Radio Edit, Episode 14

Oh, ::Radio Edit::!!!!!!!  Yesterday was the Temple Prep concert.  It was an absolute disaster!  Well, the concert itself was not a disaster; just my group.  The first tune went ok.  Everyone started together and almost ended together.  But, the second piece... oh, the second piece... at measure 19, there is a repeat, which takes the band back to measure 11.  Its just an 8 measure repeat, how hard could it be?  Yet, when we got to the repeat at measure 19, 1/3 of the band took it and went back to measure 11, 1/3 of the band went on instead of repeating, and the other 1/3 just sat there in complete shock, unable to do anything.  Normally, this kind of thing is not a disaster.  It takes some commanding conducting, and I can get everyone back together.  But, the students still can't read and they don't watch for tempi.  They were relying on their memory, rather than their reading skills and my conducting.  Memory is absolute, whereas know-how gives you the ability to be flexible.  So, in the face of an adverse situation, they were unable to rebound, and I was unable to pull them back together because they just weren't looking at me, regardless of the emphatic motions I was making.  ::Radio Edit::!!!!!

After the initial shock wore off and I calmed down enough to not be so angry at the students, I was able to have some insight.  I had to remind myself that what happened on the stage was a product of poor music education environments for years leading up to that moment, environments which are out of my control.  I had to remind myself that 1) the students made a lot of progress over the 15 hours I had with them this fall and 2) that if I am going to be a doctor of music education, I need to be able to do incredibly positive things in these situations.  In the spring, I will, again, have 15 hours with these students and I must figure out how to make those 15 hours the most impactful musical experience these students have ever had.  After all, I need to make sure that my actions as a teacher set the students up for success and need to reevaluate my strategies when they don't.  So, moving forward:

• Step one is already done: identify the problem.  The students can't read and have developed very bad coping mechanisms to cover up for it.  
• Step two: set a goal that is achievable, yet rigorous, that will motivate the students and me to fix the problem.  The wind ensemble will sightread 3 pieces on the spring concert that they have never seen before the concert day.  
• Step three: develop a course of action that gets us from the point of the problem to the goal.  I have gotten the director of the program to give me an extra hour with the students every rehearsal day, upping my time with them from 15 to 30 hours.  We will work theory, musicianship, technique, critical thinking, ensemble skills, and rhythm in addition to concert music.  Each rehearsal, we will sight read 3 new pieces, each at the level that is doable for the students, but which pushes the boundaries of their acquired musical skills.  The difficulty of the music will increase each week.  We will build a library of skills for use in reading and performing music that do not involve the memorization of musical content.  And once those skills are learned and internalized, we will sightread the concert!
• Step four: Pray to God.

On Monday, we had the Night Owls concert.  That concert went really well.  I felt a great energy from the band as I conducted my two pieces.  The Director of Bands was in the audience and she remarked to me that she enjoyed seeing me conduct.  That's a positive thing, I think!  Anyway, it was a really good time.  I got to employ my high school band director skills by organizing the percussionists for the percussion pack up at the end of the show.  You see, the music building and the performance space are in different buildings, so the equipment is shipped over to the performance building for every performance.  And we used a lot of equipment.  But, I delegated responsibilities, assigned jobs, and we got that stuff packed up in record time.  Bam!

There was a big problem before the show, though.  One of the tuba players called me over and told me that the tuba we brought over for him was a C tuba.  You see, tubas are pitched in different keys.  He plays Bb tuba and doesn't know the C tuba fingerings.  So, playing a C tuba would be disastrous for him.  But, I couldn't believe we 1) had a C tuba, and 2) hadn't realized it until the night of the concert.  Something else had to be wrong.  So, I had him play into a tuner and, sure enough, his open partial was a C, not a Bb.  ::Radio Edit::!!!!!!!  How did this happen?  Well, as I looked at the horn something just didn't look right on the 4th valve.

Here is what I saw:

Do you see what's wrong?

Let me help you.  You see this lever arm?

Well, it should be here:

There is a screw that is supposed to be here:

that holds the arm in place and keeps it between the two little black rubber stoppers.  Well, the screw is missing, the arm must have fallen off at some point, and someone put it on backward!  Well, being the repair dynamo that I am, I put it back in its rightful place and, wouldn't you know it, the tuba was back to playing in Bb.  Future Doctor Mitch, to the rescue!

I had an interesting Philly experience on Tuesday.  I was walking to my car and this girl, who looked to be in her early 20s, started calling to me and waving me over.  Not sure what was going on, I approached tentatively.  When I got close enough, she asked me, "do you want to do a date."  I had no clue what was happening, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks.  She was a prostitute!  I told her, "no thank you," and started to walk away and then she started begging me, saying, "please," and, "only $15.00."  Welcome to Philly, right?  And no, I did not "do a date" with her, for those of you questioning my moral fortitude.

Well, I have been putting it off for weeks already, so here is the video summary of the first chapter of the creativity book I am reading.  Forgive the audio, my mic is crapping out on me and I did the best I could.  I will rerecord when I get a new mic.  Watch it in full screen.

 

Ravens win, Steelers win, Bengals win, Browns lose.  Nothing changes.  Playoffs?  I hope so, but I'm not so sure its going to happen...

That's it for this week.  I am not sure if I will make new posts during break or not.  So, I'll see you when I see you.

Future Dr. Mitch, out!

Forced to go to New Jersey: Future Doctor Mitch, Forever Unclean! Episode 13

So, I was on my way home this evening and had to drive past Eagles Stadium.  I knew there was a home game and was anticipating a little traffic, but I was unprepared for just how awful the city of Philadelphia handles the exodus of their fans from the stadium.  Essentially, they block off all exits from I-95 so you cannot enter the city anywhere near the stadium and only allow people to leave the area.  Well, that's great for getting all those Eagles fans home, but what about those of us whose homes are in the shadow of the stadium?  How are we supposed to get home?  Well, I found an exit that would get me there, so I took it.  I have taken this exit before and it drops me off pretty close to my house: score!  Next to the exit was a sign that said, "this way to New Jersey."  It did not say, "New Jersey Only."  However, the split of the for that led to Philadelphia was blocked off and all traffic was funneled over the bridge into New Jersey.  By that time, it was too late.  I had no other choice than to enter New Jersey.

And to make matters worse, there is no toll to cross the bridge into New Jersey.  That trip is free.  But, if you want to leave New Jersey and enter Philly, you have to pay $5.00!

