working out for Disney

[Songbird76]

I'm out of the boot and into an ace bandage

Well done, but please be careful. This doesn't mean you can go back full steam. Slow and steady!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Beautiful cloud pics!!! I love the light coming through on that first one, where it's all glowy.

And is that a saxophone your youngest is carrying? They are looking so grown up!!

Thank you! Stormy days make for great sunsets!

Nope...trumpet! She had thought about playing sax, but had a last minute change of heart when listing her preferences. So, her wish list was 1. Trumpet 2. Saxophone 3. French Horn. She had to audition back in July and while he initially said she had the mouth of a French Horn player, her first shot playing showed natural fit for trumpet. She'd been playing around with it in her room during her virtual learning weeks, and while she was just goofing off, I thought she sounded fairly decent for someone who has 0 experience. I thought it was just me, but she had her first in-person school day yesterday and she made 2nd chair! She said she was tied with the kid who got first chair, but the director gave it to him since he went first...or something like that. She's very competitive, so now she wants to beat him out. So, maybe there is some natural ability there.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Two days in a row of walking during softball. I wasn't sure I was going to do it, but I was out there and practice wasn't canceled due to the showers (even though there was some thunder), so as soon as the rain lightened up a bit...I got out there and put in about 3.5 mile. I even felt good enough to run during the last half of mile 3. No pretty sky pics yesterday...just a lot of gloom...

Oh, and to add fun to our already chaotic lives, we began the first of the bathroom remodels a couple of weeks ago. I can't wait until it's done! It's disruptive whenever you're down a bathroom, but it'll be so nice to have it done. The room was hideous and a prime candidate for worth home bathrooms in America

 

[Songbird76]

Thank you! Stormy days make for great sunsets!

Nope...trumpet! She had thought about playing sax, but had a last minute change of heart when listing her preferences. So, her wish list was 1. Trumpet 2. Saxophone 3. French Horn. She had to audition back in July and while he initially said she had the mouth of a French Horn player, her first shot playing showed natural fit for trumpet. She'd been playing around with it in her room during her virtual learning weeks, and while she was just goofing off, I thought she sounded fairly decent for someone who has 0 experience. I thought it was just me, but she had her first in-person school day yesterday and she made 2nd chair! She said she was tied with the kid who got first chair, but the director gave it to him since he went first...or something like that. She's very competitive, so now she wants to beat him out. So, maybe there is some natural ability there.

Ah, trumpet was my 2nd guess, but I thought the case looked a bit big for a trumpet. Guess I was wrong! Will she need braces at all? Brass players have a really hard time with braces because of the embouchure. It pushes the braces against their lips and can really cut them up.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Ah, trumpet was my 2nd guess, but I thought the case looked a bit big for a trumpet. Guess I was wrong! Will she need braces at all? Brass players have a really hard time with braces because of the embouchure. It pushes the braces against their lips and can really cut them up.

Yeah, I was a bit shocked at the size of the case. We were really hoping she'd be able to ride her bike to and from school like she used to, but the trumpet comes and goes with her every day and I don't trust her with a basket on a BMX. She's more of a speed demon daredevil type. I'm not sure the trumpet would fare so well. Her orthodontist doesn't feel she needs braces, even though she kind of wants them. She has a slight overbite and is a bit self conscious about her teeth right now, but it's mainly because she has some other teeth that are slow to come in. She's got a device in her mouth to help those come in correctly without the use of braces.

 

[Songbird76]

Yeah, I was a bit shocked at the size of the case. We were really hoping she'd be able to ride her bike to and from school like she used to, but the trumpet comes and goes with her every day and I don't trust her with a basket on a BMX. She's more of a speed demon daredevil type. I'm not sure the trumpet would fare so well. Her orthodontist doesn't feel she needs braces, even though she kind of wants them. She has a slight overbite and is a bit self conscious about her teeth right now, but it's mainly because she has some other teeth that are slow to come in. She's got a device in her mouth to help those come in correctly without the use of braces.

