The Blog of Sean

Choices

2010-04-10T08:55:00.002-07:00

I haven't blogged for a long time...life tends to get crazy sometimes. Now that I have some mental space I want to share a journey with you. Life changes you...you have a choice to pick how you react to life. Often it is between a choice that will bind you and a choice that will free you. I'm not saying one is good or bad because life is rarely black or white. People sometimes pick choices that bind us for the sake of a loved one; like a mother to a child. Parents will financially bind themselves for the sake of giving their children a good life, for example. On the contrary, people sometimes will pick choices the free us for the sake of themselves. For example, someone might do something for themselves as opposed to spending their money on someone else. Both of these choices have good results. The parents are alleviated that the children have a chance at a good life and the person feels rejuvenated that they treated themselves first. I think life is a dance of choices that free us and bind us.

Musical notes

2008-05-14T08:29:00.003-07:00

a quarter note is half of a half note and twice as much as an eighth note.
A whole note is a quarter note four times over.
What is a sixteenth note?http://pluto.matrix49.com/15759/subpages/joe-Musical_Note-small1.jpg

2008-02-20T10:16:00.003-08:00

I think that I think because I think.

CD Review

2007-12-05T10:13:00.000-08:00

CD Review:
"Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Becoming Man"

This is a good album to add to your Christmas Music collection. This album has twelve songs that sing about the Incarnation and the mystery surrounding who God is and salvific beginnings and Christ's earthly ministry. The youtube post is Bob Kauflin (producer and song writer) talking about why they created this CD. I have read reviews of people who have used these new Christmas songs in there worship services and it has been very inspirational and reflective. It grabs you at the heart of what Christmas is all about. Take this time to watch the youtube clip and then read on.

"Savior" is done really well musically. One of my favorite tracks is the redux of the Weslyan hymn, "Glory Be To God". The music serves the beautiful lyrics very well with an up-beat tempo and celebrative mood. Most of the songs have some great acoustic guitar playing and contemplative piano playing that takes you to a place of awe, celebration and wonderment. Another highlight is a beautiful cello part in "Salvation Is Born" which backs up the beautiful voice of Shannon Harris singing about the arrival of the Messiah. The music is inspirational serves the the texts of the songs intimately.
Most of the songs are new songs which talk about the Incarnation. The songs are written very well. My favorite song is the first track, "Christ the Lord is Born Today". The lyrics explain the joy and awe that is associated the virgin birth of Christ in a beautiful, flowing manner: "How my happy heart rejoices/I can hear the angels voices/'Christ is Born' they all are singing/from the sky this good news bringing/Let the earth rejoice/O come and lift your voices."
The production is done well. It is a professional recording with great keyboard sounds and well balanced instrumentation. The only negative thing I have is that the drums sounded too "canned" and digitized and a few voices had a bit too much reverb to them. But everything else was great.
Overall, this is a great album and worth downloading off of itunes ($9.99).
I will certainly enjoy this CD over the Christmas holidays.

2007-11-27T10:48:00.000-08:00

Good music is hard to find.
It is nourishment for the days grind.

Good coffee is always a plus,
it keeps you awake through all the fuss.

Good friends are necessary to find,
they keep you from being blind.

Random Poem

2007-11-26T10:24:00.000-08:00

Sitting on a couch in a dark room,
contemplating the days groove
no snow tires yet, I don't approve.
my sick fish are awaiting their impending doom.

Music awaiting to be composed
up to me, I suppose.
Life is interesting; it is a groove.
Syncopated....I approve.

The mysterious power of music

2007-11-19T23:11:00.001-08:00

Could imagine getting a small piece of a song stuck in your head for weeks and weeks? Or how about a few notes? What if those notes were really high in pitch and loud and it was stuck in your head and there was nothing you could do about it? Imagine how your life would change. Every time your brain is inactive you good an incessant note from a piccolo lodged in your brain that you can't get rid of. Or maybe you have piano music stuck in your head and it is very beautiful and you learn piano and and start composing and become an amazing pianist. In fact, you get so obsessed that that is all you think about when you are not working. You get divorced and become completely self-involved in your music and playing the piano. These are all true stories of people that have had brain injuries (frontal lobe) and have developed musical symptoms from it which are completely unexplainable. I am reading a book called "Musicophelia" by Oliver Sacks and so far it has been very interesting. It basically talks about people with brain injuries that have music playing through there head all the time or that the brain has rearranged itself after a traumatic experience to be completely bent on music. The reason why this is so interesting is because this hasn't happened with any other art form or the likes as often as it has with music. So Sacks essentially gives a lot of examples and poses the question: Does this happen because of a neurological oddity or is there something about music that makes it so powerful and mind-grabbing? I am only on chapter seven and I have a more than a dozen left but so far I think it will be a good read. I will let you know more about but for now, the next time a song pops in your head think about how it got there and why had no control over it.