Anyway, I suppose I should talk about my week at school.  On Wednesday, I played my final Wind Symphony concert of the season.  A few weeks ago, I talked about my distaste for the repertoire for this concert.  Well, Wednesday, as I left the dress rehearsal, I found myself humming the music.  Somehow, in the rehearsal process, I had come to enjoy the music.  And to be quite honest, I had a blast performing it on Wednesday night.  It was a wonderful reminder for me to always keep an open mind when faced with something new.  After all, one of the reasons I decided to return to school was to work with people who would challenge my perspectives and force me to see music, teaching, and the world in a different light.  Performing this music, though unpleasant at first, did exactly that and I am grateful to the Wind Symphony director for putting me in a situation which forced me to become comfortable with unfamiliar music.  I have, for a long time, been an advocate for "classical" music and everything that has come to fall under the wide umbrella of that term.  I often tell people that if they give classical music a shot, they just might enjoy what they experience.  This Wind Symphony concert was a reality check for me, reminding me that I must practice what I preach because, I just might come to enjoy new experiences.

A couple weeks ago, I posted my Psychology of Music Learning and Behavior paper on the factors influencing children's instrument choice for you all to read (and, I am sure you all read it.  Seriously, if you haven't, go back and read it.)  There is a student in one of the brass methods classes that I teach who is a master's degree student, so he has already taken the psychology class.  He told me that this paper causes many people to fail the class.  The professor, according to him, grades the papers with an incredibly scrutinizing eye.  Well, I got my grade back on the paper.  You know what has two thumbs got a perfect score on the paper?

This Guy!

(I had to take that picture with my toe so I could give two thumbs up.  That is much harder that you would think)

Check out how awesome I am:

 

There wasn't much else of note that happened this week.  Things are kind of wrapping up for the semester.  I am still working on my chapter summary of the creativity book.  I am hoping to have that ready for you all next week.  Keep your fingers crossed!

Also, Ravens victory today.  Bam!

Some of you have not been getting the subtle and sometimes not so subtle jokes and references in the titles of each of my posts.  So, in case you didn't get this one, it is a quote from the TV show, The League.

Until next week,
Future Doctor Mitch, out!

Mitch Davis: Inadvertent Criminal, Episode 12

I will start off with an admission of guilt and a story of redemption.  Tuesday was a blusteringly (I know its not a word.  I am using it anyway) cold day.  The wind was intense, the temperature was low, and some genius (yup, that's me) forgot to put the winter lining inside of his jacket.  I hadn't made dinner for the week last week.  Time got away from me and it just didn't happen.  So, I had to buy dinner this particular Tuesday evening.  I was standing outside this Middle Eastern food cart that I have come to really enjoy.  And it was so cold; I was shivering in my proverbial boots.  Most food trucks on campus that I had been to so far take payment when you order.  This place, however, takes payment when you pick up your food.  So, as I was waiting for my food to be ready and feeling my body temperature dropping by the second, somehow I forgot that I hadn't payed for my food.  When my food was ready, I grabbed the bag, thanked the guys in the cart, wished them a good evening, and walked away... without paying!  I didn't realize I had forgotten to pay until I reached that evening's class.  I felt like such an idiot.  I had committed a crime!  By the time class was over, the cart was closed.  But the next morning, I stopped at the cart apologized, explained myself, and payed the gentlemen for my meal from the previous night.  They didn't speak a whole lot of English, so I am not sure if they understood what I was saying.  But, they took my money and I am assuming accepted my apology.

Other than that, it was a pretty good week.  Monday got things off to a great start.  My presentation (I talked about working on it in last week's episode) went super well.  I felt like I had great flow and many of my classmates remarked to me at the end of class that they really enjoyed my presentation.  I made a concerted effort not to just describe each of the studies I read, but to synthesize all of the content, gleaned across the studies, into a logical presentation of the main ideas and themes that arose in the research.  It turns out that my efforts did not go unnoticed.  Here is my grade sheet:

I am not sure how my grade stacks up against my classmates', but I feel like 113/115 is a pretty solid effort.  I only lost two points: one for going over time, and one for some "nervous" gestures.  I think I need to invest in a shot clock.  I honestly didn't intend on running over time.  There was no clock in the room to gauge my pace by.  I had practiced the presentation to the point that I was able to get everything in within the time limit.  But, I did it with a clock.  Not having a clock bit me there, I think.  I didn't feel nervous, but I guess I had some body language that seemed like I was.  I do fidget and have trouble standing still.  I wonder if that is what she was talking about.  I wish I had recorded my presentation so I could have watched it and identified the presentation skills I need to work on...

... because I am submitting a proposal to present a session at the NAfME (National Association for Music Educators) conference in Nashville, fall '15.  I am sure I will have more opportunities to practice my presentation skills before then.  I am really excited about this session proposal, though.  As always, I cannot divulge my content here to protect my intellectual property.  But, I can tell you that the theme for the conference is creativity and I am putting together a session proposal about creativity in band and orchestra classroom instruction.  I realized as I was jotting down some ideas that I don't actually know a whole lot about creativity.  I mean, I know that I am creative and I can identify when others are being creative.  But, I don't really know a lot about what it actually is in the scientific sense of the word.  So, I decided to do some research on the empirical studies that have investigated creativity.  But, I didn't know where to start.  I ran across a textbook review, which regaled Mark Runco's Textbook, Creativity: Theories and Themes: Research, Development, and Practice, as the textbook to read.  It was described as being impartial and an exhaustive survey of creativity research.  Moreover, Runco is (or at least was at the time) the editor of the Creativity Research Journal.  So, I downloaded the book from the library and I have been absolutely enthralled by its content.  So much of the research into creativity is supporting my own beliefs.  Runco also makes points which have challenged what I believe creativity to be and which have opened my eyes to new possibilities for what creativity could entail.

Instead of reviewing a particular research study, this week I will review the Preface of Runco's book for you all.  As I finish each chapter, I will include reviews of them as well.  I am only halfway through the first chapter.  Runco starts out by stating that creativity is hard to define.  It has many permutations and exhibits itself differently in different people.  He goes on to say the children may even be more creative than adults due to their lack of inhibition, though he admits this to be a controversial stance.  Runco explains that the diversity of creativity is cause for its study; it is possibly one of the greatest human resources and should, therefore, be understood.  Language is given as an example of the use of creativity in every day life.  "It is the creativity of language that demonstrates that it is not entirely acquired through experience and learning.  If language depended entirely on experience, we would have difficulty saying things we had not heard before" (p. x).  He expands that statement by saying that once background knowledge and some governing rules are learned, humans can manipulate knowledge and content within that framework and that is creativity.  This leads into his definition of creativity.  Creativity breeds things that are original and useful.  Runco argues that "creativity is a potential each of us shares and a talent each of us should employ, probably every day" (p. x).  He goes on to say that "creativity is associated with, but distinct from intelligence, innovation, imagination, insight, and health" (p. x) and that "it plays a role in many things, including problem solving, adaptation, learning, and coping" (p. x).  Runco ends the Preface by saying that creativity has many influences and that the book will explore many of them.  The first chapter is about cognition and creativity and, I must say from what I have read so far, it is fascinating!

