Preparation
To prepare for this concert I played during class and worked with the trombone man, Chris, and did no practice at home. Sorry Ms. McIvor. However, I still felt prepared to play for the concert despite that by using the time I was play efficiently. But still, sorry Mr. McIvor... Anyways, with the time I had I felt like I was a conscientious learner and a critical thinker.
I was a conscientious learner during class and during the trombone sectionals by listening to what I was doing wrong and taking in the feedback from the instructors. Whenever there was a part I was not able to play I would listen to what it was suppose to sound like based on the instructions given to me by the adults and my peers. With this I was able to play the rhythms that had once troubled me. In addition, during the trombone sectionals, I could hear the other trombonists clearly and listen to how I was able to fit into their parts. This could either be when we were playing in unison, harmony, or when we simply had parts that differed from each other. An example of this was the beginning of Winter Wonderland when the first trombone started first, while the second and third trombone come in a couple measures later, playing a different part from the first in unison. Ms. McIvor, Bill, and Chris would often lend advice to the trombonists on how to play parts better. It was also very useful because they were able to hear the band in a way that the players couldn't. With this advice I was able to know to play louder and keep an eye on dynamics. Had I not listened to everyone I would have sounded really bad.
I did critical thinking during rehearsal by listening to the parts that other people were playing and analyzing the importance of my parts. When the whole band is playing it is always important to listen to the entire band to figure out who has the melody, because if you can't hear the melody then you are playing too loud. Listening to the other parts can also helped me figure when to come in. This can be seen in Work Song, because there are parts where a lot of the band is playing hits for the saxophones, who have the melody and it is important to come in when those hits happen. Analyzing my parts was important because it told me how loud I should be playing. If the part was clearly unimportant, such as whole notes, I knew I should be playing more quietly. On the other hand, if the trombones had the melody I knew to play louder. Had I not been listening to others, and watching my part, I would not have come in correctly and my dynamics would have been all over the place.
I was a conscientious learner during class and during the trombone sectionals by listening to what I was doing wrong and taking in the feedback from the instructors. Whenever there was a part I was not able to play I would listen to what it was suppose to sound like based on the instructions given to me by the adults and my peers. With this I was able to play the rhythms that had once troubled me. In addition, during the trombone sectionals, I could hear the other trombonists clearly and listen to how I was able to fit into their parts. This could either be when we were playing in unison, harmony, or when we simply had parts that differed from each other. An example of this was the beginning of Winter Wonderland when the first trombone started first, while the second and third trombone come in a couple measures later, playing a different part from the first in unison. Ms. McIvor, Bill, and Chris would often lend advice to the trombonists on how to play parts better. It was also very useful because they were able to hear the band in a way that the players couldn't. With this advice I was able to know to play louder and keep an eye on dynamics. Had I not listened to everyone I would have sounded really bad.
I did critical thinking during rehearsal by listening to the parts that other people were playing and analyzing the importance of my parts. When the whole band is playing it is always important to listen to the entire band to figure out who has the melody, because if you can't hear the melody then you are playing too loud. Listening to the other parts can also helped me figure when to come in. This can be seen in Work Song, because there are parts where a lot of the band is playing hits for the saxophones, who have the melody and it is important to come in when those hits happen. Analyzing my parts was important because it told me how loud I should be playing. If the part was clearly unimportant, such as whole notes, I knew I should be playing more quietly. On the other hand, if the trombones had the melody I knew to play louder. Had I not been listening to others, and watching my part, I would not have come in correctly and my dynamics would have been all over the place.
Performance Film
The first song is Great Minds Swing Alike and the second song is Winter Wonderland |
This is Work Song |
Reflection
I felt like I was able to play in well in the sense that I was aware of what was going on around me, however I did loose time a bit. While playing I did my best to listen to the other parts people were playing to ensure that what I was playing fit in and I could adjust myself accordingly. Some of the rhythms that I sometimes slipped up on felt better, but I lost it a bit during the backgrounds for Work Song. The band overall sounded very good even though I lost time. There were points when I could not feel time as well as I usually did with the songs, which was most likely because of the environment change and me not being use to the space. There also could have been more dynamic contrast, I felt like the dynamics were there but could have been exaggerated more to create a bigger affect. However, I do not believe I messed up so terrible to have dragged down the band which makes me happy. Next time I hope to be able to keep time better and be able to adjust mics.