Missing Marching

It's so weird. In marching band we're worked so hard all the time, you'd think that we would at least get some relief once it was over and just chill, and not think about it for a while.

Not such the case. Why do I feel such a strong attraction to something where we get yelled at all the time, among other unpleasant things, like extreme heat and cold? And yet, I love it.

As some smart person once said "At home, at school, at the mall and pretty much everywhere I go, I am a person, and I have a name. But when I get out on to the marching band field, I become a little dot on the drill chart, with only a letter and a number for my name."

Every day I find myself involuntarily singing or humming or thinking the melody of 'Minuano' or 'See The World'. Everyday I find myself walking around the house backwards marching, dressing the lunch line, and attempting to keep three pace intervals between people. 

Yeah, call me a band geek all you want, because it's a title I'll readily accept. Oh marching band....I miss you :)

(and here's even more proof!)

You are 85% band geek!

 

WOW!! you are such a band geek!  that is so incredibly amazing. you might be told a lot that you need to get a life, but your just fine being a BAND GEEK!!

How much of a band geek are you
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Are u a band geek? Your Result: Band Geek   You are a band geek! you are most likely to tune out of everything around you and only pay attention to band! you will have no life (which is ok i guess)
Not a Band geek
Are u a band geek? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Are You A Band Geek? Your Result: Yes, you are a band geek   You are a band geek, in that you love to play a wind or percussion instrument, and that you are involved in one or more band activity, like marching band, jazz band, on more. You might even like to practice your instrument.
No, you aren't a band geek
Are You A Band Geek? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

You are 91% Band Geek!

 

Wow. You are the Ultimate Band Geek. Your life pretty much consists of living, breathing and dreaming about ... well band. All of your friends are in the band and your career of choice would probably be in music. The band has been and continues to be the biggest part of your life. There are plenty of people who have scored this high, maybe you should go find them. Weirdo.

Are you a Band Geek?
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You are 100% band geeky!

 

Help the people trying to be band geeks! you know enough about being one that you could seriously help them out!

How big of a band geek are you?
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awesome marching band quiz Your Result: Trumpets   YES!   congratulations you are a trumpet.  the awesomest instrument in my opinion.  you are cocky, and have the biggest ego.  and you are very loud, obscene, and obviously heard. by everyone in the band.
Mellophones
Low Brass
Flutes
Clarinets
Saxaphones
Drum Line
Pit
awesome marching band quiz Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Marching Band has taken over 100% of your life!

 

You live and breathe Marching Band. Without it, you'd be lost in this world. You want to be first in your section and know everything there is to know about band...and maybe some things the band director doesn't know.

Has Marching Band Taken Over Your Life?
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Oh yeah....I'm a band geek.

And this is why....I'm a band geek

So I was just looking around facebook, and one of my friends had commented on this page. And the page was: 100 reasons why I'm a band geek. I read through them, and sure enough, most of them applied to me. I thought I'd share this list with you today because it's HILARIOUS, but I did edit it a bit, there are only 62 instead of 100. :)

 