My Songs

2007-11-14T23:52:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,
I have been composing some piano music in the last couple months and I have some songs posted on myspace. Check them out if you have some time.

www.myspace.com/seansteevesband

Beautiful Lyrics

2007-11-06T22:21:00.000-08:00

"Heaven"
LIVE

You don't need no friends
get back your faith again
you have the power to believe
another dissident
take back your evidence
it has no power to deceive

I'll believe it when I see it, for myself

I don't need no one to tell me about heaven
I look at my daughter, and I believe.
I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sunset and I perceive

I sit with them all night
everything they say is right
but in the morning they were wrong
I'll be right by your side
come hell or water high
down any road you choose to roam

I'll believe it when I see it for myself

I don't need no one to tell me about heaven
I look at my daughter, and I believe.
I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sunset and I perceive, yeah

darling, I believe, Oh Lord
sometimes it's hard to breathe, Lord
at the bottom of the sea, yeah yeah

I'll believe it when I see it for myself

I don't need no one to tell me about heaven
I look at my daughter, and I believe.
I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sunset and I perceive

I don't need no one to tell me about heaven
I look at my daughter, and I believe.
I don't need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sunset
I can see the sunset
I can see the sunset
I don't need no one
Ohhhh
I don't need no one
I don't need no one
I don't need no one
To tell me about heaven
I believe
I believe it, yeah

----------------------
Psalm 19: 1 - 6

Psalm 19

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard. [a]

4 Their voice [b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.

Music and the Brain

2007-10-29T23:28:00.000-07:00

A new book I want to read is called "Musicophelia". It is about the relationships between the brain and music. It seems that music is the one of the things that permeate the human brain even in severe brain damage victims. This is interesting to me. It is amazing how songs pop into your brain at random moments in the day. But the more amazing part is that the song you are hearing in exactly the way you would want to hear it, whether it is a rock band or a full orchestra. The brain is the most advanced, compilicated sound system and recording studio there is. This book is about that. So, I will let you all know more about it as I read it.

Sean

2007-10-29T22:59:00.001-07:00

2007-10-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hawaii would be fun. I'm looking at a picture of a silohette of a palm tree forest in front of a beautiful sunset. I just assume that it is in Hawaii but I suppose palm trees are in other places other than there. Anyways, all I want to do is sip on an ice-cold mojito on the sandy, hot beaches of Hawaii watching a beautiful sunset and thinking about the beauty of God's creation. Can you say: "Escape from reality!!" I suppose it is ok every once in awhile.

Insects

2007-10-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

So I was watching a nature show today about predators who ambush their prey. Some stay really still until the prey gets near them and they pounce and some stock their prey until they have a chance to nab them. It was really interesting to watch. I think the most deadly, intelligent predators were of the insect kingdom. Could you imagine if insects were as big as house cats? That would be freaky and they would take over the world. Some insects can carry 100 times there own weight! Others are so quick to attack that they are a just a blur to the human eye. Some have powerful arm-like nabbers with sharp points at the end of them to grab hold of helpless little fly. Thank God that insects are only as small as they are or we would be in vast danger.

Reality

2007-09-28T00:19:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine and I have this ongoing argument about what reality is. And so I was reading random C.S. Lewis quotes and I came across this one:

"Reality, in fact, is always something you couldn't have guessed.
C.S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity

I like it: short, simple and to the point.

Crazy Dreams

2007-09-24T10:11:00.000-07:00

So, for some reason I'm getting these wierd dreams. It is sort of like they should be nightmares but they have an odd twist to them that take the scariness out of them. For example, I dreamt that I was picking my brother up from school and all of my old teachers were selling corn on the side of road. That isn't too scary but the mood of the dream was anxious and very stressful. Another dream I had was I came home and I was living with my mom and my old cat, Harriet, was alive. Harriet caught a mouse and left it on the stairs and the dead mouse was infested with bugs and there were cob webs all around it. Then I proceeded up the stairs and there were splatters of mud on the wall and Harriet was on the couch, nursing an injured paw. Again, the situation was not scary (wierd, maybe) but the mood had a nightmarish quality to it. Anyhow, that is the dreams I remember. I woke up from both of those dreams feeling so strange. I wonder if my dreaming is effected by my diet. I didn't eat unhealthy but maybe I ate too soon before bed. I don't know. Anyhow, I'll keep you posted if I have anymore wierd dreams.