I believe there are cases available for the Trumpet that have a cross body strap so she could bike with it. But I understand if you don't want to go that route with her being a dare devil. That's good about the braces. I remember my Brass Methods Pedagogy professor warning us about that when you started selecting instruments for kids to play...someone who's really small might have problems with the Cello or string bass, someone with small hands/short fingers might have difficulty with piano, and brass players with braces could hash their lips....and I think flute players were mentioned, too...that braces inhibit the correct embouchure.

 

[Songbird76]

I'm a bit sore today. I was stocking new merchandice last night at work and it was all big huge boxes and there was no room for a pallet, so I had to move all the big heavy boxes wherever there was room for one, and lift them up to the top of the stack. They aren't supposed to make the boxes heavier than 25 kilos because you have to be able to lift them over your head, but the people filling the boxes don't have a scale to weigh it and they don't actually try to lift it up themselves, so they inevitably make them heavier than that. I had a few that I could barely lift at all, so I had to unstack the boxes to put it lower, and then stack the others back on top. I spent 3.5 hours doing nothing but lifting heavy boxes. I definitely got my weight lifting in!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I believe there are cases available for the Trumpet that have a cross body strap so she could bike with it. But I understand if you don't want to go that route with her being a dare devil. That's good about the braces. I remember my Brass Methods Pedagogy professor warning us about that when you started selecting instruments for kids to play...someone who's really small might have problems with the Cello or string bass, someone with small hands/short fingers might have difficulty with piano, and brass players with braces could hash their lips....and I think flute players were mentioned, too...that braces inhibit the correct embouchure.

I think I might take more risks if it wasn't a rental and it wasn't something totally new to her. The instrument selection makes sense as well. I have heard similar recommendations for the larger string instruments and tuba as well as the finger length advisement for piano. Hopefully, she won't need braces so we won't have to deal with it.

I'm a bit sore today. I was stocking new merchandice last night at work and it was all big huge boxes and there was no room for a pallet, so I had to move all the big heavy boxes wherever there was room for one, and lift them up to the top of the stack. They aren't supposed to make the boxes heavier than 25 kilos because you have to be able to lift them over your head, but the people filling the boxes don't have a scale to weigh it and they don't actually try to lift it up themselves, so they inevitably make them heavier than that. I had a few that I could barely lift at all, so I had to unstack the boxes to put it lower, and then stack the others back on top. I spent 3.5 hours doing nothing but lifting heavy boxes. I definitely got my weight lifting in!!

Hope you're not too sore! That can be a good workout, but always that risk of hurting something too.

 

[Songbird76]

I think I might take more risks if it wasn't a rental and it wasn't something totally new to her. The instrument selection makes sense as well. I have heard similar recommendations for the larger string instruments and tuba as well as the finger length advisement for piano. Hopefully, she won't need braces so we won't have to deal with it.



Hope you're not too sore! That can be a good workout, but always that risk of hurting something too.

Yeah, it's hard putting students with the correct instruments, because it also depends on what they WANT to do, and those things like braces are temporary issues. But you don't know how tall a person will become. Someone who is really short might have issues with something like Contrabass, but you can also get smaller versions of those instruments for learners. But you have to have something that they will be able to do when they have grown out of the pre-teen years with braces and growth spurts, etc. You don't want them to have to keep buying new instruments as they grow, which is why a lot of music teachers will encourage students to rent first. That way, if they have a growth spurt and are suddenly too big for that 3/4 size violin, they can move up without buying a completely new instrument. Or if they decide they HATE the clarinet, they can switch to something else.

I'm not too sore...I'm used to the physicality of my job and I often have to lift heavy boxes. I'm just not used to doing JUST that for 3.5 hours straight. I mostly had bruises on my chest from bracing the boxes there so I didn't have to lift completely. If I need to put a box on top of a stack, I can brace it against my chest with the other end on the box at the top of the stack and use that as a fulcrum point and then slide the box into place. As long as I'm smart about it, I don't have too much trouble with it.