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A BAND GEEK WHEN

1. When you hear music and you start marking time.

2. When you walk behind someone and you're in step with them.

3. When you try to guess the tempo of your favorite song.

4. When you point out key changes and dynamics while listening to the radio.

5. When you like wearing your uniform.

6. When people ask you about your social life and you say, "Oh, you mean my flute/trumpet/drum/etc.?"

7. When you consider your drill book a fashion accessory.

8. When you never want to put down your instrument- it literally has to be taken from you.

9. When you practice your instrument more than you talk to people.

10. When people worry when they see you without you instrument.

11. When "armed guard," means a girl with a pole instead of a guy with a gun.

12. When band camp is the best part of you're summer

13. When you respond to "hey band geek!"

14. When someone says the word "box 5" and you automatically put your head up and start marching.

15. When you remember flats and sharps more easily than your name.

16. When you dress the lunch line, and urge others to do the same.

17. When you're alone and you suffocate because there's no one little comma you to breathe.

18. When your instrument has a name other than 'clarinet/trumpet/drum/etc'.

19. When you remember your instrument's birthday and forget your mom's.

20. When back marching no longer reminds you of ballet.

21. When you give your instrument a birthday party.

22. When Aussie feathers become a fashion "do".

23. When you see your section more than you see your family.

24. When everyone wants to kill the other football team...and you want to kill the other band.

25. When you think evening practices should last a half-hour longer.

26. When you can sight-read with no problem whatsoever.

27. When you can put on you uniform in less than 10 minutes.

28. When reeds taste good.

29. When marking time is your favorite form of exercise.

30. When you have a neck strap/harness/dot book tan line.

31. When you subconsciously start practicing your conducting with a pencil.

32. When numbers past 8 aren't important.

33. When you roll-step through the cafeteria so you don't spill your lunch.

34. When you'd rather practice than read this list.

35. When letters past G aren't important.

36. When you hear music and start conducting.

37. Your social life includes memorizing music.

38. You memorize tunes for fun.

39. You don't mind singing on the bus so long as it's the show music.

40. You step on the field again after summer vacation, kiss the ground and yell "I'm home at last!"

41. You can sing not only your show from three years ago, but the other band's show that beat you.

42. You invest in a mouthpiece warmer.

43. Wide open spaces urge you to march your show.

44. You have at least 2 instruments - a junky one for marching and a good one for concert band.

45. Dreams of marching are constantly in your head.

46. You wear your marching shoes to school.

47. The most exciting thing in your life is marching band.

48. You start to call the "football field" the "marching field".

49. You no longer think of yourself as a person, but as a dot on a drill book page.

50. You remember each year of high school by the show that you marched in and not the grade.

51. You sit in ready position...at the dinner table.

52. You march in the summer to keep up good marching skills.

53. You have good marching skills.

54. You miss homecoming for a band function and don't mind.

55. Your band locker has more of your personal items in it than your closet.

56. You forget your sister's name but remember the first, middle, and last name of everyone in your +200 member band.

57. You add "Boston Crusaders Drum Corps" to your job choices after you graduate high school.

58. Changing your oil means opening up your case.

59. You see a piece with lots of high notes and say 'Yay!'

60. You forget how to walk normally

61. When you stand, you're feet are always in closed first position

62. Normal words like 'set, and drill' have totally different meanings then what everyone else thinks.

 And the sad thing? Pretty much all of these 62......Apply to me. Isn't tat GREAT? :) Now you know how insane I really am. Do any apply to you?

(School today was good! French class was hysterical- we were doing contractions à and de with masculine/feminine/plural and I think the funniest quote was from Bella to me and Elránia "The supermarket is a boy, you guys. And bakery is a girl." Haha.)

Boot Camp (for musicians)

Yay!!! The season for my favorite sport finally starts today! In case you don't know what sport I'm talking about, it's marching band.... (YES, marching band IS a sport) But is any case, my family has had to live with me going on about sets, drill, eight to fives, six to fives and twelve to fives, jazz runs, roll step, block and a bunch of other terms for a whole year without really understanding it. But now, it's a whole new season of fun! I just came back from uniforms and the first practice is tonight. (I just hope it stops raining) Eeep! So EXCITED!!!

Pain, Tornadoes, And Other (More Cheerful) Points of Interest

Hey everyone! I'm back! (Well, of course I am! I'm writing this post, aren't I?) I missed you guys so much over the past week and there were several moments when I really, really, wanted to post about something- but I didn't have a computer, :( , so I guess I just have to squeeze it all into one big post!

From the title, you may conclude that my week may not have been very good, but on the contrary, (aside from a few things) band camp was excellent! I'll start with the topic of the music.

I'd been working on my audition pieces for the concert band and jazz band since May, so even though I was nervous going into the audition, I was not a complete wreak or anything. Anyway, it went super well, and I ended up getting second chair in concert band and second chair in the top jazz band! (You might remember that it was my goal to get 1st or 2nd chair in both) I was soooo happy. That meant I would be playing the first part (in concert band) and if their were any solos/duets I would have a really good shot at them. There did end up being a duet in our second song in concert band that I got to play with another trumpeter from my school, and it went really well. All the songs were really fun to play in both jazz and concert band and it was awesome playing the top first parts in everything! (Although {and this is the pain part} everything was *super* high and so my face hurt SO bad!)

