Only Pencil, Never Pen

Back in February, we were once again in band rehearsal with Doc, and throughout the course of one of the pieces, he commented on the way in which he wanted us to play the previous passage. Something probably along the lines of dynamics or articulation, or perhaps that he would be conducting it in two rather than four.

This is something that, in general, should be written in. Now to be fair, sometimes I don't write things in - especially if they deal with musicality - because as a musician of nearly 19 years, I feel like I should do them instinctively by using my ear and matching the group as a whole. Or, sometimes I'm already doing it, because Doc's conducting style is quite possibly the clearest I've ever worked with, so it's really not psychic palm reading guesses in order to figure out what he wants from us. You know, there's this silly little known thing called watching the conductor that tends to solve any problems. (No seriously. Because then, if you mess up but were following them, it literally can't be your fault! Though most of the time I keep that to myself, unless it's an unexpected meter change or something that's confusing. Insulting your conductor's intelligence or work is rarely beneficial. Just trust me on that one. *shudders from bad memories*) Who knew?

But I digress. Regardless, apparently nobody was responding to the fact that Doc had just given us valuable musical advice. So he looked down at us from the podium with this look between dismay and amusement and said,

"At least pretend to write something in to make me feel better."

We started snickering quietly and I picked up my pencil to scribble it out of respect.

Except as usual, it's not always what Doc first says, but his addendums that are the sugar crystals in your Life cereal. "And if you do write it in, we'll only have to go over it 20 times instead of 40! Love that. Read it in some band director's handbook somewhere."

Thanks for sharing all your secrets, Doc.

Does anyone know the handbook he's referring to or will I only discover it once they try to pounce on me for copyright infringement? (which, really, is only the sincerest form of flattery...)

Good thing I'm taking notes. ;-)

(Also...plus 10 points to anyone who can tell me what I'm always referencing in my closing here ->)

Hobey-ho!