On the value of good music. From an essay of mine: The first area of investigation is the nature of the repertoire put forth in the books and the band music. This repertoire seems to be very simple, and for the most part, rather disappointing and mediocre. With the exception of a few well written, beautiful pieces of music, the music is simplistic and shallow. It is there for pure entertainment; to fill in time in lessons and concerts. It makes no demands of the musicians or the audience; it provokes no thought; it leads to no feelings. When it touches on anything that resembles emotions, it does so by skimming the surface of them. The deep experience of human feeling is reduced to mere sentimentality. This, of course, simply reflects the unwillingness of today’s society to look below the surface of anything. Today’s society is concerned only with entertainment. Emotion is felt briefly, as a means of gaining a quick thrill. Because of this attitude, the very soul of humanity is dying.
--- Breathing is important! If you don't breathe, your sound will deteriorate, your phrasing will suffer, and you will die.
