mbtpter227

Personally, minute mistakes in my solos and while playing in a group setting are somewhat beneficial to me. After the mistake is made I have a tendancy to focus more on what I'm doing. As a result my sound gets better and more often than not I recover from my mistake.

I can't wait to try the smiling thing!

__________________
-Matt

"Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art."
-Charlie Parker

horn:
'79 Benge 3x
MP:
Schilke 17, Bach 3C

6pk

I like the smile thing, I can relate to that!
I actually find concerts to be way easier than rehearsals, I always say to myself, well this is the moment, they can't stop and interogate you on it, as Edo, loves to do, woops, did I say that?
but in fairness to the Maestro here in HK, he puts so much pressure on us in rehearsals, concerts do genuinely feel easier.
But when working with a normalish/nicish conductor that hasn't rehearsed us to death I would go whole heartedly with the smile approach, enjoy the moment, there may not be another one!

Manny Laureano

Well, 6pk and I have had the unique experience of having had Edo as our music director. Maybe Ed Carroll has, too, but I think when Ed was in Rotterdam when Edo was here in MN.

He can be a piece of work sometimes. I enjoy him so much more as a frequent guest than when he was here. He seemed so unhappy some of times and would come to work seemingly angry, with a chip on his shoulder. The fact is, I liked the guy and he did some very good things while he was here but when he left it was time for him to find something new. Now, when he guests here, he seems so genuinely happy to be back and the band plays very well for him.

I wished I'd figured out the "mental smile" back then. It was easy to feel intimidated.

ML

6pk

Manny

Thanks for the post, it's great to hear from someone who REALLY knows! He's doing great work here, the HKPO is sounding great and we're playing amazing repertoire. But boy is it hard work! Anything less than perfect, intonation or rhythm he's on it, and if it's perfect he'll find something else, like the clothes your wearing.
Every now and again he shows his human side and seems to realize he's maybe pushing people to the edge. It'd be great to meet up sometime and hear/compare stories. Some weeks, I've found myself playing on a different mpc or trumpet for every rehearsal and concert! Or even taking 3 trumpets on stage! It all ends up sounding the same. But strangely enough I always feel fine in concerts, we're certainly well prepared!

I would say to anyone out there that is experiencing a harsh boss, seargent, conductor, teacher, etc. If you use it to make you stronger, performances can be a lot more fun.

Thanks again Manny for your thoughts.

Jon

Vulgano Brother

Hey guys, a fun quote (well, sort of, a quote, because I changed some of the original words):

"In a word, virtuosity lies not in creating music, but in creating contexts that allow music to come alive."

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www.letsbuildhope.org

FreshBrewed

I played a concert band gig today and tried the smiling thing. I've never really been nervous playing gigs but the smiling seemed to do something for me once we started playing. I just seemed to enjoy myself more. Thanks Manny.

__________________
Mike
Eclipse MHY Bell
1949 Olds Ambassador

Listening has nothing to do with moving your mouth!