 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: mkybrain
Date: 2004-10-20 22:08
I consider playing music to be the most important thing to me. However, life in highschool doesn't allow me to gratify that. I have lots of school work. I mean alot. Projects, homework every nite, etc...and my teachers tend to look to me to be the kid who gets the a's on tests and is always..doing the right thing. But, there are many musical things in the coming months that are difficult to properly perpare for when i have school to deal with as well. I have to tray out for All-state band, All-state Jazz band, All-state orchestra, i have to memorize the pollaca in Weber no.2(thats coming along pretty well actually) and i have to play a competetion in which im am going to play The pollaca again, Brahms sonata in F minor, the second mvt., and the final mvt of the finzi bagatelles. I have got a lot of work to do. That is kind of overwhelming without school involved. But then throw in school, and things can get hectic. My question.......what the heck should i do? Should i sacrifice a few good grades to do well in these competetions, or should i drop a competetion. Btw, most of this stuff(except for allstate jazz, which is nov. 14th i do believe) is in the beggining of december to mid december. I'm not sure but i think all state is somehwere in january, but people are already practicing that like madmen, so i have to keep up.
I also left out that i am participating in 2 otehr competetions, one is a concerto competetion with my youth symphony, winner plays in concert with the symphony. Another is also a concerto competetion that is sponsored by the alabama symphony orchestra. I don't know right now, but i'm thinking due to lack of time i ought to play the pollaca for both of those. My teacher said that was ok anyway, it just seemed kind of cheap to me, but considering my situation, what other choices do i have.
Thank you for any suggestions.
another addition, this is my senior year in highscool.
Post Edited (2004-10-20 22:20)
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Author: diz
Date: 2004-10-20 22:49
mk ... good posting. Don't be despondant, high school can seem very hard to handle at times.
My honest advice to you ... don't drop your grades. You may not want to study music at university anyway ... and if you grades are excellent then you'll probably want to major in a subject that will result in a job prospect and good salary (not music).
If you get good grades and get accepted into a univesity you can always add extra subjects or, you could consider doing a double major (Music + Whatever).
Food for thought ... best advice - go for your grades and plan your time well, make sure you get plenty of sleep.
I'm a morning person, so I was much more comfortable getting up at 4:30 and studying than staying up 'til midnight ... whatever works for you.
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
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Author: Rachel
Date: 2004-10-21 00:55
I don't have any advice...but I do have lots of sympathy. I was feeling the same way that you are in my final year of school.
I just sacrificed a few good grades. By that stage I was only doing the work in subjects that interested me anyway.
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Author: Joe Garza
Date: 2004-10-21 14:11
mk,
I can sympathize/empathize entirely with your post. My situation was that I'm the son of a junior high principal and high school teacher at the time I was in high school. I was an Honors/AP student that pulled A's in every class but one (I considered a B in pre-cal good for not liking the class at all). I managed to finish 2nd in a class of near 800 graduates, and have enjoyed majoring in music, despite the ability to probably earn a degree in english or business if I really wanted to. Here's how I dealt with my "situation" through high school.
Regarding band/music, I was fortunate to have a dedicated clarinet teacher who always arrived at the music building at least an hour before school started. Often times, if I showed up at 7am, he was already there and allowed me to practice in one of the small ensemble rooms or in a practice room. After school, more than a one (usually 3 or 4) of my band directors hung around for at least an hour to teach lessons or have meetings and what not. I used this time to my musical advantage as well to get in at least one more hour of practice during my day. Now I will say this, when I was a senior in high school, I had 3 off periods at the end of my day. After lunch, I had about an hour and a half to practice, a science class, then another good hour before school let out to get work in at the band hall. I realize that I'm fortunate for this, but it's something to consider if you have time. Thanks to the flexibility of both my directors' and my own schedules, I was able to make the All-State band and memorize solos for contest.
As for school, I tried not to slack off in that respect. I made sure my assignments were done, regardless of when they were due. Usually, however, I managed to master the art of procrastinating until the night before. I think this is something a lot of overwhelmed, A-earning students can do. It takes a little discipline, and time, but I didn't mind getting 6 or less hours then because I've more than made up for it in college. ;-)
My advice is this: Take everything as it comes. Don't let yourself become too wrapped up in one subject area. In my case I was convinced I would study music in college. If you aren't then don't worry about it as much as the subject you would like to study. Work on things a little as a time as you get them. If there's a project due next Monday and it's Wednesday, do a little every night or knock it all out at once. Or do what I did if you think you can. And don't be afraid to ask for advice. You only become overwhelmed by sometimes overreacting to what's in front of you. If you feel your plate's full, get a bigger plate =) and it'll make all the difference.
