2014 Personal Year In Review: Thank You

Not a typical blog post, I know. Don't worry: you'll get more fun in 2015 :)

 I can't help but take a few minutes to reflect on how incredible this year has been. I've been blessed in many ways for many years, but nothing compares to the joy in my heart when I look over the year of 2014... 

...the endless joy of the long-awaited student teaching experience... one that I had waited on for 6 years since that day halfway through high school that I set forth to prepare to major in music ed, yet one that was worth every second that I had waited...

...the fulfillment of a 7-year dream of one day moving to Indiana to study music at Jacobs School and meet incredibly passionate musicians and amazing people from all over the world...

... the opportunity to give back and show my love and thanks for the teacher who decided at the end of last year that an investment in my career was more valuable than anything that money could buy and decided to teach me for free for 14 weeks so that I could prepare for my previously mentioned 7-year dream...

...the miracle of graduating from one of the best music ed programs in the world with a college degree and all the tools I would need to be successful in all my future endeavors doing what I LOVE to do...

...the honor of witnessing the inspirational and invigorating rise of the Fredericksburg Brass Institute and all it does to help those same young students I devote my life to helping through music... and the honor of expanding strong and healthy friendships through that Institute and even conducting two of my arrangements with one of the student groups at that concert...

...the blessing to finally give back to the loving, caring, and incredibly supportive Church where I grew up, giving a Farewell Recital with my friends, family, and loved ones at First Baptist Church South Richmond before heading out to live that 7-year dream that waited for me in Bloomington...

...the humbling honor and privilege of being asked to write for the nationally known pep band at Virginia Commonwealth University...

...as well as the tear-jerking moments of having one of my closest and most meaningful arrangements performed by a new professional ensemble out of PA, The Brass Roots, at their inaugural concert..... 

...forever, right? The dream-come true experiences go on forever. It's like 2014 was powered by the energizer bunny. What's crazy is that I know that 2015 will be even better!! Thanks to everyone who has been a part of my life in any and every way. I love every single one of you because my life would not be what it is today without you. 

I need to say that again.

I love *EVERY.SINGLE.ONE.OF.YOU* for being a part of my life at any point this year or at any time in my life, because I would not be where I am today without any of the mountains or the valleys that I have experienced throughout my life. My only new year's resolution for 2015 is that I continue to become a better person, one step at a time, because of the wonderful experiences you all were gracious enough to give me in 2014.

Marcus Grant

Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter

http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for some fun surprises in 2015 :)

Previous Blog Post: As The Horizon Expands! (Updates in the world of MSGrantMusic)

As The Horizon Expands! (Updates in the world of MSGrantMusic)

Today's blog post is going to be a current-and-recent-events style post to update those of you who are interested in what's been happening lately! Check back for my next blog post if you're looking for a discussion topic like I typically post, or - if you haven't seen them yet - check out some of my previous blog posts.

There is never a dull moment in the wonderful world of music! Here's what's been happening lately:

Fairly recently, I've been hired to arrange music for the VCU Pep Band. As a recent graduate of the school with a music degree, an active composer and arranger for similar mediums, and the nephew of VCU's immediate past basketball coach (and Alabama's current coach), Anthony Grant, I can't imagine a more exciting way to enjoy this current college basketball season, which opened last night for my past school VCU, my current school Indiana, and my Uncle's school Alabama with strong wins across the board for all three teams. It's going to be a fun ride this season!

Last month, brand new professional brass ensemble "The Brass Roots" performed my brass arrangement of the National Anthem live on television, as well as on their inaugural concert. The arrangement, dedicated both to the celebration of my grandmother's life and in honor of the innocent lives lost on 9/11, is closer to my heart than any piece I've written or arranged in the past. I could not think of a better way to honor both experiences than sharing them through music with the Pittsburgh-based professional group as well as all the spectators who hear them perform it. It's an incredible honor.

Check out the YouTube statistics!! I wrote a cover-style arrangement of Taylor Swift's new single "Shake It Off" for marching band with friend and colleague John Paddie, and featured it through Enlightened Productions. It's currently at 14.8k views and 126 likes, growing at an steady rate of 350+ views per day. It's slated to break 15,000 views before noon on Sunday. Here are some other YouTube videos hitting milestones very soon that you might like to check out:

Nearing 1,000 views on my new channel, MSGrantMusic:
Beethoven's 5th, Mvt. I for Trumpet Ensemble
Thomas Dale Marching Knights 2013 Show (my first year arranging their music)
Behind The Scenes Carolina Crown 2014 High Brass Transcription Video

Nearing 75,000 views (personal all-time high) on my old channel, FreakoftheArts73:
Carolina Crown 2013 Full Show Transcription (Brass) E=MC^2


So what's next to come?

