Just a Test

...to see if I can post from my phone with the Blogger app.

Put the Roof on the Sucka'

So here is the work that's been done to my Father-in-Law's house since my last post:


Here's the front of the house as of 6/17.





As you can see, there is a garage now, owing to the fact that Dick and I framed it all up. The other ting you'll notice is the roof trusses are all up. That was quite an ordeal involving like 10 guys, a crane, and the requisite swearing and posturing. My job was to get stuff for people and be unobtrusive. I succeeded in the first and usually succeeded in the second. Mostly due to swearing and posturing.





And here's the left side of the house. You'll notice that the roof trusses hang out a ways; this is to accommodate the roof that will hang over the deck off the upper floor. Also, we've started putting up the house wrap.







Here's the back.







Here's the interior. All of the rooms on this floor (with the exception of the kitchen pantry) are done. Pretty different than last time!








And finally, here are the cedar logs that will be the pillars on either side of the front door. Being in northern Idaho, they're going for the rustic look. These logs came from the property here, and we stripped the bark off 'em the old fashioned way, using a sharp ax. I felt all old-fashioned and frontiersy and it made me want to smoke my pipe while I worked.

Idaho, June 2010

OK, so because I can't say no to my wife about anything (heh), I agreed to spend the month of June this summer in Sandpoint, Idaho helping my father-in-law build his retirement house.

I'm not entirely sure he'd like for me to call it his "retirement house," but whatev.

Lauren is not here with me, though she did join me for the drive out and will come out at the end of June for the drive back to Nebraska.

Truth be told (and isn't that the point of blogging, after all) I was not really looking forward to this trip. There were a few things I was looking forward to, not the least of which was learning about building a house in the first place. Dick is very good at building stuff from houses to airplanes and I'm...well... I'm learning. Let's leave it at that.

Though some of the things I was not looking forward to are still kind of a bummer (not having Lauren here, for instance), the rest of the trip is going just fine so far. The weather has not really cooperated; it's been rainy as often as not. Still, a lot has been accomplished already. And I'm getting better at this building thing. I've got pictures to prove it.

This first one proves nothing except that I have been practicing tuba in a construction zone. One of the things I LOVE about summer is playing tuba outdoors.

My "practice room."

The view from outside my camper. It's not too easy to see in this shot, but there is still some snow on the mountains.

This shot is taken from the front corner of the house. The wall in the left of the photo is the front. Towards the right is where we will be building the garage once the cement guy comes and pours the pad. In the few good work days we've had since I've been here we have put all of the OSB (plywood) up. The house was only framed when I got here. Also, we did the flashing at the bottom of the house today, as a soil/moisture barrier. That stuff is a PAIN to wrangle into place.

The rear of the house. Notice that it has a basement which will be totally finished, perfect for the summers here.

The West side of the house. Note the walk-out for the basement and the opening for double doors coming off the master bedroom and living room. Soon they will open onto a deck.

Interior shot looking from the rear of the house towards the front door.

Here's the not-yet-poured garage pad and the camper which is my home for the rest of June. The large building to the right of the camper is Dick's workshop.

The basement so far.

All-America Concert Band

Last week I attended a concert by the Siouxland All-America Concert Band. They perform throughout he academic year and are comprised of adult musicians, many amateurs but also quite a few local band directors/music teachers, etc.

They're a good group, and the coolest part is that the musicians are not paid and 100% of the ticket sales go towards local nonprofit organizations.

I'll be joining them starting next week, and our last concert of the season will be Sunday, April 11 2010 at 7:30 pm.

www.allamericaconcertband.com

On the Nature of Hard Work

The theme for this semester in our studio has been "Practice." Practice Journals, Practice Blogs, Practice, Practice, Practice.

I truly and honestly believe that everyone in the studio is learning and growing through all of this focus on practice, but with growing comes growing pains. I've been seeing (and hearing about) burnout, so now seems like a good time for me to ruminate on hard work in general, and practice in particular.

First, a few quotes/sayings about hard work:

"You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do."

-Henry Ford

"Things may come to those who wait... but only the things left by those who hustle."

-Abraham Lincoln

"The only place 'success' comes before 'work' is in the dictionary."

These things are all true, and I'll wager you've heard at least one of them before. Hard work is important. It builds character. It increases skill. It's also hard.

"It's hard" is my least favorite excuse for not doing something. Where would the world be if everyone only did things that were easy?

There are a few things about hard work as related to practicing a musical instrument that are important to consider:

Improvement is neither fast, nor linear. Sometimes improvement will come quickly, sometimes, it will come slowly, and occasionally it will come not at all. In many cases getting better at the tuba, trombone or euphonium includes the breaking of old, bad playing habits. These are called habits for a reason; they are a part of one's learned (and ingrained) behavior and can reappear from time to time. This will happen less frequently as the new, better habits replace the old. Our quality as musicians depends not on our willingness to practice when everything is going well, but rather on our ability to persevere when the going is toughest.

Practicing in itself is a difficult skill to master. There are right and wrong ways to practice. This begins with finding when to practice. Practice requires a rested, healthy body and an alert, focused mind. Do not practice when you are exhausted, starving, angry or depressed. Take frequent breaks. Be sure to spend adequate time on fundamentals, and be sure to maintain a high standard for yourself as you work. Don't settle for a product that is below your potential. Be sure to find enough time in smaller chunks; cramming is not possible and will only frustrate you.

Recognize "burnout," and combat it. It is possible to practice too much on one thing. Beating your head against a wall can make practice frustrating, and you get burned out. Sometimes walking away from the horn is a good solution, but it's another bad habit to get into when you take a big chunk of time off whenever you get a little frustrated. Remember, practicing is hard. Don't confuse being tired and a little frustrated with serious burnout. When you need a mental break, put your "work music" away and play something fun. I Like to play big, loud orchestral excerpts with a recording to get my mind back in the right place. Maybe do a little improv, dig out an old tune you play well and like to play, or rock out the melody or bass line to your favorite tune. Remember, burnout is mental, you still need face time on the horn, but take the stress out of the equation. Consider an extended break as a last resort.

Have Fun! Remember, we are very blessed to be able to pursue music as a career; we get to do something we love and get a check every week for it (someday, students, someday). Having a career doing something you love is not a right, it's a privilege. It must be earned through hard work. When I need to be reminded of this, I think of my father. He worked his whole life doing something he hates so I could have the opportunity to pursue the career of my choosing. I'm thankful for that, and I won't let his sacrifice go to waste by slacking off. You'd have to work just as hard flipping burgers, at least music is something you love.

More to come later...

-J

NSBA Intercollegiate Band

Some members of our Low Brass Studio have been selected for the 2010 NSBA Intercollegiate Band:

• Jason Sipes, tuba
• Mike Fulton, tuba
• Harley Mohlman, euphonium

Other WSC students accepted:

• Marshall Keough, tenor sax
• Jessica Janke, flute
• Andy Gould, percussion
• Blake Lyon, trumpet
• Eric Heithoff, percussion

Congratulations, guys!

"Buy my CD!"

So Carol Jantsch, Principal Tubist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, created a rap video to "pimp" her CD release. This has to be the first video like this in history, and it just goes to show that they probably didn't teach rap at Michigan.

Kidding, Carol. Love the vid, even if the milk moustache you're wearing in the tub is a bit odd.