Runco, Mark. (2007).  Creativity: Theories and Themes: Research, Development, and Practice. Elsevier.

I got my paper back in Child and Adolescent Development this week.  I got an A.  Bam!  The professor had only glowing remarks at the end of my paper.  I guess I can write pretty well.  Our final paper in the class is an observation paper.  We have to pick an adolescent, observe their behavior, and then write about it.  However, my PA clearances have not all come back yet, so I cannot legally work with children in the state yet.  So, I get to do my paper on a movie of my choosing: Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  Bow, bow.. chick, chickah.

On Wednesday, the director of bands strolled into the Pet Shop while I was working.  She was looking for some supplies.  But, we got to talking a little while she was there.  She had just been in Baltimore, conducting the BCPS honor band and ran into Mr. Miles, of Morgan Stat University, while she was down there.  It turns out that Mr. Miles spoke glowingly of me to her.  I could tell that whatever he told her boosted her opinion of me, not that she had a bad opinion of me to begin with.  But, any bit helps!

In my brass methods, I have decided to use the last few classes to let the students do some peer teaching.  The problem is that you don't really get real world issues when teaching your fellow, classically-trained, musicians - even if those musicians are playing secondary instruments.  So, I make up fake personas for some of the students and didn't tell the student-teachers what I had done.  Some of the characters portrayed in my classes this week were:

• You don't know how to keep time.  You always speed up.
• You don't know how to keep time.  You always slow down.  (Those two were sitting next to each other, of course)
• You tap your foot loudly to keep time.  Be obnoxious.
•  If asked to sing, you sing the wrong notes.  If asked to clap, you clap out of rhythm
• Every note you play is either in first position (trombone) or with no valves (trumpet), regardless of the actual fingering for the note.

The student-teachers had no idea what was going on.  It was devilishly evil and wonderfully educational all at the same time!

That is all for now.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I will be taking a week off from the blog for the holiday.  Keep your eyes out in two weeks for the next episode!

Future Dr. Mitch, out!

I learned something very important about being a grad student this week, Episode 11

I learned something very important about being a grad student this week: eating is important.  Monday was a crazy day.  I had a long morning of teaching my brass methods classes.  Usually, I am able to stuff some food in my face right after brass class, but I had to run right off to wind ensemble rehearsal.  So, I didn't have time to eat.  And then I settled in for some work on a project for Psychology of Music Learning and Behavior (we will come back to this project later).  I got so wrapped up in the project that class time rolled up and I still hadn't eaten anything.  After class, I had to go upstairs for Night Owls rehearsal, still not having eaten.  By the time I got on the podium to conduct, I had no energy.  I felt very off my game.  I did fine, but I wasn't in my regular, Future Dr. Mitch form.  The moral of the story is that I need to eat so I can keep being awesome all day long!

So, remember that paper I wrote for Psychology of Music Learning and Behavior?  I am sure you all read it in last week's post.  Well, it turns out that my rant on my hate for Microsoft Word last week was not destined to be complete yet.  We need to journey back in time, a week and two days ago.  I was getting to work on my paper (yes, that same paper that you read and which changed your life) and the trackpad on my computer stopped working.  That's this part of the computer:

I tried rebooting the computer and it did not help.  Still no track pad.  Normally, I would have done tons of research on how to fix the problem.  But, I had the paper due on Monday.  So, I reinstalled Windows.  Success!  Trackpad, operational.  I finished my paper.  As you all know (because you read it, right?  Right?  RIGHT?), I posted my paper here last week for the world to read.  Well, at least one person read it because she told me about all the spelling errors.  SPELLING ERRORS!  And this was after the paper was submitted!  I was mortified!  Of all people to turn a paper into with spelling errors, this was the last professor I would have wanted.  Well, I tried to figure out what had happened.  I know I spell checked it.  I got the little window that said "Spell check complete.  You are good to go."  Well, as it turned out, when I reinstalled Windows and, subsequently, Office, the spell check function did not install properly.  Apparently, this is not an uncommon problem.  I fixed the spell check and checked my document.  Spelling errors, fixed.  Phew!  Except, my paper had already been submitted.  And... AND... it had been posted so the whole class could read it.  Well, I emailed my professor, sent her the updated copy, apologized, and then requested she swap the copy with errors with the new copy.  Thankfully, she allowed it.  I don't know which copy she will grade, but at least my classmates will get to read the copy with the errors corrected.

Now back to the project from this past week that I told you I would come back to.  If we do all the work for Psychology of Music Learning and Behavior, we are given a B+ in the class.  In order to get the A, we need to complete an Extra Evidence assignment.  This assignment can be anything we want as long as it pertains to the class.  Well, since I already did all that literature review on instrument choice, I decided to write a research project proposal on the subject.  I want to do a study to see if there is a way to better support balanced instrumentation in beginning band.  I can't post my actual proposal here; I wouldn't want anyone stealing my ideas.  But, I am hoping that after the proposal is reviewed, I will be given the green light to actually carry out the research.  Hey, elementary school band director friends of mine, want to be part of my study?  Yes, I am looking at you!

Seriously, if this project gets approved, I will be calling.


Remember that stats quiz?  The one that I finished in record time?  Well, it turns out I didn't do so hot.  Don't get me wrong; I didn't do poorly.  I still beat the mean score on the test.  But, I did markedly worse on this exam than on the first one.  I need to meet with the professor and figure out why I went from top of the mountain to middle of the pack.


This past Thursday, I played my first concert with the orchestra.  I wasn't digging the music.  As I talked about last week, all this contemporary music is getting to me a little bit.  But, something happened on stage at the concert.  The conductor seemed much more into the music and I think the orchestra was really vibing off of him.  I actually rather enjoyed the performance.

Also, it snowed that evening.