Those of you in tune with my media side may have noticed the frequent small updates to my social media pages and my website, including a revamped "about" page on every address, re-formatted site home page, increased media sources, and various small changes to the overall interface of the website. Over the next few months, you'll see an increase in the quality of media and public-relations-based output on my internet presence. I promised an increased output of YouTube vlogs like this one and other videos on my new channel when I left for grad school. Before I left, I started experiencing issues with my media equipment, and have recently replaced them with an upgraded set of tools. I intend on keeping my previous promise.

Finally: A few days ago, I put out a question on my Facebook page regarding my website - related to the recent changes I've been making - asking if you guys would like for me to attempt to expand the media section to include a full title list of pieces I've written and arranged. I received a positive enough response that I've decided to do it. Some pieces won't have recordings to them yet, others will have small samples of live recordings, and others still may have MIDI recordings attached to them. As I continue to expand my media output over the next few months, more and more of these pieces will be accompanied by recordings so that you can listen to them in their full glory, and you will eventually be able to click a direct link on the page where each piece is featured - if that piece is for sale - and be able to purchase it. This will take quite a while, but I'm eager to see the resulting product, and I'm happy to be able to share more music with you guys.

Meanwhile, you can continue to tune in to both the website and the Facebook page - as well as this blog - for timely updates about how things continue to progress in the music world. Until then!

Marcus Grant
Educator, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic
Previous blog post: 5 Helpful Steps To Transcribing Drum Corps Music

5 Helpful Steps To Transcribing Drum Corps Music

Since I often get the “How Did You Do This!?” question whenever I post a new transcription, I thought some fun tips for your own transcriptions would be worth putting together. You might notice that every single one of these tips can be applied to practicing an instrument and generally becoming a better musician. You have to be musically sensitive and driven in your craft if you hope to dig deep into a major work such as a drum corps show and pull out the individual pieces by ear. Before deciding to become a transcriber, you may also want to commit to tightening up your skills as a musician, no matter where you are in terms of talent or experience.

Click here for the playlist leading to my behind the scenes videos for my new transcription: Crown’s 2014 6-part antiphonal high brass feature. It will take a while for all of them to upload, but you’ll see them all in that playlist when they get there. 

1) Pay close attention to detail in everything you do as a musician. Consistency is an important part of musicianship, and it helps to listen in the same ways every day, not just when you want to transcribe a piece of music. If you’re one of those people who sits in an orchestra or band and listens attentively every day to hear parts you haven’t heard before in a rehearsal, it will help you immensely when completing a transcription because you’ve already made a habit of picking individual parts out of the texture.

2) It’s all about the sound. I mentioned this a number of times in the video, but to me, it’s more important that you get the sound you want than it is that you get the “correct” notes. Transcribing involves taking live, organic, acoustical sounds and digitizing them into electronic MIDI sounds. As a composer, we’re always trying to do the opposite… MIDI NEVER gives the sound you’re looking for, so you might need to play around a bit to get as close as you can to the sound you want. I often times use dynamics and articulation to emulate the musical phrasing in the live recording, even if I’m sure those specific dynamics and articulation were not actually used in the original score. Please note that this is also true as a PERFORMER: it’s more important that you get the sound you want for your instrument than it is that you play every single note without any cracks or mistakes.

3) Use all your resources. In one of the reference videos I used, Carolina Crown’s Drum Major can very clearly be seen conducting. You should never have any question of where the beat is because you can see it. Generally speaking when transcribing a drum corps show, if you’re having trouble hearing the parts in full ensemble, you can almost always find rehearsal videos isolating specific instruments, or – in the case of Crown and many other world class finalist corps – you can find a “head cam” or “boob cam” or “go pro” camera highlighting a specific performer. If you have a friend who marched, you can always check his or her specific part with what you have if you desire. You more than enough resources to transcribe any drum corps show.

