my thoughts on PG Music's Band In a Box

My first encounter with Band In a Box a.k.a bb,biab was well over twenty years ago when I saw it used on a few gigs by local musicians. They dragged their desk top computers to their gig as they had bb installed on it. At the time it was simply midi but very useful for creating accompaniments quickly and easily using one of the several midi styles. There are the basic instrumentation tracks; bass, drums piano,guitar, strings, melody and soloist. Today, it's quite a bit evolved from my first bb which was, I think version seven. Yeah you guessed it, I became an expert at it after so many years of using it for my own professional use. I learned every aspect of the program, what it can do and what it can't.

The program is quite easy to use once you get the hang of it as all you need to do to get started with your first tune after the install, is to type in some chords, pick a style and click play or generate and the program does all of the rest for you. You don't need other musicians and having to deal with ego and personal problems. The best part is that the program will do exactly what you tell it to do instead of arguing with you. As a practicing tool, it don't get any better than this. The tempo can be slowed down to a crawl if need be without affecting the sound allowing the student to work at their own pace and speed gradually increasing it until they can play up to speed.

Today the program is quite sophisticated as there are more styles and audio files created by recording artists in all genres. They have come up with some great midi files also created by recording artists giving the midi files a less rigid sound. The audio files are awesome and the user has a choice of having the entire accompaniment played by recording artists. You can even have some great solos in your tunes, all real played by real musicians. Sometimes if need be one could learn to play one of the solos by following the notes, piano keyboard or the guitar fret windows and slowing down the tempo to what ever. There is even the option of a vocalist altho synthetic. All one needs to do is to write in the lyrics and press create and after a while you can hear someone singing.

There is nothing out there that comes close to bb nor its versatility. I still use it after all these years. I like the external hard drive as it saves me a lot of space, over eighty gigs, on my computer as the whole thing is installed on the external drive. I can literally take it anywhere and connect it to my lap top via USB.  Now is the best time to get your bb, that is if you are thinking about it, because they've just come out with a new version and since there are still a few bugs in it, the price is the lowest of the year. Bugs are usually fixed in their several updates/fixes which you will need to keep up with but perhaps the saving will make up for it. The initial cost if you don't already have bb will be a bit more than you might expect it to be but, I would suggest acquiring the least expensive one as they have several packages and then upgrade for a lot less later. To see what I mean, check out all of their prices and compare them. Here are a few links: http://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.htm

http://www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.packages.htm

inexpensive paint palette for acrylics

Artist stuff can end up costing one an arm and a leg. It's not cheap being an artist. As a newby and retired I'm always trying to save a buck or two. I was using plastic and foam plates for my palettes but often times there just wasn't enough room on one plate and had to use several for what I'm doing. They just took too much space already in a cramped area I'm working in. I decided to make my own palette, customized for me. It had to be lightweight and made from inexpensive material. It also had to last for at least a couple of paintings.

I bought couple of pieces of foam board (poster board with foam center), the stuff you can find almost anywhere that caries office supplies. I got mine at Dollar Tree. The boards were 20" x 30" and cost me a mere $1.00 each.

poster board with foam center

From the 2 boards I was able to make 4 15"x20" palettes large enough to handle plenty of paint by cutting each board in half.

poster board with foam sandwich

They are easy to cut-simply with scissors to your own custom fit. The thumb hole, I used a 1 1/2" hole saw added to my cordless drill. I could have just cut out a hole using a utility knife. Using my cordless and the hole saw made quick work out of it and a perfect hole to boot. The corners were rounded off using scissors. What I couldn't cut with my scissors, I used my utility knife.

Because the top layers on the boards are very thin, putting any kind of sealer on them will make the top layer come off and the palate will become too flexible, altho the foam will handle the paint easily. Just go ahead and use the new palate as is without a sealer. It'll work just fine. When I can't remove anymore paint off it, I just throw it away and grab another I had made earlier.

Here is a pic of one I've been using. I made it so that I can use both sides when I need to.

my first foam board paint palette

Here are a couple of other styles I also made for myself. The thumb hole was cut out for a distance comfortable for me.

foam board palette

foam board palette I made

 I decided to take this project a bit further and make one out of 3/16" luaun plywood. I went to my local lumber store and got me a piece of luaun 24"X24" . I drew out how I wanted it on the board and then cut it with a jig saw. It came out 16" x 22". A standard size would be about 16" x 20 1/2". Next I sanded all the corners with coarse sandpaper and then filed areas I couldn't get in with my sand paper block. I also took some steel wool size 000 to the top of it to smooth out. Once I got it cleaned off, I took some clear gloss oil base spray paint to both sides and let it dry. The paint has primer included. On the face of the palette I put about 4 coats and on the back side 2. The sides also got the clear coat. Here's what it looks like after I got it completed. It wouldn't hurt to use the steel wool before each coat for a smooth finish.

wood paint palette I made from luaun

paint I used to seal my wood palate

For added protection so that the acrylic paints won't dry onto my palette, I rub on some wax, any wax just to put something between the paint and my palette. Now it's ez to clean the palette for my next painting. All in all, the wood palette cost me a total of $15.00, if that to make. To buy one, I've seen them go for over $40.00.

an omen perhaps

So my fishing buddy and I decided to go on a one day fishing trip to Michigan. When I called him that morning to let him know I was on my way to his house, I just had this strange feeling that it wasn't going to be just another fishing trip. He was running late and asked me to wait ten minutes before coming over. Well I was already on my way so I decided to kill some time and take the long route. Of course when I got there he wasn't even close to being ready but at least his boat was hitched up to his mini van. About an hour later we finally got on the road. As we were headed down the road, I wanted to open my side window. Nothing happened, power windows, okay maybe the switch was bad. My buddy tried the switch on his side, didn't work either. It had to have worked earlier since his side was open. We tried all the switches, nothing, none of them seem to work, maybe blown fuse? We just kept going. Maybe some music was in order so let's try putting on the radio. Nope, didn't work either. That's weird. none of the electrics inside seemed to be working. The turn signals and brake lights are fine and so was the window wipers. The a/c worked so what's going on we wondered.

