Let me start off by apologizing for the long absence since my last Rode Rant (just a little over two years ago)! Finishing coursework at IU, accepting a teaching position in Omaha, Nebraska, completing competency exams, and finishing my dissertation have made the time fly by. Now that things have settled down, however, I thought it would be great to finally embrace Jeff Nelsen’s advice and commit to writing regular blog. Seeing as how I’ve spent the last six months researching and writing my dissertation, I felt that might be a good place to start.
A favorite quote of mine comes from Hunter S. Thompson, not only one of the best writers of his generation, but also a figure who always offered insightful and needed commentary on American culture and politics. Seriously, if you haven’t checked out any of his stuff, do it! Within what’s probably his most popular book, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Thompson writes, “No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride…and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well…maybe chalk it up to forced consciousness expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten.” Now, while I completely concede that Thompson likely had drugs on his mind (literally) when writing this, I’ve always tried to embrace the idea that you should be open to fully committing yourself to new experiences and the chaos that can ensue as you follow them to their conclusion. In other words, the price you pay, such as unforeseen consequences or risks, is worth what you get out of the adventure. This proves especially true if, like me when it came to my dissertation, you have no real prior experience with what you are about to undertake or even a good idea of how you should go about doing it. In my case, I found myself last summer having to not only write what seemed an impossibly large document (at least 80 pages, which is a lot unless you’re talking to someone in musicology) but also base it on entirely original research of contemporary sources (again, likely not that intimidating if you’re still talking to that same musicologist). I was intimidated though, the longest paper I had to write during my college career was barely more than 20 pages and I had always used published articles or books rather than original documents and interviews. Over the next several months, however, everything somehow came together and my thesis, an historical overview on the development of the modern trumpet ensemble, will hopefully be submitted for defense within the next week. Having finished my journey and arrived mostly intact on the other side, I thought it could be beneficial to share some of what I learned along the way.
1. People really are generally nice and willing to help if you ask for it.
Since no one had ever written on how and when trumpet ensembles became a thing, I figured reaching out to individuals who were active professionally or as students in the 1960’s and 1970’s might be a good place to start. I ended up emailing a lot of people asking for help and, to my surprise, many of them not only responded to me but were more than happy to answer my questions. It was amazing getting to read stories and opinions from some of the all-time greats of the trumpet world, such as David Hickman, Tony Plog, and Gerard Schwarz. As I accumulated more research and a better perspective on how the genre developed, there were so many others that also wrote back to me answering questions ranging from, “Can you help me find the date ITG (International Trumpet Guild for you non-brass players) commissioned this trumpet ensemble piece?” to, “I just discovered your group and would love to learn more about it.” Robert Murray, the trumpet professor at Columbus State University and the chair of the ITG Archives, not only helped me to schedule access to the archive materials but even offered me the chance to teach a masterclass to his students, which was such a great experience! Overall, I’d say one of the biggest takeaways from my paper is that you shouldn’t be afraid to just reach out and ask people for help. Even when they’re the big names of your field, you may be surprised how many get back to you.
2. Archival research is actually pretty cool (provided you’re at least a little bit of a nerd).
As I mentioned in my last point, part of my research for this project involved looking at materials held at the ITG Archives at Columbus State University down in Columbus, Georgia. Prior to this, the closest I had ever come to archival research was a short field trip my research and bibliography class took to the Lilly Library on IU’s campus, which is located right by the IU Auditorium and that giant mermaid fountain. If you find yourself near Bloomington, definitely check that place out! The ground floor is open to the public and has everything from an original Gutenberg bible to a desk used by Abraham Lincoln while he was a lawyer and even the original first issues of Stan Lee’s comics at Marvel. While not nearly as varied, the materials at the ITG Archives are just as cool (if you’re a trumpet nerd) and worth visiting if you happen to be in Columbus and have some downtime. While my research focused on ITG conference programs and things related to trumpet ensemble, I couldn’t believe just how many boxes of stuff there where. I came across everything from pictures of Armando Ghitalla performing a recital wearing what looked like his pops concert attire, Snooky Young’s home address and phone number, signed letters from composers like Samuel Barber and Krzysztof Penderecki, and even expense reports for Timofei Dokshitzer’s time spent at a conference in the 1970’s. A lot of times, archival research seems to suggest a more boring and intense version of studying at the library, but if you give it a chance, it can be really interesting. Rather than just reading someone’s summary of events, you actually get to see how it unfolded yourself. Plus, you never know when you might just stumble upon that cool picture, letter, or recording!
3. Turns out there’s a lot you don’t know.
While I had never specifically looked into the development of trumpet ensembles before this project, I did feel that I had a pretty solid understanding of the trumpet’s history as well as everything that’s going on now. As I conducted more and more research, however, it quickly dawned on me just how much I don’t know. From learning that almost all of the first documented professional trumpet ensembles were entirely made up of women in the early 1900’s (Edna White sounds like she was a badass!) to even current groups active today that I wasn’t even aware of. Two groups I discovered that I would recommend everyone looking into are The FOREFRONT, a really innovative trumpet ensemble made up Chicago jazz / studio musicians formed in the early 70’s by Bobby Lewis, and Ensamble 7/4, a Venezuelan trumpet ensemble that’s released a bunch of great albums and performs internationally throughout the year. Both groups combine four trumpets with rhythm instruments, such as drums and bass. (Ensamble 7/4 also adds a cuatro, a Venezuelan string instrument that resembles a small / medium classical guitar, to the mix) The end result is a much different take on what one typically thinks of for trumpet ensemble music that’s just a joy to listen to. Ensamble 7/4’s music is pretty easy to access either through videos or downloading their albums. The FOREFRONT doesn’t currently have anything online, but you can buy a cd re-release of the LPs they put out in the 70’s for $10-$15 bucks. All in all, this project showed me that there’s always something new to learn and challenge your perspectives even when it’s on a topic you’ve spent a ton (too much according to my girlfriend) of time on.
4. It may never feel easy.
I have never been (and probably never will be) a fast writer. The closest I’ve ever come was during my competency exams where a stressful situation combined with my mistake of buying amechanical kitchen timer (you could hear every second ticking away like when that show 24 would segue in and out of commercials) to produce a lot of pages. In general, it’s not something that has ever come particularly natural to me. While I may like the final product, I’ve always had to put in the time to get there. Before beginning my dissertation, I felt that the need to consistently write might change this. If I’m writing all the time, of course it’ll become easy and fast. It never did though. Those last few pages felt just as hard as the first ones did. That’s not to say that my writing didn’t improve. Proofing my entire paper after finishing the final chapter clearly showed that I became much more focused and fluid as I went along. The process, however, never felt any easier or faster. Looking back now, the experience has reinforced the idea that somethings may never feel effortless even though you’ve continually improved on them. For instance, I’m a much better runner today than I was when I started regularly exercising five years ago. Even though my distance and speed have noticeably increased, it doesn’t feel that much easier in the moment from when I began. This is why, for me, focusing on the results and the quality of the final product is more important and reliable than how something feels while you’re doing it.
Looking back over the last 6 to 8 months, I gained a lot more than just a long paper having gone through the experience of researching and writing a dissertation. While I’ll completely admit the inherent risks weren’t that high (at least compared to Hunter S. Thompson’s drug fueled debauchery) it certainly led me to places and to people I could have never expected. Which brings me back to that earlier quote, “Buy the ticket, take the ride.” It can sometimes be daunting to fully commit and go after new projects or experiences. Where you end up and the what you get out of it, however, will often more than make up for the hardships you may encounter along the way.