Now, that's the music summary, and here's a story:

It was Tuesday night and I could not sleep at all. Evidently, camp food was making me rather sick. I finally drifted off around 4am, but I missed all the rehearsals on Wednesday because I was still sick. (sadness) By the evening however, I was feeling reasonably OK, so I was able to accompany the rest of the camp to Funtown. (You probably remember this place from when my 8th grade band went) anyway, we got there at around 5:30 and started having fun! I couldn't eat anything or go on many rides, but I still was having a good time. It was a beautiful day! It was warm and there weren't many clouds; the only thing to make it better would have been if I was feeling better.

I was on the bumper cars with a bunch of other camp kids and the ride was about to start when the camp director whips out his iPhone, checks the Doppler radar and says "There's a tornado warning in {insert name that campus is in}."  (in my state, tornadoes are, like, terrible storms that never come near us.) Anyway, after hearing this news I'm a little edgy, and some of us go off for food. We're eating and drinking out sodas, and talking when the thunder begins. (As a side note- through this whole experience I am furiously texting my parents, because things are starting to get a little freaky...) At first it's just a little rumble here and there, a booming sound in the background. But after about twenty minutes or so, there's a little flash of lightning. Through texts, I've found out that there's a really big storm heading towards us; all red on the Doppler. Counselors are talking urgently on cell phones, while the rumbles and flashes become less random. Finally we all end up under a large tent covering one of the picnic areas. I'm looking out over the parking lot were the clouds are boiling in the sky- black and as ominous as death. I try to breathe deeply and relax but it's impossible with the given climate. There are several tornadoes that have touched down. One went really close to campus, so they had to close it down. And the scariest of all- There are tornadoes coming towards us. Everything is getting so intense and scary, I just want to be at home, or at least back in my dorm room, but we're not even on the buses yet! The mega storm is about to strike when a Funtown employee comes barreling around a conner screaming "CODE BLACK! CODE BLACK! EVACUATE FUNTOWN! THERE ARE TORNADOES; GET YOUR KIDS OUT OF HERE!!!!" It was pretty crazy. We ran like crazy to the buses and as soon as we got in it was upon us. The rain came down so hard it was like we were at the bottom of a lake. The thunder was constantly there, and the lightning continuous. I was so afraid that a tornado was going to come out of nowhere and run us all over. I prayed so hard, and somehow, amazingly, it narrowly missed us, and the storm passed over. We drove back and stayed in safe place until we could go up to our dorm rooms. We didn't have power, but that didn't matter. We were safe.


And that, my friends, was my extremely frightening Wednesday evening. 


Tomorrow I've got a long tag from Izori, Olive Tree, Elrania, and Bella and sometime this coming week I do have a post that I'd like to do on a couple cool reflections I had this past week. have a wonderful evening!

insane and inspirational

Wow. I was SO tired after this morning I seriously was about to fall asleep in math class this afternoon! Wanna hear all about the craziness? It was certainly NOT a normal morning :)

So I'm at school at bit before 7am for jazz band and we run a good hard rehearsal from about 7:15 to 7:57ish. At that time I feverishly pack up my trombone, grab my cornet and begin my head section leader duties. We have marching practice from 8-10 officially and I'd guess we were back inside a little before 10. Then there's all the wrapping up details, etc, to be taken care of and around 10:05 we're dismissed back to class, but I'm still in the auditorium finalizing some things and packing up my cornet. I take my cornet and head upstairs stopping at the top to drop my cornet off in room 201 (Mrs Barry's room). I'm just stuffing my cornet onto the shelf when my principal's voice comes over the intercom. "Attention all students and staff. We are going into lockdown mode. Students, please go to the nearest classroom. We are in lockdown." So I think "Oh great. The lockdown drill." And go sit along the wall where we're supposed to. Two other students end up there as well and we had our lockdown drill. When it was finally over at almost 10:30, well, it was time for sectional! So we had our sectional and we were worked pretty hard. So yeah. That was my insane crazy morning.

Now for the inspirational part.  We're singing this amazing song in chorus called 'When You Believe' and it's from the movie 'Prince of Egypt'. Well I've never seen the movie, but this song is just incredible! Incroyable! (as you would say in French) The lyrics have such good meaning so I'd like to share them with you. (there is a section where we sing in Hebrew, but I'm going to skip that for obvious reasons like you wouldn't know what I was writing about.)

When You Believe

 Many nights we've prayed,

with no proof anyone could hear.

In our hearts a hopeful song,

We barely understood.

