So yesterday we had our MPA. My high school got straight superiors. Earlier this week one of our percussionists, Chris Whitehead, was in a car accident and was taken off of life support and survived on his on for about 2 hours and then passed away. We then had to perform our MPA concert. The main reason for this topic is because of the sight reading. I was looking earlier at a topic where Steve was defending the importance of the chromatic scale. When we played our march it had multiple chromatic runs in 8th notes from 2nd line above the staff Eb to 3rd space Eb. We nailed it. During class our band director always has us play our chromatic scale first in quarter notes, then eighth, then triplets, then sixteenth. The march was in 6/8 time so the 8th notes felt like triplets. I didn't even have to think about what positions or notes to play. Sorry for making this post so long but I just wanted to give you guys a real example of why the chromatic scale is so important.

I just wanted to add Chris died yesterday (Friday) and we performed our concert Friday night so it was pretty emotional and hard on all of us.

Sorry for making this post so long but I just wanted to give you guys a real example of why the chromatic scale is so important.

So the moral of this story is that if you can't play a chromatic scale, you might die in a car accident? Sorry about your classmate, but one doesn't have to do with the other. I know it sounds cruel, but I'm not buying it.

What I'm trying to say is, if you have had a tragedy in your classroom, feel free to us about it, as all of us here would be very sympathetic. But leave the chromatic scale out of it, as I think that that's disrespectful to that person's life. At this point in time I don't think that poor kid's family would care about his classmates' success on a test.

Wow...
I think what he was trying to say was that because they were so prepared with their fundamentals, that even in the face of a tragedy earlier that day, they were able to get the job done. Kudos for being prepared and keeping your wits about you, brother! And I'm very sorry to hear about your friend.
Bob....
Sure, the original post may have been a bit non-sequitur, but isn't that to be expected from someone who is obviously very upset?
I'll be honest with you... I know that Bobsacamano is an alter ego apart from your other one on the the Trombone Forum, and I must say, I am very curious to know which one is the real you. But for what it's worth, I like the more humble persona you portray on the Trombone Forum a lot better than this one.
PS
(I know I'll probably wake up tomorrow and wish I hadn't written that, but right now I just felt it needed to be said.. my apologies in advance)

OK, what I wrote yesterday, I'm sorry about. I was just in one of those weird moods. I sometimes write crazy things here because I know that there are no moderators that will get on my case about it.

About the Trombone Forum. I've posted on there maybe about three times in the past two months. I just don't care anymore about trying mouthpieces and horns and talking about it. It's getting boring and tiresome, and it really hasn't gotten me anywhere in a positive sense. I blew a lot of my money trying out different setups when I should have been practicing instead.

Speaking of practicing, I'm not doing much of that right now. I know that music isn't going to be my main profession, and instead of going to band rehearsals I'd rather stay home and watch a good basketball/baseball game or TV show. And with gas prices rising the way they are, why should I go play for these rehearsal bands when they're not paying me, and I don't want to go anyway? If I have a paid gig, fine, I'll show up. But going to these bands that get together just for the heck of it (and a 30-50 mile drive away) is just not worth it anymore, and is nothing but a chore.

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If you want to know the honest truth, I'm much more interested in the first round NCAA game between Gonzaga/Indiana than I am in playing my trombone right now. I've already quit one rehearsal band, and I'd like to quit another but I'm afraid of hurting too many people's feelings. That will get me down to two, which are quite manageable because I will at least have a few nights of the week to myself. And the ones that I will stay in are shorter drives.

Hey man, if it's not where your heart's at, then there is nothing wrong with backing off from it. Heck, I took twelve years off from the horn, and now playing trombone is my day job.
As for practicing, I have an audition coming up, so I am practicing so much I am dreaming about it at night. I'm sure once the audition has been and gone, I'll probably take a few days off the horn entirely and just play my bass guitar or something.
Anyway, good luck in whatever you do.

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about the Trombone Forum...
I have my settings set up so I only get shown a few areas of discussion. I only bother because cats like Alex Iles, Josh Roseman, and some other heavy hitters still drop in occasionally and treat us to some really cool ideas.
I post here because I was once as misguided as many of the posters here. If I can at least steer some people in the right direction, then it is worth the bit of time to me. It can be tough at time. Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to my 11 year old (who also thinks he knows everything!) But we can't pick and choose who asks for help. We can only try to help the best we can and hope someone listens.

All I wanted to do is to show what we had to go through that day and then we played that night. Oh and by the way his family did care because at first we weren't even going to play that night but they said he would have wanted us to play. You !***** jerk.

ok..so appearently this part of the forum is just going to erupt in argument more so than it is. Lets just drop the subject entirely before anything else is said and more people become angry at each other.

So whats your all weather like?

Yeah, sometimes all you need is to take some time off of the horn. Somebody that I'm playing with now told me that he played up until a few years after college, then took fifteen years off from the horn because he wasn't really into it, and with his professional career he didn't have time to play anyway. He started playing again three years ago, and now he's more into music then ever.

I don't think I need that much time off, nor would I want that much time off. But maybe a break for a few months, a year, or a couple of years will be enough to rekindle that spirit.

Yeah, sometimes all you need is to take some time off of the horn. Somebody that I'm playing with now told me that he played up until a few years after college, then took fifteen years off from the horn because he wasn't really into it, and with his professional career he didn't have time to play anyway. He started playing again three years ago, and now he's more into music then ever.

I don't think I need that much time off, nor would I want that much time off. But maybe a break for a few months, a year, or a couple of years will be enough to rekindle that spirit.

Hey bud,sorry about your loss.Im sure you made him proud at that concert.It mustve been very hard to play at the concert,but you came through!Again,im sorry about your loss.