 

[MouseDreaming]

I believe there are cases available for the Trumpet that have a cross body strap so she could bike with it. But I understand if you don't want to go that route with her being a dare devil. That's good about the braces. I remember my Brass Methods Pedagogy professor warning us about that when you started selecting instruments for kids to play...someone who's really small might have problems with the Cello or string bass, someone with small hands/short fingers might have difficulty with piano, and brass players with braces could hash their lips....and I think flute players were mentioned, too...that braces inhibit the correct embouchure.

I think I might take more risks if it wasn't a rental and it wasn't something totally new to her. The instrument selection makes sense as well. I have heard similar recommendations for the larger string instruments and tuba as well as the finger length advisement for piano. Hopefully, she won't need braces so we won't have to deal with it.

Hi, Ladies! I was just visiting the thread, and this is the first thing I saw. Hope you don't mind if I but* in.

Congratulations on having a new trumpet in your life! My DS started trumpet in 4th grade, and now holds a degree in Jazz Studies. He is currently applying to grad schools. Trumpet certainly has taken him to places he never imagined, and I didn't either. Especially when he was just starting out.

Yes, there are cases that have attachment points for straps, to wear like a back pack. Totally worth it, especially if your DD is going back and forth with it. The soft side cases are also much lighter.

Braces. Well, two brass players, 2 different brace stories. DS put off braces, because he was so worried about his embouchure. The answer for him was Invisalign. Interestingly, he has mentioned that maybe he should have just gotten the regular braces. Turns out that the kids with those on trumpet learn not to have to much pressure between their mouth and the mouthpiece, especially when trying to hit high notes. DD plays trombone, and had braces. She has said it was easy greeting used to playing with them, but it took awhile to learn how to play again with them off. Wax helped.

Any questions or anything, I am happy to answer. And if DD needs trumpet playing help, I am sure DS could help.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yeah, it's hard putting students with the correct instruments, because it also depends on what they WANT to do, and those things like braces are temporary issues. But you don't know how tall a person will become. Someone who is really short might have issues with something like Contrabass, but you can also get smaller versions of those instruments for learners. But you have to have something that they will be able to do when they have grown out of the pre-teen years with braces and growth spurts, etc. You don't want them to have to keep buying new instruments as they grow, which is why a lot of music teachers will encourage students to rent first. That way, if they have a growth spurt and are suddenly too big for that 3/4 size violin, they can move up without buying a completely new instrument. Or if they decide they HATE the clarinet, they can switch to something else.

I'm not too sore...I'm used to the physicality of my job and I often have to lift heavy boxes. I'm just not used to doing JUST that for 3.5 hours straight. I mostly had bruises on my chest from bracing the boxes there so I didn't have to lift completely. If I need to put a box on top of a stack, I can brace it against my chest with the other end on the box at the top of the stack and use that as a fulcrum point and then slide the box into place. As long as I'm smart about it, I don't have too much trouble with it.

Yes, and that want can really make or break the experience. Sam was not too keen on the French Horn and was pretty worried he'd place her with it even though she preferred the idea of the trumpet. Sorry...thinking about your Contrabass example, picturing my older one and thankful she's a singer. She's always been on the small side and trying to size her up with a larger instrument would be interesting.

Glad you're not too sore and have a good plan for handling it. Hopefully the bruising goes away quickly.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Hi, Ladies! I was just visiting the thread, and this is the first thing I saw. Hope you don't mind if I but* in.

Congratulations on having a new trumpet in your life! My DS started trumpet in 4th grade, and now holds a degree in Jazz Studies. He is currently applying to grad schools. Trumpet certainly has taken him to places he never imagined, and I didn't either. Especially when he was just starting out.

Yes, there are cases that have attachment points for straps, to wear like a back pack. Totally worth it, especially if your DD is going back and forth with it. The soft side cases are also much lighter.

Braces. Well, two brass players, 2 different brace stories. DS put off braces, because he was so worried about his embouchure. The answer for him was Invisalign. Interestingly, he has mentioned that maybe he should have just gotten the regular braces. Turns out that the kids with those on trumpet learn not to have to much pressure between their mouth and the mouthpiece, especially when trying to hit high notes. DD plays trombone, and had braces. She has said it was easy greeting used to playing with them, but it took awhile to learn how to play again with them off. Wax helped.

