It has come to my attention that Leanne also won the memorisation competition. Apologies for not mentioning this earlier.
Also, your emails are now in possession of an email regarding Beauty and the Beast. Be champs and respond to it.
Finally, if you don't understand the title of this post, I will paraphrase a brotip:
Grammar is cool.
Peace out.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Squelch - The July Rehearsal
In the days leading up to the July rehearsal, it rained with much volume and determination. This meant that come the weekend, whilst it wasn't actively raining, the field was nonetheless a bit of a raging swamp.
As a result, I brought gumboots. We then proceeded to not go onto the field all day.
Saturday began (and ended) with a music rehearsal. As well as continuing to hone our Cirque du Soleil and ANZAC day music, we began (and continued) work on our tour music: Birdland and Beethoven's Fifth [themes therefrom], as well as that favourite from last year: I Want You Back. Birdland posed some difficulties for those of us in low brass due to the generally low range of the piece, combined with the fact that the score is quite small. Because
Fun Fact: when you're playing low notes on low brass, your vision goes blurry from the vibrations. Which makes reading small music quite difficult. Especially [as with the sousa part] when the majority of the score is ledger lines. Fun times.
On the plus side, Beethoven 5 involves the style marking 'Rage!'. One can't find fault in a piece which is just asking one to go nuts.
Then followed our learning of the Anzac Day drill, which comprised of a lot of walking backwards and forwards, with the odd passthrough. Not as impressive as this passthrough Katrina showed us, but still reasonably snazzy.
We also got to see for the first time the drill for the drum feature, replete with a foot kicking a ball through some goalposts. Apparently much fun was had in the writing of that particular drill.
Sunday involved going on the field. It was squelchy.
We began with an assembly wherein we were introduced to Alison's French exchange student, Jean; and Liam learned that Anthony could potentially incapacitate him. There was more music, and then onto the field to learn the drill from the drum feature.
All the drill learning done over the course of the weekend [and the speed with which it took place] prompted Katrina to comment on how easy it is to learn drill when your music is memorised. For those of you who either didn't pick up on that thinly veiled hint, or otherwise weren't there, that was her telling you to memorise your music. SO DO IT!
After the accomplishment of learning six minutes worth of drill in the space of two hours [and after bandying about the word 'schmick' - at least that's how I assume it would be spelt] there was the memorisation test. Congratulations go to Ben Gray (both of them), Ben Mills, Shane and Brendan (the cymbal player) for not getting anything wrong. Brendan also gets a special mention for being more entertaining than Shane. I don't think anyone saw that one coming.
The afternoon music rehearsal also saw the vocalist auditions for tour. As it turned out, no-one is going to be singing You are the Sunshine of my Life, but there will be singing in I Want You Back. Fun times for Paul and myself.
There was also the promise made of a recording of the drum feature so as to enable us to practice it at home. By now an mp3 file should be floating about the theoretical aether of your internet. Make use of it.
Our next rehearsal will be the weekend of the AFL performance. Make sure you know all your music, make sure you're uninjured, and above all else, make sure you know that the date has changed.
Stay keen, kids.
As a result, I brought gumboots. We then proceeded to not go onto the field all day.
Saturday began (and ended) with a music rehearsal. As well as continuing to hone our Cirque du Soleil and ANZAC day music, we began (and continued) work on our tour music: Birdland and Beethoven's Fifth [themes therefrom], as well as that favourite from last year: I Want You Back. Birdland posed some difficulties for those of us in low brass due to the generally low range of the piece, combined with the fact that the score is quite small. Because
Fun Fact: when you're playing low notes on low brass, your vision goes blurry from the vibrations. Which makes reading small music quite difficult. Especially [as with the sousa part] when the majority of the score is ledger lines. Fun times.
On the plus side, Beethoven 5 involves the style marking 'Rage!'. One can't find fault in a piece which is just asking one to go nuts.
Then followed our learning of the Anzac Day drill, which comprised of a lot of walking backwards and forwards, with the odd passthrough. Not as impressive as this passthrough Katrina showed us, but still reasonably snazzy.