I have decided to be more proactive in meeting people at school.  So, I proposed starting a music grad student kickball team.  There is a winter indoor kickball league.  And people are totally down for it!  Granted, we are going to be a bunch of musicians trying to play sports.  This could be fodder for Youtube videos for the next century.  But, we are going to do it anyway!

I woke up to an email from the Dean of Students on Friday morning.  It was short and dry.  It said, "Mitchell: please stop by my office or call me as soon as possible."  I didn't think I had done anything to get in trouble yet!  It was very much like getting called to the principal's office.  But, it turned out he just wanted to say hi since he hadn't met me yet.  Crisis, averted.

I replaced a clarinet pad during my Pet Shop hours this week.

 Before

 Missing pad

 Took off the key

 Put the pad in the cup

Clamped the key

Tools used: leak light, screwdrivers, pad slick, pliers, butane torch

I am still struggling with Temple Prep.  We read (read: attempted to read) the beloved winter band tune, Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson.  It did not go well.  We have 2 more rehearsals before the concert and I do not know how I will get that tune and the other tunes ready for the show.  I will figure something out.  I have requested that I be allowed to teach a section of theory for the kids in the Wind Ensemble in the spring.  I think that is going to happen, which will be great.  If I can teach them to read, we will be able to approach the music in a much more musical way.  Time to start writing a theory curriculum!

Finally, I got a package in the mail.  It is my master's degree.  I am officially a Master of Music.

Well, that is all for now.

Future Dr. Mitch, out!

Dear Microsoft Word, I hate you! Tales of formatting and other woes, Episode 10

It was a busy week!  Though, that doesn't seem to be any different than any other week.

I spent a lot of time this week working on a paper for Psychology of Music Learning and Behavior.  The paper, a review of literature, was to be 14 pages in length (this will become important shortly) and based in literature written no earlier than 1990 (this will also become important shortly).  We were allowed to pick any topic we wanted, as long as it relates to the course material.  I chose to research psychological factors that influence children's decisions regarding which instrument to play.  Promoting good instrumentation is a focus of mine and I figured that doing a review of this literature would inform some potential, future, original research of my own.

So, I set out to find research on the topic that has been written since 1990 (I told you it would become important in a minute).  Unfortunately, as one of the articles I read was quick to point out, there has been a paucity - yes, I learned a new word; it means a lack of something or an insufficient quantity of something - of research on the topic over the past couple decades.  Gack!  Those are the decades I was supposed to be finding research in!  Well, it turns out, we were allowed to use some earlier research if it is regarded as being pivotal research on the topic.  Phew!  Fortunately, I found enough new research that I only had to use one, pre-1990 study.  I did reference some others, though.  So, I read and wrote and read and wrote and wrote and wrote...  You get the idea.  I kept my eye on my page count (I told you that 14 page limit was going to be important too) because I figured I would miss the mark either way small or way big.  Oddly enough, as I finished writing I was in a really good spot.  I had written about 12 and a half pages.  I figured that gave me a little wiggle room if I wanted to expand my introduction or discussion section.  But, alas, the contented feeling of a job well done was not long lived.  As I started my final formatting, I realized my computer has a default font setting of 11pt Calibri.  "No biggie," I told myself.  I'll just switch it all over to 12pt Times New Roman.  Easy enough.  Except, when I did it my page count jumped to 15 pages.  15 pages!  15 PAGES!  And you know what did it?  It was my reference section.  It was one reference too long, so it took up 2 pages of my page count instead of 1.  And because Word has this wonderful automatic reference function, I had so much trouble getting it formatted to fit on one page.  And then, my headers kept disappearing!  I know they have streamlined Word so anyone can use it.  But, all the default settings drive me nuts!

Anyway, I ended up solving all my issues and put out a pretty solid paper.  Or so I hope.  Read it!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1sduojYTl_cdW1nSkMxUEpFMUE/view?usp=sharing
(Now without spelling errors.  Thanks, Katy!)

This concert cycle with the ensembles (I am playing with both Wind Symphony and Orchestra at the moment) has been an interesting one.  We are very heavily immersed in contemporary music.  I totally understand the need to study and perform this genre of music in an academic setting.  I am just not sure I like the music.  I am working my butt off, playing it as best I can, and am keeping an open mind to it.  I am actually appreciating the music a bit more the more I study it.  But, I am starting to have a craving for a cadence.  Just a quick little PAC would be fantastic!

(PAC = Perfect Authentic Cadence)

 

Also, here is a page from the piece I am playing with Orchestra:

  

Notice anything?  Let me help you out:

That's right, folks.  A contrabassoon part written in tenor clef!  I never thought I would see the day.

On Tuesday, I went to a Pennsylvania Music Educators Association event.  Dr. C. asked me to help her with one of her sessions.  So, I did.  Hopefully I earned some solid brownie points.  I sat in on her second session and learned a lot, both about her topic and about giving presentations at an event like that.  Then I got free lunch.  Woo!  The second half of the day was all about Gordon's Music Learning Theory.  The jury is still out about how I feel regarding Music Learning Theory.  Sitting through the sessions didn't quite make a believer out of me yet.  I did learn some things I liked about the theory, though.  It has a solid emphasis on improvisation, which I think is important.  It relies heavily on singing, which I think is good for instrumentalists.  But, it promotes a delay in reading and relies, at least in the early stages, on rote teaching.  I am not sure I can get behind this aspect of it.  I have a lot more learning to do about Music Learning Theory and will dismantle it all for you once I am much less of a fledgeling on the topic  More to come later.

I had my second statistics quiz on Wednesday.  I missed the actual quiz date because of the PMEA event.  So, the professor let me take it the next day.  When he handed me the quiz, he told me that a lot of the class had trouble with it and took the entire 2 and a half hour period to complete it.  He also described wrestling the quiz out of some folks' hands when time was up.  Unfortunately, I only had an hour in my schedule to take the quiz.  He told me to do what I could in the hour, that we would see how far I got, and assess the situation after the hour was up.  So, I finished the quiz in 50 minutes.  This is either a really good sign or a really bad one.  I felt like I understood all the questions.  He remarked that I was really fast at completing the test.  I hope I did ok!  We will find out on Tuesday.  Well, I will find out on Tuesday.  You will find out next week.

On a bright note, the Ravens are back to winning.  Although, it was against the Titans.  But, a win is a win.  And, even with that win and a Steelers loss, we are still in last place.  How about that AFC North?  All of the teams with winning records.  And the Browns in first place.  The Browns in first place?  I had to see it a few times before I believed it.  We should be back atop the pack before long... I hope.

