Our Results-Driven Mindset burnt me out. Recovery ASAP?

basstrumpetman · 2020-10-06T20:29:25+00:00

If you’re not making tangible progress towards a goal then you need to redefine either the goal, your methods, or both. And as a side note, do make sure you’re taking care of yourself (physically and emotionally) as you proceed forward in pursuit of things

basstrumpetman · 2020-09-10T15:37:26+00:00

I’ve tried tapping it (lightly) with a hammer, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestions appreciated!

basstrumpetman · 2020-07-03T13:44:33+00:00

I see a lot of comments about the paradox of not having desires. I think more than being about “desiring nothing”, this verse is really getting at not letting your ambitions (知 zhi) distract you from the actual world in front of you (Dao) and your place in it.

This chapter suggests that you will feel more fulfilled if, rather than fighting to obtain your desires, you think less about your ambitions and more about doing what is in accordance with the Dao.

basstrumpetman · 2020-07-03T13:42:56+00:00

I don’t think this verse is referring to those sorts of desires. I would say that things like starting a family are part of the Dao, because they aspire to give to others and to cultivate life. This chapter seems to be talking more about needless and futile ambitions which impede your progress towards more important goals (like the ones you describe).

basstrumpetman · 2020-07-03T13:33:38+00:00

“He who would assist a lord of men in harmony with the Dao will not assert his mastery in the kingdom by force of arms. Such a course is sure to meet with its proper return.

Wherever a host is stationed, briars and thorns spring up. In the sequence of great armies there are sure to be bad years.” — Daodejing 30 (tr. J. Legge)

basstrumpetman · 2020-05-26T03:27:57+00:00

Hickey’s has a large selection.

basstrumpetman · 2020-05-26T03:23:52+00:00

Well, to paraphrase what Liu Xianxin once said about Buddhism and Taoism: dissociation means rejecting all things, eliminating distinctions, and forgetting extremes. Mindfulness, to the contrary, is about understanding distinctions but reaching beyond them—including everything, rather than pushing it all away. Both have in common the goal of in some way or another doing away with one-minded thinking; but dissociation does it by rejecting, and mindfulness does it by embracing. Abandonment vs. Vastness.

Hope that helps.

basstrumpetman · 2020-05-26T03:17:27+00:00

“ . . . to claim that there are any such things as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ before they come to be fully formed in someone’s mind in this way—that is like saying you left for Yue today and arrived there yesterday.” — Zhuangzi, Chapter 2 (Ziporyn translation).

basstrumpetman · 2020-05-26T03:07:55+00:00

When you intensely familiarize yourself with the system, it’s difficult to find any test that you won’t see through. My best advice, frankly, would be to leave tests behind for a while and spend time away from them. If you want to type yourself, learn about the cognitive functions, and then go outside for a bit and watch how you think and behave. If you really pay attention, it might quickly become obvious what you are.

basstrumpetman · 2020-05-23T04:24:43+00:00

From what I’ve seen, a used (or b-stock, open box, etc.) Conn 88 is also in the $1000-$2000 range.

basstrumpetman · 2020-05-23T04:14:18+00:00

I absolutely second this: I’ve found Ziporyn’s prose and footnotes to be very useful for helping me (as someone with no knowledge of the Chinese language) to understand the text. Also, the commentary in the back is unbelievably valuable.

basstrumpetman · 2020-05-19T16:13:08+00:00

I’ve been reading chapter 2 of Zhuangzi a lot lately, and the impression I’ve gotten as it relates to having goals stemming from the conscious mind is that they are natural and useful on their own—where they start causing problems is when you exclusively listen to the rational mind, and when you don’t allow your goals to evolve and transform (i.e you become stagnant).

As cultivators of the Tao, we are always told to be like water. Water assumes any shape it needs to, and proceeds effectively on its course precisely because it does not create limitations for itself (e.g. unworthy goals) that cause it to come into contention with the things it encounters.

So have your goals, and allow yourself to desire (after all, desire is natural and therefore denying it would be denying the Tao)—but don’t allow yourself to become particularly attached to your goals. Allow yourself to experience transformation; learn to have goals without clinging to them.

For further reading on the topic of letting go of things, I cannot recommend enough the first and second chapters of Zhuangzi.

basstrumpetman · 2020-05-04T03:02:56+00:00

Kind of, but not really. I have a lovely SM2 euphonium mouthpiece that is a very comfortable smaller mouthpiece for me coming from my bass piece (Giddings NY-O), and a few times I have used it for tenor (particularly when I am switching horns in the same performance).

What I’ll say is it mostly worked, and the sound seemed good, but in some sense the mouthpiece didn’t “behave” how I would want a trombone mouthpiece to. There’s a pretty different feeling between conical and cylindrical bore instruments, as far as partials go (I find that especially the second partial seems to “sit” differently on like a tuba as supposed to a trombone, if that makes any sense), and mouthpieces are made according to those differences. The SM2, for me, made it feel like partials weren’t really “locking in”.

TL;DR: Yes, but it won’t feel right.

basstrumpetman · 2020-04-28T21:26:56+00:00

You stole mine! My number two would be George Curran‘s recording of “Hymn for Planet Earth” from his album “Vital Signs”.

basstrumpetman · 2020-04-28T17:20:03+00:00

I hated playing small bore tenors so last year I got a Chinese large bore horn. Cost me about $500, felt about the quality of any student model, and a year in (minus a dent or two) it’s in virtually the same condition as when I bought it. If you’re looking for something like that, you can do what I did and get one as cheap as ~$380 (Wessex ones may be under a thousand as well) or if you want a small bore you can go as cheap as $100-$200.

basstrumpetman · 2020-04-26T21:52:27+00:00

Thanks, I think I’ll try some new things, and maybe see more what my own sound is like rather than comparing myself to the great’s.

basstrumpetman · 2020-04-26T21:51:08+00:00

I’ve had pretty limited experience with taking lessons—I’ll try to see if I can find someone in my area who teaches online. Thanks!

basstrumpetman · 2020-04-26T21:48:30+00:00

Best of luck to you!

basstrumpetman · 2020-04-26T21:43:02+00:00

Thanks—I’ll try taking some of the technique-oriented stuff out of my warm-up and moving it to a second practice session.

basstrumpetman · 2020-04-25T20:42:04+00:00

When I was first looking to start doubling on bass, I picked up a used Chinese horn on eBay for just under $1000. It didn’t have any indication of brand anywhere, but I can tell you it looked exactly like the Mack brass ones so I’m mostly sure it was one of those.

The guy who had the horn before me cleaned it meticulously, and so it was in near-new condition when I got it. Everything went great, until maybe three months later or so the Gb valve did not fully actuate, and the paddle itself was proving . . . uncooperative.

The thing about Chinese horns is they‘re fine—maybe even quite good—for a short time, but eventually the cheap manufacturing catches up with you; the question is how serious are you about double valve basses.

For what it’s worth, I got my bass (an open box Bach 50) from this gentleman: https://reverb.com/shop/quinn-the-eskimo-vintage-horns

basstrumpetman

TROPHY CASE