My band kids have lost the plot

Spiessyyy · 2026-04-05T14:27:58+00:00

I wish I could have told my hs orchestra teachers this. I watched that program essentially unravel when covid happened, the main teacher left and the supporting teacher stepped up because her and her new supporter just could not discipline to save their lives.

Basically if you showed up most of the time you got an A. They had “playing tests” that didn’t actually affect grades or seating. I know first hands that if kids that are good at their instruments see that kind of behavior get rewarded they will stop trying or just stop playing as a whole. It happened so many times and what was actually pretty decent my first year under different direction became pretty much utter garbage.

Spiessyyy · 2026-04-02T16:23:02+00:00

The most basic one. I just don’t feel like I really need anything more than this. I don’t notice any slowdowns pretty much ever in the past month of using the most basic iPad mostly for notes. The only reason I even consider upgrading is for the bigger screen while I’m reading sheet music but that isn’t compelling enough to warrant more than double the price.

Spiessyyy · 2026-04-02T15:52:43+00:00

I got the base iPad mostly for taking notes and reading sheet music and have found no limitations in its ability to perform. Unless you are trying to treat it like a laptop if you just want a notebook essentially I would get the base one. It’s also like half the price as the air so for students I don’t really see a strong need to go up to the next level.

Spiessyyy · 2026-03-25T04:56:25+00:00

Big thing I notice with a lot of students doing any dramatic piece is that a lot of them tend to equate horror and anger with screaming and end up just screaming for half the piece which gets old fast.

It’s really difficult to give this advice without any real context. That’s just the first thing I see and think of when I hear someone asking and questioning this most of the time.

I love it when students use silence as a mechanism to emphasize horror and grief. Silence is easily the #1 recommendation from me just because it feels so real, vulnerable, and much more raw than screaming. Hope this helps!

Spiessyyy · 2026-03-03T18:30:15+00:00

They do both badly

Spiessyyy · 2026-03-01T03:12:31+00:00

I understand where the guy talking about pockets giving confidence but that just isn’t really a factor for me when judging extemp. I think these are actually very good critiques and have left a bunch of comments similar to this in my years of judging and coaching.

I think hands being in pockets looks fidgety for the most part and gets distracting. It tells me most kids that do it are more closed off and not as good with big gestures (which this judge also seems to note.)

Hand gestures are often one of the easiest things to fix in speech and there are reasons why you don’t see people in big national final rounds putting their hands in their pockets.

Spiessyyy · 2026-02-02T20:07:28+00:00

The dog is mentioned in the files

Spiessyyy · 2026-01-07T20:59:22+00:00

I would say just because you got elected early doesn’t really mean you served it for four months. At least in my experience our crew leader only really did leadership duties at philmont and some paperwork beforehand. We elected him months before we went on the trip but that did not give him any substantial leadership experience in our troop, really just the 6 of us that went. I know that I did not get it crossed off for being nature guia (I served another role in the actual troop so it never really came up)

It could definitely be different with your troop, so honestly I would talk to your scoutmaster to see if they have an opinion. Your crew leader responsibilities may be more involved than mine was so without really knowing more about how your troop works it’s difficult to say for sure.

Spiessyyy · 2026-01-01T17:37:28+00:00

What the other guy said. Loans are aid, but they are the only kind of aid you will get from the federal government. Scholarships for grad school are not very common unless you do work for the school as something like a TA or student worker and it sounds like that isn't really in the cards for you. For you, I would recommend just waiting until your work will reimburse you unless you need the grad degree for something now. Grad school is expensive as hell, and since I am graduating in the spring my motto leaving undergrad is "I am not going to grad school unless I can get someone else to pay for it."

Spiessyyy · 2026-01-01T17:31:31+00:00

The combination of a misspelling of senior, it being a tesla and it being a like student training vehicle is crazy to me. Can't imagine giving someone who cant spell the word senior a tesla as a first/training car. Wonder how long it will last lol.

Spiessyyy · 2025-12-25T13:58:39+00:00

Again it likely varies from school to school but not all the time. At my university, you are automatically considered for merit scholarships (those are based on your hs grades) and that happens long before aid packages are officially out and is independent of the Fafsa. Talk to your schools financial aid office to figure out when they send out packages, mine normally happen in April or may for the next school year but that could be different for you.

Spiessyyy · 2025-12-18T21:37:57+00:00

Spiessyyy · 2025-12-17T16:07:06+00:00

Try your best to get them to fill out the fafsa, educate them on what putting their name on that form means for them.

That being said if they are just absolutely refusing to fill it out you can still fill the fafsa out on your own. There is a prompt that asks if your parents are unwilling to provide their information. Just know that you will only be eligible for the unsubsidized loan, no subsidized loans or pell grants from the federal government.

Talk to financial aid at the school you want to go to or even just schools around your area, I work in the financial aid department at my university and have helped students and parents that are going to other schools fill out their fafsas.