Well, it is almost 1am and I am exhausted.  So, I am off to bed.  Until next week,

Future Doctor Mitch, out!

One Day, I Will Be Able To Look Back On This And Laugh., Episode 9

As we learned from How I Met Your Mother, everyone has gaps in their knowledge: integral pieces of information needed for life or career that somehow got left at the station when the cognitive train rolled out.  My week started off with one such incident.  I was discussing teaching rhythm with my brass classes Monday morning.  I introduced a few of the major methodologies for teaching rhythm: ta, ti-ti; watermelon, apple; Takadimi; number counting; and a few others.  I kept referring to the ta, ti-ti method by its creator, Kodaly, whose name I pronounced Ko-dah-lee, as I have since I learned about him in undergrad.  Well, as one of my classes was quick to point out, his name is actually pronounced Ko-die.  Silly Hungarians.  But, it doesn't stop there.  You see, I had heard of this guy, Kodaly (Ko-die).  And, somehow, I never made the connection that these two people, Kodaly (Ko-dah-lee) and Kodaly (Ko-die) were actually the same person.  How on Earth could this have happened?  My only thought is that I must have had a professor in the past who mispronounced the name or who didn't correct me when I mispronounced the name and that maybe I encountered his name in one class in written form and in another in spoken form and never actually made the connection between the two.  Yikes!



The day took an interesting turn when I got to Night Owls rehearsal in the evening.  One of the pieces I am conducting, Sandpaper Ballet (yes, you can click here to hear it), is written in cut time.  But, I have made the decision to conduct it in 4 because the group just can't keep the tempo when we try to feel it in 2.  I did get a few questions and concerns about it from the members of the ensemble, but I stuck to my gut and kept doing what I had decided was the right course of action.  Later on in the rehearsal, Dr. C. (my adviser and founder/ conductor of the Night Owls) was conducting one of her pieces - a piece also in cut time - and was asked by some members if she was going to do it in 4 or 2.  She replied that unlike some other people (looking directly at me and grinning), she would actually conduct in cut time.  She made another comment that being a new doctoral student, I must not have gotten to the cut time page in the text book yet.  She totally took a shot at me!  And to make matters worse, it caught me so completely off guard that I was rendered speechless and was unable to come up with a witty retort!  On the bright side though, it is good to know that our professor/ student relationship has progressed to this level.  She won't sneak one past me again.  I should also say that at the end of rehearsal, she made a point of telling me that even though she made the joke, she supports my decision to conduct the cut time piece in 4 and thinks that it is the right call in that situation.

I had another week of understanding statistics.  Bam!

Temple Prep Wind Ensemble is not going superbly well.  This past rehearsal was not a stellar one.  To start, it was raining, so 1/3 of the ensemble did not show up.  The sad truth of the matter is that the students in the group cannot read rhythms.  It is a problem that can be easily fixed... if I had the time... which I don't.  So, I find myself doing more rote teaching than I would prefer and it hurts my soul a little bit.  But, it reaffirms why I am doing my Ph.D. 

After Temple Prep, I took a trip out to the suburbs to go clothes shopping.  I determined that my winter professional wardrobe needed a little help.  It turns out I need help.  I stood in the middle of two different stores, surrounded by clothing options, unable to figure out what I should buy, what goes with what, and how to combine colors.  I ended up coming home with nothing.  I need someone to decide they want to step up and help me buy new clothes.  Someone with some fashion sense, please!  I did come home with some 2012 Samichlaus that I found at Total Wine, so it wasn't a complete waste.

As promised, this week I will regale you all with a summary of a research study.  Many of you have likely heard of the Mozart Effect.  Do you know where it came from?  It might surprise you.  In 1993, Rauscher, Shaw, and Ky published a small, unassuming study in a journal called Nature.  In the study, 3 conditions were explored: listening to Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major, listening to a relaxation tape, and silence.  36 college students participated in the study.  Participants heard 10 minutes of a condition and then had to complete a spatial reasoning test.  All participants underwent all three conditions.  Spatial IQ scores were recorded for each condition.  It was determined in the study that Spatial IQ scores increased from the Mozart condition, but not for the other two.  The catch is that the benefits resulting from listening to the Mozart lasted for only about 15 minutes after listening.  Subsequent studies have had mixed success replicating the results of the initial study.  Some researchers attribute the benefits to a state of arousal that is achieved from listening to music that one enjoys.  Does Mozart make you smarter?  It seems probably not.  And if it does, it only makes you spatially smarter for about 15 minutes.  And only if you like Mozart.  And specifically that Mozart sonata.

Rauscher, F. H., Shaw, G. L., & Ky, K. N. (1993).  Music and spatial task performance. Nature, 365, 611.

Ravens have sunk to last place in the division.  I don't want to talk about it. 

Well, I think that just about wraps it up for this week. 

Future Dr. Mitch, out!

Next Semester? Don't Talk To Me About -- Next Semester!, Episode 8

The week started off with the email version of someone dumping a large bucket of ice water over my head.  An email from the university arrived in my inbox.  It informed me that it was time to register for next semester.  Next semester?  Already?  I can't even see past this week, let alone the end of the semester, let alone next semester!  But, when it is time, it is time.  So, I picked myself up by my bootstraps and set to planning next semester.  I accessed the graduate course catalog and had trouble making sense of what I saw.  The music education department was not offering any graduate courses in the spring.  This had to be a mistake.  I thought there might be a different catalog and I was just looking in the wrong place.  So, after hours of searching - unsuccessfully, I might add - I emailed my adviser and asked if any more classes would be added to the catalog or if the catalog was complete.  The answer I got back was that the course catalog was complete...

...Crap...

 

But, then, Tuesday evening, the night before I am to register, the system updated and the music education courses appeared.  So, everything worked out just fine!

I had my advising on Wednesday and it looks like I am taking:

• Music Teaching in Higher Education
• Measurement and Evaluation in Music
• Intermediate Educational Statistics (I must be a glutton for punishment)
• Wind Symphony
• Graduate Seminar in Music Education
• Independent Study

I am super stoked for the independent study.  I will get to work more closely with my adviser, who I have so much to learn from.  I will either get to assist her on some of her current research projects or I will get to do some work of my own design.  I am looking forward to assisting her with her research.  Getting to see the academic research process from the other side will be really informative!