4) Start simple! If you’re an extremely talented clarinetist who’s never played trumpet before, you’re not going to enter the National Trumpet Competition with a brilliant triple tonguing solo as your first milestone for learning the trumpet. That’s crazy, right? You’ll probably want to start off with long tones in the mid/low range of the instrument and FIND THE SOUND YOU WANT before going any further (see tip #2). It’s the same concept here: If you’ve never done a transcription before in your life, or you’re not familiar with a music notation system such as finale, you’re not going to want to transcribe the entire Carolina Crown 2014 Brass Book. It will be a painful and grueling process, and you probably won’t get the results you’re looking for. If you’re sold on Crown 2014, for example, perhaps start by transcribing the first half of the ballad (starting at the high brass solos) or the final minute of the show (after the 16^th note runs).

5) Be patient!! In both the short term and long term, developing any set of skills takes patience. I transcribed the high brass feature this blog is linked to in about two hours. For someone with little transcribing experience, something like this may easily have taken all week. Again, if you’ve played clarinet for over a decade, you can’t expect to have a decade’s worth of experience under your belt playing trumpet. Developing the skills to transcribe are very similar to playing an instrument. You already have a musical background, so it won’t take you a decade to get good at it, but it might take you a year or more to really get to where you can do an entire transcription in one sitting.

And hopefully, that should get you on the right track! One last thing before I sign out… Be aware that drum corps are separate organizations – they are not owned by DCI or DCA – and just because one drum corps doesn’t mind seeing transcriptions of their music online, doesn’t mean that all corps will be okay with it. If you’re asked to take a video down, respond politely and cordially and take the video down. Also be aware of highly copyrighted music (or music that seems as though it may be highly protected) that drum corps have played on the field. Those organizations had to go through major copyrights licensing and permissions to play that music on the field, and it may not be okay for you to take that piece and do a transcription of it. For example: When the Madison Scouts played Empire State of Mind, was it one of the most glorious moments in the history of drum corps? Absolutely. Should I transcribe Empire State of Mind and throw it up on my YouTube channel? Probably not. You may be able to make a case for fair use, or that you’re making a “cover” of the song the way any up and coming artist would sing a famous song and share it, but it gets pretty dicey here, and I tend to assume that those excuses won’t fly. In most cases, your video could be taken down from youtube and your account – if subject to multiple offenses – may be disabled. But do realize that it is also possible that you may be subject to HUGE fines (especially dealing with a major company) because you’re dealing with copyright infringement, which is a federal offense. Make your life easier – just don’t do it.

As you transcribe drum corps music, you’ll realize how much more amazing these designers and students get every single year. Cherish and admire every moment!

Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic

Previous blog post: Why EVERY Musician Should Join A Chamber Ensemble

Why EVERY Musician Should Join A Chamber Ensemble

I for-shadowed this blog post in my blog about the Fredericksburg Brass Institute. It's something I believe very strongly in speaking about. Music for the majority of musicians in this world is a fantastic catalyst for the promotion and enrichment of communities everywhere, but whether musicians engage themselves as a band/orchestra/choir member or as a featured soloist, their development as a musician and experience of music's positive effects is greatly stunted by a lack of exposure to all elements of being a fully trained musician.

Playing in a large ensemble helps develop a musician's musicality with others, but it helps in many ways to solidify bad habits on the instrument. As a brass or woodwind player in a band or string player in an orchestra, a young and growing musician can learn how to play with others but is often times severely under-challenged with music that only explores a small section of that instrument's range and almost always includes a great deal of counting rests rather than performing music. In some cases, since most composers are not experts on every single instrument in a large ensemble such as these two, one particular instrument might get a part completely atypical of music that this particular instrument is able to practically perform with quality or precision. In a rehearsal, a clarinet player might sit unoccupied for quite a long time while the director refines the low brass sound, and the focus of that clarinetist has dropped from the band and has to be regained when it is time to perform.

Playing as a soloist is greatly conducive to the mastery of an instrument, but it doesn't teach a student how to cooperate musically with others. Sure, it alleviates many of the issues of playing in a band or orchestra; the soloist is generally not counting rests and cannot hide behind other players, and the composer generally knows much more about the instrument and can really show off the instrument's range, style, and other artistic features specific to that instrument. A soloist can never lose focus of what he or she is doing. However, the all-too-important task of learning how to cooperate with others musically speaking, and listening and adjusting to the actions of those around oneself becomes lost. Music is referred to as the universal language, yet speaking to oneself is generally not nearly as riveting as engaging in conversation with a good friend, and let's face it: we learn a LOT opening ourselves to other people's experiences than we do simply going about life on our own island.

Undoubtedly, a member of a large ensemble or a soloist is deprived of many of the essential elements of enhancing one's musicianship. But we can't have the best of both worlds, can we?

