There is a fantastic British documentary called the Up Series.
- The Up Series is a series of documentary films produced by Granada Television that have followed the lives of fourteen British children since 1964, when they were seven years old. So far the documentary has had eight episodes spanning 49 years (one episode every seven years)
The premise is "show me a child at 7 and I'll show you the man." Meaning that by the time we are seven years old our directions in life are pretty well planted. Given this, what would you like to say to your seven year old self? What would you have wished were different in your formative years?
"Your best friend's mom is not your friend. She may actually feel you are a threat to her precious baby." "Forgive dad. He fears that you being overweight is a threat to his virility and that you'll turn into his brother. It doesn't make any sense once you say it aloud, does it? Lots of things lose their power once you announce them to the world." "Buy a car the minute you can: it will get you out of Utica. Don't be afraid that it'll be like your parents and their permanent state of semi-broken, used American cars." "You are a geek. It's totally going to be okay. You will get laid, you will find a wife, you will not be short of money even though your degree will be in philosophy. You may have no words for this now because it's 1982 and the only friend that's like you lives too far away to walk." "Grampa is going to die when you're 16. Tell him now that you want to learn how he fixes old radios in the back room. Oh, and you know how he's kind of a bigot? He's actually freaked out that you're half Sicilian. Bond with him over the electronics stuff and he'll see you're... well, you're a honky." "Oh, and you're a honky everywhere else in the US. Dad's talking about the 1950s. This is strangely important." "Mom and dad are smart and intellectual, but they're not well-traveled. A lot of their knowledge is literate, not experiential. They're both great teachers, but they will be wrong about stuff." "When you hit puberty, you're going to be fascinated by women that aren't interested in you. No, they just aren't. Discussing this with them will never change this -- it's an emotional response. Learn to ask sooner, accept the 'no', and move onto the next experience. Oh, and you'll like butchy girls -- start early. They're out there, and man -- they -- yeah, just ask." "One last thing: the world will not end during the Reagan administration. We don't get H bombed. Short version: the Soviets run out of money and the Berlin Wall falls in October 1989. Stop worrying about nukes, okay? I'm serious. I'm talking to you from 2013. All that post-apocalyptic stuff never happens."
"You're not bad at math, everyone has just told you you're not good at it. Just because it doesn't come as naturally for you as writing does doesn't meant you aren't any worse at it. When 9/11 happens, you're going to get a ton of crap from everyone. Chin up. When that officer essentially accuses you of wanting to break into a neighborhood house while you're selling cookies for cancer awareness, don't you dare let them get away with it, even if it means you get in trouble. Have some self-respect. I know you think Pokemon is cool now, but just wait until 2013. You can use your cynicism as a shield, but don't let it run your life or how you feel. Half-Life 3 hasn't come out yet. I know. I'm sorry."
"Be more aware of the world around you." There's no reason I should have waited to start trying to be the person I want to be until the age of 18. The archetypes and examples were in place; I had the resources, time and motivation. Everyone is the change in their own life and there's no reason to wait "to be older."
There are so many times growing up that I blew it with girls because I figured that they were just being nice to me. I would tell myself to assume that the positive interest that came my way was exactly what I thought/hoped it was, if only just to go for it. Starting with that time when I was 9 and that girl asked me to go to the beach with her alone, but then I got a nervous stomach ache, put down the receiver and asked my dad what I should do (he made fun of me). I would also tell my kid self that math doesn't suck and to ask my parents to get me a math tutor who could show me how I could actually use the stuff. I guess I would tell my kid self to continue playing sax and not to give up guitar. And also to learn properly how to draw, as well as to continue with the pottery. Finally, I would tell my kid self that going to prep school is a good idea and that when the opportunity arises when we are 14, that we should take it. That is a really cool idea for a documentary. I should watch this. Edit: ah, 7 year old self. I guess I would tell him to do all that stuff above, but tell him that it's future stuff.
That making fun of people is not a very good way to make friends... I was really mean and it took a while before I actually realized it. I thought I was being funny :( By the time I changed, nobody wanted to be friends with me. Good thing I had friends outside school so I never felt like too much of an outcast, but still I wish I realized it sooner.
"Take more bold risks, the only time you ever fail is when someone else sets you up for failure for their gain. If you're doing your own thing, you'll always succeed. Be in charge of yourself and be relentless. Learn how to have small talk with people and don't be intimidated - there's no reason to be intimidated. Continue to trust your gut about people, it's correct. Stay the fuck away from credit cards until you're 26. Having haters is a good thing, it means you're doing something right. LISTEN TO THE ADVICE!!!"
Start playing double bass now. Or cello. You'll love it.
I'm in my senior year of a Jazz Studies major. I used to do a lot more classical stuff in high school and I still do every now and again to work on intonation. But most of the time I'm trying to sound like Mingus.
Dig, dig. I was just watching my Mingus DVD earlier this week. It's from his last European tour with Eric Dolphy.
Both very unique players. So you primarily play classical?
yeah. in my 1st year of my masters. Started late, though, so I always feel like I play catchup.
When did you start and why did you choose the classical route?
I was 19 when i started. Chose classical because i was originally a punk rock bassist going to school for theory. There was a "university prep" program at a local college (Canada) that was classically based, and they took a lot of people on potential, so I auditiond and got in there. It was all downhill from there lol. What about you?
That's much more interesting than my story. I had been playing both classical and jazz in high school. When I was told I couldn't do both, I chose the one that had a much more interesting role for a bassist. It's not that I didn't enjoy classical music. I felt as if I had a more integral role when only four musicians were playing. And soloing is a lot of fun.
As a kid I spend most of my time reading books and playing computer games. I read books about all kinds of things, but mainly science and engineering things. But I never really created stuff. No small projects, just soaking in the theory. As a result I now know a lot of theory of a wide range of things, but I would for the life of me not know how to really build the things. Also, I'd like to say to every child me or you:
For some reason I liked being inside, reading books, playing (computer) games etc. Being outside and playing would have been good for little me as a slightly too heavy and socially not as good as should be kid.Build stuff
Go out and play