I got my midterm back in Child and Adolescent Development.  I was initially shocked by what I saw written on my paper.  The professor's first comment was, "disaster."  My mind immediately starting freaking out.  Was my writing that bad that it was a disaster?  But, her comment was followed by a smiley face.  Phew!  She was commenting that the situation I described would be a disaster if it would happen.  And she was impressed that I had been able to see that deeply into the scenario.  Needless to say, I got an A.  Bam!

I am really excited about a presentation I have in my Psychology of Music Learning and Behavior class.  The assignment, entitled There's a Message in the Music, tasked us with finding two video clips which use music to advance the plot or action.  It wasn't specifically called for, but I decided to do a comparative project.  Instead of using movies, like many of my classmates did, I went to football.  I was watching football not that long ago, wondering how and when football started using the type of audio it now does.  So, I grabbed two clips.  A clip from the Superbowl XLV recap and a clip from the Superbowl I recap.  I was really tempted to use a Ravens' Superbowl appearance.  But, it seemed more tidy for the comparison to use examples with at least one team being the same across the examples. 

Superbowl XLV

Superbowl I

 

So, what do you hear in the examples?  How is the message different, based upon the music?  Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

 And now for everyone's favorite segment: Statistics!  I actually understood this week's statistics lecture.  How did this happen?  I have no idea.  The concepts of this week (two-way ANOVA and ANCOVA) just seemed to make perfect sense to me.  Is this a trend of things to come?  Probably not.  But, here is hoping!

There were compliments this week!  After Night Owls rehearsal, a band member (who happens to be a retired band director) approached me to tell me he appreciated the way I got through the music.  Also, one of the euphonium players in Wind Symphony told me this week that she was really impressed with the agility and speed with which I am able to play the contrabassoon parts.  She told me that she has never heard someone play the contrabassoon like that before (I am taking that as a compliment!).  Can you say Turbo Contra?

This week was my birthday.  It passed fairly quietly.  No birthday hike this year.  No beer festival.  I did end up grabbing a drink (read: multiple drinks) with a friend, though.  You read that right; I am making friends!  There was a cupcake and a candle and everything!

Side note: why do the Ravens seem to have such trouble with the Bengals lately?  Seriously.  Someone with actual football knowledge please tell me.

I know I promised I would present some more research this week.  But, with all the papers and projects I was working on this past week, I didn't get a chance to read anything new and interesting.  Next week.  I promise.  But, don't hold me to it.

Well, that's all for now!

Future Doctor Mitch, out!

This Means War!, Episode 7

So, we have a neighbor problem.  Our next door neighbors seem to own a sound system that one should need a nuclear arms permit to operate.  It is so loud!  Don't get me wrong, I have a fantastic sound system too and I love cranking it up from time to time.  But now that I live in a row house with thin walls, I have learned to operate my gear with restraint out of respect for the folks on either side of us.  This is a lesson I wish our neighbors would learn!  They turn up their sound system so loud that it literally shakes our walls.  To make matters worse, they do so during prime sleeping hours, for instance, at 6 am on Saturday morning.  We have already had to call the police a couple of times to register noise complaints.  So, in the epic words of Bugs Bunny:

 

I think I made significant strides in Night Owls rehearsal this past week.  Like I talked about in my last post, I am working on my podium presence with the group.  After rehearsal this past week, one of the players came up to me to express how much she is enjoying my conducting.  She told me she appreciates the energy and enthusiasm I bring to the podium.  So, I guess I am doing a pretty good job!

I would like to offer a heart-felt thank you to those of you who helped out on my Everyone's a Critic assignment.  My professor seemed pretty impressed with my work.  In her comments, she said,

"Really cool tune to use for this assignment. You chose a good technique for sharing the analysis. It was effective to have the tune playing while the screen showed thoughts a about critical compositions elements. Explanation of extended techniques was helpful, too. Interesting, isn't it, that when we use extended techniques, we tend to explain them (and, therefore, perhaps interpret them) in terms of more traditional techniques and/or responses.  Good work with the content as well as the video presentation!"

 The Temple Prep Wind Ensemble has continued to be a bit of a frustration.  I have managed to come up with solutions to some of the issues I have encountered.  I have way too many flutes and not nearly enough percussionists.  So, I have enlisted my flute players at "flutecussionists."  (Patent Pending).  Each flute player will take a shift in the percussion section for one tune on the program, helping cover all the percussion parts and alleviating some of the balance issues that were resulting from having so many flutes.  I have picked the literature for the concert.  I had to go a little easier than I had originally planned on.  But, I want to do music the students find accessible.  I am still having issues with the kids showing up on time, though, which is a really big source of frustration.  And they still can't read.  This is not a problem I think I will be able to solve and I have been doing more rote teaching than I am truly comfortable doing.  But, without reading reinforcement in their home band classes and in their private lessons, the 5 minutes I can afford to devote to it every week is not going to make much difference for many of the kids.  I am going to talk with the program administrators about how we can solve this issue for next semester.

After my rousing success with the first quiz in Statistics, I am back to not having any idea what the professor is talking about.  I feel like it shouldn't be this difficult!

On a sad note, the Orioles got swept by Kansas City.  So close...  However, check out those Ravens at the top of the division!

I have made another giant step toward meeting people in Philly.  I joined  local homebrew club un in Fishtown.  My first meeting was this past Friday and I had a blast.  I brought a few bottles of the Bearded Men Brewery Thanksgiving Ale, which was met with great reviews.  I sampled some other folks' brews, which were all really tasty.  Though, the marshmallow stout was particularly tasty!

We started work on the next concert cycle for Wind Symphony and my jury is still out on whether or not I like the pieces on the program.  On a positive note, I am playing more this concert than I did on the last show.  But, the music is all very "contemporary," lacking melody and relying heavily on rhythmic elements, tone clusters, and other compositional conventions.  The show is December 3 if you want to come check it out or watch it on livestream!

Well, another week in the books and I am still having a blast!  That is all for now.

Future Doctor Mitch, out!

You Fail Me Once Again, Immune System: My Road to the PhD, Episode 6

I'm sick!  And what a week to get sick.  There were two concerts, extra rehearsals, and a midterm all on top of regular coursework and grad student duties.  But, I made it through the week, nonetheless.

