A Little Harrelson in my Holiday

Week 25 of Harrelson's Weekly Trumpet Challenge contest is afoot. I hope my jazzy little improv of Now's the Time would make Mr. Parker proud. I am supposed to be valuing the journey with winning the contest being a distant second in terms of priorities. Just between you and me...I am totally not! Perhaps it is my age or my ridiculously competitive family culture or that I am fifteen and just want to win, but winning is my big focus! On a more serious note, I learned a lot entering this contest! I hope Harrelson recognizes the value of running this contest...My discoveries:

• Talented sound engineers are worth their weight in gold

• That multiple trys are a necessary evil to grab just the right take

• How to set up my Mac to properly record audio

• I am blessed to have people around me that provide constructive feedback rather than just compliments and a family that encourages me to "spread my wings" and do things like this contest

• Listening to myself is tough, but the self audit lessons learned are powerful, such as with a harmon mute there is volatility in my volume (particularly in the lower register)

• The environment in which one records has great influence over the sound quality, projection, microphone's effectiveness, etc.

• It is fun!

Thank you Harrelson for the learning experience and a great holiday memory for my family, I had a lot of fun putting this together and discovered just how much my family supports my craft!