if you guys care

vivace · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2003 5:58 am Post subject:

I got into BYU.. and I am accepted as a gen. music major.

yup, i got into my first choice school.
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"All music is folk music. I ain't never heard no horse sing no song." - Louis Armstrong

KevinInGeorgia · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2003 6:12 am Post subject:

CONGRATS!!! Keep up the Chops over the summer.. You'll have lots of auditions for stuff when you get to school.. Wind Ensemble Orchestra.. Stuff like that.. BUT you've got past the tough part.. Now just get ready for Music Theory & Ear Training..
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Kevin M.
Sounds of Sawnee Community Band

“Heroes turn into martyrs on this instrument.” ~ William Vacchiano

riffdawg2000 · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2003 7:14 am Post subject:

Good Job!!
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Joel Thomas

_PhilPicc · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2003 8:08 am Post subject:

Way to go, great job!!

All the best,
Phil
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Philip Satterthwaite

We cannot expect you to be with us all the time, but perhaps you could be good enough to keep in touch now and again."
- Sir Thomas Beecham to a musician during a rehearsal

_Don Herman · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2003 8:37 am Post subject:

Who cares?

OK, congratulations, Mat - way to go! Don't forget about TH while you're slaving away... As a matter of fact, since you should rest as much as you play, and it sounds like you'll be doing a LOT of playing, there should be ample rest time for TH, right?

One thing you might consider is keeping a journal. I used to in HS -- had to at first, then stuck with it for a while after. Was a great way to let off steam, refine my thoughts, figure things out, etc.

Anybody seeing this -- what would you offer as suggestions to a newly college-bound person (trumpet player or not)? I've a few years before my eldest is heading off, but he's getting big enough that I'm thinking I'd better start collecting ideas now...

All the best - Don
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Don Herman/Monument, CO
"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music." - Aldous Huxley

PH · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2003 9:58 am Post subject:

Will you be studying with David Brown? He's great. Don't miss out on the great jazz opportunities with Ray Smith, too.

Work hard and have a ball!

mafields627 · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2003 10:32 am Post subject:

Here's my piece of advice:

If your School of Music has a student lounge, STAY OUT of it. I learned the hard way, you never know who might hear what you and another might be talking about. If you've got extra time between classes, go in a practice room or talk with your friends in the hall. Just stay out of the lounge!

BTW, gig bags with shoulder straps a great, as are the messenger bag type bags for hauling around your music. Set a schedule for yourself to practice and stick to it. Get practice rooms next to the vocalists as much as possible cuz it's really funny when they leave five minutes into your playing. Happens every time, with every trumpet player. So funny.

Good Luck!
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--Matt--

No representation is made that the quality of this post is greater than the quality of that of any other poster. Oh, and get a teacher!

fuzzyjon79 · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2003 10:51 am Post subject:

Resist the urge to go out and "do stuff" all the time. Make sure you get your work and practicing done. Trust me, someone will always want to go to the ballgame, or go to pizza hut, or go out for a drink and hang out and that is okay to do sometimes, but just make sure you have your stuff done first and foremost.
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J. Fowler
"It takes a big ole' sack of flour, to make a big ole' pan of biscuits!"

_londonhusker · Heavyweight Member Joined: 13 Oct 2002 Posts: 658

Mat,

Congratulations! In 1977 I got to play in a Kenton Clinic band with Mike Plumleigh on lead, and the solo chair was covered by the most amazing player from BYU. I unfortunately cannot remember his name, but his white dress shirt and tie couldn't disguise the fact that he could bebop with anyone. What a player!

Try going up Heber Valley for solitude, hiking, and XC skiing.

Best wishes!

Dave
londonhusker

riffdawg2000 · Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2003 3:55 am Post subject:

You did not ask for the advice ... but I will give it anyhow ...
1) Practice, practice, practice. Start early AM ... when everyone else is too lazy to get up and get going. When I was a music major preparing for my sophomore recital I used to get to the fine arts bldg at 5:30 am to start my practice for that day. By the time everyone else started coming in (between 8-8:30) I already had two practice sessions down for that day.
2) Don’t get involved with all the ‘drama’ stuff … by hanging in the student Lounge! Go study or better yet, PRACITICE!
3) Play a lot of duets with someone you feel is better than you are. Bring yourself to THEIR level – and keep climbing. Make sure to extend the same to lesser players down the line.
4) ALWAYS offer to help out your trumpet instructor/teacher. They are helping you, offer the same in return. I don’t mean becoming their bi*ch … just help out if needed. This can always come back in $$ (i.e. referrals for private students of your own, a TA or graduate assistant gig, etc..because you were ALWAYS there to him him/her when they needed it) or better yet, a lifelong friendship. I have two friends and myself, and our former college teacher holds the three of us in VERY high regard because we helped him out so much over the years. To us he was more than just a teacher and mentor – but a friend.

my 2-cents
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Joel Thomas

vivace · Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2003 5:22 am Post subject:

thanks for the advice.

