Musical Etiquette.

This week's concert left me with plenty of ideas regarding ensembles, rehearsals, and concerts. I've been in this music gig for almost 13 years, and attended hours worth of HWE rehearsals and collegiate concerts within the last 8 years, so I suppose what I have learned just by watching people is fairly credible. I must educate. This is how you act when you are involved with music.

The director:
I haven't had as much experience with this, but I know enough to make a few nice pointers.
1. Never say "I don't know"
2. No one likes a director that wastes time.
3. Positive attitude = positive results. You're not going to get anything out of a band if you tell them they suck all the time. Then again, you're not going to get anything if you tell them they're perfect. A balance is necessary.
4. Be polite to the piano accompanist. Piano is not easy, and if you're rude enough, they have every right to quit on you. This is often overlooked, but I realize from my own limited experiences as an accompanist that there is nothing better than an appreciative director. If the pianist makes a mistake, NEVER tell them what they missed. It's OK to stop and try the mistaken section again. If the pianist makes a mistake, they know. You don't have to state the obvious. Always say "thank you" when rehearsal is over.
5. Never put down a player individually. If you have a problem, wait until after rehearsal to address it. I've seen plenty of bad things happen regarding public humiliation.
6. Give breaks during long rehearsals. It is not healthy to force chops. This also keeps people's minds fresh because it breaks the monotony of rehearsing for so long.

The musician:
1. Be quiet and respectful of the director during rehearsal. In the band world, the director is always right, followed by the field commander (during marching season), or the section leader (during concert season). If you disagree with them, bite the bullet and wait until after rehearsal to discuss it.
2. When in doubt, do what the section leader does.
3. Practice on your own time. Show up to rehearsal 10 minutes early, warm up, tune up, and be ready to play a few minutes before rehearsal begins.
4. NEVER GLOAT. I don't care if you're first chair in the President's Own, you should never brag about yourself to others. This tends to catch up with you once you make a mistake.
5. You are not the only person in the band. Whole notes are not solos. Listening across the ensemble for balance is essential for making nice sounds.
6. Never talk while the director is working with another section.
7. Always have a pencil. If you miss a note more than twice, mark it.
8. Be a good stand partner if need be. I always hated sharing a stand with stand hogs that never would move the stand over a few inches so I could see the music.


The listener:
Whether the listener has any musical ability or not, everyone has some disposition to listen intelligently. Intelligent listening comes only from wanting to listen intelligently. I suppose that goes with anything. If you want to be good at something, the desire must be present.

This goes with my ideas of auditorium rules.
1. TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONE OR OTHER ELECTRONICS. Nothing pisses me off more than when someone's cell phone starts ringing right in the middle of a sonata. If you are going to a concert, you're there to listen to the music, not answer the phone. All phones have a silent mode. What really bugs me is the fact that the concert venue usually reminds people to turn off their cell phones.

2. People should not bring their crying 3-month-old to a concert. This is inconsiderate for both the performers, the remainder of the audience, and the baby. People go to concerts to listen to the music, not crying babies. This includes parents of small children. Either you should accept the responsibility of being stuck at home with the kid you wanted, or hire a babysitter for the evening. There's no way you can enjoy a concert when you have to deal with your crying kid.

3. How to keep from clapping when you're not supposed to:
I've had my fair share of trouble with this one. Knowledge comes with experience and exposure to an extensive amount of literature after a while. Before long, if you go to enough concerts, you begin to memorize the basic outline of most standard literature. My best suggestion for realizing when to clap or not clap is to pay attention to the program notes. DO NOT CLAP BETWEEN MOVEMENTS. Most programs include movements. An idea that never fails is to wait 4 seconds after the ensemble has stopped, and if people are still clapping, then you know for sure.

4. If you need to leave the concert early, or you arrive late:
WAIT UNTIL THE PIECE THAT IS CURRENTLY BEING PLAYED IS OVER.
There's nothing worse than a distraction coming from someone in the audience that decided to leave 10 seconds after a piece has started, or they meander into the auditorium as loud and obnoxious as they possibly can. This is one of my pet peeves. If grandma is having a heart attack, then by all means, leave whenever, but not if you are thirsty. You can wait if you're thirsty. Be considerate of the musicians on stage that have busted they're butts to provide you with entertainment.