About an hour and a half of driving, we got into Michigan and decided to make a pit stop at the welcome center just on the other side of the state border. Things seemed okay and after the pit stop, we were on our merry way looking forwards to getting to our fishing spot. We still had another hours drive to the lake and traffic was pretty bad especially with road work. We were surrounded by semi's and trying to keep up with traffic at 65 mph. The next thing we hear was a loud thump and the mini van became hard to control. I looked behind us and noticed that the boat trailer had gotten loose and was no longer hooked up to the van. Sparks were flying everywhere as the front of the trailer was scraping asphalt at high speed. Oh SHIT I yelled out and then mu buddy saw what was going down. Truck in front of us, trucks to the right of us, a truck behind us and a barricade on the left. What to do? Start slowing down before things get real ugly. The trailer slammed into the van several as we slowed down. Thank goodness the trailer was still hooked up by the chains. Plenty of sparks flying everywhere. The truckers saw what was up and fortunately moved out of our way giving us plenty of space to get to the right shoulder. In the meantime the trailer kept slamming into the back of the van as we slowed down probably doing some serious damage back there. But our only goal was to get out of the way of these semi's and hope that there aren't any pot holes on the road. If the tongue of the trailer gets into a pot hole which was evident in the area from what I saw during a previous drive, the entire trailer with the boat on it could have flipped forward at the speed we were going. We could have been killed right then and there. My buddy was trembling, I was calm as I gave him directions on what to do. I didn't have time to be scared.

We finally got over to the curb in one piece and as the van came to a stop, I jumped out to see what we were into. My buddy who had been driving,still trembling, sat there for a while trying to chill down a bit. Yeah it was a hell of a ride. His 2O+grand boat was okay but the trailer showed  some damage. Nothing which prevented us from moving on, that's if, we could get the trailer hooked back up onto the van. The power wench for his boat was pretty damaged and we didn't know whether it was usable at all. The wiring harness which controlled all of the lights on the trailer was shot. Maybe I could fix that. The first thing we needed to do was to get the trailer hooked up. But it was way too heavy for even two old farts trying to lift it, so maybe his car jack would help. It was pretty tight under there but he somehow managed to get it to a spot and he started jacking it up. Well the first thing came into my mind was that the trailer was going to start rolling down the hill we on, without something behind the trailer tires. Luckily I found some pieces of wood and shoved them behind both tires as traffic flew by us. The only thing separating us was a white line. We couldn't get any further to the right due to another barrier so we were just a couple of feet from moving traffic, high speed that is.

After jacking the trailer high enough,we were able to rotate the trailer jack down which was on the side of the trailer and got her hooked up. It took me a bit of doing to repair the wire harness and make sure that all lights were firing up as needed. Another hour and a half was spent doing so and we were finally back on the road. We finally got to the lake and talked about how we were going to get the boat back on the trailer since the wench was just about destroyed. I noticed that the two wires red and black were just hanging there and began to wonder. Does it still crank, the motor on it didn't look cashed in? I did some clever wiring from a battery to the two wires and to my amazement it worked. Okay so now we are back in business. But alas, as my buddy went over to the boat motor to raise it and take out a support under it, there was no power. The damn battery is dead. Maybe we can jump it using the trolling motor batteries, so out came the jumper cables. But no luck there. Well, we could just use the trolling motor my buddy says as the winds started to pick up. But the batteries aren't fully charged and if they die out, how are we going to get back, by oar? No, that you left at home.

At this point in time our hopes of getting any fishing in was useless as the day was nearing to the end. Our best bet was to head on home, stop for some lunch/dinner, have a few drinks and call it a day. We did that. But wouldn't you know it, the windows and the rest of the electrics in the van now worked without any problems.

Locating Walleye on Lake Gogebic

As large as Lake Gogebic is, it can be a bit mind boggling in trying to locate walleye on the lake. September and October are a few of the best months to fish for walleye. If you like to use cranks on the lake like I do successfully, don't despair, it's really not rocket science. Yes I said crank for walleye! Cranking for walleye in the fall is a technique very few fisherman use this time of the year on this lake. I've done it successfully year after year for the last 35 years. Many years ago I discovered the hierarchy of the lake's specie= walleye, small mouth bass and northern pike.

If you take a small section of the lake and break it down into a lake within a lake, finding walleye is much easier. Take a good look at the shore line as this will give you some clues as to where to fish. If you notice any kind of points, major or minor ones, checking out the contour is a must. Find some weed and a drop off near by and you'll find fish. The drop off doesn't have to be a big one as I've caught walleye and SM bass even in 2 ft of water. That's right I said 2 ft of water. There was always a nice drop off just outside of the weed edge usually even if only a few feet. The weed edges consist of a secondary and major weed lines each with nice drop offs near by.

On Lake Gogebic, the winds usually come straight down the lake from the north or from the south and disperse in all directions in the middle sections. Sometimes it seems as if the winds are actually coming from the west on the east side instead of the north or south. If the winds actually come from the east, forget it, don't bother, do something else. In the 38 years of fishing the lake, I've never caught much during an easterly wind. It's possible but tough. Looking at the chop and seeing what direction its coming from, start searching by cranking in and around 7.5 ft of water. That's my starting point anywhere on the lake. I'm always facing the wind. If you happen to catch a northern pike, don't fret. I know they can be a hazard on your line but they give you a great fight. The reason you should be grateful that you found some northerns, is that small mouth and walleyes are near by.