Funny Story

2007-09-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

So, I teach trumpet to people and one the excersizes I get them to day is to keep a piece of paper on the wall without using there hands. Ideally, they would use their air by blowing it against the wall to teach air support but this particular student thought otherwise. Instead of using her air, she simply rested her forehead against the paper to hold it on the wall and I laughed because nobody has ever thought of doing that before. Anyhow, it was a funny moment and I just thought I would share it with you all.

Funny pics

2007-09-18T19:06:00.001-07:00

Sickness

2007-09-17T23:22:00.000-07:00

Well, sorry I havn't blogged in a long time. I have been sick and I just havn't found the mental space to blog till now. Sickness is an interesting ordeal. It sucks but at the same time you learn something about life. For example, I think I learned that life needs to go on no matter what happens. Every day is a choice to live it a certain way. Sometimes you just have to get up and do what you need to do no matter how you feel and that is just the way it is. I never really bought the whole stoic notion of accepting your lot in life but I think there is some merit to it because sometimes you are forced to swallow a pill you don't want to swallow and there is just no way of getting around it.

Stabat Mater: the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin at the Cross

2007-05-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

Stabat Mater: "the Mother was Standing"

At the cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last.

Through her soul, of joy bereaved,
bowed with anguish, deeply grieved,
now at length the sword hath passed.

Oh how sad and sore distressed
was that mother highly blessed,
of the sole-begotten One!

Christ above in torment hangs;
She beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.

The Reincarnation of Beethoven

2007-04-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

I was doing a trumpet clinic last week to some middle school kids and, as an icebreak, I asked them if they had a name for their trumpet. As each kid had their turn, they said names like "loudmouth", "metalhead", "the king", etc.; it was really funny and the kids were having a blast with the idea. But as I got to the last kid, all eyes turned toward him and with a slight pause of seriousness he said with a straight face: "Beethoven"

Theives are dumb.

2007-04-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

So, the other night I got my car broken into and they stole all of my CD,s (approx. 50) and two pairs of sunglasses. They also screwed up my passenger side door lock and messed up my ignition with an unsuccessful attempt to steal my car. Unfortunately, I left my passport in my car and they stole that as well (very dumb idea to leave your passport in your glove box). But, luckily, the thieves had no use for it and threw it out the window and a good Samaritan found it and returned to the local RCMP detachment. I was very relieved to say the least. So, thank you to the kind person who made my life a little easier.

Uncle Sam

2007-03-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

I was at a rehearsal the other night and as I was counting endless measures of rests I looked up on the wall and I saw the coolest sign ever. I'm thinking of putting it up on my studio wall.

Seagull karma

2007-03-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

Hahaha, so my fiance and I were sitting on a log on the pacific coast near White Rock and we saw this family of five walk before us and take out a bag of bread crumbs. They proceeded to throw the crumbs on the smooth sandy shore and, of course, a dozen or more seagulls rush to the site in anticipation of an easy meal. As the seagulls were feasting, my fiance mentions how stupid it is to feed seagulls and whole-heartedly hoped that a seagull would deficate on the family. No longer than five seconds later we heard this splat and my fiance stood up and realized that a seagull had done its business on her. This business was a big deal as it was everywhere; jacket, jeans AND hair. As she was crying and heading to the bathroom, I couldn't help but to laugh hysterically at the scenario that just went down in front of me and the irony of it all. So next time you are at the beach and people are feeding seagulls, be careful of what you say becuase the seagulls can hear you.

BROKEN

2007-03-11T23:53:00.000-07:00

Entertainment

2007-03-09T23:43:00.000-08:00

Entertainment is rampant in the world today. There are soo many options to choose from yet people seem so bored of it all. It's really strange. I find myself being bored of entertainment yet I spend so much money on it. So, how do you find new entertainment that doesn't cost anything to take part in? I have a lot of ideas but they all seem so boring. But when I think of the things that I could pay for I'm not that excited about it either. I need some help. Does anybody know of cheap or free ideas that could be entertaining for a day or so? Let me know.