I think my scheduale for the first semester will allow me lots of practice time. I am not sure what time the arts center opens, but I don't have a class until 8, and I don't sleep to well any way. And The days I don't have an ensemble I have the whole afternoon off.

thanks for the Idea about a journal. I keep one now... it is under my nightstand covered in dust. Oh... keeping one means writing in it...

When I do write in mine, it lets out a lot of steam.

about the gig bag: do you mean a style with just a shoulder strap, or the backpack kind? oh, and I have a messenger bag already that I haul my music in.

again, thanks for the advice. I can't wait to be in college with so much culture, and 5 music classes a day. I am not going to miss high school that much, well, the fact that I was always 1st trumpet, but not the 10 person band or the drama between the band and choir directors.
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"All music is folk music. I ain't never heard no horse sing no song." - Louis Armstrong

mafields627 · Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2003 7:26 am Post subject:

Either/or when it comes to the strap. The less you have to hold in your hand when you're hiking across campus with a bookbag, horn, music and an umbrella in the rain, the better. I have a Protec with just the strap, although some of my friends have packpack style Protecs and Gig brands.
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--Matt--

No representation is made that the quality of this post is greater than the quality of that of any other poster. Oh, and get a teacher!

riffdawg2000 · Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2003 7:37 am Post subject:

FYI! ... Watch out for the flexable, padded Gig bags .... If you carry you horns in them all the time ... they are sideways..and will bend (Slightly over time) to the curve that you carry them! I have seen it happen!! Think about a ProTec single slimline case or something like it ... just as small as a gig bag, but offers COMPLETE protection ..

My 2-cents
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Joel Thomas

vivace · Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2003 3:16 pm Post subject:

My teach has a wolfpac double with the backpack straps. He likes it a lot.

And i have the propac slimline for my Bb. Only thing is it is a single and no room for mutes.

and i hate carrying a case by hand. Glad I don't play the tuba

Horn of Praise · Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2003 3:50 pm Post subject:

Don't "party" during the week. I knew many people who flunked out because they couldn't wait until the weekend.

Play is a great reward "after" the work is done. All the best.
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PAUL NELSON - Eclipse White Lightning / Getzen Eterna 900 Classic / Monette B4LD / Blue Juice

TopGun · Veteran Member Joined: 17 Mar 2003 Posts: 456

Looks like many great comments already. One thing that really helped my was always going to the library to study. Find a quiet corner where you can get your work done. Best of luck and keep in touch.

TopGun

mafields627 · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2003 10:02 am Post subject:

Can't believe I forgot this one: if there's a Phi Mu Alpha (a social fraternity with the common bond of music, founded at New England Conservatory in 1898) chapter, look into rushing. It helps to have a close group of friends you can turn to in your first semester, and throughout your collegiate and adult career. Not for everyone, but just a thought and a lot cheapter than normal frats.

Matt Fields
Pi Sigma Chater
Fall '01
_________________
--Matt--

No representation is made that the quality of this post is greater than the quality of that of any other poster. Oh, and get a teacher!

KevinInGeorgia · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2003 10:34 am Post subject:

Joel & I can both tell you all about Phi Mu Alpha.. We were older students when we came back into the Music Program & it helped to have a close circle of friends that understood what you were going through & Phi Mu Alpha was great for that.. Many of the Brothers are friends for Life.. One of them called me Sunday saying he was coming to Atlanta & needed a place to stay for a few days & couldn’t get in touch with the people he was suppose to stay with.. My wife almost killed me for it & it took me an hour to explain to her that many of my brothers would do the same for me. & I will always do the same for them. Also the main thing about Phi MU Alpha is even though it’s a Professional Fraternity, it’s all about the music in the end..

http://www.sinfonia.org/aboutus.html

Kevin Myers
Epsilon Lambda – UGA
Spring ‘03

[ This Message was edited by: KevinInGeorgia on 2003-06-26 13:36 ]

vivace · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2003 1:47 pm Post subject:

actually at BYU, they have this thing called freshman academy. What it is is a free service that helps you out your first semester and to meet friends of common interests. They not only help you with getting scheduales set up, but also do tours, set up study groups and they put all the music majors together or close together in the dorms. pretty cool, and it is a free service.

vivace · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2003 1:48 pm Post subject:

oh and about partying... i don't really party. I dont' drink or do drugs... and Ican wait for the weekend to crack open a nice cold IBC and let loose.

and since my school is a parochial school, one strike your out for drugs/alcohol.
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"All music is folk music. I ain't never heard no horse sing no song." - Louis Armstrong