Well... It's the last one. Why'd it go by so quickly?

It's the last one. Wow. It's gone by fast.

Today in class I finished writing the Tenor Drum part, and by doing so finished the entire piece. Unfortunately, I discovered that I had written out each part in the wrong music template setting, so I had to go through and copy and paste each part into a new template (one that will print out in the format I need, which will fit into a flip folder with a lyre), but this was a minor problem. It just took a while. It was also interspersed with some frantic studying for a quiz in Chemistry which I had completely forgotten about until the class before. The bigger problem that I ran into was trying to actually print the thing, and it turned out the computer I was using didn't have the printer I needed stored in its system. And then I ran out of time. I guess I'll have to go in before school or something so I can print it. Shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'm excited to hear the band play it!

I'm sad to see this project come to an end, but at least I'll get to hear and play it at games. Looking back on the project, I realize I've actually learned a lot more about music than I thought I would. I learned how to use music writing software, which could be helpful at some point (and really, that was the only thing I really anticipated I would learn to do. The rest of the paragraph that follows should be evidence enough that I was very wrong in this assumption). I learned how to create a balanced sound, even with the band playing as loudly as they can, which is what they'll be doing at football games and such. I learned where a comfortable range on the staff is for each instrument, which is a useful thing to know for future projects. I learned that writing or arranging music only works if you put time and effort into it, something I never really had an appreciation for until now. This project gave me a greater appreciation for all the people who create the music I listen to and play, because it's really not an easy task.

The most amazing thing, however, is knowing that my work will be performed in a public venue and appreciated by hundreds of individuals. Maybe not necessarily my work in particular, but the work that the band does as a whole. Knowing that you influenced somebody's life in a positive way is the best feeling you can have. Actually, the best moment of this project for me was when Mr. Matthys asked to hear my work today. I gave him the headphones and nervously hit play, but the smile he had on his face when he listened to my piece told me something else: I don't have to be the only one who's proud of my work. It's a wonderful thing to see someone happy with what you've accomplished. I will never forget that.

For one last time, thank you all for keeping up with my work! It's been a blast!

-RachelTheDragon

Still Going Well... So Well I'm a Little Worried. Good things can't last forever.

Hey all,

Sorry I'm a little (well, a lot) late on this one, but it's kind of slipped my mind to post until now. I've had an extremely busy weekend with a football game on Friday, two shows on Saturday (which you should all come to see... Guys and Dolls in the LOHS Auditorium at 7 on Thursday and 2 and 7 on Saturday. General admission is $12. Apologies for shamelessly advertising, but those were my instructions), and a DI meeting followed by an extremely long nap and a nice evening excursion to Rimsky's on Sunday. It's been a nice three-day weekend so far. I'm gonna have a hard time getting up tomorrow.

The fourth Google Day went very well. About a week and a half ago I finally managed to find FinaleNotepad for mac, which I downloaded and wrote out all the basic parts except for percussion. At school (after having a few difficulties with finding an available computer with Finale itself on it) I moved the files to a big document and transposed them according to instruments. All I have to do now is write percussion parts (which I started in the last 20 minutes or so of class) and format it for printing. It sounds really cool and I can't wait to hear the band play it!

I guess I'll see how this all works out eventually. I'm still really enjoying this project and look forward to finishing it! I haven't actually run into any huge obstacles yet... it's worrying me. I wonder when something's going to come up. Oh, well. I guess I'll find out when it does.

Thanks,

Rachel