All I Need to Know, I Learned from GJ

GJ?

He was my High School band director. Gary James Tangen.

Mr. Tangen wasn't your typical band director. He was a large man with a rather large, protruding gut. He was a bit gruff, with long "lamb chop"sideburns. He usually smelled of a mixture of cigarettes, coffee, and old spice. During the summer, when he wasn't teaching school, he was a long-haul truck driver. He certainly looked more like a truck driver than a band director.

But he definitely had the knowledge and love of music. Once in a while, he would drag out his trumpet and play along with us. (I hear it happened more in the jazz band.) He'd tell us stories about his younger years and the groups that he played with, or about when he met Doc Severinsen, a trumpet player whose trumpet case (he says) he wasn't even worthy to carry.

I took clarinet lessons from him while I was in High School. His daughter, the best clarinet player around (and currently principal clarinettist for the Billings Symphony), was one of my best friends. Like most wind instrument players at Billings Senior High School during the Tangen years, I loved my band director.

One of Mr. Tangen's goals, beyond that of having the best band around (Don't talk to me about marching bands though, ok?), was to help young adults learn about life. He taught us to take responsibility for ourselves and he taught us how to get along and become productive members of society.

Mr. Tangen had four rules that he expected all of his students to follow in band, in school, on tours, and at performances. I think that these four rules, if followed by more people in this world, would help make this world a much better place. So here, for your reading enjoyment, are Gary Tangen's four rules:

1. Know your part.

This has obvious meaning in a group of budding musicians. If you don't know your part, you can't contribute to the overall musicianship of the group. Yet, I believe that this simple statement has impact far beyond its application to membership in a band.

In my work life, I have worked with a lot of people who know their part. They have the expertise and knowledge needed to do their job and they have the ability to apply that knowledge to the projects that they're working on. Additionally, they're happy to share this knowledge with others. These people know their part and they are more productive and better employees because of it.

Knowing your part will keep you from sticking your nose in someone else's business when it doesn't belong there. Knowing your part will help you take care of yourself while not meddling in other peoples' affairs.

2. Wear the right clothes for the gig.

Again, the meaning of this rule is obvious when applied to a band, but the implications reach much farther. During the last couple of weeks, I interviewed different candidates for software engineering positions. Some of them didn't even bother to dress appropriately for the interview. All other things being equal, we ended up hiring one candidate over another because of how he dressed for the interview.

If you're dressed appropriately for the event you're attending, not only will you be more comfortable, but you'll also spare yourself embarrassment and others discomfort.

3. Love your neighbor. Mr. Tangen used to say, "you don't have to like him, but you d*** well better love him."

What a different world we'd live in if everyone followed this simple rule! I doubt it's possible to like everyone, but it IS possible to treat everyone with courtesy and respect. There are certain people I can't stand being around, but that doesn't mean those people have to KNOW that I can't stand being around them. I'm not going to go out of my way to find opportunities to be near them, but when I AM near them, I'll treat them well.

Isn't this the second great commandment set forth by the Savior?

4. Don't be a jerk.

This is my favorite of Mr. Tangen's rules. It was the "catch-all" for when any of the other three rules didn't apply. It covered late-night pranks in hotel rooms on band trips. It covered how bands often treated substitute teachers. This rule also implied "don't be an idiot." It is closely tied to rule 3.

This is also the rule that Mr. Tangen would often call people on. If someone was being a jerk (or an idiot), Mr. Tangen would have no problem whatsoever berating the jerk in front of whomever was present, often the whole band. That seemed to cure jerkiness pretty quickly...at least until the smart of the public humiliation wore off.

Those are Mr. Tangen's (GJ's) four rules. Learn them. Live them. Love them.