The center of the blend..........you may not think you know what I'm talking about, but you do, and I'll prove it to you.
When I was in college, I played snare drum (among other things) in the drumline at The University of Texas at Arlington. Our ringmaster at that time was a man by the name of Michael Varner. Excuse me, Dr. Michael Varner now........forgive me. I will remember many things about my time under the watchful eye of Dr. Varner. Lots of sweltering, outdoor rehearsals. In August. In Texas. On Astroturf.....whew. Many tips on how play "through" a drum, not "on" a drum. How NOT to wear a beard..........sorry it had to be said. But the most memorable things about drumming for Varner were what we affectionately referred to as "Varnerisms". Stragecially placed catch phrases that sometimes rang true, but most other times bordered on indecipherable. For example he would throw out such verbal gems as, "How can you be at your best, when you're not at your best?" and "I'm %100 in front of you, but I'm %100 behind you".
Let those sink in.......
Most of these quips were dismissed by us college kids as a well meaning instructor trying his dead-level best to give his drumline bulletin board material to fuel them on their musical journey to new heights in the world of non-competitive college marching band.
One of these "Varnerisms" however has been simmering in the back of my mind for years. When I first heard it, I could say nothing but, "Huh?! What in the world is he talking about?" Even once my snare drumming collegues and I had figured out what he meant, it still seemed to us to be about the most roundabout way of saying what he meant. What follows are the exact words that he said to the snare drum line some time during my first college drum camp in the summer of 1994 at UTA:
"The key to playing together well as a unit, is focusing on the center of the blend of the stuff"
"Focus on the center of the blend of the stuff?", I asked myself quietly, "Is this some kind of upper-level college drumline lingo I've never heard before?". I wasn't sure if I was supposed to know what he was talking about or not. I hoped everyone else was as confused as me. I didn't know where the blend was, and I did’nt have very much faith in my ability to find the center of it. As I soon came to understand, Varner was telling us to listen towards the center of the snare line, to the section leader, the most experienced and technically adept member of our little group. Instead of trying to play to be heard on our own, we were to listen to the center and try to become a part of the sound the snare line as a whole was producing, “The Blend” as Varner called it. The last part of the expression, “of the stuff”, I still believe was Varner just verbally trailing off because he had already expressed such genius with “Focus on the center of the blend” that “of the stuff” was the best he could come up with on such short notice.
So……
What bit of wisdom did I glean from these verbal acrobatics? What seed of knowledge was planted in my young mind that would years later become the basis for my first foray into amateur electronic life chronicling in the inter-web blogosphere?
Welcome to “The Center of the Blend” – the pursuit of focus.
Wow, I just made that up………not bad huh?
There are any number of parallels that can be drawn to the “Varnerism” I explained the origins of above. I find this expression to mean different things on different days, according to my mood or surroundings. Some days it’s a joke. A rambling, hilarious bit of nonsense exchanged between myself and my college buddies that were around at its’ inception. Other days, it means “Wake up Kyle! You know where you are supposed to be focusing, why aren’t you doing it!!” I find myself in the latter situation most often, wondering what I’m doing, where I’m going, and what I plan on doing once I get there. Sure of absolutely nothing, save the fact that I’m completely unsure of everything.
Writing seems to be therapeutic for some, I’ve heard. I’ve never been much of a “blogger”. My previous attempts at such trendy things have been measured and found seriously wanting. So, my quality of content and frequency of updates to this “blog” are things that I’m sure will be called into question by those of you who deem this inaugural post worthy of reading. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, check back every so often for more of my ramblings and efforts to determine my definition of “focus” and the location of the “center of the blend”.
Until then...........
When I was in college, I played snare drum (among other things) in the drumline at The University of Texas at Arlington. Our ringmaster at that time was a man by the name of Michael Varner. Excuse me, Dr. Michael Varner now........forgive me. I will remember many things about my time under the watchful eye of Dr. Varner. Lots of sweltering, outdoor rehearsals. In August. In Texas. On Astroturf.....whew. Many tips on how play "through" a drum, not "on" a drum. How NOT to wear a beard..........sorry it had to be said. But the most memorable things about drumming for Varner were what we affectionately referred to as "Varnerisms". Stragecially placed catch phrases that sometimes rang true, but most other times bordered on indecipherable. For example he would throw out such verbal gems as, "How can you be at your best, when you're not at your best?" and "I'm %100 in front of you, but I'm %100 behind you".
Let those sink in.......
Most of these quips were dismissed by us college kids as a well meaning instructor trying his dead-level best to give his drumline bulletin board material to fuel them on their musical journey to new heights in the world of non-competitive college marching band.
One of these "Varnerisms" however has been simmering in the back of my mind for years. When I first heard it, I could say nothing but, "Huh?! What in the world is he talking about?" Even once my snare drumming collegues and I had figured out what he meant, it still seemed to us to be about the most roundabout way of saying what he meant. What follows are the exact words that he said to the snare drum line some time during my first college drum camp in the summer of 1994 at UTA:
"The key to playing together well as a unit, is focusing on the center of the blend of the stuff"
"Focus on the center of the blend of the stuff?", I asked myself quietly, "Is this some kind of upper-level college drumline lingo I've never heard before?". I wasn't sure if I was supposed to know what he was talking about or not. I hoped everyone else was as confused as me. I didn't know where the blend was, and I did’nt have very much faith in my ability to find the center of it. As I soon came to understand, Varner was telling us to listen towards the center of the snare line, to the section leader, the most experienced and technically adept member of our little group. Instead of trying to play to be heard on our own, we were to listen to the center and try to become a part of the sound the snare line as a whole was producing, “The Blend” as Varner called it. The last part of the expression, “of the stuff”, I still believe was Varner just verbally trailing off because he had already expressed such genius with “Focus on the center of the blend” that “of the stuff” was the best he could come up with on such short notice.
So……
What bit of wisdom did I glean from these verbal acrobatics? What seed of knowledge was planted in my young mind that would years later become the basis for my first foray into amateur electronic life chronicling in the inter-web blogosphere?
Welcome to “The Center of the Blend” – the pursuit of focus.
Wow, I just made that up………not bad huh?
There are any number of parallels that can be drawn to the “Varnerism” I explained the origins of above. I find this expression to mean different things on different days, according to my mood or surroundings. Some days it’s a joke. A rambling, hilarious bit of nonsense exchanged between myself and my college buddies that were around at its’ inception. Other days, it means “Wake up Kyle! You know where you are supposed to be focusing, why aren’t you doing it!!” I find myself in the latter situation most often, wondering what I’m doing, where I’m going, and what I plan on doing once I get there. Sure of absolutely nothing, save the fact that I’m completely unsure of everything.
Writing seems to be therapeutic for some, I’ve heard. I’ve never been much of a “blogger”. My previous attempts at such trendy things have been measured and found seriously wanting. So, my quality of content and frequency of updates to this “blog” are things that I’m sure will be called into question by those of you who deem this inaugural post worthy of reading. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, check back every so often for more of my ramblings and efforts to determine my definition of “focus” and the location of the “center of the blend”.
Until then...........
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