pretty outstanding at it. But I'm contented to be merely mediocre at trombone because I have found the true reason I'm in jazz band.
Rehearsals are at 7:00 in the morning, and for some people, that's pretty early. Everyone there is so groggy and lifeless that it really isn't all that fun. Enter ME! I've been at the school since 6 IN THE MORNING (ask me how that makes me feel. I dare you.) and I am just about as awake as I'll ever be. So, being generally outgoing and a bit cray-cray, I'm the loudest, happiest, most negatively-positive person there. I scream in mock frustration when I see a key signature I don't like, laugh at my many blunders, question just about everything my director does, and make disgustingly beautiful sounds with my mouthpiece. Do I drive my director crazy? Most likely. But I'm keeping the people around me happy, or on their toes at least, and most importantly, I'm keeping me happy. And I think that's the important thing.
Today at jazz band practice we started a song entitled "What's New?" and the way it changes themes super randomly in the middle of the song made me wonder what the composer was thinking as he wrote it. So I very respectfully raised my hand and waited for my very hesitant band director to call on me. I asked him, "So... What's this song about?" He gave me some long drawn out blurb he read on his copy that was talking about instrumentation, and how it had a dominant alto sax part and a melody that switched between parts and a whole bunch of little technical stuff. Why the nuts would I care about something like that? I want to know the story. I want to know about the heartbreak I hear, about longing for the façade of happiness, because that's what I hear when I listen. Jazz isn't about instrumentation. It's not about who gets the melody where. It's raw feelings. It's soul. Or at least that's what it means to me. I don't know much about the technicalities of everything, but I know good music when I hear it, and I make good music when I feel it.
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