Easter Drag

Yes, I'm two days late. Doc actually had all of this to say on Monday. Hey, grad school and three jobs plus rehearsals keep me busy, alright? Alright.

So as usual, we start rehearsal with a little warm up and then tune the group. Usually we do an A to the woodwinds, an F to the brass, and a Bflat for the whole group, bottom to top. But apparently Doc wanted to switch it up...and we paid no heed. "Let's have a tuning note, bottom to top." *tunes* "Okay now an A to the woodwinds."

Students "Uh...that was an A."

Doc "Oh it was? I'm sorry. *smirks* You think you're smart, eh? Well since you've already had an A, an A to the woodwinds just in case."

He should know better than to change M.O.'s after four years (or five+ for several of us, haha).

We proceeded to work on a piece called Sanctuary, and Doc had this to say when we finished a section: "It's close...it's sleepy. It's the Monday after Easter is what it is. You've got the 'Don't make me do anything hard today' look."

I think it's probably pointless to mention that he did not allow us to stay on "easy" stuff that rehearsal, or any other, for that matter. But breaks always have the same effect. Christmas normally a lot of us perform at our home churches or whatever, so it's not so bad. But Thanksgiving, Spring break, oh and especially summer! If we're not actively practicing our craft, you do not even want to know what those first few rehearsals back sound like. Doc probably goes home cringing and wondering how on earth he'll manage a band playing elementary school bad. :-(

Don't get me wrong, elementary school bands and orchestras do amazing things for how little musical study they've had. But by the time you're in college...there's really no excuse, especially if you're a Music Major.

We didn't even take off for the Easter Holiday is the sad thing, however. Most of us played for any number of church services. I even showed up to the Sunrise service on Sunday just to hear the brass ensemble. 7am is a small price to pay to see Doc blast it out on the coronet (usually he plays french horn). There's something wholly satisfying about seeing your professors strut their musical prowess (or lack thereof, as sometimes happens). It really gives you confidence to know you're studying from the best. And even when they mess up (hey, nobody's perfect!), it just helps you figure out that no matter how great at your instrument you get, there's always something else to discover and new mistakes to learn from (or just get over. lol).

Okay...and if I'm honest...it's a total ego-stroke when your professors mess up. *maniacal laughter* It's almost like payback for all of the scales and crazy fingerings and ridiculously fast runs that you've practiced over and over and over with that stupid uncompromising metronome beeping it's two-tone pitch at high-volume decibels for hours until your lips bruise and your fingers bleed (then turn into calluses you could never hope to get rid of) and you hear the passages in your nightmares and your fingers itch for an instrument and you've practically memorized it by now, only to discover that there's now something harder to learn, or that the piece is cut from the repertoire, or worse yet, that nobody can even hear you! *breathe* (sorry about the run-on sentence, I was on a roll!)

Yes...that is the life of a musician. Driving yourself crazy in the never-ending quest for perfection. And loving every minute of it.

Hobey-ho!