David Tan

Trinity Lutheran Church’s Music Ministry

A resident of Burr Ridge, Illinois, David Tan is a physician assistant working at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago. Away from his work as a physician assistant, David Tan plays the violin and is a member of the choir at Trinity Lutheran Church in Burr Ridge.

Trinity Lutheran Church has a robust music ministry program in which members come together for fellowship and to sing praises to God. Adult members who want to join the church’s music ministry can join the sanctuary choir or the handbell choir.

The sanctuary choir is open to adults and high school students. Interested persons can go to one of the training sessions held every Wednesday evening from September to June. During Lent and Advent, practice sessions are held on Tuesday evenings.

Additionally, adults can join the handbell choir, which rehearses every Wednesday evening. However, candidates must call in advance to see if there is an opening.

Trinity Lutheran Church also has a choir for children in grades 3 through 8. Rehearsals are held one or two times a month.

The Physician Assistant Program at George Washington University

Burr Ridge, Illinois resident David Tan is a former sergeant in the U.S. Army and now serves at multiple health facilities as a physician assistant. David Tan earned his MA in the field, completing the physician assistant program at George Washington University.

Located in Washington, D.C., George Washington University offers a physician assistant (PA) program that is ranked among the top five programs in America by U.S. News. The program takes two to three years to complete and provides students with a strong academic knowledge base combined with clinical experience. The specialized community service component of the program also provides students with a unique opportunity to become familiar with the District’s health care and social services.

The PA program includes a didactic portion which instructs students in the areas of evidence-based medicine, behavioral sciences, and clinical assessment, among others. The program also requires students to gain experience in a range of medical departments including ambulatory care, pediatrics, emergency medicine, and surgery. In addition, students take part in rotations within inpatient and outpatient settings and provide care for patients under the supervision of a physician.

Veterans Benefit from Contextualized Health Care Planning

Physician assistant David Tan is a veteran and alumnus of George Washington University. A dedicated medic, David Tan works as a physician assistant at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Veterans can significantly benefit from contextualized care planning in health care, according to the findings of a study conducted by the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Quality Improvement Program put up at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center (VAMC). The contextualized plan identifies each patient’s life challenges and adapts a treatment plan addressing their needs and circumstances. These challenges could be anything from social support, transportation, competing responsibilities, or financial difficulty.

Veterans taking part in the study recorded their visits and relayed this data to medical staff, enabling them to factor patients’ contextual problems during development of their care program. The study noted that, when care teams addressed 72 percent of contextual factors, hospitalizations decreased, leading to $25.2 million in cost savings by hospitals, and the reduction of health care costs for veterans. There were improvements in patient outcomes too, Dr. Jeffrey Ryan, chief of medical services at Jesse Brown VAMC, said in a press statement, released on July 31, 2020.

Quick Tips for Church Bass Players

Since 2018, David Tan has worked as a physician assistant at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago. Outside his activities as a physician assistant, he maintains an active role in his local Lutheran church. In addition to singing, David Tan plays bass guitar in his church choir every Sunday.

Many Christian churches use a vocal choir and full band to add to Sunday worship services, and lead the congregation in singing traditional hymns and contemporary worship music. While the role of a church bass player isn’t entirely different from in other musical ensembles, playing alongside a choir requires a somewhat unusual approach.

The bass guitar is typically thought of as a rhythm instrument, which it is, but effective bassists also do much to support musical harmonies. When playing with a church choir, adding harmonic textures to the vocals while also staying locked into the beat can significantly improve an arrangement. Church bass players looking to boost their harmony skills can do so by practicing and experimenting with chord inversions.

It’s also important for church bassists to use a playing style that matches the music of their church. For example, a heavily funky beat will sound very out of place alongside a somber, reverent hymn. In addition, bassists should make it a point to learn the singing tradition of their congregation so that they can properly time musical introductions and interludes.

A final thing to consider is the type of bass to use for playing in church. This also depends on the particular style of music played during a church’s worship service. A jazz-style bass may be best for church orchestras, while a more “rock-sounding” Rickenbacker bass may be better suited for a lively choir singing rock-based worship songs.

A Brief Overview of Cleaning Your Bass Guitar

Based in Burr Ridge, Illinois, David Tan serves at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center as a physician assistant. An avid music enthusiast, physician assistant David Tan plays musical instruments such as the violin and bass guitar.

Properly caring for a base guitar requires regular maintenance to preserve the life of the instrument and ensure it produces an optimal sound. Ideally, no longer than 3 months should pass between cleanings.

To clean the guitar, first remove the strings and clean the fretboard using a product such as Murphy’s oil soap or a guitar polish. Guitars with fretboards other than maple or phenolic are also typically moisturized using lemon oil after being cleaned. To clean the bass guitar’s tremolo system, use WD-40 to remove grime from the cavities after the saddles have been taken out. The bridge should also be carefully cleaned since this part of the guitar is most vulnerable to rot and mold. Cleaning the bass’s body, including the horns and headstock, is best accomplished using a guitar cleaner and soft cloth to prevent scratches.

Beginner Tips for Playing the Violin

A resident of Burr Ridge, Illinois, David Tan is a physician assistant and a former member of the United States Armed Forces where he worked as a field medic. Currently, he works as a physician assistant with Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago, which comprises four outpatient clinics serving the community. When he’s not working, David Tan enjoys playing the violin.

The violin is a musical instrument that has the ability to express a wide spectrum of sounds and emotions. If you’re just beginning play the violin, there are many techniques and concepts you’ll need to learn, and this can be overwhelming. However, the key to effective learning is to begin focusing on a few fundamental skills. Three tips to help you get started are described below.

1. Tune your violin before each practice session. Fortunately, there are numerous violin tuner apps that can help you perform this exercise correctly. There are also instructional violin tuning videos that can make tuning your violin easier and quicker.

2. Learn to take frequent breaks while practicing, allowing your fingers to relax. Many injuries associated with beginners such as cramps and strains are caused by overly long practice sessions.

3. When practicing, always have a pencil handy to mark your music sheet with key points and helpful reminders.

A Brief Look at the Playing of Bells in Church

A dedicated medical professional, David Tan works as a physician assistant at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Illinois. In addition to his career in medicine and work as a physician assistant, David Tan is also active in his community, playing the bass guitar, violin, and occasionally the bells in his local church.

Playing bells in church has been a traditional addition to worship since Medieval times. Through the years, the bells have evolved from bells rung in large towers (called “carillons”) to smaller bells that could be carried and played by hand (known as “handbells”) The practice of English handbell ringing came to the United States in the early 1800s, and the first touring handbell group was organized by P.T. Barnum in the 1840s.

Handbell choirs are now found frequently in churches across the world. They often have bells of all sizes covering pitches of two or more octaves, including all the sharps and flats. Playing together, handbell choirs can create complex musical melodies and harmonies using multiple individual bells. Due to the number of bells needed to create the music, handbell choirs typically stand behind large padded tables that hold all the necessary bells. This prevents damage to the bells as they are picked up and placed back down relatively quickly.

Unlike in other ensembles (like orchestras), handbell players are responsible for only two or three total notes of music, which they must play in rhythm every time they arise in the composition. Ample practice is essential in order to ensure proper continuity across so many individual players.