An experience to share with everyone……mixed feelings about this.

[Marc]

Awesome story, mate… glad to know you are fully recovered and up.
I was never in doubt about the fact that learning music is a “brain enhancer”… just to master the coordination between fingers (fingers and breath in our case) is a powerful synaptic wakeup drill. Let alone developing skills for reading a score on the fly and being able to stay in tempo with other players.

Keep up the good tunes…
All the best.

[Dirk McCall]

Michael,
Blow your brains out!
Figuratively of course. Stay horny & all other puns…life is short.
‘Bama Dirk

[Don Earnhardt]

Michael, what a great experience you described. If you are not playing with a group of some sort, I think it would be great for you to do so. That would provide additional social contacts as well as a wider musical exposure. I don’t know where you live but you might want to check to see if there is a New Horizons group near you. These bands are for adults who have not played in many years due to family and career obligations, or for new players just getting started, or more experienced players who are looking for an adult group to play with. You can learn more about the New Horizons International Music Association at the following link:

http://newhorizonsmusic.org

The organization was founded in 1991 by Roy Ernst, PHD, professor emeritus of the Eastman School of Music at Rochester University in Rochester NY. Today there are well over 200 New Horizons groups in the US, Canada, and six other countries (at the web site, click on Music Groups on the menu on the left side of the screen to see them all). It really is a terrific organization. Many groups have band camps, usually in the summer, where anyone can attend, even if you are not a member of NHIMA, or a related group. The organization recognizes that social activities are important and each group usually has some way to support social interactions in addition to the music.

In our area we are very fortunate to have two New Horizons bands, both directed by maestro Peter Perret who really understands the value of music to brain activity. In fact, he co-wrote a book called A Well-Tempered Mind; Using Music to Help Children Listen and Learn. Here is a link to see more information about Peter:

http://www.danvillesymphony.net/Conductor.htm

I wish you luck and continued progress.

[Michael]

Thanks for the leads Don…I’ve been involved with the Arkansas Blues Society; it’s all about the Blues 🙂 Folks love hearing it here on the Saxophone to say the least. There’s a lot more other stuff I’m doing besides that, it’s been great. The city approved me for the permit to start playing publicly/in the streets starting this coming year, plus I’ve had leads to play at local downtown clubs…you know, those clubs where guys are up all night playing the Blues 🙂 So there’s no shortage of opportunities to say the least here. The Blues is big here in the south..if you can’t play the Blues then no one wants to play with you. A guitar playing friend of mine just sent me some stuff of him Improvising on his guitar in Am, singing, etc.. He gave it to me and wants me to make it into a video to put up on my new youtube channel (opening a new youtube channel that will be separate from my personal channel that I have right now…the new channel will be for Saxophone only, my current channel will be made into a fly fishing series, I used to be a guide/instructor) that I’m opening in about a month or so, I’ll be posting that here for Johnny to look at because it will be the first time that he sees me playing with a real, live guitar player v.s. backing tracks like I’ve been doing–that won’t stop anytime soon LOL. Plus, I’m creating a new facebook page this is specifically for what I’m doing locally, youtube videos, etc.. and folks can go there and click “like” on it. Things are just starting to “happen” for me out of nowhere and it all started when I nailed an audition this past fall. In terms of new horizons/the link you put, there’s no group here. In any case, in that setting the conductor would probably toss me off the Orchestra, I can’t just sit there reading from sheet music and play. I have to be up, moving around, playing high-screaming Altissimo, playing the Blues, etc…..the kind of stuff that has no place in an Orchestra setting LOL

[Author]

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