Let's start with the concerts.  Monday was the first Wind Symphony concert of the season.  I only played on one tune, which was kind of a bummer.  But on the other hand, I am not sure I have the time to practice much more than that.  We will have to see how I do on the next concert, where I play much more.  The concert itself went pretty well.  There was a really funky cello concerto on the program that everyone really liked.  You can check out a recording of the concert here:

http://new.livestream.com/accounts/1927261/events/3377045

The concert on Friday was an interesting affair.  The Mosaic Concert, as it is called, was a showcase of all that Boyer (the college of music and dance) has to offer.  The show ran seamlessly from act to act, featuring the Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra, a variety of vocal ensembles, instrumental and vocal soloists, jazz ensembles, and dancers.  The dance department seems to have gotten the short end of the stick for the program, only being allowed one short performance while the music side of things dominated the show.  I wonder what that is.  Anyway, at the last minute, I was asked to play with both the Symphony Orchestra and the Wind Symphony for the show, which made the rehearsal schedule for the week pretty intense.  To make matters worse, the rehearsals all week were at the Temple Performing Arts Center, which is not in the same building as the majority of the School of Music spaces (including my office, where I keep my horns).  So, practically every day this week, I had to cart both my contra and baby bassoon across campus.  I never realized how heavy my contra is in its case before, only having had to carry it short distances before.  Carting it across campus, with the baby bassoon in my other hand was quite the forearm workout.  But, there is good news!  I found a company which makes a carbon fiber case which fits a contrabassoon and baby bassoon, has shock absorbing wheels, and backpack straps.  Check it out:

Bad news: it costs $3376.38!  I don't know which is worse: the effort of carrying my horns around in their original, super-heavy cases or knowing this awesome case exists and that I cannot afford it!

Moving on...

... to statistics.  As you know, I had my first statistics test last week.  And I got it back this week.  Look!:

 So, I got a 57/60, scoring the mode of the grade distribution and scoring higher than the mean of the distribution.  So, I guess I understand what I am doing.  There's just one problem; I still don't understand what I am doing!  Gaaaaahhhhh!

I had an eye-opening project in my Psychology of Music Learning and Behavior class this week, though it was eye-opening for me in a way that was probably not the intention of the project.  We had to pick a piece of music we believe to be polarizing and interview people to see how different folks respond to the same piece of music.  I found, as I interviewed people, that I was not as in-depth with my questioning as I should have been.  I almost felt like I was inconveniencing people, asking them to take time out of their schedules to participate in my project.  I also had trouble keeping a "research poker face" and not letting my bias show in my statements and questions.  This is the first "field research" I have done in a formal setting.  I was surprised at my reaction to it.  I figured I would have been better at asking questions.  But, now I know my natural tendency and I can correct for it next time.

Unfortunately, I do not have any research upon which to report this week.  Being sick, I didn't get the opportunity to do much reading.  I know you all are super sad.  I will make up for it next week!

Last week, our Ravens had game-time woes.  This week, the Orioles seem to have caught the malady.  Come on, now.  Dropping the first two games of the series?  That is not the way to the World Series.  It's time to get it together.  On the bright side, though, how about those Ravens this week?  Granted, it was against the Bucs.  But, I'll take the confidence boost.  And the Steelers lost.  And the Bengals tie.  These are all good things!

I must conclude now so I can finish my midterm for Child and Adolescent Development (and go to the store to buy more tissues... I hate being sick!).  Send me healthy vibes!

That is all for now.

Future Dr. Mitch, out!

Injuries, Sminjuries: The Road to the PhD, Episode 5

This week started off really well.  I have been getting increasingly more confident on the podium at Night Owls (the community band - come on, people; keep up!).  It has been a long time since I have felt ill at ease on the podium.  I know the music is well within my grasp and I am engaging enough on the podium to be successful.  But there is something about the group not being my own group, that I am just a graduate conductor of Dr. Confredo's band, that gets me a little nervous when I take the podium.  When I made mistakes in rehearsals with my own bands, I learned from them and moved on.  But, here, there is a very experienced and critical eye evaluating what I do.  In a sense, it is making me be very thoughtful about how I both plan and execute my rehearsal time.  That all being said, this week I finally felt like I was holding my own on the podium.  I was having fun, the group was having fun, they were picking up what I was putting down, and we made some music!  I do need to stop glancing at Dr. Confredo while I am on the podium, though, for feedback on what I am doing in her expressions.  I know in my core that it undermines my presence on the podium.  Moving forward, I am making a concerted effort to stop doing it! 

The only down side to Monday evening's rehearsal was... (drum roll)... right at the end of rehearsal, I tweaked something in my back while I was conducting.  I will pause for all the laughter from those of you who know me well.  I had to rush off the podium as soon as I finished, sit down on the floor of the instrument room and do some back stretches.  No worries, though, it cleared up in a couple days.  It probably was due to my flag football exploits the day before.  When I wrote last week's post, I was feeling great.  When I woke up Monday morning, everything hurt!  Even my toenails!  However, I am not counting this as a football injury because I was able to play at the game today, which we won.  Bam!  We even had enough people this week to field a full team!  My team seems like cool people.  I just wish I could get them to want to hang out either before or after games.  Let's face it, I surely didn't join the league because of my incredibly athletic background and my yearning to play football!

I am trying to keep my eye on the end goal of my work through the program and try to use all my assignments and opportunities to set me up for my dissertation work.  I had a couple exciting research conversations this week.  One was with my adviser.  She asked me to be part of a study she is conducting.  I am not sure in what capacity I will be taking part.  Surely, I will be a participant.  But, I think it will be a great experience to see how she goes about her research as a model for how I might do my own research.  I also had a conversation with a fellow PhD student regarding research.  We talked about conducting original research prior to dissertation work.  Apparently, we are allowed to do that.  So, I am going to take full advantage of that opportunity.  I am not sure what I will research yet (I have some ideas), but you band director friends of mine get ready for my call, asking you or your students to be part of my study!

Speaking of research, here is a tidbit of exciting information I learned while reading research this week.  Despite what the last research I posted said about smart people being drawn to music rather than music making people smarter, I read research this week which demonstrated that music lessons raise IQ scores.  The study took a batch of 6 year olds and had them take either piano lessons, voice lessons, drama lessons, or no lessons.  Interestingly, the study found that all participants showed an increase in IQ, which the author attributed to the documented phenomenon of that happening at the commencement of schooling.  But, the participants in the music lessons had a statistically significant difference in their new IQ scores when compared to the rest.  The potential weaknesses I found with this study were that they only used 6 year olds.  So, a blanket statement about music lessons increasing IQ scores can't really be made.  All we can say is that music lessons have the potential to raise IQ scores in 6 year olds.  Additionally, the effect sizes for the findings were relatively small.  So, I am not sure that the benefits are worth forcing kids who don't want to take music lessons to do so on the basis of improved IQ scores.