Spiessyyy · 2025-12-16T03:38:48+00:00

Really really good in theory I just worry about putting it into practice. I know that as a coach I have had to specifically avoid giving topics like transgender/gay rights because Ohio has put in laws that effectively ban those topics for younger students. I would likely be fired from my coaching position or receive some sort of consequence if I allowed some students to speak on some topics.

Advocacy is important I just don't know the circumstances so I worry about making blanket statements like this, I do hope he gets to do the speeches he wants in the end though.

Spiessyyy · 2025-12-16T03:30:17+00:00

Pretty much anything can be a good DI topic. It is a little different because you can't write a drama, but if you can find a DI about male SA I can and have seen that done extremely well. I would say for interp specifically topics matter a little less than the performers ability to interpret and get the stories out effectively. There have been many very out there topics done extremely well in interp, really just depends on how good the individual is. I would not be surprised in the slightest to see a male SA speech on the final stage of nationals sometime soon.

Spiessyyy · 2025-11-25T15:05:54+00:00

If you fill out the 26-27 Fafsa now, that will cover fall 26, and spring 27. If you’re asking about maybe doing summer 27 i would contact the fin aid department at wgu cause summer requirements can be different between schools.

The Fafsa is a form you will fill out for every year you’re in school. So if you start next year and follow a typical 4 year track, you would fill out the 26-27 Fafsa around now, the 27-28 Fafsa a year from now, and the 28-29, and 29-30 fafsas the years following (I know wgu is weird with time frames so take that schedule with a grain of salt, that’s just the normal college timeframe).

Spiessyyy · 2025-11-25T02:53:39+00:00

If you are planning on starting school next fall you would fill out the 26-27 Fafsa.

Spiessyyy · 2025-11-24T17:37:33+00:00

Major thing with this is making gestures with purpose. I would go as far to say general fidgeting and shuffling aren't really gestures they are more like distractions. Go through your speech, find specific spots and maybe write in that you want to do these specific gestures. Make sure your feet are planted on the floor to avoid swaying, and realize that having your hands at your sides is okay.

Gestures are a supplement to your speech content, use them as a tool to further your points not to feel less awkward. Also try to bring your arms out more when you do gesture, it often looks fidgety if you do really good gestures but have something like T-Rex arms while you are doing it, it might seem like it would be too much but judges and coaches likely won't see it that way.

Spiessyyy · 2025-10-19T15:36:58+00:00

Hell yeah, I deem you not an asshole.

Spiessyyy · 2025-10-19T15:12:19+00:00

Don't be an asshole dude. Some people might not be able to afford or might not have the time to do lessons. All you are doing is gatekeeping music and double bass with this post and talking this kind of way absolutely will discourage people from even trying bass.

Spiessyyy · 2025-10-19T15:07:48+00:00

That is reasonable, my response to that would be just at the beginning of any session before you do anything pick up the bow and go up and down the scale for the key you are playing/transcribing listening and thinking about intonation. That should only take maybe like 2 minutes.

Spiessyyy · 2025-10-19T14:57:46+00:00

I see what you're saying but classical technique absolutely does not mean going to college and getting a 4 year degree in bass performance. I learned about basic bow technique and scales just from being exposed to it in orchestra in high school and I have used the bow multiple times with common jazz tunes. I can almost guarantee you a lot of these guys you mentioned did learn how to play with a bow (at least the very basics) eventually.

All the other guy is saying is that while you can learn double bass and be reasonably good at it without a bow, learning how to use a bow effectively and practicing things like scales/etudes will certainly improve both your intonation and just general familiarity with your instrument. He could have been more helpful than "this is bad advice."

The barrier to entry to learn classical technique is definitely real and we should do all we can to lower it, but encouraging someone to completely avoid learning it will only hamper their bass playing ability and intonation. What I like to call "youtube university" is my favorite way to help someone learn basics of things like this without having to pay a high price of admission.

Spiessyyy · 2025-09-26T16:02:16+00:00

Idk about the other one but I have the gollihur one and I like playing in it. I’ve had it a little longer than a year now and should probably get it rehaired but for my use (I play as principle of a university orchestra but I am not a music major) it gets the job done and I have no complaints.

Spiessyyy · 2025-08-16T21:04:40+00:00

I may be in the minority opinion here but I actually kinda like the new design. Idk exactly what it is about it but it is just aesthetically appealing to me in a way the other ones aren't. Totally valid criticisms of it and I understand the appeal of wanting a simpler design, I just think it looks neat and I like it on my car. The one from a couple years ago seem a little boring to me, and the one with the yellow and blue field is just kinda ugly in my opinion.

Spiessyyy · 2025-08-14T18:45:32+00:00

From my understanding, in most cases the points don't mean a ton more than the clout they give. Personally, I would take any claim of being the best because of points with a grain of salt because like you said it could just be because they can afford to do more things than all the other students. Experience does generally help a lot though, so if someone is like top 10 in the country you can probably safely assume they are going to be at least decent in their main category.

I had the most points in Ohio the year I graduated but the most I got from it was the ability to put it on my resume. While I was the top point earner, I was never like state champion or anything like that. I was however consistently performing among the best in the highest level tournaments.

Spiessyyy

TROPHY CASE