For my fieldwork project, I will dive into the classical saxophone culture.  Not many people perform or participate in classical saxophone, so I think it would be an interesting topic to explore.  I myself play classical saxophone.  The music is very interesting to me, and I also enjoy playing it, so I can contribute personal experience to this project.  Also, I can interview my saxophone teacher because he got his PHD in classical saxophone at one of the top schools in the country.  He will be able to tell me about the conservatory style culture with classical saxophone and how top people in the world play and teach the instrument.  I would like to look at how classical saxophone has expanded, especially people’s sounds and interpretations.  Then, to add more detail, I can compare the sounds of people from different countries around the world.  This will show the style of sound that each culture appreciates more.  Also, I can look at the variance of the saxophone music and find some trends.  I haven’t looked into that topic too much yet, but there should be some interesting findings.  Also, it is very interesting how everyone in the classical saxophone world knows each other.  There is a really big community across the world with saxophone.  Every few years, there is a classical saxophone association conference where people from across the world come to perform and interact with each other.  I can also research this conference.   This field is extremely interesting because there is so much that most people just don’t know about, and they should learn about it.

In the past 24 hours, I didn’t listen to much music.  I had wind ensemble, so I heard all of the songs we played there.  We played a couple marches, an overture, and my solo piece for alto saxophone and band.  I also heard my friend play his harmonica.  We played blues on guitar and I watched some videos of Queen songs on the voice.  I listened to a broad variety of music the past 24 hours.  There are no places where I hear weird music, but I do hear lots of weird sounds at the South 40 Gym.  Below is a list of the noises I heard.

            The sound of the water fountain splashing on people’s lips as they try to drink.

            The sound of weights dropping on the ground.

            The sound of feet landing on the treadmills as they continue to run.

            The sound of sweaty people grunting as they struggle to complete another rep.

            The sound of my friend Matthew Montanile making monkey noises while trying to do a pull up.

            All of these noises would repeat themselves over the course of half an hour.  These noises are important.  If my eyes were closed and I had no idea where I was, I would be able to recognize my location within a few minutes of hearing these sounds.  They are very distinguishable gym sounds.  They cover all the different aspects of the gym: cardio, strength, the struggle, and the hydration.  This also shows how in such a short time, a wide variety of sounds, even at a small place, can be heard.

For as long as I can remember, music has been a very important part of my life.  Today, I play saxophone in jazz band and wind ensemble, and I do piano lessons as well. I practice almost every day during my spare time and try to take as many music opportunities as possible.  One of my two majors is also in music, more specifically saxophone performance.  My musical beginnings however were not anything close to how I am now.  When I was five, I started playing guitar.  I remember wanting to play music from the Wiggles all the time.  As a little child, I was obsessed with that show.  When I was six, I started to play piano.  I only did it because my brother, who was four at the time, was playing piano. I was purely classical on piano, and still am.  However, when I played saxophone, I started to branch out and play music from different cultures as well.  For all four years of high school, I was in a Latin Jazz ensemble and a Dixieland ensemble. These ensembles taught me more about the music of other cultures, which actually ended up making me a more well-rounded musician.  I started playing classical saxophone more seriously the beginning of last school year. I learned lots of different classical saxophone pieces and got into Peabody Conservatory.  Classical saxophone music is very different from all other instruments’ music, and each composer of classical sax music varies from each other as well.  This helps me learn all styles of music that were written to sound like they were from a different era of music.  I also play in lots of ensembles.  Playing in these ensembles is a good way to connect with people who appreciate the same kind of music that I do.  If they did not have a passion for the music, they would not be playing in that ensemble. Finally, I love playing music because it is another way for me to express feelings and emotions.  I can do that through my playing, and in fact they will be conveyed clearer than with words.  I am very happy with my musical situation now, and I hope music continues to be a big part of me for the rest of my life.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton