A Musician's Mind

It’s Been So Long

Daniel — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 03:02:11 +0000

It has been so long. I’m sure you understand because I’ve been at college. Life has been crazy. I stayed busy taking 18 credits. With all the activities I was involved init totaled to over 30 hours of classes. It was crazy. It was a great experience though. I got to participate in Symphonic Band playing trombone. I had just started playing in January. I’m so thankful for my teachers because they’ve taught be so much. I didn’t get the grades I wanted. I’m not going to complain to much. I did get a 3.33. I missed 9 credits because they were B+s instead of A-s like they should have been. I was so close to making amazing grades but oh well. I still have 5 more semesters to do this. Anyways I’m out for now.

Here’s a video that I got to shoot at the Christmas lights concert.

Greg Howlett’s New Cd Seasonal Spice

Daniel — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 00:44:01 +0000

Dear Reader,

I have a wonderful Christmas cd to recommend to all of you. I know it is late in the season but this cd is absolutely amazing. I’m going to walk through each song and talk about what I like and dislike about each one. A link to the cd is provided.

This cd is full of surprises. I did not know what to expect the first time I put it in but I was very pleased with what I heard. He opens the cd with Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. This beautiful rendition features a saxophone playing. Maybe a little cliche but it still sounds really good. One thing coursing through this cd is the unusal chords he uses. Greg Howlett uses chords that keep the listener guessing. The second song on the bullet is Sleigh Ride. This is one of my favorites of all Christmas songs. He takes the traditional Sleigh Ride gives it a swing some different chords and voila you have a great rendition of Sleigh Ride. Good Christian Men rejoice is a good one if you need energy during Christmas time. It gets you tapping your foot and enjoying some good music. I’ll Be Home for Christmas is played so well by Greg and a cellist. This beautiful arrangement makes me melt. A perfect song for reflecting on family. Winter Wonderland throws me back into reality as I sit there thinking about snow. I love the chords in this song. Away in a Manger features a penny whistle or a similar instrument. This one I love to relax to. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is a song that I is one of my favorites on the cd. It is a very catchy piece. I love the motiff that flows throughout the piece. Go Tell It On the Mountain is a great song too. It is catchy and the different chords give it a different feel. The final song is Silent Night. Silent Night is a good Christmas carol that was well interepreted by Mr. Howlett. I love this for it’s wonderful chord progressions. Maybe it’s just me but these new sounds to these old songs make it come alive in a new way for me.

I highly recommend this cd to everyone. This cd is worth the money spent on it. What I love most is that it includes Christmas songs with Christmas carols. This brings together everything I love about Christmas music.

Music from the Last Semester

Daniel — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:32:23 +0000

What I learned:

Ginastera – Prelude No. 12. This was a challenging piece.

Bach – Invention No. 6. A fun piece. I loved the sound.

Mark Hayes – He Is Exalted. A beautiful moving piece.

Chopin – Prelude No. 20. So common but I learned how to be more expressive from this piece.

Haydn – Sonata Hbk. 36 Mvt. 3. I think. This is a fun piece…never really got it done.

Can’t wait to see what I learn next semester.

The Damage

Daniel — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:58:10 +0000

Well the cellular month is over tomorrow. What’s the damage? 2,500 minutes and 15,000 texts used. Wow. I never thought I’d use that much. Can’t believe it. Well it’s basically back to college now. A little over one day left.

Going “Home”

Daniel — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:11:02 +0000

Haha! It’s sad that I consider Florida home. In all reality I do consider it home. I may not have lived there long but in the end over the next four years I’ll be living there more.

I love learning. My piano playing improved SO much. I was amazed that I learned six pieces in one semester. It used to take me about two semesters to learn one piece. I also made it into the college orchestra. I can’t believe it! That for me was miraculous. I think that they let me in out of sympathy but I’ve grown SO much as a violinist. Music I never thought I could play I could. It may not sound amazing but it’s still great!

I love my friends. I can’t believe that I made SO many amazing friends. Not all my friends are amazing but they’re all great! I am just blessed, plainly blessed that God could give me friends like this.

I just can’t wait to get back. I’ll be leaving on the 22nd very early in the morning.

Forgiveness

Daniel — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:50:18 +0000

Have you ever experienced true forgiveness. I’m not talking about the forgiveness of God but true human forgiveness. I have an amazing best friend. He has shown me true friendship. But not just that, he has shown me true forgiveness. I’m so blessed that God gave me a friend who will forgive me no matter what I say or do. Every time I ask for forgiveness he says, “There’s nothing to forgive.” That always wants me to cry. I feel terrible because I feel that I’ve done something wrong but he doesn’t think so. I know you’ll never read this John but it’s all true.

Long Break

Daniel — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:22:54 +0000

Well it’s been a long break. Almost five weeks. It’s been actually about four. I can’t believe how longs it’s been. I miss all my friends from college. I never thought I would miss my friends this much. It hurts just a little. I can’t wait to get back and see them all. I will be enjoying this semester so much more. That’s my goal. Enjoy this semester, hanging out with friends, and relaxing a little more and not being as stressed as I was this last semester. I can’t wait to get back.

The Gift of Music

Daniel — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:17:21 +0000

God has given me such an amazing gift. He has blessed my friends as well with many musical abilities. He gave my best friend John and creative ability. He came up with the title and wants to work on a piano composition for it. Can’t wait to design the cover. It’s going to be amazing.

Instrument 14!!!!

Daniel — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:21:08 +0000

It’s mine! A trombone. Well basically mine. It’s rent to own but it’s still mine. Can’t wait to start learning it when my best friend John teaches me.

Missing Friends

Daniel — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:43:37 +0000

I’ve been missing my college friends for the last 3 weeks. I’ll say it here a 5 week break is WAY to long. I can’t wait to go back. I met so many amazing, diverse people. I miss them all so badly. There is proof. I’m on my family’s cellphone plan. The billing cycle started December 22nd. Today is January 10th. Between those two dates, I have used 10,000+ texts and 1,600+ minutes. I can’t believe how much I miss them. I didn’t think that it would be this hard.