2017-12-18

【Aiden in English】

        From the first introduction to music, I never was the biggest fan of jazz. It didn’t make a lot of sense. I thought the melodies were awful. Perhaps these opinions come from the classical side, but jazz never appealed to me.

        So what convinced me to join the Jazz band of Pennbrook MS? Is it the reputation of being the best in the state of Pennsylvania, or that most of my friends were already planned to try out? I really don’t know. 

        In previous years, I participated in the Wind Ensemble, alongside many other talented players. We had a good time, played music pieces I enjoyed and performed with my alto and baritone saxophone. Yet I wasn’t satisfied. After two years of Wind Ensemble, I saw that my skill didn’t reach as high as those of Jazz. I lacked sight-reading and fingering speed compared to others. Although I still held a fairly high position in the band, the skill gap between those in Jazz and mine widened.

        Therefore, I suppose the reason why I joined Pennbrook’s Jazz Band was to improve my skill. This, however, brings some difficulty in my life.

        First of all, the music is difficult, understandably. Pennbrook holds many accolades for the best jazz band in the Eastern region of the US for some time now. The pressure to not underperform a standard is very tough, but I can manage it. Wind Ensemble doesn’t have a competitive measure to the band, which probably is why I was hesitant to join Jazz. Never truly performing in front of a set of judges will make my experience difficult.

        Along with the trend of difficult tasks, the music has tasked my fingers and lips for quite a while. Only until recently could I confidently play the songs without a slip. Adding the problems, I was one of the only kids in Jazz to not have a private teacher. From conversations with friends, private teachers, other than providing exercises and mechanics, base content off of school-given music. Left to figure most of the notes out myself, I can’t say it was easy, but I pushed through. A lot of the motivation came from the band director, Mr. Neu (he has a lot of awards). Although middle school bands typically don’t like to single out the weaker players, Mr. Neu isn’t afraid to single out parts of the band, and it’s not like each part of the band is very large. This characteristic also makes this band the best it can and should be. Now, I’m bringing it up because we just performed at the winter concert, and our performance sounded terrible by Jazz standards. But the spirits are still high and hopeful as we enter the jazz season, where every other week will be another jazz festival and judging session. Until then, I better practice and perfect what needs to be done.

【红霞译文】

        自打第一次接触音乐，我从未喜欢过爵士，它丝毫无法感染自己，况且要旋律没旋律，或许基于古典音乐的熏陶，爵士与我绝对格格不入。

        那么究竟什么原因促使我加入宾溪初中爵士乐队呢？难道因为它在宾州名列前茅还是多数同伴早已打算加入？我真说不清楚。

        过去几年本人与不少才华出众的学生参加管乐队，彼此快乐相伴，先后用中音和上低音萨克斯管吹奏自己所喜爱的音乐作品，但我并不满足现状，两年管乐队体验让我意识到自身水平距离爵士乐队相差甚远，同其他爵士乐手相比，我的识谱速度和手指灵活性均有缺陷，尽管我在乐队站位上依旧举足轻重，但这两个方面反映出来的技巧差距愈发明显。

        可见，我想加入宾溪爵士乐队无非就是为了提高个人演奏技巧，然而这个缘由又给我的人生带来诸多麻烦。

        首先，爵士曲子难吹，这点可想而知，再加上近来宾溪初中乐队在美国东部爵士界一直享有很高声誉，演技不合标准肯定会造成负面影响，好在我有自知之明。管乐队无需面对比赛压力，这也是为什么我对加入爵士乐队犹豫不决的原因所在，对于从未真正经历过比赛场面的我来说要在一帮评委面前亮相心情难免紧张。

        随着要求变得日趋苛刻，音乐往往又把这些苛求转嫁到我的指法和唇舌功底上，而直至最近我才自如地表现作品，不再出现吐音断气的毛病，究其根由，原来我是爵士乐队里唯一一位没有聘用私人老师的乐手。从跟朋友聊天得知，除了指导强化练习及理解机械性能外，私人老师还帮他们吃透学校布置的演奏曲目，而我基本要靠自己拿捏音符，说来实非易事，功夫不负有心人，期间多亏乐队指挥牛导（已得过很多奖）调教有方，让我情绪高昂干劲十足。尽管初中乐队并不倾向刷掉水平欠佳的成员，不过牛导宁缺勿滥，何况每组乐器编制本来就不很大，照此以来，它才能够也应该成为一支最棒的乐队。现在我之所以强调这点是因为眼下正值冬季音乐会之际，乐队表现不尽人意，但伴随爵士赛季的到来，大家会全力以赴，届时每两个星期将有一次爵士音乐节及其评分比赛，在此之前我得努力练习并尽量完善该做的准备。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2014: Definition/Define─Krypton(状物─氪)

2013: Easy Fishing in Cochin, India(印度科钦捞鱼)

2012: Easter Island—Moai Statues, Chile(智利复活节岛—摩艾石像)

2010: 节日热情(Holiday Enthusiasm)

2009: 新西兰奥克兰异乡重逢(Reunion in Auckland, NZ)

2009: 新西兰奥克兰(Auckland, New Zealand)

Crosslink(相关博文)：

2016 Winter Concert of Eighth Grade(2016年初三冬季音乐会)

2015 Winter Concert of Seventh Grade(2015年初二冬季音乐会)