OK, so this new "Boy Wonder"...............

[windshieldbug]

I'll be danged if I'll allow chair try-outs between myself and a middle school student.

Aw, come on! Crush the little sucker like a bug!

[SplatterTone]

Rub the mouthpiece in poison ivy.

[Doug@GT]

Rub the mouthpiece in poison ivy.

And then it just happens that the kid is allergic to poison ivy and dies, and poor Schlepp gets schlepped off to jail.

Doug "would prefer Schlepp not to have to use TubeNet-on-a-rope"

[Tom Mason]

I refrained from posting until now because I wanted to see where this would go, so here it is............................

If your music minister has the intellegence that he/she should have, then they know the score already. A brief talk with them should help solve the situation.

If the minister does nothing about the situation, then maybe its time to consider trying to form a small quintet/group out of the upper level players and do something in parallel with the orchestra.

Hopefully, the minister will address the kid. The kid needs to realize that he is being a destructive part of the group. No matter how he feels about playing in church, a participant should never be a negative in a positive situation. As a church music minister, I would remove a person who is being a negative influence in the group. Yes, I would try to get the kid to change his/her ways, but there is a point that one's behavior will cause others in a group to falter. When that point is reached, action needs to happen.

As for your participation, hang in there. (Not trying to preach here) There are times when outside influences will try to keep you from a worship experience. The kid may not know it, but he might be a tool to keep you from a worship experience. On the other hand, he might be the way for you to be a positive influence in someone's life, even though its not obvious now. Whatever you do, don't give in to being driven away from your service in worship.

If it helps, I have driven away from participation in worship before, and I regret the times I didn't take a firmer stand.

Hope this helps.

Tom Mason

[Joe Baker]

I refrained from posting until now because I wanted to see where this would go, so here it is............................

If your music minister has the intellegence that he/she should have, then they know the score already. A brief talk with them should help solve the situation.

If the minister does nothing about the situation, then maybe its time to consider trying to form a small quintet/group out of the upper level players and do something in parallel with the orchestra.

Hopefully, the minister will address the kid. The kid needs to realize that he is being a destructive part of the group. No matter how he feels about playing in church, a participant should never be a negative in a positive situation. As a church music minister, I would remove a person who is being a negative influence in the group. Yes, I would try to get the kid to change his/her ways, but there is a point that one's behavior will cause others in a group to falter. When that point is reached, action needs to happen.

As for your participation, hang in there. (Not trying to preach here) There are times when outside influences will try to keep you from a worship experience. The kid may not know it, but he might be a tool to keep you from a worship experience. On the other hand, he might be the way for you to be a positive influence in someone's life, even though its not obvious now. Whatever you do, don't give in to being driven away from your service in worship.

If it helps, I have driven away from participation in worship before, and I regret the times I didn't take a firmer stand.

Hope this helps.

Tom Mason

The hands down winner, in my opinion.
__________________________________
Joe Baker, who was thinking the same thing, but could have never put it so well.

[Mark]

Okay,

I've thought about it and I've decided to make my contribution to a solution. Tell the kid that the next rehearsal will be out at Pantex and that as a joke he should sneak in over the fence.

[Mark]

*for those who are not familiar with "Pantex"

http://www.pantex.com

I'm not kidding, this is their motto:

Maintaining the safety, security and reliability of America's nuclear weapons stockpile.

[Kevin Hendrick]

*for those who are not familiar with "Pantex"

http://www.pantex.com

I'm not kidding, this is their motto:

Maintaining the safety, security and reliability of America's nuclear weapons stockpile.

Appropriate -- he seems to think he's hot stuff!

[ThomasDodd]

On the other hand, he might be the way for you to be a positive influence in someone's life, even though its not obvious now.

Given that this is a church orchestra, I must agree with the above. Contrary to the other suggestions of moving on to another group, or it not being your place to correct this behavior, it is your (and the rest of the congregations's) responsibility to do so.

Oh, if you can find anyway at all to attend a rehersal where he is playing alone I'd do so. Take a tape recorder and spend the entire time commenting on his performance, like a contest judge would. Then give him and his teacher and/or school director each a copy.

That way you have his actuall playing recorded and the comments together. No way to deny what's on tape* and the problem with it. Just commenting at the end of a piece about a probelm in the middle leaves too much room for denial.

* My son (when he was 7) tried to deny video tape though. After attempting to correct flaw in his taekwondo form, and his constan denial of what his mother and I saw, we reverted to using video to prove it. Still he tried to claim the camera lied! but eventually it worked, and he got much better about being corrected.