Any questions or anything, I am happy to answer. And if DD needs trumpet playing help, I am sure DS could help.

If she continues with the trumpet, we will definitely explore more options as far as cases go, among other things.

Thanks for the offer! Sounds like your DS is definitely a good source on the subject. I'm hoping that she won't need braces. The orthodontist thinks the device she has in her mouth along with normal growth time (which seems to be on the slow side for her) will be enough. I have always been a singer and my only instrument attempt involved 8 different piano teachers (all unsuccessful), so this is pretty new stuff for me. My brother played trumpet up through college, but with two little ones, he's not always available...so it's always nice to know others may have helpful info

 

[HouCuseChickie]

2 days off from any kind of working out, but I got in several walks (and a little jogging) over the weekend on some trails in a nature preserve that backs on the softball fields where we were playing. I'll share some of those at the end. I was hoping to wake up and hit the gym Monday and today, but I'm back to having some of the same health issues that make me uncomfortable and make it hard to sleep. I'm going into the dr on Thursday, so I'm hoping that helps. Other than that, just hoping we don't flood overnight. We've been lucky so far with Beta, but we're on the north side of the Houston area and they're thinking it's our turn for heavy rain overnight. I really hope the bands miss us. Aside from general flood fears and frustrations, we're in the middle of bathroom refurb 1 of 3 and our garage is full of materials.

 

[Songbird76]

Yes, and that want can really make or break the experience. Sam was not too keen on the French Horn and was pretty worried he'd place her with it even though she preferred the idea of the trumpet. Sorry...thinking about your Contrabass example, picturing my older one and thankful she's a singer. She's always been on the small side and trying to size her up with a larger instrument would be interesting.

Glad you're not too sore and have a good plan for handling it. Hopefully the bruising goes away quickly.

Well what the student wants should be a deal breaker. You can encourage a student to choose something else, but if they really have their heart set on a particular instrument, their heart might not be in it if you force something else on them, and it can ruin the experience for them and they give up completely. I never taught band. My emphasis was vocal, being a singer myself, and while we had to learn the basics of every instrument, and had to learn to arrange music for band and orchestra and to direct for them, I wouldn't have been likely to take a band job because I wouldn't have felt like I was as effective and competent with it. I taught Elementary general music and preferred that. But I do remember some of those tips we learned in our pedagogy classes! Do the kids get no choice where you are?

But I definitely defer to @MouseDreaming because she has more experience with the brass instruments than I do. I did ok with Trumpet, but I was terrible at Horn and Trombone, and I hated Euphonium. And we had one semester to learn the basics of each brass instrument, so only a couple of weeks on each. My limited experience is not sufficient to give any specific advice.

 

[Songbird76]

2 days off from any kind of working out, but I got in several walks (and a little jogging) over the weekend on some trails in a nature preserve that backs on the softball fields where we were playing. I'll share some of those at the end. I was hoping to wake up and hit the gym Monday and today, but I'm back to having some of the same health issues that make me uncomfortable and make it hard to sleep. I'm going into the dr on Thursday, so I'm hoping that helps. Other than that, just hoping we don't flood overnight. We've been lucky so far with Beta, but we're on the north side of the Houston area and they're thinking it's our turn for heavy rain overnight. I really hope the bands miss us. Aside from general flood fears and frustrations, we're in the middle of bathroom refurb 1 of 3 and our garage is full of materials.

I love that cloud picture with the Sun in the middle. That looks sooooo cool!!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Well what the student wants should be a deal breaker. You can encourage a student to choose something else, but if they really have their heart set on a particular instrument, their heart might not be in it if you force something else on them, and it can ruin the experience for them and they give up completely. I never taught band. My emphasis was vocal, being a singer myself, and while we had to learn the basics of every instrument, and had to learn to arrange music for band and orchestra and to direct for them, I wouldn't have been likely to take a band job because I wouldn't have felt like I was as effective and competent with it. I taught Elementary general music and preferred that. But I do remember some of those tips we learned in our pedagogy classes! Do the kids get no choice where you are?