5. Shut your face during the concert. People go to concerts to listen to music, not listen to you jabber the entire time. If you happen to see someone talking while you are trying to listen, shoot them the "evil eye". This usually ends any ruckus they are making.

They call this healthcare?

Last Thursday morning at about 9 a.m., I experienced the worst pain I could have ever imagined. I debated going to the doctor, but after a few minutes and coaxing from my sister over the phone, I texted my dear friend, Alli, for assistance.

I was unable to stand up straight, and barely able to walk. I initially suspected kidney stones....

Alli decided that it would be best to take me to the hospital in Weston, since the little doctor's office a few miles away would more than likely have no way of helping me.
The ride to Weston seemed endless. We managed to get there, and what was the first question they asked me? ---- "Ms. Bailey, do you have insurance?"
What went through my head when they asked me this?------ "Why the heck does that matter if I'm doubled over in pain and any normal person with an ounce of compassion would have enough sense to realize that my insurance status should not matter at this point?" I struggled through getting my information across to the receptionist. I will say, though, that she was actually a good receptionist and typed very fast. I suppose hospital protocol is to ask the inflicted as many random questions as possible, when my wallet includes my drivers license (which displays my address and birthday), my Social Security card, my insurance card, Dad's business card, and a debit card. They could have easily accepted all of those cards for my information. What if my condition would have been worse than it was? There's no way I could have answered those questions if that were the case.

Of course, I have a very hard-working father that has a good job and a good insurance plan. At this point, I changed into a hospital gown and began the hour of rolling around on the ER bed, moaning and crying in pain.

They eventually came in with needles. I am terribly afraid of needles. My good friend held my hand while the mean old nurse dug around in my other hand, trying to find a vein for an IV. She was terrible at digging, and I recall her being a bit rude to Alli. My veins are BLUE, dummy! The needles hurt, but my side was worse, and it was difficult for me to hold still. Two puncture wounds and another needle-digging session in my other arm later, the IV was in, and they gave me a nice dose of Demerol. 10 minutes later, the room was spinning, and I was feeling great.
After reviewing the CT scan, the doctor came in and told me that I had an ovarian cyst that ruptured. He gave me a prescription for painkillers, and told me to take it easy for the next few days. I did not see a gynecologist, and the ER doctor did not stay long enough for me to ask any questions.

Mom met us back at Glenville to take me home. I was still in pain for the rest of the evening, but I woke up Friday feeling much better.

Saturday was another story. I woke up in even more agonizing pain than I had Thursday. Mom rushed me out to Raleigh General, where the same thing happened at Weston, except they did an ultrasound and urinalysis, then told me that they THOUGHT that they saw "SPOTS" on my left kidney. These 'spots' are supposed to be stones? So, they sent me home after telling me to take it easy and drink lots of water and juice.

It's Wednesday. Am I better? Not quite. I'm still loading myself with Ibuprofen and cranberry juice. It isn't the best painkiller, but I would rather not have any sort of opioid running through my system since it knocks me out cold. I suppose my next step is to schedule a trip to the urologist and gynecologist, as much as I hate to...

If I happen to piss the suspected kidney stone out, I will try to save it and send it to Weston hospital with a note that says "here's your ovarian cyst, go back to school."

So, this insurance thing pisses me off.

What was the reason behind John Q and his hostage situation at the hospital where his dying son was at? No insurance....

My sister was 6 weeks pregnant last December, when she suddenly found herself in severe pain. When she called the Obstetrics office and told them her situation, what was the first question they asked? "Do you have insurance?" Instead of calming an expecting woman, all they were concerned about was money.
It turned out that she had an ectopic pregnancy that was about to rupture. She could have easily hemorrhaged to death.
They were so insensitive. It's like the doctors around here have no compassion for the patient, rather, they are just concerned about payday.

ARGGGGGGGHHHH......

Audition Day....college rant...

Today was audition day. This leaves me astonished that I've lasted as long as I have here... 2 years down, unsure about how many more to go.