[TubaRay]

I refrained from posting until now because I wanted to see where this would go, so here it is............................

If your music minister has the intellegence that he/she should have, then they know the score already. A brief talk with them should help solve the situation.

If the minister does nothing about the situation, then maybe its time to consider trying to form a small quintet/group out of the upper level players and do something in parallel with the orchestra.

Hopefully, the minister will address the kid. The kid needs to realize that he is being a destructive part of the group. No matter how he feels about playing in church, a participant should never be a negative in a positive situation. As a church music minister, I would remove a person who is being a negative influence in the group. Yes, I would try to get the kid to change his/her ways, but there is a point that one's behavior will cause others in a group to falter. When that point is reached, action needs to happen.

As for your participation, hang in there. (Not trying to preach here) There are times when outside influences will try to keep you from a worship experience. The kid may not know it, but he might be a tool to keep you from a worship experience. On the other hand, he might be the way for you to be a positive influence in someone's life, even though its not obvious now. Whatever you do, don't give in to being driven away from your service in worship.

If it helps, I have driven away from participation in worship before, and I regret the times I didn't take a firmer stand.

Hope this helps.

Tom Mason

The hands down winner, in my opinion.
__________________________________
Joe Baker, who was thinking the same thing, but could have never put it so well.

I agree 100%

[ThomasDodd]

Right out front of the administration buildings is a small rectangular section of land that's surrounded by a very tall heavy chain link fence and topped with some of the nastiest looking razor wire I've ever seen. In the center of this is a guard tower. There's nothing visible inside the fence except the tower. This leads me to believe that there's something REALLY sensitive under that particular bit of turf. I figure if a man really wanted to committ suicide, that would be the place to drive straight into.

Now what good is an unprotected guard tower?
Should have some bullet proof material too, so the guy up top don't get picked off by a sniper.

Still, could be some interesting stuff under though....

[SplatterTone]

The tower is just a decoy. The good stuff is in the trunk of that old Studebaker Commander up on blocks outside the fence.

[Kevin Hendrick]

The tower is just a decoy. The good stuff is in the trunk of that old Studebaker Commander up on blocks outside the fence.

You don't suppose ... nah, couldn't be York #3 ... could it?

[Kevin Hendrick]

The tower is just a decoy. The good stuff is in the trunk of that old Studebaker Commander up on blocks outside the fence.

You don't suppose ... nah, couldn't be York #3 ... could it?

I dunno, but it's got bullet holes all over it.

Well, shoot ...

[Tom Mason]

There are plenty of "deer gun" rounds that would be respectable in a 2 barrell auto set-up.

Get some small bore high verlocity belted magnum round like a 7 mm or .264 magnum. The bullets would hit before the sound got there.

Tom Mason

[MaryAnn]

This kid didn't happen to just move recently from, say, the Dallas area, did he? He seems very familiar....

Ken F.

Naw, the "Master" has always lived here. I'm told that his parents are also the types who are "never wrong". Apparently this is an inherited trait.

Jumping in before I finish the thread....you have demonstrated my concept of Original Sin. Wherby the sins of the grandparents are visited upon the offspring; as in, sneer at them young enough and they will develop such a case of insecurity that they, too, will be driven to sneering. It takes much maturity to get over that, and most won't develop it until it is too late for their own offspring.

MA

[Leland]

Back on topic --

During one semester of band, the euph section was myself and a fairly bad player. Well, she wasn't really bad, she just wouldn't play beyond her own seat. I sat to her right and I could barely hear her.

Anyway, I once flat out missed a day (not on purpose, either!). When I came back the next day, everyone who saw me said, "Oh my God, we missed you yesterday!" Even the other euph player said so.

[Leland]

so...

...Were you fairly better or fairly worse?

Heh...

I was pretty good. That semester, too, was where I had to learn how to apply circular breathing to actual performance.

[Tom Mason]

Don't think about this as passing the buck to the music minister. The person in that position is responsible for such decisions and communications.

I can say that because I don't depend on my job as a music minister for my daily bread. I have two other jobs that I can draw on. I would say, however that I would say something to the kid if my daily bread did depend on that job.

I guess I look at the situation as I would if I were his band director. The buck stops somewhere, and if my name is attached to the success or failure of the group, then I have to make the choices. I would rather make the decision and live with the results as opposed to not saying anything and letting the chips fall where they may.

I will be in my prayer time in about an hour, I will keep you in mind.

Tom Mason

[windshieldbug]

But when called upon to play any kind of scale I don't have to use the absence of a fingering chart as an excuse.

Wow!? They have fingering charts for scales!? If only I'd that sooner, my life ...