An Explanation

First off...


The user name. I thought of it because there was this phrase we used at summer camp. I've been counseling at camp for over 5 summers now, and if you counsel every day of the week but don't stay in  the same cabin, jumping around each night, we called you a cabin whore. It was like, you had no real loyalty to any cabin, you just loved them all equally. So it wasn't really a negative thing, more of a term of endearment. And that's the way I think of myself with music, sometimes. I can never pick just one instrument. I'm always cheating on it with something else, or some other style.


I started piano lessons when I was 4 years old. Violin at age 9. String Bass at 10. Oboe at 11. Bassoon at 13. Handbells at 19. I've got a BA in music, bassoon emphasis, and only needed student teaching and a state test to have my music education credential. Throughout the four years of college, I learned the viola, the cello, flute (okay, that one I sucked at), clarinet, trumpet, trombone, tromboon (trombone with the bassoon bocal instead of the mouthpiece), snare drum, timpani, marimba, vibes, glockenspiel, I even tried to master the didgeridoo during my world music class. I currently perform primarily on bassoon and handbells in both ensemble and solo work. Even have four handbell choirs of my own that I direct through my church. So yeah...guess that's me, musicwhore.


The only other explanation I have for this blog is that, on my life-long quest of mastering music, I've met some pretty incredible people. Some pretty awful ones, too. But what I've realized is that musicians, and especially music teachers and conductors, have our own language, for better or worse. And most of the time, we come up with some of the most random things I've ever heard in my life. Especially my band director, Doc. I've started taking a note pad to rehearsals just to record it all. Seriously. (He also loves that show "Sh*t My Dad Says" so I thought that was an appropriate title for this blog. Though I mentioned the idea to several of my friends and didn't want to curse, so I said Bleep my Band Director Says, and they thought that was more funny than the original title, so now we're going with that!) Hence, I figured I'd share with all of you the joy and pains of music and the batshit crazy things we say.


*dodododo dodododo dodododo dodododo (Twighlight Zone theme)*


You are now entering the world of: *Bleep* my Band Director Says.


Hobey-ho.