I was working with Nicky on the bass clarinet solo he has for the sixth grade concert this afternoon. As we made our way through some tricky measures with, zoots alors, sixteenth notes, I got to thinking, "Making music is hard. Making beautiful music in sixth grade is almost impossible." Nicky has a good sound in the lower registers of the bass clarinet but his sense of rhythm could be better. That’s when it hit me Music is a verb, an action verb.

So we hammered on the solo for about a half hour. Over and over again, with the metronome ticking merrily away. The we worked on another piece of music that the band will be playing. After the lesson I showed Nicky the solo that I had been trying to transcribe (with the help of my sax teacher who did most of the work). We listened to the solo on CD and then listened to how it sounded when I played it.

I often wonder what would have happened if my grandpa had been a musician and worked with me. At the elementary school level most of the the music is very pedestrian. But it is challenging for the child and so easy to make sound good. Then there is the thought that if I’d become a better musician, maybe I wouldn’t have gone into business and been as successful as I have been. Music is a very tough profession to make a good living in.

Also there is the considerations about if your hobby becomes your job, will you not enjoy playing as much. I’m guessing the answer is yes, but then my experience are based upon me being a hobbyist. Nicky and I finished off the two hour session by playing chess. All in all it was a very enjoyable afternoon.