Aside from the great fight SM bass will give you, if this is the first fish caught, is that walleye are even closer now as they can be found in and around the same spots just a few yards more, ahead. Sometimes you need to go much further into the wind to a location where a drop off is by finding a major weed line. I've caught walleye, huge ones 19-24 inch in water under 3 feet in a minor weed line around the 500 club but there was always a drop off to 5-6+ft near by. This was an exception and sometimes they are a reality here on the lake depending on the circumstances of what's below the water. If it looks like a good spot irregardless of depth on your depth locator, it's worth checking out!

Mostly, I find Northerns in weedy coves where they are foraging left overs from SM and walleyes. So they are always the last ones in line and the closest to the shore, inside a minor weed bed. Altho in some major points like the one at the Lone Oak Resort, they can hang out in 4-6 ft in the weeds. They may even hang out in the weed bed just south of the point in 7-9 ft of water. It depends on which way the wind is blowing. It's an area still well worth checking out thoroughly. Second in line, facing the wind are the SM bass. They like to hang around somewhere between the secondary and major weed lines close to a drop off. Ahead of the pack just waiting to ambush anything resembling food hidden in the weeds near by a major drop off, are the walleye. So all you have to do to remember the order they hang out in weeds near a drop off facing the wind/incoming wave, irregardless of exceptions are; #1 walleye, #2 SM bass and #3 northerns and if you come across anything other than walleye on your cast, remember that walleyes are just a few more yards ahead.

Now you just have to find the right color to throw at them for consistency. I've even figured that one out. Maybe I will reveal that info in a future post. Give cranking in weeds a shot and Good Luck!

average size weed walleye

a days catch in the weeds

a respectful size SM bass found in the weeds with walleye a few yards near by

fishing Lake Gogebic

I've been fishing Lake Gogebic in the upper peninsula of Michigan going on now for 38 years. I've fished the Walleye Jamborees in September for many a year, from 1999 to 2008 and won my share of moneys. It doesn't matter what section of the lake I fish, the results are usually the same. You could say that I'm consistent as I usually catch more fish than most. Yes, probably more than the locals.

My method is much different than everyone else's from June to late September. I've fished the lake when it was snowing in September with 2-3 inches of snow on the ground and the consistency is still the same. I've fished it the same way when there were 2-3 foot waves and the winds were howling and caught plenty of fish. I've caught small mouth bass, northern, crappie and yes walleye to boot all using the same method.

Trolling or using live bait is okay if you're looking for onesies and twosies, but I like to get my limit when I'm fishing rather than getting bored quickly. Okay already then, so what do I do that's different? Well, I'm not going to tell you the entire story because next time I'm out there, everyone is going to be on my spots. But, I will tell you this; start tossing crank-baits and blade baits in weeds at 4-8 feet of water. The colors you're going to have to figure out yourselves and same goes for the contour and points.

Summer times, it's going to be a bit tougher to catch walleye because of the bright intense light conditions. I usually use a jig or a Lindy-rig with a crawler and work a little deeper, 8-12' with rocky or rubble bottom. Be sure to attach a small treble trailer hook to the crawler because walleye during summer bite very light and most of the time you won't feel it. Keep moving. There has been times where I've just fished deep 18-23' and let the wind move me in which ever direction it was blowing. I'll go back to my cranks later in the evening after 7:00 P.M and work the weeds until dark.

Use dark colors at night. They're easier for walleye to see in the tea stained water especially if the moon is out. I prefer black with a little white on it. I carry a white marker and add a couple of white dots just behind the eyes of the lure. I like sinking lures like Rapala's count downs and often carry several. Before going up to the U.P. I will usually paint a few of them black and leave a bit of white or light grey behind the eyes if I plan on fishing late. I prep them at home so that the paint has enough time to dry and the paint odors disappear. Before throwing them out in the water I might spray the lure with a fish scent if they still smell of paint.  Unless the moon is out, it gets pretty dark out there and seeing anything is difficult especially on a cloudy night. You need a spot light to move around with, other wise it's easy enough to get lost on the vast lake.

My buddy and I were out there last week and fished the lake from Wednesday to this weeks Monday and I got my daily limit every day, even after the cold front moved in cranking the weeds. Boat control is a must especially in wind. I like to keep moving rather than dropping an anchor. The method is much like fishing for Large Mouth Bass. I like using six and eight pound mono on a light rod. The lures are 3/8 and 1/2 oz. I let the lure sink for 5 seconds, use a steady retrieve and stopping for a second or two. Fish will often hit on the drop. I've even caught walleye right at the boat. I'm talking about keepers like 17-20 inch walleye and 4-51/2 lb bronze-backs. My buddy was using the same lures and color as I and I out fished him 2-1. He was using 10 lb braided line and later changed to 14 lb mono on a medium weight pole. He didn't want to lose his lures and the fish and was overly cautious. Let's face it, 14 lb mono on a medium rod is not going to give you the same lure action and feel as a 6 or 8lb mono will on a light weight rod and reel. As for losing many lures? Very seldom do I lose a lure because of the line weight. If I do, it's because the tie failed. I've made it a habit to re-tie often and especially after catching a fish.

By our last day on the lake, we've filleted more fish than we expected and frankly we just didn't feel like dealing with them any more. Not only that but our freezer couldn't handle any more fillets so we threw what we had in our live well (3 walleyes between 16"-18"), back to fight another day. I wanted to give them to another fisherman not as lucky as we were, but there weren't any other fishermen around.

Below are some pix to show you what your results could be.

a typical bronze-back

caught this giant crappie in the weed

a 41/2 and 51/2 lb bronze-backs

a typical days catch of a mix of walleye and small mouth bass

my fishing buddy and I holding a double limit

paint manipulator

For the last five and a half decades I've been proud to call myself a professional musician. I paid my dues and therefore deserve the right. By dues I mean studying practicing hard and long, having plenty of ups and downs and getting paid in the end. I've also called myself many other things: carpenter, electrician, plumber, tile setter, woodworker and sport fisherman, just to name a few. I've worked very hard to earn those titles and got paid well for doing each and every one of them.

Recently, like July, I began painting. Painting, as in art and on canvas or whatever material I find useful. People tell me once they have seen my paintings that they are incredible and have a hard time believing that I've never painted before, until July. I've done about twenty paintings so far, each better than the previous, so they tell me. One of my musician friends said I should try painting, I'd probably be good at it too. One day I took him up on it and tried it. Now I'm hooked.

No matter how good my paintings might be, I can't come to call myself an artist. I don't feel that I've paid my dues. I haven't earned the right yet. I've never had any schooling for it, nor have I had to practice painting for years to get to where I am right now. I'm not hungry, nor am I poor. I certainly have not earned the title as far as I'm concerned until I actually sell one or two, if I'm lucky. I decided to simply call myself a paint manipulator for now.

me practicing paint manipulation

Here's a few of my recent paint manipulations.

tide coming in

rough seas

Canadian Rocky Mountains

Some wise guy asked me today if I had painted these by numbers. I told him no and showed him the backs of the paintings. I painted them on luaun plywood. They're all different custom sizes, what I had left over from previous remodeling jobs. Cutting down a full sheet of luaun using a utility knife is a hell of a lot cheaper than going out and buying individual stretched canvas pieces. For what I pay for a three pack, even at Walmart, for just a few more dollars for the cost of luaun, I can get a lot more out of the 4'x8' panel saving myself a lot of money. I just use a wood primer to seal it before beginning with the base coat. Even with a wood primer the cost is less than purchasing the canvas.

Okay so let me be perfectly clear

I'm a big believer in that everyone has some forms of hidden talent. The capability to do anything we set out minds to is there, just look for it. Some of us need a little more nurturing while for others, things just come out of no where. For me, it's finding an energy force to draw from that gives me the creativity whether musical, wood working, remodeling or my new found artistic abilities. I've never really painted anything on canvas before nor have I had any form of training. One day, I just decided to see how it might come out.

The last time I did any painting as an art-form was back in grade school. I am not an artist and the painting below was done merely as an experiment for kicks to see what might transpire. I've often wondered what I could do if anything using a paintbrush on canvas. I may pursue this a little more or not. This picture won't give you the effect of what I was striving for. That can be only seen and felt from viewing the actual piece of art or piece of crap. What ever you decide it might be.

Often times we are unable to discover hidden talents simply because we are too busy with out structured lives that society has created. Being on the run to get somewhere or to do something else has become our main focus in life. We don't have enough time to just relax and explore what's available deep inside. Let's face it most lack diversity in their lives.

Ah the old saying " multi talented but master of none ", is the biggest crock of shit I've seen. I've mastered keyboards years ago, recently the guitar and now I'm working towards the goal on flugelhorn. I've found hidden talents that I've begun to explore just in the last couple of years and I'm pushing 66. You might say to yourself, well he's a natural and a talented individual and things just come out easily. Fact is, I suffer from A.D.D. caused by the many concussions I had as a kid. I simply have it under control. Fact, I've always struggled and had to work twice as hard to get anything done. Concentrating on any task at hand has been extremely difficult. Practicing my music and trying to remember anything new, well sometimes it just ain't happenin'.

You too have hidden talents. Take some time out and find them. Find your energy source and discover your hidden self. Energy sources could be a special room or even an object that touches you. An energy source is something that makes you feel good and yet different from normal. It may just inspire you to try something totally different. No I'm not talking about weed or drugs! If it doesn't work out the first time don't worry about it. Have fun with it. My first wood working project was a joke but it developed as I went along. I learned from each one and everyone of the projects got better than the last.

Should I pursue this art thing more, I expect it too to develop more with each new painting.

me holding a painting I created

I call it "A Windy Day by the Shore"

practice in a corner

I spend a lot of my practice time in a corner. No it's not because I've been a bad boy. Most horn players know the value of facing a corner and practicing towards it. A player can hear himself much better since the sound is bouncing off two walls and right back at your ears. Whether one is working on tone control, scales or just some riffs it is a great place to find out how you are doing without having to record yourself.

Because I spend a lot of time in my corner, I made it a bit more interesting and added a painting on one of the corners. It didn't take a way from what I need to hear while at the same time, I wasn't staring at a blank boring corner. I thought about painting it different colors or even purchasing a mural  just to keep me interested and not get bored staring at the blank corner. Murals are fairly easy to install and the ones I've seen has a sticky back to them...peel and stick. Some have to be installed like wall paper but either way, it'll be a fun area to practice in. If you or someone you might know who is talented with a brush, ask them to paint you something in the corner.

Above is a video showing me playing a short jam in my special corner. The painting is one my sister had painted many years ago when I was learning to play the tenor sax. I found it hidden in the garage of my late parents home behind a fridge. The painting in the video is just one side as there is another on the backside equally good an interesting as the front....or is this the back and the other the front? Oh well what ever!

the letter

Hi sis,

I’m at the house in the Hts sitting on one of the rocking chairs I built for your outdoor table and chair set, writing this letter. They are all completed and I have to admit, they look pretty darn good and comfy.

I’m glad that you’re finally beginning to live a little rather than hiding in the house. There’s a whole world of amazing sites out there yet to be discovered. Not only that but it’s great for the soul. We all need something to do, places to go and things to look forwards to, otherwise we just sit there waiting to die.

My hive situation was over once I figured out what caused it. The culprit was cranberry juice. I noticed the hives come on again immediately after drinking some. I guess I’m allergic to the stuff…bummer. I prefer drinking it rather than other sugary drinks or even pop. Beer or wine is okay but one needs something else every so often. For the last few years, especially during the winter months, when I was drinking more cranberry juice, I began noticing a rash in several locations but never associated them with the juice, perhaps even with cranberries themselves. I love cranberries, especially home made cranberry sauce. It reminds me so much of lingon berries.

