Old McDonald

One song that stuck with me from my childhood was “Old McDonald Had a Farm.” Of course, many people already know this song, because it’s a classic and it’s essential to each individuals’ overall education. I actually don’t remember many other songs from my childhood; but this one stuck with me because you can have a great time while singing it!

Here are the lyrics:

“Old McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O;

and on that farm he had some cows, E-I-E-I-O.

With a ‘Moo-Moo’ here, and a ‘Moo-Moo’ there;

Here a ‘Moo,’ there a ‘Moo,’ everywhere a ‘Moo-Moo.’

Old McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O.”

 

What’s great about it is that you can alternate between animals and the sounds that they make. For example:

“Old McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O;

and on that farm he had some horses, E-I-E-I-O.

With a ‘Neigh-Neigh’ here, and a ‘Neigh-Neigh’ there;

Here a ‘Neigh,’ there a ‘Neigh,’ everywhere a ‘Neigh-Neigh.’

Old McDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O.”

You can rotate around the room for which student picks the animal and which student picks the sound. Everyone is bound to have a great time!

It’s All About The Journey

Music is an odd thing. We practice hours upon hours over the course of several months in order to get one great run of our music when it counts: at the concert. Many people who attend the concert really enjoy the music that night, but they would pull their hair out if they heard the dozens of hours of rehearsal that led up to that concert. Personally, I have had several performances that I am particularly proud of; however, it is important to remember that we wouldn’t have our great performances without all of the practice and the rehearsal. The concert is the destination and the rehearsals that lead up to are the journey. As a music student, you have to enjoy the journey just as much as the destination, if not more so, or else the destination won’t be worth the effort.

I started off my musical career at Lake Hamilton Public Schools in Pearcy, Arkansas, a small red-neck town outside of Hot Springs, Arkansas. I didn’t quite understand what I was getting myself into. Eventually, I grew up into an eager trombone player that constantly was trying to outperform himself (and everyone else, too). At Lake Hamilton, high school band was only 10th-12th grade. In high school, the spring semester chair audition was replaced with how you performed at All-Region auditions. That year, I made 2nd chair in the region and I was the highest ranking student from Lake Hamilton, which means I got to play 1st trombone in the top band at Lake Hamilton as a SOPHOMORE. I didn’t quite understand what I had gotten myself into. That semester, we play ‘Give Us This Day’ by David Maslanka. This was the first time that I played a trombone part that wasn’t just harmonic structure (that really affected me anyway). It had melody, development, and it often doubled the 1st cornet part. Needless to say, I was super excited to be able to play ‘Give Us This Day.’ On the night of our performance, the band played exceptionally well and it was an extremely emotional night for me as we performed ‘Give Us This Day.’ To this day, it is difficult to explain. Maslanka’s  music resonated with every fiber of my being that night. It was at that point that I realized that I would be a musician for the rest of my life. A few years later, Dr. Reed showed up to my All State concert my senior year and he talked to me immediately afterwards. He then pulled me into a side room at the Hot Springs Convention Center and had me audition for Tech Fellowship while the Convention Center staff were trying to put up tables and chairs. Here I am at Arkansas Tech University now as a senior Music Education major. I didn’t know what I had gotten myself into all of those years ago, but I’m glad I stuck with playing the trombone.

Someone who really helped develop my sense of musicianship was my high school band director, Mr. Jon Shultz. Mr. Shultz is the classic band director that you should typically be afraid of upsetting. If you ever came to rehearsal without your music prepared, you would have better spent your time digging your own grave. However, Mr. Shultz had such a soft spot for music. He had such an obvious, infectious passion for music. Throughout being in his band and coming back to help teach the high school marching band after I graduated, I’ve learned from him that it is important be able to flow between being strict and being fun in and out of rehearsals. More importantly, your students will respect you more if they can physically see your care and passion for the music that you’re performing. Finally, Mr. Shultz taught me that you never stop learning. No matter how many degrees you get; No matter how long you go to school; No matter who taught you; You will learn the rest of your life.

First blog post

This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.