Yes, we absolutely can.

In a CHAMBER ENSEMBLE, one can enjoy exploring the fantastic challenges that come with a solo piece while engaging musically in a conversation with those around oneself. Chamber musicians don't have to worry about not being engaged in rehearsal, and they have to stay focused and committed throughout the entire experience - they can't hide behind another player or sit out on the job because it has a huge impact on the musicians around them. The balance between personal mastery of the instrument and perfecting the art of being an effective team player forces the chamber ensemble musician to master both the art of playing the instrument as well as the art of playing musically with others.

One of music's greatest aspects is that it forces people to be reflective and cooperative with one another. Chamber ensembles greatly enhance these aspects in an intimate setting that those not familiar with performing in one could greatly benefit from. Where I grew up, chamber ensembles in the public school setting are almost completely nonexistent, which means tens of thousands of students are never challenged to apply both technical mastery and musical sensitivity to their craft as one. What a shame. If you're a student or teacher reading this, I greatly encourage the exploration of chamber ensembles and their fantastic benefits to both young and seasoned musicians.

If you need a perfect example of the fantastic advantages to placing a focus on chamber ensemble skills, check out anything from the Baylor School Of Music - anything.

Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic

Previous blog post: Winning Is Not As Glamorous As You Think

Winning is Not as Glamorous as You Think

This has been on my mind, and it needs to be shared. I will brief this blog post by saying that evidence and examples are 100% based on BOA and DCI. However, non-advocates of the marching arts can still relate to the over-arching content and concept being explained in this topic:

There are a number of people in any given competitive activity who make it their life goal to win; it seems to be a common thought that if one could just win at something, that life would be a complete joy and endless success story. For those who actually succeed in this purely on the motivation to win, the realization that "winning" is not what we all perceive it to be can be a catastrophic culture shock. Be careful out there: It's the personal growth as a human being or with which ever organization you are a part of that lasts, not the prizes or the accolades or the trophies or the recognition.

Because it's often the center of my focus during the summer and fall, I'm going to use marching band and drum corps examples here, but these examples are certainly transferable to ANY competitive situation. At the time I'm writing this, Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps scored 2nd place in brass at two of their most recent drum corps competitions. A group of fans are shocked and even offended by this, as the corps has been known in recent years for their incredible brass performers and teachers, and the show they are performing this year is arguably the most demanding of any show in the history of drum corps. The expectation is that they win, and as a result, the celebration when they DO win is greatly lessened, and the resentment when they DON'T win is exponentially increased. Sad.

In 2011, DCI fans almost unanimously agreed that the Blue Devils were having a rough and "off" season, and were experiencing lots of trouble. The Blue Devils placed 2nd place in the WORLD in 2011, but since the expectation is that they spend most of their season undefeated and come out with a championship title at the end of the year, it was perceived that the corps was "out of it" that year. Amazing.

Perhaps we should think twice about the importance of winning a competition, yes? It's a moving target, with different judges with different perspectives, different venues with different acoustics, and different competitors. The result will inevitably be different every time in ways that you could never predict.

Be very careful about the importance you place on competition. If you allow competitive success to define the assessment of your experiences, not only are you empowering other people (judges, fans, and fellow competitors) with the ability to make or break all that you've aspired to be, but even if you manage to find that success, it's only for a brief amount of time, and now you've such an expectation that cannot be satisfied any way except by the pressure to win again, and again, and again, because all of a sudden, if you place second.....

Intrinsic motivation to be a better person, on the other hand, will always give you the opportunity to experience success on your own terms, no matter what happens around you. No judge, competition, or score can take that away from you. Try it sometime?

Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic

Previous blog post: Why You Should Attend The Next Fredericksburg Brass Institute

Why You Should Attend The Next Fredericksburg Brass Institute

"[E]veryone deserves the experience of being surrounded by world-class, inspirational music making." - Austin Boyer (read more)

It's no surprise that the 2nd Annual Fredericksburg Brass Institute - founded by directors Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler - had a 100% retention rate from the 1st year to the 2nd year (that's right, every participant from the first year returned for the second year), or that the number of participating members nearly tripled in that single year's time. I had the pleasure of devoting a week of my summer to this Institute, and I highly recommend it to any and all brass students - from middle school through college - who are looking for a high-energy experience saturated with great music and the possibility to build lifelong friends and connections in the business.