The plumbing situation although a bit difficult to muster, was resolved within two days of hard work. I never did dig yet due to all of this rain and heat. I don’t know if my arthritis could have handled it either but there will be a day in the fall where I’m going to have to just do it.

Creativity, whether artistic, musical or other supposedly comes within however, some of us need a kick in the ass every so often to trigger some sort of emotion to get the juices flowing. I find this true for myself especially in the past. For the last couple of years coming to the house here in the Hts and after creating my special area in the basement with natural cedar, colors of red, beige and browns, I find that I tend to feed off the positive energy. I have discovered talents in me I never knew even existed. I’m even contemplating on doing something on canvas. I’ve never done that or even tried but who knows how it’ll turn out. It will be fun to see. It’s hard to believe that I’m pushing 66 and I’m just now discovering new things about myself. I suppose it’s all because of this house.

I have a prospective buyer which I’ve been going around and around with all week. We’re in the process of negotiating the price. I am not looking forwards to selling, because I will not only lose my creative energy flow I absorb from this house, but a place to discover my potential and a place to create. I can’t do any of that at home. Unless I find another creative energy force to draw from, I suppose I will not find my full potential. That being said, I can definitely relate to your situation with art and having the lack of inspiration to do much in that respect. I’ve been lacking the same all week, knowing that everything will be lost, for now. Perhaps you too need a quiet place like mine to draw energy and the creative force to inspire from. Maybe even learn new things about yourself along with talents you never knew existed.

Simple color changes with different wood like cedar may be just what’s needed for that special place. It’s not expensive and the paint can be changed easily enough until you find the combo that works for you. I painted this basement twice to get the feel I wanted. Putting in the wood on the walls in a small area wasn’t rocket science and everything compliments each other, especially with the dark brown trim. For me, I could sit here for hours and the creative juices begin to flow. Not only that but the hassles and everyday B.S. just disappear. I think that as artists we need those natural tones of wood and colors in our every day lives to make us tick better. I know that you have wood in your kitchen and living room area and a new floor. But you have to say to yourself do you really draw energy from those rooms to the point where your creative juices flow daily? If the answer is no, maybe you need to create a place or change the colors in your existing one where you will and even at 68 can discover the hidden talent(s) that are hidden inside. Perhaps looking deep inside and asking yourself, what would make my creative juices flowing? What is it that I really want to see and then going with it is in order! 

a quick study

Learning to play a new musical instrument or even learning how to improve on an existing one isn't such a big deal and can be a lot of fun if you know how to do it. Unfortunately, music teachers using the traditional methods can become extremely boring and often times the student becomes discouraged and quits. I recently (Jan. 2015) began learning a new instrument, the flugelhorn, a cousin of the trumpet.

me holding a flugelhorn

Playing the trumpet wasn't really totally new to me since 40+ years ago I was introduced to it in music college and had to pass a proficiency test on it along with all of the other band and orchestral instruments before receiving my teaching and performance degree. But....that was 40+ years ago and about the only things I could remember were how to hold it, some fingerings and how to form the embouchure. Between the time I decided to begin the task of learning to play or should I say re-learning (Nov. 2014) and the point where I finally got a playable horn 2 months later (January 2015) all I did was buzz into a mouthpiece I had from the college days.

It really was like starting from the beginning but I decided that I wasn't going to go thru the traditional method of learning. Back in 2005, I started learning to play the guitar which took me about 9 months. I used a different method than what was taught to me which was similar to the Suzuki method. I tweaked it for myself and used a program called Band In A Box. I created a melody and solo using BB along with the accompaniment tracks, listened to it over and over and then began learning it. Fortunately, I read music and was able to follow the notes. For most part, I had to look up the fingering but once I got them it was a piece of cake, well kinda. I learned the parts by playing phrases. First by myself to get acquainted with the notes and then to the music which got me used to playing with a band right away.

I also added scales to my practice sessions using an accompaniment which made it more fun. For endurance and breath control I would hold the note of a scale at first 4 beats and worked my way up to 16 measures (64 beats). This also helped for tone development. Using this method helped me learn to play much quicker and made me sound like I've been playing the horn for years. More to come in the future on my quick learning.

I'm sure you're interested in finding out how this all sounds so below is a player and you can check it out yourself.

lefty

Back in the beginning of March, I almost cut my right index finger off using a table saw. I'm not new to power tools and have used them since the early 1980's. I simply got overconfident and as I took my eyes off the project at hand for just a second or two, things could have been much worse. I suppose that my age had something to do with it as well and the concentration is just not there any longer.


Here's what I wrote on a music site blog after it happened: I had a run in with a brute yesterday. In his defense for 30+ yrs I've been manipulating him for my own selfish goals. Ever since the brute started getting older and older like myself and as my old friend also started breaking down with age and use, many a strong word had been said. Yesterday was no exception, I was using my friend, again for personal gain as I had been for so many years and when things just didn't go my way, out came some very harsh negative words and apparently my old friend just got pissed off and gave me an upper cut where it mattered.

Well, I have to say that there was a lot of blood involved and I had to seek medical attention, not that I'm that weak or frail. I'm sure that eventually the bleeding would have stopped. Perhaps had I not have taunted my old friend and push it to it's limits, things may have been a little different.

Unfortunately, picking a fight with a power tool such as a table saw while it was running as in my case, was a poor choice. I'm in no pain and seem to feel okay after the incident but came to a conclusion that wiping my ass now is going to be quite challenging.

The finger is healed up and the nail has regrown back to about 99%. There are no scars on the finger even tho I lost most of the skin and some meat from the finger. Half of the nail had been ripped out. Oddly, I was never in any pain until I bumped my finger or used it for anything. I had a feeling that there might be some damage to the nerves since two years earlier I had a situation where I almost cut my middle finger of my left hand off using a hack saw. There is definitely some nerve damage in that finger and playing guitar or keys has been a bit challenging in that respect.

