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Clifford Ramos

Professor Beadle

English 115

30, November 2017

In the Spotlight (My Revised and Polished Essay)

Have you ever done a performance in front of people? Performing in front of small or

large audiences can be both pleasing and rough. I have been playing trumpet since the tender age

of 7 and showcased my talent in many diverse performances both by myself and with groups. A

trumpet is the most merciless demanding instrument in the way that there is many fundamentals

and techniques one needs to learn and do before playing anything on the trumpet. Performing on

stage is always a challenge as we try to sound as perfect as possible. Trumpet playing is both a

jubilant and frightful experience. When I play my trumpet with beautiful sound and tone, it

allows me to feel confident in my playing. When I squeak or cant play a certain note, everybody

can hear it because its projected out towards the audience. Experiencing mistakes in anything I

do, whether its on a math test or in a car driving test, enhances my understanding in

improvement. The monstrousness behind not practicing can result into embarrassment and a loss

of credibility. With this, reveals that musicians need to apply a greater sense of awareness in

sounding professional, practicing, and adapting to change.

Through experiencing failure, one can better themselves by having a focused and

determined sound. In any performance you do there are high expectations. Executing flawless

sound in front of people is not always easy, but with practice comes the reward of beauty and

success. The pressure of sounding great is one of the biggest expectations as audiences want to

see if the performer is excellent or poor. Through my own experience playing with my church

worship band, during one of the pieces, I couldnt hit a certain note and it sounded very out of
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tune and it effected the flow of my piece. Another similar experience was when, playing in my

high schools concert band, I played a note in the wrong key register and it sounded very awful.

Many similar situations I experienced, like those, reflect how important it is to have the correct

fundamentals, technique, mind-set, and much more. Without these foundations, the clarity and

professional sound you try to produce, wont project out of your bell.

Improvement only happens when you experience both the good and the bad side,

resulting into having thoughtful practice. Having success, both on and off stage, is key, mostly

through practice. In the view of English literature, Elizabeth Losh, Johnathan Alexander, Kevin

Cannon, and Zander Cannon, utilizes how practice is essential in words. In the book,

Understanding Rhetoric, by Elizabeth Losh, Johnathan Alexander, Kevin Cannon, and Zander

Cannon, these authors describe how crucial practice is in the English writing, stating, Texts can

be performed in other ways, too, and these forms of presentation-- sometimes taking place off

the page-- also require reflection and practice (Losh et al. 138). As a writer, improvement is

recursive. Through lots of drafts, revisions, grammar checks, and other similar works, writing is

a skill that must be improved by practice. In the book, Understanding Rhetoric, it highlights the

factor of practicing and how it is essential if you want to be outstanding in any form of

presentation.

Getting embarrassed and losing some credibility pushes one succeed by being flexible

towards others. As a musician, you will often encounter many different kinds of bands with

different playing styles. Knowing your limit and what you are capable of, is important in seeing

how you can adjust to what their playing. In the book, Understanding Rhetoric, by Elizabeth

Losh, Johnathan Alexander, Kevin Cannon, and Zander Cannon, these authors show how

important it is to recognize the musical diversity. Authors Losh, Alexander, Cannon, and Cannon
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portray this idea by expressing, So Im trying to try out a lot of different aspects of who I am

because different communities will find certain identities more or less credible or reliable (Losh

et al. 123). In the book, Understanding Rhetoric, these authors convey that writers also need to

meet the needs of the audience if they ever want to have a strong piece of writing. Finding what

level and skill set you have is vital if you want to have a broad range success with many different

types of audiences and expectations. With this recognition of how good you are and flexibility

towards what others want, enhances your ability to gain further credibility towards the audience,

as well as, attraction towards multiple kinds of musical opportunities such as an offer to play

with rapper Drake or a chance to receive a huge salary income if you play in John Williams

orchestra.

Learning to get back up from things, such as embarrassment and failure, is all part of the

process in getting better through sounding exquisite, practicing, and having great flexibility. In

whatever talent you have in life there are always going to be ups and downs. We are all capable

of achieving success, its just the way you accept the fact that there is going to be a journey of

highlights and challenges along the way. Playing in front of an audience requires hard work, but

it does lead you into many triumphs and success. Every musician knows the road is long if they

wish to thrive over the top players week-in and week-out.

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Works Cited

Losh, Elizabeth, et al. Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing 2nd Edition. 2nd

ed., Bedford/St. Martins, 2017, pp. 138

Losh, Elizabeth, et al. Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing 2nd Edition. 2nd

ed., Bedford/St. Martins, 2017, pp. 123