We also got to see for the first time the drill for the drum feature, replete with a foot kicking a ball through some goalposts. Apparently much fun was had in the writing of that particular drill.
Sunday involved going on the field. It was squelchy.
We began with an assembly wherein we were introduced to Alison's French exchange student, Jean; and Liam learned that Anthony could potentially incapacitate him. There was more music, and then onto the field to learn the drill from the drum feature.
All the drill learning done over the course of the weekend [and the speed with which it took place] prompted Katrina to comment on how easy it is to learn drill when your music is memorised. For those of you who either didn't pick up on that thinly veiled hint, or otherwise weren't there, that was her telling you to memorise your music. SO DO IT!
After the accomplishment of learning six minutes worth of drill in the space of two hours [and after bandying about the word 'schmick' - at least that's how I assume it would be spelt] there was the memorisation test. Congratulations go to Ben Gray (both of them), Ben Mills, Shane and Brendan (the cymbal player) for not getting anything wrong. Brendan also gets a special mention for being more entertaining than Shane. I don't think anyone saw that one coming.
The afternoon music rehearsal also saw the vocalist auditions for tour. As it turned out, no-one is going to be singing You are the Sunshine of my Life, but there will be singing in I Want You Back. Fun times for Paul and myself.
There was also the promise made of a recording of the drum feature so as to enable us to practice it at home. By now an mp3 file should be floating about the theoretical aether of your internet. Make use of it.
Our next rehearsal will be the weekend of the AFL performance. Make sure you know all your music, make sure you're uninjured, and above all else, make sure you know that the date has changed.
Stay keen, kids.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Roosters vs. Raiders (or) That Awkward Moment When the Holiday-Care Kids Watch Your Rehearsals for Entertainment.
This post is dedicated to Sophie and Lucy Pugh-Sellers, who having hung with us for six months are returning to America, where they can no doubt brag to their friends about the fact that they were in (arguably) the best high school marching band in the country. We're going to miss you both.
Fun Fact: When you have three male choir billets staying at your house and you need to get your runners so that you can get to Marching band, and said footwear happens to be in the room they were given, things get faintly awkward. They then lead to statements like "I didn't know you had a brother" from the kids you're carpooling with.
Regardless, following the morning's faint awkwardness, I arrived at Cumberland at the bright and early time of 8.20. I was in for a long wait. As more and more people arrived, I became aware of the effects of last rehearsal's blog post. As well as eliciting numerous oblique references to the ranting exhibited on the facebook page, I discovered that Jordan had shaved just to ensure that no-one would have stabby-stabby murder faces brought on by unnecessary facial hair. This was of course more than counterbalanced by the fact that Jacob seems to be going for the 'lol jks, I'm actually in my mid-thirties' look. Not Ok. Shave.
At assembly, wherein we learned more about the post-spec tour (information will apparently be arriving in your inboxes at some point soonish... I can't be any more specific otherwise I lose plausible deniability), most notably the fact that not only will there be a piece played entirely on balloons (awkward if they pop like they did in warmup today), there will be a piece involving singing. Remember to inform Dane if you are interested in any of the above.
And now we reach the discussion of that awkward moment when the holiday care kids watch your rehearsals for entertainment. All morning, as we ran the show, filled in gaps and generally just polished drill, there was a whole contingent of little kids up at Carlingford West PS wearing [obscenely] fluorescent orange hats, screaming 'go trumpets' and 'go clarinets' alternately. On the plus side, they were an incredibly receptive audience.
The first few runthroughs were a touch questionable thanks to the fact that instead of the field being marked in a delightfully convenient 5m grid, we had vertical lines every ten metres and precious little else. This was perhaps a good thing as we were missing so many people (flutes, I'm judging your attendance) that we were marching more to keep the forms recognisable than to actually follow the drillbook to the step.