In using the index finger of my right hand, I'm having the same problems as with my middle finger of my left hand so I can assume that it too has some definite nerve damage. There is a very strong pricking feeling at the tip of the fingers as I touch anything so even tho they are healed the severe pain has begun.

But you know me, it won't stop me from trying to play nor will it stop me from my woodworking projects. I try to work around it and move ahead. As a matter of fact the flugelhorn/trumpet's coming along nicely and another woodworking project has been completed.

Save big on your next woodworking ptoject

If you're an avid woodworker like I am, then you probably know that material for new projects can get expensive. Going out and buying lumber isn't cheap these days no matter where you buy it, whether it's on sale or not. I've done hundreds of projects and if I would have gone out and purchased material for them at a lumber store, it would have cost me thousands just for wood alone.

To save some bucks, I will use some used lumber. As long as the wood isn't dry rotted or have lead paint on it I will use it. I keep a good stock pile of used wood, some even with nails or screws still in them and when I'm ready to do a project, which is always right after I finish one. (It's like that with me...one project right after another as I'm always asked to make something for family or friends.) I'm always happy to oblige as long as it doesn't cost me a lot of money for wood, I'm retired and a cheapskate. You have to be since a sufficient amount of income is no longer there. I've had to figure out ways to cut down on expenses

Last spring, I helped my daughter re-build her deck using cedar. Not only did I keep some of the better treated deck boards, I saved the cut pieces as well. I also visit sites where new homes are being built and collect pieces of plywood and cut up lumber. I can pretty much pick and choose the bigger pieces as they would be taken to the land fill anyway or burned. Another way I accumulate my stockpile is driving by houses on garbage days. People are always throwing out good wood whether stained or painted. Most of them have nails still in them or nail holes, but for me that's not a problem.

I'm not afraid of a little elbow grease in cleaning used wood. Filling in nail holes is no biggie either. By the time I cut them up and use them on a project the holes are hidden. If the wood is weathered, I just sand them down. Most of the old wood is simply dirty and wet and just needs a little cleaning and drying out. I often find little cracks, especially in treated wood. If the cracks don't go all the way thru, I just use the other side. I will either stain or paint the wood and then cover it with several coats of polyurethane, outdoor type if the projects ends up for outdoors.

By now you're probably wondering how these projects look after using used/old wood. Below are just a few of my recent projects. Every one of them were created using either old decking or pieces I picked up from discarded material.

my stockpile of old used wood

a starting piece for the Adirondack chairs just below

Adirondack chairs and a pie shaped table from used wood

this outdoor table and chair set were made from discarded lumber

This rocker and table was made from used wood

this birdhouse was made from used wood

this birdhouse was also made from used wood

these birdhouses were made from discarded old weathered wood

this masterpiece birdhouse I created for a friend, was mostly made from both weather-beaten  lumber and discarded material I found next to a garbage can

Kicking it up a notch or two

I'm a musician that needs a challenge or two to get my rocks off. I pretty much thrive on creative challenges whether in music or in other aspects in life. When I can't seem to get it musically, I find it in other areas. One aspect of creativity in my life has to do with woodworking. It's still something where I can learn from my previous works. I'm not saying that I can't learn anything new from music but after 5.5+ decades of being a musician, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of new creative ideas any more in any of the genres let alone jazz that has kept me challenged for most of my musician career.

I have no idea where this creative form of woodworking came to me from. I built some cabinet speakers for my guitar amp way back when I was a teen ager. I did get involved with remodeling in the 80's and about 5 yrs ago built a toy box for my grandson. But, nothing was ever so intriguing and fun to do until an elderly neighbor lady asked me to build her a simple bird house. When I was finished with it a few hours later, I told her that I would build her something a little more elaborate when I had a chance. After that everything just seemed to fall in place as I built one complicated bird house and then another. Before I knew it I had built about a dozen, each being more complex than the previous one. I had learned something new and had the balls to try something different when something didn't workout the first time. That's the way I learned to play jazz. When one thing doesn't work, you try something different until you find something that works. Anyway, those few bird houses got me started in building outdoor furniture which became another source for creativity.

When I was a re-modeler I learned to go with the flow. There were times when a job would be so difficult and to get things done, I had to fight my way thru because, things just didn't workout as it was supposed to according to the plans given to me. I learned to listen to the house because it would tell me what it needed and how to do it. Using that idea, the jobs went much easier and the job came out better than the original plan. In music, I began using the same idea, letting the music lead me in the direction it wanted to go. To do that, you need to listen to it, no...I mean really listen to it closely. Listen to the chord structure and the melody and then let it take you where it wants to go. Don't fight it. It's just not worth the effort and it'll sound like crap.

Ever wonder what a bird house would look like that cost over $2,000.00? I built one for a friend of mine which would go for about $2,400.00. Yeah, it's definitely an art form and if I was being paid by the hour for my efforts like in a real job, I would still only make under $12.00 an hour. The, and we'll call it a miniature, work began on April 1st and was completed April 27. That's 27 straight days of work between 8-10 hrs a day continuously only taking bathroom breaks and lunch. Power tools would perhaps make the job a bit faster but there were so many small cuts involved that power tools were pretty much useless. Everything had to be cut by hand, either a hand saw (mini) and/or a utility knife. The wood in question was cedar. I love the look of cedar and it handles weather better than most woods..

