Bilofsky,+Ian

Ian's Goals

1. Due to my recent dilemma, the removal of my braces, my first goal is to imrove my range. As of now I can support a good sound for notes that are mainly in the staff. I am hoping to have my full range of notes back by the end of October. In order to accomplish this I will be bringing my instrument home and slowly working on supporting a good sound for easy music. As I progress hopefully I will return to my skill level from before. I also need to simply do buzzing exercises on my mouthpiece.This will help me improve my playing especailly in Jazz and Marching band.

2. I want to work on my improv solo skills in Jazz band. I'm hoping to have solos worked out for the next concert that I can be very satisfied to play. One step is to continue and increase the amount of jazz I listen to. I think it will help to not only listen to different recordings of not only what we are playing but also of other Jazz charts. I also need to begin to not shy away from solos and simply try things to find the right notes. For the charts that I solo in I am going to improve on my ability of playing notes in the right cord and changing with progressions, considering i tend to "just play whatever" sometimes, which doesnt always sound great.

3. Lastly I want to improve upon my sight reading. I believe that once I have heard and played a piece enough I can do it fine, but there is always a pretty slow start. One thing to do, is to begin "studying" music right when Mr. S gives it out. First, I need to look at all the key changes right away. Another simple thing i should be doing is looking over quickly for the "tougher" parts and licks and just trying to practice them quickly. I think if I can improve my sight reading it will help my stand partners and my section learn their music faster too, giving us more time to work on the more important parts of the piece, like style. I am hoping to begin this after the upcoming concert, when new music is recieved.

These are very good goals for you!! We'll get to work on the improv for sure! My Most Significant Musical Experience

My favorite style of music is Jazz. That is why when the Juilliard Jazz Band came to preform at our high school is my most significant musical experience. I always get a lot out of watching high caliber jazz ensembles, because of how much I enjoy the style. I can use this to relate to other aspects of my music. Listening to great Jazz musicians not only entertains me but helps me in my own jazz. I remember listening to the Juilliard band and trying to learn from them. Like many jazz bands they did an amazing job of articulating and putting separation in between notes. It is the little details like this that really carry through with me. I think our band can learn a lot from the concepts of listening and applying. Related to one of my goals, I really payed close attention to the soloing being done. Everything really opened up my eyes to becoming more adventurous and relaxed during solos. They made everything look so easy! After seeing Juilliard Jazz I instantly began to search for more. I became interested in a lot of jazz bands, and to this day I still listen to a wide range of jazz. That was an awesome concert!!! That and the Marine Band were two of my favorite memories!!