About the Fredericksburg Brass Institute
All over the world, summer brass institutes, festivals, conferences, and competitions are held where passionate musicians gather together and share unforgettable experiences with each other and create lifelong memories while learning valuable lessons about music and about themselves. In order for someone in Virginia to attend one of these events - most of which last anywhere from 3 to 7 days - this musician would likely pay an excess of $1,000 between tuition, plane tickets or other travel expenses, and many other hidden expenses to travel out of state for this experience.

As veteran participants of many of these events, Austin and Buddy thought there should be a viable alternative for brass musicians in and around Fredericksburg who deserve to share the same experiences. As a result, they have managed to produce much (if not all) of the same high-quality experiences at a dramatically reduced price. This summer, the 6-day experience - complete with 7 faculty members, 5 world-class guest artists and ensembles, and the valuable opportunity of meeting and working with peers who share the same passions - was shared with participants for the tuition price of only $300, with early registration bringing the price to as low as $250!

I've certainly been to some of these other brass-related seminars and conferences, but I have tremendous respect for the careful attention to detail and high level of commitment the directors of Fredericksburg Brass put into making this the best experience it could be. Many of these other events have taken place for many, many years, and needed quite some time to develop into the wonderful experiences they are today. The Fredericksburg Brass Institute, on the other hand, has just finished its second year, and the experiences are already world-class and rapidly growing. In addition, Fredericksburg Brass focuses on what I quite strongly believe to be the most musically enriching type of ensemble: the small ensemble, also known as the chamber ensemble (come back to my blog later this summer, and I'll explain in detail why I have felt this way for years).

Keep the Fredericksburg Brass Institute on your radar. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to follow their updates and prepare for next year. If you're a college student, your collegiate chamber brass ensemble may be able to attend the Institute free of tuition as the "ensemble in residence". If you're a high school or middle school student, you can dramatically enhance your experience by preparing a high quality recording of your playing and sending it to them with an early registration discount and possibly some other incentives as the Institute continues to grow rapidly. Know what that means? Start preparing for next year NOW. You'll have a blast.

Marcus Grant
Teacher, Composer, Trumpeter
http://www.msgrantmusic.org
http://www.facebook.com/msgrantmusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/msgrantmusic

Previous blog post: Making the World A Better Place: Why Music Education?

Making the World a Better Place: Why Music Education?

I want to be clear about something before going any further: this is not a post defending my profession, as you will often see around social media these days. I believe that music is such a strong integral part of our lives that it doesn't need to be justified; it's simply a way of life. This is simply a post about why I LOVE what I do, and how - even though I am headed to graduate school for another 2 years before I settle into a band program to call my own - I already know that there's nowhere else in the world that I'd rather be and nothing else I'd rather do than dedicate my life to the fulfillment of those in the younger generation who - as composer Aaron Copland once pointed out - are also the future of our nation.

From a 5th grader at my Elementary School Student Teaching

I was one of the lucky ones to realize fairly early in my life that my main purpose and greatest desire in this world is to do the best I can to make a difference in the lives of others. Wherever we are and whatever we do, every human being should be able to leave the world better than he or she found it by chasing after their dreams while helping others along the way. It may be true - perhaps a simple act of kindness for one person can’t change the entire world - but I’m a firm believer that a simple act of kindness can change the entire world for one person. That gesture could be the very gesture that serves as inspiration or motivation to catalyze a turning point in that person’s life, that he or she may be put in a position further down the road to do the same for others.

Now - look at the job of a high school band director, for example: the band director has the unique privilege and luxury of being a part of the life of hundreds of adolescents every year during perhaps the most critical point in those adolescents' lives: the often-times awkward, rough, and jagged journey from childhood to adulthood where their identities are changing every minute, and it can be difficult to find comfort in who they are, or to even understand WHAT they are. In music, they can find an uplifting and supporting community that sadly doesn't exist in many places in this world anymore. Thus, a high school band director has as many as 4 years to not only change the world for one person, but to change the world for thousands of people in that director's career at a time where those people probably need it most. Now how cool is that?

From the students at my High School Student Teaching Placement

Music educators have a selfless job of endless spiritual fulfillment. Conductor Benjamin Zander of the Boston Philharmonic said it best when he underlined the fact that the conductor of a band or orchestra doesn't make a sound. Rather, a conductor's power depends solely on the ability to make other people powerful. That's a music educator's purpose: to awaken possibility in other people. Tell me: why would anyone NOT want to be a part of that?

http://www.msgrantmusic.org