I have a problem with introducing myself to people... Not necessarily new people, like new people in the dorms, but people that are considering to come here for school. The worst thing I said today was "psh....yea... music majors are forced to have like 30 credit hours per semester here if they want to graduate in 4 years".

Now, that was not a lie. I can't help but to blurt out stuff like that, since as an upcoming college freshman, I was quite naive. I figure it's best not to sugarcoat reality, so I'm going to tell you how it is for a music major. I'm not complaining, since I signed up for it, but this is the real truth.

First off, my initial plan was to graduate in 4 years, as the handbook suggests that it takes 4 years to get a bachelor's degree in the event that you don't transfer or drop classes. Why do I want to graduate in 4 years? It isn't because I want to get married and have kids, nor is it because I am desperate for a job and a life out from under my parent's roof. Although that would be nice, I don't mind the situation I'm in right now. The real reason I want to graduate in 4 years is because scholarships run out after 4 years. This is definitely not fair for music majors. Nationally, it takes 5 years for a music ed. major to graduate without killing over.

Why is this not fair???
I'm not sure if most people know this, but the majority of students have to have special permission from the Provost to take more than 18 credit hours. That's different for music majors. The maximum number of credit hours we're allowed to take before we have to get permission to take more is 21. 21 credit hours? Oh, it's only 3 more than the average student here...
NO. WRONG.
The average number of credit hours among Glenville State College music majors is 23. 23 hours. I'm one of the low ones, averaging 18.6 hours/semester. That number continues to rise per semester.
Lets see... We're required to take concert band and choir every semester, along with an additional ensemble. We get 1 credit hour for each ensemble, when the time spent with each ensemble per week runs as follows:
concert choir: 3 hours
marching band (fall): 6 hours plus home football games
concert band (spring): 3 hours
percussion ensemble: 4 hours, plus quite a few weekends...weekends count as 6 hours in themselves.
chamber singers, jazz band, brass ensemble, woodwind ensemble: 3 hours/week each
The average number of hours per week in rehearsal for these ensembles does not include individual practice time and concerts.
All of those are 1 credit hour? How is that fair?
My favorite class is music theory. It is fairly weighed at 4 credit hours.
Applied lessons= 1 credit hour. How many hours per week do you think I practice piano? Let's say at least 7. Probably more, plus I'm dealing with recital stuff.
Oh... don't forget pedagogy classes. We get 2 credit hours for those, which is actually about right.

Besides that, we have to take all the education courses and general studies. Am I seriously going to use college algebra or have a need to distinguish between sandstone and granite when I'm conducting a choir? No. There's that extra year or two of my time and money. General studies suck.

While I think it is important to be a well-rounded person, I also believe that college should be intended to prepare you for YOUR field. More emphasis should be placed on that without all of this "well-rounded" nonsense. I realize that survey courses are designed to give you a broad understanding of the subject, but I am NEVER going to use square roots, even while teaching the mathematical components of music, just like a Biology major is probably never going to need to know about Bach's contribution to key signatures. I would much rather spend the 3 hours of time in Earth Science lab on seriously learning the fingerings for clarinet, although I hate clarinet. I appreciate all of the other subjects, but I really don't care. Then again, I can't convince everyone that music is awesome. There has to be a desire to learn.

What might I use out of general studies?
Basic math- fractions are used in music all the time, plus I'll need to be able to balance my checkbook and average grades. I learned that in middle school.
English- Since I speak everyday, I suppose English is up there on the priority list. Do I give a hoot about Shakespeare? No, but after 19 years of experience with the language, I think I can write a fairly cohesive sentence and speak eloquently if need be. What it all boils down to is communication, and although one of my biggest pet peeves is incorrect word-usage, like "my shoes are over their", I'm fine as long as the point gets across.
Science- I suppose it would be useful to understand anatomy and physiology for breath support purposes, and a little bit of biology to maintain health and wellness within a band/choir. At some point, I may have to explain why having sex on the back of the band bus is not a wise decision, or I may have to decide to stay inside and work on music if it is too hot outside to practice a field show... Gotta keep the students healthy.

That's it. I do not need to know the atomic number of Helium.