Schellenberg, E.G. (2004). Music lessons enhance IQ. Psychological Science, 15(8), 511-514.

I also picked up something interesting my readings this week:  It turns out that perfect pitch is more prominent in musicians who begin music lessons at age 7 or earlier, lending credence to the idea that it is a learned, not an innate, behavior.  I don't have the citation offhand, but I can get it for anyone who wants it.

I think I sort of understand statistics (he says in an unsteady voice and with shifty eyes).  I had my midterm this week.  I think I did pretty well.  I was one of the first to finish, which is either a very good or a very bad sign.  I will let you know next week how it turned out.

What's going on with our Ravens?  Can someone who is actually able to watch the games please explain it to me?  Gaaaaaah!  I reiterate that if they want to pay someone millions of dollars to not win football games, I am the guy to do it!  I will gladly put on a uniform and miss tackles, drop passes, and mess up blocking assignments.  As a bonus, I can guarantee to commit an egregious number of penalties each game.  I will even do it for the league minimum.  Imagine how much money they will save!

On a brighter note: (imagine Baltimore accent) Go O's!  I am totally wearing orange tomorrow.  All I have is my Boh Know's Baseball t-shirt.  So, that is what I'm wearing.  Can we say World Series in Baltimore?  Crap... did that jinx it?  Whatever, I stand by it.

This coming week will be pretty crazy.  I have my first Wind Symphony concert tomorrow night and I am playing with both the Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra at this collage concert, called the Mosaic Concert, on Friday.  I am not sure if the concert on Friday is open admission or if it is just for the university donors.  Check Facebook for details if you are interested in coming.

That is all for now.

Future Doctor Mitch, out!

Stuff Costs Money! Bumps In The Road to the PhD, Episode 4

So, it would seem that capitalism has gotten the best of me; stuff costs money!  If you have been following my adventures, you know that I have resolved to do more reading.  I figured it was a noble pursuit deserving of a cushy, comfortable, reclining armchair.  If I am going to be doing all that reading, I should have a nice place to do it.  Right?  ... Wrong!  Recliners are expensive!  I spent my whole Thursday shopping for a recliner that I didn't buy.  If anyone hears of a furniture store going out of business, let me know!  Yes, yes, I know I can get some used stuff on Craigslist.  But, I am too paranoid about bringing bedbugs home in the cushions.

This past week in Psychology of Music Learning and Behavior, we touched on an interesting topic I'd never given much thought: cochlear implants.  Truthfully, I didn't really know anything about them other than their ability to provide hearing to the deaf.  It turns out, though, that the sounds the cochlear implants create do not really recreate the way the natural ear hears sound.  She posed an ethical question to us - one for which I have not yet formulated an answer.  She asked us if it is ethical for parents to give their young children cochlear implants, fully understanding that their children's sound experience will not be a natural hearing experience and taking into account how well modern society accommodates the deaf.  (Talk amongst yourselves).

So, I decided to read some research this week regarding cochlear implants.  I found a study which sought to determine the ability of prelingually and congenitally deaf children to recognize popular songs as well as their ability to discriminate pitches.  The performed three experiments involving the cochlear implants.

1) They compared the ability of children with cochlear implants and children with normal hearing to recognize popular music,
2) they compared the ability of children with cochlear implants and children with normal hearing to detect changes in pitch, and
3) they compared the ability of children with cochlear implants and children with normal hearing to identify changes in melodic content.

The study found that, across all the experiments, children with cochlear implants performed worse than children with normal hearing.  The did determine that children with cochlear implants were able to recognize popular music from the commercial recordings and from instrumental tracks of the tunes and that children with cochlear implants were able to detect changes in pitch as minute as half of a semitone.  Children with cochlear implants, however, were not able to detect changes in melodic content in a statistically significant way.


Vongpaisal, T.; Trehub, S. E.; Schellenberg, E. G. (2006).  Song recognition by children and adolescents with cochlear implants.  Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 49, 1092-1103.

The study makes a pretty solid case for the benefits of cochlear implants, as far as pitch recognition goes.  But, as for the ethical question posed above, there remains the question, "so what?"  Yes, cochlear implants allow the user to discern pitches.  But, do children with cochlear implants have affective experiences when exposed to music?  Are they able to experience the musical phenomenon or can they just identify its existence?

I am getting more in the habit of asking that question after reading a study: "so what?"  That is something my professor is really pushing us to do.  Doing so has prompted some interesting research questions of my own.  ( I am keeping a list, but I won't post my ideas here lest one of you try to poach them!)  I have had a few interesting questions come out of my Child and Adolescent Development class.  This week we discussed issues of over scheduling, and unstructured or free play as they pertain to children.  We also talked about multiple intelligences and learning types (auditory, visual, kinesthetic).  It turns out there is research out there that says these things aren't really things.  More to come on this topic.  I plan on reading a lot of this research.

Statistics: there is a test this week.  Pray for me.  Doesn't matter to which god.  I will take help from wherever it happens to come.

I learned something very important this week: when they post a sign on the front door of the school that says, "fire drill at 1:30pm on Wednesday," it might be important to put that in your calendar so you don't end up going to the bathroom and have to run out of the building, mid-number 2.  Just saying.

The Temple Prep Wind Ensemble is going to be an interesting journey.  The problems of my past have followed me to Philly.  The students can't read.  They are motivated to be there and enjoy playing their instruments, but they have no concept of rhythm.  I am trying to figure out how to balance rhythmic instruction with music rehearsal.  How much rote teaching am I willing to do?  How much theoretical work will end up discouraging the students?  I have to keep it fun, but I have to teach them as well.  I will let you know next week how I decide to handle this.

On a completely unrelated note, I made hard cider yesterday.  My roommate and I went apple picking and I bought freshly-pressed cider.  It is happily fermenting in my kitchen.  Look at it:

Watch it ferment:

Every bubble is sugars being digested and turned into alcohol and carbon dioxide by the yeast.  It should be ready by Thanksgiving.  That's right, family, I'm bringing Mitch Cider to Thanksgiving.  My OG (original gravity) reading was 1.074, which should get us somewhere around 9.5% or 10% ABV (alcohol by volume). 

I did not hurt myself playing flag football today.  Yay!  And we won!  Yay!  And the Ravens seem to have stomped on the Panthers!  Yay!  And the Steelers lost!  Yay!  It was a good day for football.

That is all for now.

Future Doctor Mitch, out!