How to Use the Metronome

It's a little soft, but here's a neat tutorial on how to use the metronome (you know, that ticking device your teacher tells you to use but everyone hates). More importantly, this guy talks about why we should use the metronome and why we should play steadily.

As a bonus, he talks about the history of metronome.

His hair's pretty wild, eh? Reminds me of another musician I know.

Is Talent Enough?

Concert pianist Mitsuko Uchida addresses whether talent is enough? If you read my earlier post about Sir Richard Taylor (Lord of the Rings, WETA Studios), you'll know what the answer is. Ms. Uchida discusses other skills, in addition to talent, that are needed not just for music, but for any art form that you wish to be really good at:

Taking Time to Heal Versus Presenteeism

Have you ever noticed that whenever one person gets sick, the bug spreads quickly throughout the workplace (or classroom)? Not only that, by the time the bug has made its way around once, it has metamorphosed into a different strain and the cycle repeats?

Why is that? While we're at it, why does it take so long to get better?

A few thoughts have been floating in my mind as I convalesce over a summer cold/flu. Generalizations, really. I jotted some notes down between naps yesterday. I'll share the parts that actually make sense:

We tend to continue working (or attending school) while sick: I've heard friends say, "X had to get done today" or a student tell me, "I couldn't rest because I had a test the next day." One thing that I'm guilty of saying when sick is, "There's no one I can delegate to and it has to get done."

Does it really? Can't it wait a day or two for us to get better? Isn't it possible to get an extension on an assignment or to make-up the test once you're well? And for my friends with "normal" jobs, surely there is someone who could take care of that "very important task" at work.

Sometimes, I hear people say that taking a sick day is actually frowned upon at work. I once worked in an environment that was like that. Let's just say that it wasn't the healthiest workplace to begin with and leave it at that.

Generally speaking, we spend too much time in enclosed spaces: Viruses and microbes thrive in enclosed environments such as schools, offices and shopping malls. They spread through ventilation system. Perhaps if we spent more time out in the fresh air, we wouldn't get sick as often (or as badly).

We don't give ourselves enough time to heal: I've seen it time and time again when I worked in an office and read about it on the various social networks. We tend to take one work day off, just before or after the weekend and give ourselves only that much time to get better. I don't know about you, but I find that it takes me one to eight weeks to heal, depending upon whether it's a cold or bronchitis/laryngitis.

One thing I've done differently with this cold/flu is face it head on from the beginning. Thankfully, I'm on a lighter teaching schedule in the summer and don't have to worry about rescheduling a bunch of lessons. I tossed all clothes and sheets containing the virus in the wash (hot), took hot showers, ate a lot of hot soup, drank a lot of hot liquids and slept, swaddled in blankets (in the summer heat) to "sweat it" out.

Each time I blew my nose, I washed my hands or use the hand sanitizer. I even took to spritzing my dog with a diluted mix of lavender and tea tree oils so that he didn't become an unwitting virus carrier.

I stopped taking cough syrup because it made me queasy and turned to older remedies: the neti pot, aromatherapy and the Hot Toddy (virgin or alcoholic). The lady at the liquor store recommended Jägermeister. However, everything I've read indicates that it works best on mild colds, not what I have been battling.

Even with all that, I'm sitting here, Day 10. I suppose I should be thankful. if I didn't fight this bug as aggressively, I'd be sitting here with bronchitis AND laryngitis (again). However, I can't help but think that I would have kicked this a few days ago had I rescheduled the few lessons and appointments I did have this week.

One thing I keep circling back to is the question, "Is it worth it?" Is it worth plowing through an illness to get that "all important task" done on time?

From my experience, I can tell you it takes me twice as long to get my bookkeeping done. By the time I'm well, I have to redo all the entries that I did when I was sick due to human error. Ditto with learning or memorizing music. Even my notes from last night are messy and ramble aimlessly for pages before reaching a point. My practice instructions to students are vague in their notebooks when I try to teach sick.

When I look at what I just typed, the answer is pretty clear: no it's not. My productivity is shot. Presenteeism  — showing up to work when sick — just doesn't pay. However, if you need a bit more convincing, I've found the following: The Cost of Going to Work When Sick from GoToMyPC.

In "What Can You Do to Combat Presenteeism", the author reports that "Studies of some chronic conditions and health risk factors found that lost productivity from presenteeism was 7.5 times greater than productivity loss from absenteeism." Then the author gives a more concrete example: "if a company has 150 employees and salary costs totaled $6,240,000. Absenteeism would cost the employer about $187,200 while presenteeism would cost about $1,638,000."

While you mull over whether or not it's worth it for you to continue working while sick, or how to convince your sick boss that he or she isn't doing anyone any favours by coming in today, I'm going back to bed. It would appear that my brain and body have decided that we've done enough work for today.

Diggin' the Pet Spaw Muscle Pack

Pet Spaw Muscle Pack

At Sunday's pet-friendly Stampede breakfast, I purchased a Pet Spaw Muscle Pack for Maestro. It's the perfect size for him and easy to pack along.

To use as a hot pack, simply microwave on high for 45 seconds. To use as an ice pack, store in the freezer until ready to use.

Maestro likes to have it on his achy arthritic joints. If you'd like to buy one, head to Ashbury Cottage.

A quick update on Maestro's laser therapy sessions: After approximately six weekly sessions, Maestro is nearly ready to go down to sessions every two to three weeks.