I am also angry that the fine arts survey courses are not taken seriously. If they want people to be well rounded, why am I forced to spend so much time with Earth Science, Biology, and another science, when the non-music majors are only required to take 2 credits of fine arts survey classes? I did not buy a book for my survey of arts class because of the reputation of the class. Why can't they make the music survey class as difficult as my Earth Science class, which, by the way, is a 101 level SURVEY course that is treated like a higher level class.

We learn in educational psychology about the theory that people are predisposed to a certain subject or talent. Even Howard Gardner states that although people possess some qualities of all the intelligences, they are usually only really proficient with one or sometimes two of the intelligences. Why force subjects into people's brains when everyone is different?

Sad, sad world...

I found this link on MSN today.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2233878.ece

Strange places...

This evening, a friend and I decided to "snoop" around campus to see if we could find anything interesting. As small as GSC is, I assumed that I had seen it all, but I was wrong... There's so much in the Administration Building that you never see unless you make the effort to explore. Like, a downstairs with a 4x4 door on the wall. What's behind the door? Dirt. Just plain ol' dirt and a few rocks and the like (above picture...) The dirt goes on for quite a ways. Right across from the door on the wall is a small door on the floor that is locked. It takes a square-shaped key. There's something under it, but we couldn't get it opened. I need to learn how to pick locks. I have a strange inclination to believe that there's something more extravagant behind quite a few of those basement doors. There's rumors that there is a bomb shelter tucked away under campus. There were many doors that were locked, so I probably saw about 10% of the "unknown." My goal for the future is to find out how to get into the bell tower, or how to get in to Louis Bennett or Clark Hall to hunt for ghosts.


For those of you that do not believe in ghosts, I will assure you that there is something roaming this campus. So far, I have had two experiences that I would label "paranormal." My first odd experience happened on the 5th floor of Scott wing at Pickens Hall. I was here for a week out of the summer working at a band camp. I recall waking up and hearing someone breathing heavily. The chaperones and students were already on their way to breakfast, so I know that the general location I was in was empty besides myself. I didn't see anything strange, but I KNOW I heard something.
My second experience was a little more realistic. I was walking down the hall from the RA's room to mine, and I saw a very prominent white light slide across the hall. This was a few weeks ago. I suppose that I wasn't too scared simply because it wasn't in the shape of a person or anything.

OH...

There's also a huge overlook beyond the nature trail. I didn't know about this until today. From the top, you can see hay city.

Just so you know... I made a few discoveries today.

Blogspot virgin...

This is my first blogspot blog. That's right, I'm a blogspot virgin. I originate out of the depths of myspace and facebook, however decided to create one of these since a new friend of mine is anti-myface, and she'll be heading back to Canada at the end of the semester. Have to have some sort of social network to keep in touch :).
I suppose I could start with telling about my day?
It's been fairly simple.
I woke up to my dorm neighbor's alarm going off, at which I called down to the office to tattle. Woodwind pedagogy was a blur, and I couldn't remember clarinet fingerings to save my life. If I had to pick one music class to hate, woodwind pedagogy would be it. I'll stick to piano.
I was outrageously shocked and ecstatic to find that I scored an %85 on an Earth Science quiz. For some reason, I never really learned how to study. Thankfully, memory skills from piano work well in other subjects. I could have studied harder for that quiz, but I managed to keep myself afloat. I'm still struggling with my procrastination issues.... Perhaps blogging will help...HA.
Had dinner by myself. I wanted to eat with someone, but after a little bit, I decided that I liked the moment of solitude. I have friends, but busy friends.
I taught a piano lesson today. For some reason, it didn't go as well as it should have. 7-year-olds are very unpredictable on a weekly basis.
Went to the pool. I managed to keep my towel from being stolen again. The last time, someone must have picked it up on accident. I hope it was accidental, otherwise, I have a creeper on my hands. I had to use my hair dryer to dry off. It was about 15 degrees outside that day.
I went to Tanya's room with Alli and talked about fat people among other things, including quarters. Tanya is my favorite Canadian :)
Anywho, I believe this is suffice for a first blog. Honestly, I'm a myspace and facebook blog veteran, as I have been blogging for at least 3 years.