Now we are not afraid,

Although we know there's much to fear.

We were moving mountains long,

Before we knew we could.

There can be miracles,

When you believe.

Though hope is frail,

It's hard to kill.

Who knows what miracles,

You can achieve?

When you believe,

Somehow you will.

You will when you believe.

In this time of fear,

When prayer so often proved in vain.

Hope seemed like the summer birds,

Too swiftly flown away.

Yet now I'm standing here,

With heart so full I can't explain.

Seeking faith and speaking words,

I never thought I'd say.

There can be miracles,

When you believe.

Though hope is frail,

It's hard to kill.

Who knows what miracles,

You can achieve?

When you believe,

Somehow you will.

You will when you believe.

{Hebrew Section}

There can be miracles,

When you believe.

Though hope is frail,

It's hard to kill.

Who knows what miracles,

You can achieve?

When you believe,

Somehow you will.

Now you will.

You will when you believe.

You will when you believe.

State Jazz

It was fun, 

And it was not fun.

Let me tell you about state jazz yesterday:

I was up at 5:25

And at the school at 6:37.

I was the first one there.

We packed up the drum set

All the food and other equipment

And then we got on the fancy coach bus.

After a fun ride of 2 hours and 15 minutes,

We arrived and were sent to our tiny homeroom,

And the band we were sharing with,

Was not kind enough to consolidate all their stuff.

After roaming around for a few minutes, checking out some other bands,

A bullet wearing a maroon shirt hit me.

It was Olive Tree.

We hung out for a bit, and then it was back to homeroom.

Back in minuscule land,

I fought my way through the other band's stuff,

Until I finally was able to get to my trumpet case and backpack.

I grabbed my music and mouthpiece, and as I stood up,

I heard a familiar voice call my name,

But it sure wasn't a voice I had expected to hear!

I turned towards the door,

And there stood my grandmother, on crutches,

because of her recent knee surgery.

I was so surprised! 

My grandfather and cousin were out in the hallway too.

I began walking them back down the hallway to find my parents,

Who apparently didn't know anything about this either,

And hoping I would run into Mrs Barry 'cause I was probably going to be late,

For the music review.

Well lo and behold, Mrs Barry knew all about it.

Not wanting to disappoint us if she couldn't come, 

My grandmother didn't want any of the family to know the probable plan.

But she had no idea of what the details for the day were.

So she looked up the school's phone number, and left a message for Mrs Barry.

Who called her back as soon as she didn't have a class.

She thought it would be a good surprise.

So needless to say,

She was OK about my being slightly late.

Personally, I think Mrs Barry and my grandmother would get along quite well.

ANYWAY...

After music review we went to our warm-up room,

Which was insanely hot.

And then to our performance room,

Which was relatively cold.

We got through the performance feeling pretty good,

Even though we were missing a clarinetist,

A 1st alto sax,

And I had a mini crisis during my first solo.

And then we got the scores.

Lower than districts,

Even though we played so much better.

And the soloists scores?

Well one judge clearly hated our solos.

You get rated on a scale of 1-3.

1- Excellent

2- Good

3- Fair/Poor

He gave everybody a 3 except one person.

No one deserved that in our band,

And it hurt, let me tell you.

Needless to say,

We were a subdued, disappointed group on the bus ride home.

*Sigh...*

I have never seen my band director that depressed.

And Ripplestar,

Who is normally driving everybody insane,

Barely spoke at all.

It was my last middle school state jazz,

And I wasn't planning on ending it like that.

Ouch and FIRST DAY WITH INSTRUMENTS!!!!!!!

So 2 minutes after I got up this morning I stubbed my little pinky toe REALLY hard on the corner of my bedroom door. No pretty unless you consider me hopping up and down screaming in pain, pretty. Yeah, and you may be thinking 'a stubbed toe? Big deal.' Yes big deal. It's STILL throbbing. But on a happier note.......

FIRST DAY BACK WITH INSTRUMENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So that was obviously awesome. Had sectional and played both trombone and cornet. That was cool because it was the first time my band director had actually heard me play trombone and she was really impressed! Then I helped out during 6th grade band rushing around fulfilling Mrs. Barry's every need.....yeah. So that was basically my day, bar all the homework I've had to do and my trumpet lesson.

~the cornet crazie~