But I definitely defer to @MouseDreaming because she has more experience with the brass instruments than I do. I did ok with Trumpet, but I was terrible at Horn and Trombone, and I hated Euphonium. And we had one semester to learn the basics of each brass instrument, so only a couple of weeks on each. My limited experience is not sufficient to give any specific advice.

I remember a friend telling me how her son really wanted something and was placed with something else. After a few months of misery, the director finally switched him to his first choice (Trombone) and he stuck with it through high school graduation. We had to provide a list in order of preference. I guess Sam was a good enough fit for the trumpet that he didn't bother looking into anything else on that list. I just wish this area would start kids before middle school. We had band starting in 4th grade, which gave kids 2 years to flip flop with things before having to make a choice for middle school. I just got soured to the whole thing because my mom forced me into clarinet. I think I wanted to play flute at the time, but later on, I wished I'd had the chance to try oboe. Still, I was so busy with singing that I probably would have had to drop it at some point.

I love that cloud picture with the Sun in the middle. That looks sooooo cool!!!

That was the leading edge of Tropical Storm Beta. We started with a clear sunny day, and then those neat clouds started to move in as the storm approached.

 

[MinnieM123]

I love that cloud picture with the Sun in the middle. That looks sooooo cool!!!

Yes, it is!! @HouCuseChickie takes some of the best photos, no matter where she goes.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yes, it is!! @HouCuseChickie takes some of the best photos, no matter where she goes.

Thank you!!!

 

[Songbird76]

I remember a friend telling me how her son really wanted something and was placed with something else. After a few months of misery, the director finally switched him to his first choice (Trombone) and he stuck with it through high school graduation. We had to provide a list in order of preference. I guess Sam was a good enough fit for the trumpet that he didn't bother looking into anything else on that list. I just wish this area would start kids before middle school. We had band starting in 4th grade, which gave kids 2 years to flip flop with things before having to make a choice for middle school. I just got soured to the whole thing because my mom forced me into clarinet. I think I wanted to play flute at the time, but later on, I wished I'd had the chance to try oboe. Still, I was so busy with singing that I probably would have had to drop it at some point.



That was the leading edge of Tropical Storm Beta. We started with a clear sunny day, and then those neat clouds started to move in as the storm approached.

We started band in 5th grade, but it was kind of a disaster. The previous band teacher had been let go (rumors of sexual abuse to students) and my brother's 5th grade teacher happened to also be qualified in music. She didn't want to teach music, she wanted to remain in the regular classroom, but her contract didn't specify and she had already signed for that year. They forced her to teach band and she was gone the next year. I wanted to play flute, but we had no money. There were so many girls who wanted to play flute, and they all rented their instruments, which we couldn't afford to do. I had to go with what the school had that I could borrow for free....I ended up with Alto Clarinet. Then my mom heard through a friend that someone had a flute for sale for $50. It wasn't a great quality, but it's a flute and it worked, so my 6th grade year, I got to play flute. Only, they couldn't find a replacement for the band teacher, so we had 3 different teachers that year, all of them only for a few weeks. What I learned was mostly on my own initiative because I wanted it so badly. In 7th grade, I continued....there was a really good choir/band teacher at the jr./sr. high school...she had been there for something like 20 years and had a respected program. The administration killed it. She retired early.

