| Re: Help; vent
What a fantastic oportunity you have to practice the biggest Vulgano Voodoo Power Secret of them all! Here it is:
Attitude.
It involves all the attributes of good character, to be sure -- showing up on time, being polite, prepared, etc.; these are but the outward manifistations. Inside, however, when dealing with impossible situations is the attitude of "bring it on, chump!" We see it in top athletes all the time, but it need not take on the flamboyant flash of someone like Muhammed Ali. Deep inside there is the knowledge, concentration and what Bruno Walter called "impulse of will" needed to play the heck out of the trumpet over and over again. We don't play with the chops or air -- to paraphrase Roland of Gilead, "we play with the mind."
Hear in your mind what you want the passage to sound like, and fling it in your conductor's face. If they want it changed, change it and fling it back at 'em. If they want ppppp, fling that at them softly, but with deadly intensity.
It may be just what your teacher is trying to get you to do!
I'm guessing the stuff in the pit isn't for credit. You might think about giving that up. When asked why, you'll have your chance to explain that you're worked to death in the other two rehearsals, and that her attitude makes it no fun in the pit (it's an extracurricular activity, not an extracurricular beat-down that you signed up for).
Give the attitude of playing the dickens out of the trumpet a try -- it might turn out to be a tremendous learning experience for you!
Have fun -- with attitude!
__________________ "A tool good enough to be so used and not too good" C.S. Lewis That Hideous Strength www.letsbuildhope.org |