Post Edited (2004-10-21 14:11)
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-10-21 14:46
One thing that might help is making, and sticking to, a schedule every day. As fun as playing/practicing the clarinet is, create a schedule that will allow for study time, relaxation, practicing, homework, sleep, and anything else that you feel needs to be done.
Also, so it feels less "strict", I don't suggest setting a daily routine where certain time periods are alloted to certain subjects, but rather (as I once heard it described in a movie), use "time units" ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif) . For instance, each day has 24 hours. Let's say you want to practice for an hour and a half, study for one hour, homework for two. You get home at (for arguments sake) 4 PM. If you were to begin right away, you can have everything squared away by 8 and start some relaxing. Also, the 'time unit' system allows enough flexibility to fit in relaxation at ANY point, and do things in any order that you see fit for that day. Maybe you want to do your homework first. Maybe you had a hard day at school and want to practice and stay away from the books for a bit before you begin.
Try figuring something out that works for you, and just make sure you get that alloted amount of practice time in at SOME point from coming home to going to sleep. Eventually, you'll find that you STILL have too much time on your hands and you might want to practice AGAIN after getting your homework and studying done. It works for me.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: allencole
Date: 2004-10-21 17:47
That Weber polacca is quite a piece of work, and if that's your primary piece right now--particularly to the point of memorization--I see no reason for you not to maximize your use of it for contesting, auditions, competitions or whatever it proves acceptable for.
You want to take your best thing into a tryout of any kind. If your teacher thinks it's okay, trust him. It's not cheap, it's just practical.
Best of luck. It sounds like you have a lot on the ball.
Allen Cole
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Author: ajablons
Date: 2004-10-21 23:19
Dare I say it, but I would also make time to enjoy life, You'll only be young once...
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Author: Elizabeth
Date: 2004-10-22 00:42
I know exactly where your coming from. It's quite ironic you posted this topic now, just last night I broke down in tears becuase of being so overwhelmed. With my friends being non-musician they think i'm always practicing, that i'm always doing something musical. My friendships are rolling down a very rocky hill into a botomless pit. They don't really understand the work that I have to do to stay above the "Joe Shmoes" that are older and are competing with me. I am preparing 4 differnet pieces for 2 different competions, rehearsals for youth symphony on sat. morning, rehearsal on monday night for other youth symphony, solo competition for BOTH youth symphonies, concerto competion for local band, lessons on Tuedsday, etc... The list goes on... I am also the kid that the teachers look at and see A's written on my face. It's hard. Really hard. Ugh.
Me.. I'm a sophmore in highschool. I can't even imagine my senior year...
Post Edited (2004-10-22 00:48)
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Author: mkybrain
Date: 2004-10-22 01:13
ugh, two youth symphonies? i'm only in one, but we have rehearsal on sundays :( all of my friendships don't really extend outside of school except one, and we only go eat chinese together for about and hour and a half once a week
have fun..while ur a kid? hahaha, thats a new one (actually the only day that isn;t litterally filled with work is saturdays, i spend a few hours playing Diablo 2 with that same friend that i go eat chinese with)
and i did try scheduling one of my days and it acutally did relieve some stress that i had
i am not sure if i want to be a music major. On one hand, i truly love playing music. I have been told more a few times that i am amazing(some, not all, of these people are rather ignorant to how good my competetion is, i live in alabama after all, but it puts me in a good mood for about and hour after hearing that). Though i'm usually only told i'm amazing after having played something jazzy, dixieland or a musical. I just "get" that kind of stuff more so than classical. However, on the other hand, I know that i could not cut playing professionaly, i could probably play jazz proffesionaly but i assume that there is very little money in that, and i'm not sure if i'd like to teach. The only indicator i have that tells me i might not like to teach is taht i am not a very good section leader at my school. I just don't have the motivation to push my section to be better, I just sort of think to myself, "they suck, there is nothing i can do if they don't care about it". And i'm pretty sure thats a bad attitude, but i don't know what else i could do about it. That just seems to me to be an indicator that i wouldn't excell at teaching.
Of course, it always depresses me to read about 12 year olds playing weber better than i can ever imagine as well.
I have no idea as to what else i'd like to do besides something involved in music. My best subject, besides music(which is my best "feature", and the one i enjoy the most), is physics. I pretty much consitantly get the highest grades on all the tests and quizzes and such. But it isn't like i really like doing physics, its just another one of those things i "get". I don't have to study to make a's in there. I'm not crazy about it, i just understand it.
What i'm thinking at the moment is double majoring in music in college for scholarship money since the colleges im considering require that only music majors recieve the music scholarships. Though i'm not completely sure how that will work out.