I skipped my 8th grade year, tired of constantly changing band teachers, though I did stay in choir. The principal came and asked us what was important to us in a music teacher....we all said we wanted someone who could play piano like Mrs. Reed had, because the elementary music teacher couldn't and we really didn't want someone like her. Guess who he hired to be our choir teacher? They also set up the schedule so almost no one could take choir. They put it at a time when everyone had to take a core class that was mandatory, like Math. I only got around it because I was in advanced math, which was at a different hour. Only 5 kids were able to be in choir. So between that, and hiring the teacher we told him we didn't want, he killed the amazing program Mrs. Reed had built. The revolving door of band teachers continued. I tried once more as a Freshman, but quit at the semester mark because the guy was AWFUL. That's the one thing my mother ever let me quit before the end of the year. He told us every day that we were losers who would never amount to anything, he had never seen more awful kids than we were, and he wished he had stuck with his old school because we sucked. Then he yelled at the parents at the Christmas concert and told them what terrible parents they all were, and if they had been better parents, we wouldn't all suck so much and wouldn't be such whiners. I gave up on band. My Sophomore year, they ended up having to fire the teacher halfway through the year when she choked a student and then they found her stash of alcohol in the filing cabinets. I hadn't done band that year, so I didn't even know that happened until I went home for my dad's funeral a couple of years ago and went to lunch with a friend, who happened to be the student she choked. She had told them not to make a sound, and she played clarinet and had her mouthpiece in to keep her reed moist, and the girl next to her laughed and it made a sound, and she thought it was my friend. So she grabbed her by the throat and started choking her. I don't even remember if they got a new band teacher after that....I'm sure they must have, but I was so done with it by then. Too much trauma for me to attempt teaching band. I do still have my flute, though, and I get it out once in a while.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We started band in 5th grade, but it was kind of a disaster. The previous band teacher had been let go (rumors of sexual abuse to students) and my brother's 5th grade teacher happened to also be qualified in music. She didn't want to teach music, she wanted to remain in the regular classroom, but her contract didn't specify and she had already signed for that year. They forced her to teach band and she was gone the next year. I wanted to play flute, but we had no money. There were so many girls who wanted to play flute, and they all rented their instruments, which we couldn't afford to do. I had to go with what the school had that I could borrow for free....I ended up with Alto Clarinet. Then my mom heard through a friend that someone had a flute for sale for $50. It wasn't a great quality, but it's a flute and it worked, so my 6th grade year, I got to play flute. Only, they couldn't find a replacement for the band teacher, so we had 3 different teachers that year, all of them only for a few weeks. What I learned was mostly on my own initiative because I wanted it so badly. In 7th grade, I continued....there was a really good choir/band teacher at the jr./sr. high school...she had been there for something like 20 years and had a respected program. The administration killed it. She retired early.

I skipped my 8th grade year, tired of constantly changing band teachers, though I did stay in choir. The principal came and asked us what was important to us in a music teacher....we all said we wanted someone who could play piano like Mrs. Reed had, because the elementary music teacher couldn't and we really didn't want someone like her. Guess who he hired to be our choir teacher? They also set up the schedule so almost no one could take choir. They put it at a time when everyone had to take a core class that was mandatory, like Math. I only got around it because I was in advanced math, which was at a different hour. Only 5 kids were able to be in choir. So between that, and hiring the teacher we told him we didn't want, he killed the amazing program Mrs. Reed had built. The revolving door of band teachers continued. I tried once more as a Freshman, but quit at the semester mark because the guy was AWFUL. That's the one thing my mother ever let me quit before the end of the year. He told us every day that we were losers who would never amount to anything, he had never seen more awful kids than we were, and he wished he had stuck with his old school because we sucked. Then he yelled at the parents at the Christmas concert and told them what terrible parents they all were, and if they had been better parents, we wouldn't all suck so much and wouldn't be such whiners. I gave up on band. My Sophomore year, they ended up having to fire the teacher halfway through the year when she choked a student and then they found her stash of alcohol in the filing cabinets. I hadn't done band that year, so I didn't even know that happened until I went home for my dad's funeral a couple of years ago and went to lunch with a friend, who happened to be the student she choked. She had told them not to make a sound, and she played clarinet and had her mouthpiece in to keep her reed moist, and the girl next to her laughed and it made a sound, and she thought it was my friend. So she grabbed her by the throat and started choking her. I don't even remember if they got a new band teacher after that....I'm sure they must have, but I was so done with it by then. Too much trauma for me to attempt teaching band. I do still have my flute, though, and I get it out once in a while.

That's just awful! I imagine a lot of people gave up on band considering those circumstances. It's crazy to think I gave it up just because I hated playing clarinet. After reading this, I have no place griping about anything in any of our music programs. Well, I'm glad you still got a flute out of it and can play when you choose.