10 Things

Here are ten things you may or may not know about me:

1. I have a stutter.
2. I brush my teeth in the shower.
3. I hate mint chocolate chip flavored ice cream.
4. I was so freaked out whilst reading the novel “Dracula” by Bram Stoker that I had a nightmare in which I was chased around my hometown by Dracula. Strange.
5. I love Jane Austen’s books.
6. I can type 55 words per minute when I really get going.
7. I went to anger management counseling when I was 15, where I was diagnosed with depression.
8. I was 2nd chair French horn in 2008 Oklahoma All-State Orchestra.
9. I live with my great-grandmother. I call her grandma.
10. I refuse to read my hometown’s newspaper, due to it being not balanced enough in political elections and in their opinion section. They way I see it, the opinion section should have people from all sides of the political spectrum, and people of all different faiths, including those who have none. But that’s for another blog

Peace out. Cheers. Etc.

John Lennon blowing his horn.

Band or Orchestra?

A friend of mine sent me a text message last night asking me “Band or Orchestra? Which do you prefer?”

This made me think about my years in high school, playing my French horn in both bands and orchestras. There are plus sides to both groups, but I think I prefer playing in orchestras. This is just my opinion as a horn player. Horns tend to get better parts in orchestra pieces. Band pieces tend to favor either the highs or the lows. Horns, being in the middle, tend to have parts that repeat often, that are mundane, and that I wish I never had to play. There are exceptions though. One of my favorite songs I played in high school was done my junior year. Very horn heavy. It’s “An American Elegy” by Frank Ticheli (a good band composer.) Here’s an mp3 link (copy and paste to your browser): http://www.manhattanbeachmusic.com/audio/american-elegy-ms.mp3

However, in orchestra horns get “meatier” parts. Especially if the composer is someone like John Williams. (Composer of Star Wars film scores, etc.) My favorite song I’ve ever played in an orchestra is actually a song I’ve played in both orchestra AND band. Its “Overture to Candide” by Leonard Bernstein. I preferred playing it in orchestra though. Here’s a YouTube link, in which Bernstein himself is conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. (Audio and Video are a bit off. That’s okay, just listen. Copy and paste to your browser.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=422-yb8TXj8

Since I don’t really play anymore: I also usually prefer listening to orchestras instead of band. I’m not sure why, I think its probably just an aesthetic preference.

How Old Are You? Twelve?

After quitting band earlier this week, I guess the Horn Professor here dropped me as a friend on Facebook. Now, I don’t understand why you would do that just because I am not playing. It doesn’t make sense with me. She is friends with other people who aren’t in band anymore, or people who don’t play the horn. Yet it would seem that the day I am done with band she drops me as a friend. This sounds trivial and stupid, I know. But then again, how mature do you have to be to tell someone you aren’t friends with them anymore simply by deleting your friendship via Facebook? It’s like the infamous “Facebook breakups” where a couple is listed as in a relationship, and one of them changes their status to single to indicate that they have broken up, without telling the other person.

I don’t know why I care so much about this. If she doesn’t want to be a friend on Facebook, fine, whatever. But have a better reason than the fact that I am not playing anymore or that I have been irresponsible in band. If I piss you off, tell me. People get pissed at each other all the time and they don’t just delete people. But I’ve got 400 other friends on Facebook, so losing a few couldn’t hurt I guess. I’m just pissed about how it all went down. I was writing a “note” on Facebook. A public apology note. Most of it was directed toward her. So when I went to tag her, I found I didn’t have any friends by that name. I searched her name, and in the search results it had “Add as a Friend”. The public apology is now on hold.

Rant over. For now.