When I went down to the stadium to walk and climb the stadium steps last night, the high school band was using the field for practice. It immediately made me nostalgic. Band was the place where I fit in best. It was where my friends were and it was with those people that I experienced all the magical – or horrifying, depending on your perspective – coming of age events.
Just like any sports team, we rehearsed every day, spent a week together at summer camp and then spent every fall weekend traveling somewhere. Just about all of my high school memories are with one band geek or another.
As I circled the track last night I turned off my iPod so I could listen and I remembered how tedious marching rehearsal could be. Move eight beats. Listen to the director tell you everything you did wrong. Reset. Moved eight beats. Listen. Reset. Ad infinitum. Let the whining begin. That part really isn't all that much fun.
As I was walking I also remembered how annoying it was that the people who played percussion were pretty much exempt from the tedium. Since they move around the field less than the rest of the band, during rehearsals they took off their instruments and basically stood around, annoying the hell out of everyone else. Last night I watched them throw their sticks at each other, lay on the grass pretending to nap while everyone else was sweating and marching, exasperating the field commander as they made fun of her. . .oh wait, maybe that's a memory of mine sneaking in there. . .
Last night I watched the kid with not much rhythm try and keep up. I watched the arrogant kid argue about who should get the trumpet solo. I saw the crybaby kid really working it as she tried to get out of rehearsal because she said her ankle hurt. I watched the director try to keep his cool as lots and lots of people just weren't getting what he was trying to do.
It's been at least 25 years since I was down on that field, but I remembered as I watched that some things never change.
Band Geeks Unite!
1 comment:
The percussion section is excempt from practice because we are superior to the rest of the band members.
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