Public Safety Announcement

2007-02-18T23:57:00.000-08:00

I was at the mall with my fiance and her little cousins and we were crossing the street to get back to our car. As we were looking both ways a jingle popped into my head about how it is important to look both ways before you cross the street. It went like this:

"You should look both ways before you cross the street
because it's a safe thing to do and it's really neat.
If you don't look both ways right now,
you might end up on the ground."
(copyright 2007 Sean Steeves)

As I was singing it, the little gaffers thought it was the coolest thing ever and continued to sing it and make up new verses all day. So, a couple of days later I hung out with them again and all of the sudden they started singing this jingle and all of the extra rhyming verses that they made up. It was pretty funny. I think some of the verses included the reprecussions of not paying attention to the cars like scrapping your knee and calling the ambulance, etc.
So, I think I should be hired by the Province of BC to write jingles about PSA's that are directed to little kids. Yes, that is where the big bucks are.

My favorite qoute from "The Office"

2007-02-12T19:32:00.000-08:00

Dwight: "Tit for tit."
Jim Halpert: "That is soo not the expression."
Dwight Schrute: "Well, it should be."

Don't eat a lot of fruit before you go to bed

2007-02-09T09:16:00.000-08:00

Last night I had a fruit smoothie before I went to bed and it was the dumbest thing to do because I did not get a good nights sleep at all. It was like one those sleeps where you remember every dream and it feels like 4 hrs have past and it was only like 10mins. Anyways, so don't eat a lot of fruit before you go to bed because you may not get the beauty sleep you deserve.

Only

2007-01-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

The word "only" is a powerful word. Especially in our day and age when pluralism reigns. In any given day, we are bombarded with a dozen different messages, commercials,and worldviews that sometimes we can become confused as to what is true and what is not. It is funny to think about this in light of 1st century Palestine when Jesus Christ walked the earth. I think pluralism reigned then just as much as it is present now. Back then, you had hundreds of god's to worship (they were much more blatant back then, weren't they?) and now we just use flashy facades and "intellect" to hide the many god's that we worship. When Jesus was on the earth he knew too well that state of the culture of his day and age and his message was very simple: obey with single-heartedness, the words that God has spoken. Jesus rebukes Satan by saying '" Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness."' (Matt. 4:10, The Message) Jesus's words are as true today as they were thousands of years ago. God knows the temptations that we face and His answer is obey Him only. Focus on God like if you were to look away you would drop dead. Obey Him first and your soul will be nurtured so that you may be a better friend, son, father, husband, employee, etc. We are not called to obey just to obey. We are called to obey so that we may bring God to other people; so that we may be more like Christ.

"Bix" Beiderbicke - the white trumpet player in a sea of black

2007-01-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

Leon "Bix" Beiderbicke was a young, white cornetist claimed to be a master of the trumpet at a young age in the 1920's where he joined famous bands such as the "Wolverine" orchestra, Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra, Frankie Trumbauer and his orchestra, and Beiderbicke's self-titled orchestra, Bix Beiderbicke and His Gang. He was amazing because only 10 years after the invention of the largley black musical style, Dixieland, Bix came on to the scene as a white counterpart to Louis Armstrong (as he was a rising star the same time as Sachmo was) and blew people away with his luscious tone and rich creative. He was one of the first of many white musician's to gang prominence in the black arena of jazz in the early 20th century that helped jazz be THE culture of the America at the end the World War II. Despite Bix's short time span, succumbing to pneumonia that was expediated by his alcoholism by the age of 27, Bix helped laid the foundations for jazz to become a racially diverse art in a time where racial segregation was most deadly in the United States.

A New Year

2007-01-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

The past year was an interesting one. Lots of change happened. I Graded from college (2005), got a fulltime job and started my career, my girlfriend was away for a year so I had to live on my own and I had to adjust from being immersed in a community of friends to being alone in my own schedule and lonely commute to work. However, a lot of those things were good for me. I learned to be satisfied with the present and cherish the moment and I solidified some old friendships. I also learned a lot about life and people working at various costumer service jobs. Finally, I got to start my career in music education teaching private music lessons which is now my full-time gig. So, despite all the change and my girlfriend being away, 2006 was a good year.
2007 brings a lot of change, too. I am looking to expand my studio capacity and venture into different teaching and gigging possibilities. I also am looking to take the "plunge" into a life-long communion with a beautiful girl but I'll keep you posted on that one. Those are my tentative plans for now but I'm sure a lot more will arise as the year goes on. Ultimatley, I want to be happen no matter what circumstance I am in. I don't want to wait for something to happen in order for me to be happy because I will always be waiting for something in life. I want to be happy in the moment and be content with who I am and what I have and who I love. Life is good despite its undesired curveballs. I hope I can say that next year.