Basically im pretty confused and just living life day by da. ive already practiced(normally 3 hours but im just too tired today) 2 hours today and about half of that was memorizing the pollaca. I then do my homework. Sleep. Lather, rinse, repeat as needed. The stress comes when homework becomes too much taht it interferes with practice time, and i have demands upon me from both spectrums, though most of the demand on the musical side is from myself.
It is nice, sort of, to know that i am not the only one experiencing this, though i can't imagine feeling like this as a sophomore.
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Author: Elizabeth
Date: 2004-10-22 01:50
With the stress and dedication now, I couldn't imagine a musician trying to double major, especially physics! I greatly respect your willingness to double major. But, it's not for me. I'm an addict of music, it's just like a drug, if I don't have it I go paranoid. I couldn't imagine majoring in something other than music. That may change in my future years but as of now i'm going to major in music. I just tell myself that if I work hard now and suck up my stressful moments, it will all pay off in the end. It's much easier to say it than do it. It's human nature to complain rather than appreciate. I try my hardest, and when I do do my best, I could do better. The human brain is something i'll never understand.
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Author: its the Lencho
Date: 2004-10-22 02:29
Hey mkybrain,
I'm not going to assume a godlike attitude towards your life and assume I know exactly what you're going through in life (although your list of activities leaves little to imagination). However, I think I can relate to what you might be up against.
During my Junior year at high school, I was juggling around 5 AP courses, trying to shape up the freshmen orchestra upto a decent standard, teaching piano, worrying about SATs, defending my "King of the Court" position in wind ensemble, substituting for the directors when they took days off, participating in piano competitions, acting as drill instructor in marching band, teaching clarinet, worrying about SAT IIs, practicing my All-State music, keeping my fencing skills sharp, preparing for the HMMT competition, and juggle around several officer positions in various honors societies.
And on top of all this, they expect you to be an "upright citizen".
In any case, I suffered. So did my sleep cycle.
But in exchange for my pain, my grades and musical abilities only got better. The key to doing this is managing your time wisely. There's no way I can stress that enough - if you manage your time well, you'll be far better off in all areas. The important part is to stick to your schedule. Keep to the times you allot yourself, you might be suprised how much you can get done when you set a time limit on practicing.
Secondly, don't underestimate the importance of downtime. Some people claim to get terrible every day they're away from their instruments. Other people can see a great change (for the better, of course) in their playing when they rest from their instrument for about 2 days. I find that on those days taking a break, doing other physical activities, like swimming or tennis keeps your body strong and healthy for music. As for your mind, try singing. While just trotting along on the street. It does wonders for interpretation and it'll help you memorize the songs.
But all-in-all, perhaps diz put it best: "don't drop your grades"
Your grades will be your key to whatever you might want to do in the future. Don't lose that.
Cheers,
-Lencho
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Author: sbbishop
Date: 2004-10-22 17:41
Mkybrain,
Let an old man(Grandfather type) voice a few opinions and words of encouragement.
1. Don't let your grades be anything but No. 1 in your life right now. Your grades are and will be what the world of academia perceive and judge you with; now and in your future college life.
2. If necessary, drop some of your(self-imposed) music load. This will help remove some stress in your life. Remember, music should be fun, not stessful to your life.
3. Think about "Task Management"(not time management) in doing what you do for the best all around advantage to your life style. Example: Say you eat a candy bar everyday and go to the store to buy it. Go to the store once a week and get 7 candy bars at once. You just saved yourself 6 trips to the store. That's Task Management".
4. Do keep up your social life. This is a good time for "down time", relaxation, etc., etc.(again "Task Management") Social Life and friends will be with you your whole life, they are important.
5. You are a very dedicated individual, with a full life. I compliment you for your attitude and willingness to "get with it". However, I do caution you about putting more on your plate than you can eat. The food may taste good, but don't get sick on it!!
Here is wishing you the best, Stephen Bishop
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Author: chipper
Date: 2004-10-22 17:59
Perhaps the words of a highschool flunkie could be motivating. I did poorley in school and did not get it together untill later in life. Although I did not have the stresses you have I also did not receive the benefit you are headed for. Tough it out because you will be way ahead of the curve. This will help in that you will struggle less in the long run to attain life's basics which will free you to persue your recreational interests earlier in life as all your basic needs will have been met. High acchievement carries a price but also rewards. I spent my 20's 30's and 40's in a struggle to keep a roof over my children's heads, a car running and food on the table. I now have my degree and a decent job, allowing me to persue recreation in a way I could not before. But let me temper this with the advice that you should not drive yourself crazy with perfection because no matter how good you get there will allways be a stress to get better. This, too is a trap.
Sorry I'm rambling. Work hard but do not kill yourself and the rewards will be many.
C
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