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.

【紅霞譯文】

        自打第一次接觸音樂，我從未喜歡過爵士，它絲毫無法感染自己，況且要旋律沒旋律，或許基於古典音樂的薰陶，爵士與我絕對格格不入。

        那麼究竟什麼原因促使我加入賓溪初中爵士樂隊呢？難道因為它在賓州名列前茅還是多數同伴早已打算加入？我真說不清楚。

        過去幾年本人與不少才華出眾的學生參加管樂隊，彼此快樂相伴，先後用中音和上低音薩克斯管吹奏自己所喜愛的音樂作品，但我並不滿足現狀，兩年管樂隊體驗讓我意識到自身水平距離爵士樂隊相差甚遠，同其他爵士樂手相比，我的識譜速度和手指靈活性均有缺陷，儘管我在樂隊站位上依舊舉足輕重，但這兩個方面反映出來的技巧差距愈發明顯。

        可見，我想加入賓溪爵士樂隊無非就是為了提高個人演奏技巧，然而這個緣由又給我的人生帶來諸多麻煩。

        首先，爵士曲子難吹，這點可想而知，再加上近來賓溪初中樂隊在美國東部爵士界一直享有很高聲譽，演技不合標準肯定會造成負面影響，好在我有自知之明。管樂隊無需面對比賽壓力，這也是為什麼我對加入爵士樂隊猶豫不決的原因所在，對於從未真正經歷過比賽場面的我來說要在一幫評委面前亮相心情難免緊張。

        隨着要求變得日趨苛刻，音樂往往又把這些苛求轉嫁到我的指法和唇舌功底上，而直至最近我才自如地表現作品，不再出現吐音斷氣的毛病，究其根由，原來我是爵士樂隊裡唯一一位沒有聘用私人老師的樂手。從跟朋友聊天得知，除了指導強化練習及理解機械性能外，私人老師還幫他們吃透學校布置的演奏曲目，而我基本要靠自己拿捏音符，說來實非易事，功夫不負有心人，期間多虧樂隊指揮牛導（已得過很多獎）調教有方，讓我情緒高昂幹勁十足。儘管初中樂隊並不傾向刷掉水平欠佳的成員，不過牛導寧缺勿濫，何況每組樂器編制本來就不很大，照此以來，它才能夠也應該成為一支最棒的樂隊。現在我之所以強調這點是因為眼下正值冬季音樂會之際，樂隊表現不盡人意，但伴隨爵士賽季的到來，大家會全力以赴，屆時每兩個星期將有一次爵士音樂節及其評分比賽，在此之前我得努力練習並儘量完善該做的準備。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2014: Definition/Define─Krypton(狀物─氪)

2013: Easy Fishing in Cochin, India(印度科欽撈魚)

2012: Easter Island—Moai Statues, Chile(智利復活節島—摩艾石像)

2010: 節日熱情(Holiday Enthusiasm)

2009: 新西蘭奧克蘭異鄉重逢(Reunion in Auckland, NZ)

2009: 新西蘭奧克蘭(Auckland, New Zealand)

Crosslink(相關博文)：

2016 Winter Concert of Eighth Grade(2016年初三冬季音樂會)

2015 Winter Concert of Seventh Grade(2015年初二冬季音樂會)