Still Your Song: Musical Moments

I really need to get back into blogging regularly. I promise I'm not trying to ignore all you wonderful people who actually read this (and I'm learning that there's actually a substantial number of you out there); things just keep getting in the way.

I had my first concert on the 8th. Despite some last-minute setbacks, it went REALLY well (everyone was in tune and everything), and I'm really proud of the performance as a whole. It's taken me awhile to get used to being in a section full of people I don't know very well, but it's starting to feel like family. We got new music for our concert in December, and it appears I'll be taking another trip down memory lane - we're doing Holst 1. We played it my junior year in high school, and while I'm glad to be playing the piece again, I remember why I hate the Trumpet 1 part so much. (For you musically inclined folks, it goes from a G below the treble staff to a C above in five or six bars at the end of Mvmt. 1.) We're playing some pretty awesome stuff, and I'm really excited (though I'm going to have to practice more just so I can get my endurance up).

I started looking at pieces for my first trumpet jury last week. Thankfully, my trumpet teacher is awesome and found pieces that actually sound interesting to play, and I'll have plenty of time to prepare, but... it's a lot of work. And I need an accompanist, which will be a whole other level of interesting. (I know there's a process to get one, I just haven't looked into what that is yet.)

Outside of the trumpet-playing world, I've started writing a string quartet for an assignment in composition class. Strings are a whole new set of crazy, and while I think I'm doing pretty well, it's hard for me to know for sure. I'd love to just write for winds, percussion and keyboard instruments for the rest of forever (oh, and voice too), but I want to score films, and... let's face it, you can't do scores without strings. I also made the breakthrough I needed in my wind ensemble/concert band piece. It had been sitting dormant for about two months, but last night the composition gods were with me and I actually wrote through the climax (which doesn't usually happen in one sitting for me). I'm having fun with brass chords, and the piece is coming along nicely. I'll keep everyone updated on when it's done, but I'll tell you now that it's a ballad called Hymn for a Last Chance.

It's been a really musical time. If all the stuff I just mentioned wasn't enough, I had fun with a couple friends on Friday night. They both play guitar, and they taught me a few chords, and they each played for awhile, too. (I now know E-, CMaj, GMaj, and DMaj - I can play most of pop music!) Anyway, it was a really amazing night of singing and playing. And it was just for fun, which is one of the best things about music - it can be competitive, or it can be relaxing and even therapeutic.

All this excitement has prompted me to start returning to the world of songwriting (by this I'm referring to the kind of music you might hear on the radio). I'm debating whether or not I'll ever post the lyrics I write, or if anyone will ever hear them, but we'll just have to see where the music takes me. It's going to be an interesting time, that's for sure, and I can't wait to get started.
Love you all,
Megan

Ordinary Day: The Amazing Little Things

I know, I know, it's been awhile since I last posted anything. To be fair, I've been fairly busy keeping up with schoolwork for the past couple of weeks. (Yay, essays!) But honestly, everything's been pretty routine here. This past week was a gigantic roller coaster, but it ended on a high note, so I'm not complaining.

Now that I'm thinking about all the things I've done since last Wednesday, there WERE some things that made the last week and a half pretty awesome (or at least extraordinary). Here's a few of those:

• Gushed to a friend about a guy. Haven't done that in awhile.
• Got letters from three awesome people. (This happens fairly regularly, but not usually all in the same week.)
• Saw my parents! (Yes, Mom, Dad, I still remember you were here last weekend.)
• Went to my first Sun Devil football game (with the aforementioned parentals). And we won! The Sharks fan in me loved the "Beat LA" hashtag that dominated Twitter (we were playing USC).
• Watched several Snapchat wars between my best friends. I don't think that'll ever get old.
• Watched Breaking Bad for the first time with the aforementioned best friends. (Yep, it's really ironic - first episode I watched was the series finale. Don't judge.)
• Got a hug from someone (other than my parents). I have no idea why, but hugs are a lot rarer in college than they were in high school.
• Threw together a short piece for flute and piano. (And by short, I really do mean 1'19".)
• Had a really cool dream. No, I'm not sharing. (Not in this post, anyway.)
• Discovered new music.
• Got paid for a gig I played over the summer.
• Watched the season premiere of Revenge. Heck yes.
• Went to a composition concert and heard my friends' pieces performed.
• Stayed up until 1:30 playing video games with the guys. (Don't get the wrong idea, I suck at CoD - the four kills I got were definitely an accomplishment - but hanging out for seven hours was pretty fun.)

So, yeah, the last week and a half has actually been pretty good, even though it didn't always feel like it. And the best two things about next week are that I have my first concert here at ASU and I get to go home to my family and friends for the weekend. :) I'm definitely really really excited about that, especially since I get to see my brother. Eight weeks is a long time to be away from home, and I'm excited to be heading back (especially since I get to see the new marching band uniforms in action). I'll have my fun for a long weekend (and eat LOTS of Mexican food), then I'll happily return to college and all the amazing people here.
Love you all,
Megan