After I built the basic box, I could now add the rest of the components of the house. You see, it was pretty cut up. It was not a typical box house. I glued strips of wood (cedar) over the 3/4" wood to create a siding look and then painted it.  When I got to the roof, I decided to frame it out using wood strips I had cut for it with a utility knife. The roof sheathing I used was lauan. Lauan is a 3/16th" plywood that withstands weather pretty well also. Mostly it's used for a flooring underlayment. I used it because it was light enough and easy to cut with a utility knife. All pieces were glued using a waterproof white outdoor glue. When it came to shingling the roof, I made my own. There are many other factors also involved in building a $2,400.00 miniature which I won't reveal at this time but I assure you that the completed miniature/bird house is pretty f'in cool. Here's some pics that don't do justice to it but does show how cool it really is.

here I am with the  miniature

this shows the front of the house in an outdoor setting. notice the brick look. the green stuff is grass

side view

here's the back with a cedar deck and a screened in room

 you can see here how I laid out the roof with different length wood strips glued together

Mae or my mistress

The closer I got to her, the more I began to tremble. I hadn't seen her in months as I had been cheating on her and just wanted to re-connect. The first time I saw her was back in 1967. She was a natural blonde with curves to die for. But, she belonged to my best friend. Her name was Mae. I couldn't keep my mind off her. I dreamed about her night and day.

It wasn't until a couple of years later that my best friend went to fight in Nam. He asked me to take care of Mae while he was in the army. It was my chance to be with her for the next few years and wasted no time trying to please her. I took her to my place where we could get better acquainted. It wasn't long until I learned to push the right buttons and excite her to make some pleasurable sounds. Oh there were many buttons.  I played with her knobs twisting and turning them to the right and left and got her just where I wanted her. It was a combination of things that really got her going. She was now mine for life. We had many years of great memories and traveled together.

Not too long ago, I began cheating on her, not because she got too old or didn't interest me any longer, it was due to my own inadequacies. I was simply getting old and pleasuring her became much more challenging. I needed something less complex and less demanding to fulfill my own needs.

My mistress had a few curves also and made some sweet sounds after pushing some of her buttons but she was cold. It would take me sometime to get her to warm up. As I placed my lips on her, she felt cold and clammy like a stainless steel counter-top or a sink. She had no knobs for me to play with and only 3 buttons that got her excited enough to make her squeal with pleasure. But when she did, oh the sounds were so sweet. She became more demanding as time went on where even my lips would get tired from her. There were times where I didn't want to go near her because she was just too much work. She was one of those high maintenance broads that we could do less of. But, I learned to accept her the way she is and decided to keep her anyway.

As for Mae, there's always that special bond I have for her. I dream and think about her often. No she wasn't my first, but she was the one that gave me the most pleasure just to be around her let alone playing her.

So I finally got enough nerve to take Mae into my arms, push some buttons, turn a few knobs and find out she needed some new strings. They were wore out and out of tune. Of course I'm talking about my guitar, Mae=maple. The guitar is made of maple with a natural finish.  As for my mistress? My flugelhorn of course. Who or what did you think I was talking about?

It's never too late

to learn to play a musical instrument. Granted, after a certain age when arthritis sets in,playing an instrument that requires dexterity with all ten fingers may slow you down. You probably won't become a professional but who says that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. I know plenty of older folks who has just recently begun learning to play. Focusing on a new venture in music will certainly keep your mind alert and that bad Alzheimer's far away. Music alone is challenging enough with all those staves, clefs, time signatures, key signatures and not to mention all those notes where you need to use math, let alone learning fingerings, breath control, tonguing and what ever else is involved with specific instruments. Yup, learning to play is definitely a way to go at any age. It even makes you smarter, so I've been told and experienced.

Yeah, I learned to play the accordion at an early age, but I wasn't any good at it. Like any instrument, one needs to learn to focus on the important aspects of learning instead of just trying to make noise, thinking that one is actually accomplishing something. My problem was that I just couldn't focus on anything. There was a lot of other things going on in my head as I was learning the accordion. Several concussions didn't help the matter and hindered my learning process for years.

At 17, I wanted to play the guitar and forced myself to focus on the important aspects of guitar playing but never really go serious with it so after a few years I gave it up. Music college helped me to understand my problems with learning in general. Learning to play other instruments in college helped me  focus on what is most important when sitting down to a practice session. From there I became a music educator and a clinician. I also played other keys like piano and organ professionally and traveled extensively doing gigs and clinics.

When I turned 50, my mind just changed. All I wanted was more input. It was as if I had this great thirst for knowledge which I lacked during my younger days had dominated my life. I wanted to learn stuff I never would have imagined doing as a kid. Around the age of 55-56 I decide that it was time to get back to my guitar. This time it was different. Although I still had some focus issues, I managed to sit down and do very well on the guitar. Here I am at 65 and am learning to play the flugelhorn. Yes, the arthritis is problematic but not as bad as it is on the guitar and keys. I still play them all as the arthritis allows. I also focus on other endeavors when the fingers ache so bad and can't move them as fast.

My point is that focusing on the key aspects of learning any musical instrument can be very rewarding. You may not become as good as me but you will enjoy the ride irregardless. Take a listen to the tune called " a mile high", I play keys, guitar and flugelhorn. I had to use a shallow cup mouthpiece to get the high notes on the flugelhorn.

Am I just wasting my time?

Is what people ask me often these days. Obviously they are asking me about their own endeavors. In the past 57 years as a musician and a multi instrumentalist for about 40 the thought of wasting my time has never come to mind.

Learning to play a new musical instrument is a huge challenge and I've always looked at it straight on with the intent of beating it. I love a good challenge whether it be a musical one or something in my life such as a project of some sort. I remember not too long ago, 2005, I decided to pick up the guitar. Up-to this point my main instrument were keys. I locked myself into a room for 9 months and practiced 6-8 hours daily. When I learned to play adequately enough, I came out.

How did I do it? I made myself goals; daily, weekly, monthly and a six week one (short, intermediate and long term) and followed it. Most young players getting ready for a practice session have no agenda. They just begin playing, hoping for a miracle. I on the other hand had a plan for each session and stuck to it. I didn't just play around practicing what I already knew. Although every day had a review time of my previous sessions. I spent anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour reviewing. Next, I spent another 30 minutes working on scales and another 30 on chords. Now after about an hour and a half to two hours, I was ready to learn to play to an accompaniment track and try to put what I had learned into practice. I used Band In A Box for my accompaniment tracks. Back then it was all midi unlike these days where audio tracks are used. I played my scales along to the accompaniment and then worked on improvisation. Before I knew it, six-eight hours have passed and I was pumped looking forward to my next session. My sessions didn't all go very smooth and there were times when I had to re-think and try a different approach.