Calgary Jazz Orchestra ENTERTAINMENT 2011 Concert Review

“Does anyone here remember growing up?” asked CJO director Johnny Summers at the start of the jazz concert which took place in River Park Church on Sunday, January 30, 2011.

The programme for ENTERTAINMENT! was set as a musical trip down memory lane for listeners young and old. The Calgary Jazz Orchestra performed top pop songs by Billy Joel, Sting, Michael Jackson and the Beatles; along with a sampling of video game music and film soundtracks.

The Jazz Band from William Aberhart High School Warmed up the Crowd

The Jazz Band from William Aberhart High School opened the concert with two numbers: "Count Bubba", an upbeat number by Gordon Goodwin of the Big Phat Band and "The Meaning of the Blues", a sultry ballad composed by Bobby Troup.

The Jazz Band has performed in concerts, festivals and competitions throughout Alberta, such as the Vic Lewis Band Festival in Canmore. The group won several awards at the 2010 Alberta International Band Festival. William Aberhart's The Jazz Band is directed by Kevin Willms.

A Pop Culture Buffet and Impromptu Performances Mark the CJO's First Set

The Calgary Jazz Orchestra set a nostalgic theme by opening with the theme from Spiderman. This lively swing number featured toe-tapping solos by Carsten Rubeling on trombone, Shane Statz on sax and Willy Joosen on piano. Incidentally, Joosen is the organist for the Calgary Flames, a post he has held for over 22 years.

The only video game music that was officially on the programme was Koji Kondo's "Bob-omb Battlefield" from Nintendo®'s Super Mario video games. This lively arrangement was done by Brendan McElroy, a Calgary bassist who now lives and works in Toronto.

McElroy is the co-founder of The Runaway Five, a video game band that has opened for the Video Games Live concerts in Toronto. Sarah Matheson on bari sax and Greg Baker on drums performed jaw-dropping solos. Slipping in the "Underworld Theme" was a nice touch.

The impromptu moments were a stroke of genius. When asked what music is played at the Calgary Flames hockey games, Willy Joosen answered by playing several memorable themes on piano, including the "Star Trek Battle Theme" and the theme from the TV hit show The Simpsons. The audience listened in rapt silence to The Simpsons.

The Calgary Jazz Orchestra wrapped up the first set with the theme song from the popular TV show, Family Guy. This number featured solos by Kim Beachum on trumpet, Dr. Jeremy Brown on sax and Carsten Rubeling. Other songs featured in the first half included the theme from Tennessee Williams' "A Street Car Named Desire", classic pop songs "Fragile" by Sting and "Just the Way You Are" by Billy Joel.

More Movie Music and Classic Pop Songs in the CJO's Second Set

The jazz concert's second half began with a snazzy arrangement of John Williams' "Hedwig's Theme" from the Harry Potter movies. It began in an eerie fashion before moving to a lively jazz waltz. Reminisces of the “Song d'une nuit du Sabbat” from Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique came to mind when Gerry Hebert played "Hedwig's Theme" in the highest register for the clarinet. This number featured solos by Gerry Hebert, Shane Statz on tenor sax and Jeremy Brown on alto sax.

The programme included one Michael Jackson hit, "The Way You Make Me Feel". This arrangement featured Johnny Summers on vocals. It started off slowly and then switched to a more upbeat tempo.

The Calgary Jazz Orchestra wrapped up the concert with a rousing Beatles medley arranged by Greg Baker. The medley included "Eight Days a Week", "All My Loving", "When I'm 64" and "Hey Jude" and featured solos by Sarah Matheson. Jeremy Brown, Kim Beachum, Carsten Rubeling, Al Muirhead on trumpet, Greg Baker and Johnny Summers on trumpet. No performance of "Hey Jude" is complete without someone waving a cell phone to the music. The cell waving began on stage and was quickly picked up by one section in the audience.

Other songs featured on the programme included Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and the theme from the film The Man With the Golden Arm, which starred Frank Sinatra.

Will Joosen stole the show in several parts, launching in the the theme song from Wheel of Fortune in response to a dramatic “Oh!” from the audience and more VG music, this time, various themes from the Pac-Man® series.

The playing was top notch for this concert. However, there were a couple of “blips”. First, there were no printed programmes (glitch at the printers). Second, for a programme that touted music from video games, the gamer geeks in the audience wanted more than one video game song on the official programme (although Willy Joosen's musical tangents were a great touch). With the sheer volume of pop, VG music and movie music out there, the CJO will have plenty of material to draw from for upcoming concerts.

About the Calgary Jazz Orchestra

The Calgary Jazz Orchestra is a 16-piece jazz ensemble founded in 2004 by director Johnny Summers. The music for this concert was arranged by Johnny Summers, Greg Baker, Shane Statz and Brendan McElroy.

The CJO delivered a fun programme featuring mostly classic pop songs dubbed “ENTERTAINMENT!”, held Sunday, January 30, 2011. The band launched its 2010/11 season with music by Charles Mingus and Oscar Peterson and followed up with “A Perfectly Frank Christmas”, which featured music by Frank Sinatra. The ensemble's upcoming concert on April 10, 2011 will feature music by Duke Ellington and Harry Connick Jr. For concert tickets or more information, visit the Calgary Jazz Orchestra's website.

Originally published on Suite101.com on Feb 2, 2011. Updated July 23, 2013.