10 things...

2006-08-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

that I learned from my trip to the USA.
10. Beauty can be relative to culture.
9. Snobby girls are unattractive.
8. Boy dogs have penises, girl dogs don't; sometimes this gets confusing.
7. Pregnant women are more comfortable with flatulence
6. Blogging is harder then it looks.
5. America is obsessed with phallic symbols.
4. If you give a mouse a cookies, he will...
3. 300 dollar jeans are cheaper than 1000 dollar suits.
2. If you don't get Mr. Pib because its too watery, don't ask for watery lemonade in return.
1. French Canadians are good at racing vehicles

Longing for my Starbucks princess

2006-08-01T23:26:00.000-07:00

So...I'm in love with the girl on the left. I'm in love with a beautiful girl named Rachel. The reason why I deem it necessary to write about this is because she has been teaching in South Korea since October 2005. She is set to get back this October but it just insn't soon enough. I truly miss her. I feel that I am not myself or, rather, a part of me is missing with her not being around for an extended period of time. Talking to her on the phone is amazing and dissapointing at the same time. By talking to her I know that she loves me and I her but I know that I will not be able to kiss her or hug to show that I love her. On November 9th we will have been going out for three years. Three years!
Whether she knows it or not she is an amazing, beautiful, intelligent woman. Sometimes I don't know what I did to deserve such a wonderful, caring girlfriend. I hope that I can live up to her qualities and be an amazing boyfriend to her. I love you baby!!!!

Superhero

2006-07-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

Do you think everyone has a superhero? Hmmmmmm, interesting question. I guess this begs the question, What is a superhero? I guess there areat least two types: there is the Superman type (extrodinary, inhuman powers) then there is the more down-to-earth type like, Mother Theresa and Martin Luther King Jr., who are known for galvanizing social reform or unconditional love for others. I would say Wynton Marsalis is a superhero of mine. Being a fellow trumpet player, he inspires me to reach for a higher goal. He is also an amazing educator and advocate for the musical education for under-privileged children. So, I guess a superhero can be someone who inspires to follow the passions in your life.A superhero can also give people hope. For example, Mother Theresa gives hope that there is still love in the world and Superman gives us hope that the good side eventually will overcome the bad side. Hope is one of those priceless thing in life that you can't buy. I'm glad there are superheros in the world.I think a lot of people have atleast one superhero that they look up to, whether it is a superman or a mother theresa, because everybody needs hope and inspiration to be a better person. Superhero's give us these things. It helps us see that there are good things in the world.Who is your superhero?

2006-04-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I wish I could do fun things like go hiking and various outside activities like this picture shows but that isn't the reality right now. The reality is is that I am too busy to do fun things but bored with my job. It is an interesting tension to be in. I basically feel like I am in limbo, never knowing what is going to happen next but knowing that what you want to happen hasn't. Does this make sense? Most likely not. Right now I am being completley annoyed by a 14 yr old Shitsu name Annie. It's old, stinky and barks out commands like everybody is her servant or something. Right now she is barking becuase I won't let her inside. In my opinion, she is dog and can survive outside for awhile. Thats about how much I care about the furry football (which I am about to punt into the neighbors yard if she doesn't stop barking, haha)...........they we go, she has given up; I won, heehee (Julie, if your reading this, I'm sorry but her barking does get annoying).
So, my girlfriend, Rachel, inspired me to start my own blog. Rachel is in South Korea with her sister teaching english and so I enjoy reading her blogs so I can get a better idea of what and how she is doing. So, perhaps this is what my blog will serve as, a little info on me and my life.
I'm a teacher and a musician. I teach at a daycare and I teach private trumpet lessons. When I am not doing that I am at a rehearsal of some sort or playing a gig somewhere where a trumpet or piano player is needed. I enjoy the music stuff, since that is what my degree is in, but I'm not too crazy about the daycare stuff. Its sort of a paycheck job and its really tough to view it as career since it is not my passion, where music simply is. But does a career have to be your passion? That is good question. Any thoughts?

Cheers,
Sean

Something

2006-02-23T10:33:00.000-08:00

Hi,
I basically created this blog so I can leave comments on my girlfriends blog.

Cheers!

Sean