The point is that I was never discouraged or frustrated because I wasn't moving forward. Every day was a new fun learning experience. So the next time you get frustrated because you are not moving forward like you want, maybe, you better look closer at your practice session to find the answer.

BIAB really comes in a tiny box

As I continue practicing and improving daily with Band In A Box (BIAB,bb), I'm only re-confirming that it's due to having the ability to play to accompaniment tracks. Without it, I could create my own midi tracks for accompaniment but there's nothing like having a real band playing right behind you rather than some hoaky sounding midi files and I would undoubtedly get bored fairly quickly.

I've turned many of my musician colleagues onto bb and they all agree with me that it's an invaluable tool to practice with. They all use it even tho they have been playing for over 4.5 decades. No, I don't have anything to do with PG music and never will. Yes there are things about bb that just gets my goat and frustrates me so much. But, I've learned to overcome my hostilities towards it and take it for what it is.

I just can't understand why anyone learning to play a musical instrument or someone interested in improving themselves don't have this in their arsenal. You don't even have to install the program onto your computer. It comes on a tiny hard drive with way over 100gb of space already to go right out of the box (hd). All you have to do is plug it in to your laptop or computer, install the PG music fonts along with a couple of soft synths like the Coyote or Roland VST/DXi synth or IK Multimedia's Sample tank and go to town on it. Everything else (Real Tracks, Real Drums) comes right out of the little hard drive. A program called Real Band also comes with bb. The program is similar to Cakewalk with less bells and whistles but it allows you to record your own several tracks or include the ones from bb. You can cut and paste to make your own custom arrangements. I don't use it as I have a much more sophisticated one on my desktop for my studio work. For someone just learning home recording the Real Band will get you on the right track.

Here's the setup I use when practicing. As you can see, there's not too much involved.

my practice set up 1

I had a couple of old Roland studio monitors which I plugged in to the headphone outlet of my lap top. Sometimes I'll just use some headphones instead. That mini hard drive just left of my lap top is band in a box. I can take the program anywhere my lap top goes. I purchased the program with the mini drive because if I had downloaded everything that's on the drive, about 80 gb of files, it would have taken me days to download it all. Not only that but my lap top just didn't have all that space left available.

that mini drive just left of my lap top is Band In a Box

Not only do I create backing tracks for scales and exercises, I have about a 100 fake books that have accumulated throughout the years and all I have to do is to punch in the chords into bb, click on any of the hundreds of styles and within seconds, I have a backing track for that song. If I wanted to have a melody along with it to play along with, all I have to do is to copy the notes like in the book and click play. Here's a link to find out more about bb. http://www.pgmusic.com/

Since Band in a Box is such an integral part in my learning to play the horn and since I am quite versed in the program, I will be including it with each new post.

Band In A Box is it worth the money?

Not too long ago I deleted a blog I created called "BIAB Under Glass" and the number one question was, is it really worth all that money to plop down for what seems to be a mediocre program for kids? Well, it all depends on what you want it to do and how well you know the program. I learned the program inside out, learned the positives and the negatives of it. I've used it for years and still do.

If you are looking to do something complex musically with it, it's not for you. If you want to create some backing tracks like I did for my guitar solos, which are on the player above, and want to keep them in a pop format, then yes, go for it. If you are a single act or a duo looking for some backing tracks for your gigs, it can do that. If you want to use it as a learning tool, it's one of the best I've seen. Back in the late 2005 when I decided to learn the guitar, I used biab a.k.a bb to expedite my learning. I created scales and then had bb re-harmonize the notes and create chords for them. Back then they didn't have the Real Tracks and Real Drums like they do these days and I simply practiced to the midi it was known for. The last time I was at PG Music site (creator of BB) the real tracks and real drums files went beyond 80gigs. Real tracks and real drums are exactly that, they have studio musicians create 64 bar recordings in various key signatures and the program slices and dices phrases created to fit into the chord progression you create. There are literally hundreds of different styles and instruments that make up the real tracks.

Lets say you want a rhythm section for your practice session, You can pick out a style that is preset for drums, bass, guitar, keys and or strings. If you want to create your own rhythm section that too is an easy task. The basic track set up for the instruments are bass, piano,rhythm guitar, drums, strings, melody and solo. Any of the 7 tracks will accept any instrument not necessarily for the one it's named for. The drum track however is dedicated for drums altho another instrument can be substituted for drums but then you won't have drums.

BB can play in any tempo and any key. Since most of the tracks show the notes (what they call charts) it's easy to follow along at any speed. I like it when I'm learning new parts because slowing down the tempo or speeding it up without affecting pitch is a piece of cake. The program is so sophisticated that it makes practicing fun. You get hooked on it and before you know it, you just spent 4-5 hours practicing with it like I did earlier in the day. BB also comes on a small external drive with the program pre-installed and can be taken anywhere making it a true band in a box.

When I was a music teacher in a local music store, I insisted that each of my students have some form of Band In a Box because I could simply transfer the lesson from my computer to theirs via thumb drive. This eliminates the use of books and staff paper. The student can practice along to the backing tracks I created for him/her specifically. The student learned much faster using this method rather than the old. BB had an option where you could just buy the basic program using midi cutting down on the initial cost of the program. You could later upgrade to the real tracks and drums for a reduced price.

BB comes in Windows an Mac. If you are a beginner, intermediate, advanced or even a pro (like many of my friends) it's a great tool to work with. What instrument or style you might play, makes no difference. Altho bb is more geared to jazz, country, blues and rock there are many others and new ones come along with each new version.

If you're interested in finding out more about Band In a Box , here's their link.

http://www.pgmusic.com/