After we finally got it presentable, it was time to pack the 'truck' (pack the larger-than-average people-mover just doesn't have the same ring to it, even if it's true), get changed, eat lunch and then head onto the swivelly bus to get to the Sydney Football Stadium.
At this point, the sock puppet with whom I have monologues on facebook was revealed. Apparently it's a creepy looking sock puppet. Also apparently, most people thought I was just having a SPD moment (i.e. the sock puppet was merely a figment of my imagination).
I can't comment on anything else which went on during the bus trip as I was asleep most of the time. It was awesome.
Once we arrived at the stadium, we went to our holding room above the SCG and hung around until it was our time to practice. We only needed one runthrough. It was awesome. We then got off the field just in time to avoid being possibly maimed by the Canberra Raiders U21 team. Because that would have been somewhat awkward.
As it turned out, we were in fact restricted to the areas between the 30s, not an ideal restriction as at times the drill postulated that we were in fact meant to be heading past them towards the 20s. We improvised.
Following another wait at the SCG at which time we ate our prepacked dinners and got into our blacks and capes, it was time to perform. From the screams emanating from the dancers, out ten-hut was impressive in its volume. Our performance was valiant, if at times creative, and it seemed that the reasonably meagre crowd liked us.
An entertaining aspect was the ability to catch glimpses of the show on the JumboTron. As it turns out, the fact that I am significantly shorter than the rest of my section shows when photographed from above. Go figure.
Now, it is time for another Fun Fact: whilst high wind may be terribly visually dynamic when we're wearing capes, it is nonetheless not ideal when one plays a sousaphone. They're like giant fibreglass wind-socks.
After the performance, we were all dismissed from the SCG at which point some went to watch the game (the outcome of which I cannot comment on, having left to catch public transport home) and the rest went home.
I myself had a mild adventure on buses which leads me to
Fun Fact the Third: the eastern suburbs were not (a)well set out or (b)designed with logical public transportation in mind.
Moral of the story: if you have to get from Moore Park to the city, you're almost better off walking to Central. Almost.
Regardless, today served as a great learning experience for the AFL show, one which will be made all the more entertaining as THERE WILL BE NO LINES ON THE FIELD. OH YES, THEY WENT THERE. As a result, you should really practice your drill in the meantime. Also, those who didn't, really ought to shave.
We have a while until the next rehearsal, make the time count.
Finally, props go to Hayley Squires, who turned up to marching band still swollen (and mildly doped up) from dental surgery (five wisdom teeth... how does that even happen?). Follow her example and nut up. Whatever illness/injury you're nursing, statistically, it isn't that bad.
I'll see y'alls next rehearsal. Stay cool.
Fun Fact: When you have three male choir billets staying at your house and you need to get your runners so that you can get to Marching band, and said footwear happens to be in the room they were given, things get faintly awkward. They then lead to statements like "I didn't know you had a brother" from the kids you're carpooling with.
Regardless, following the morning's faint awkwardness, I arrived at Cumberland at the bright and early time of 8.20. I was in for a long wait. As more and more people arrived, I became aware of the effects of last rehearsal's blog post. As well as eliciting numerous oblique references to the ranting exhibited on the facebook page, I discovered that Jordan had shaved just to ensure that no-one would have stabby-stabby murder faces brought on by unnecessary facial hair. This was of course more than counterbalanced by the fact that Jacob seems to be going for the 'lol jks, I'm actually in my mid-thirties' look. Not Ok. Shave.
At assembly, wherein we learned more about the post-spec tour (information will apparently be arriving in your inboxes at some point soonish... I can't be any more specific otherwise I lose plausible deniability), most notably the fact that not only will there be a piece played entirely on balloons (awkward if they pop like they did in warmup today), there will be a piece involving singing. Remember to inform Dane if you are interested in any of the above.
And now we reach the discussion of that awkward moment when the holiday care kids watch your rehearsals for entertainment. All morning, as we ran the show, filled in gaps and generally just polished drill, there was a whole contingent of little kids up at Carlingford West PS wearing [obscenely] fluorescent orange hats, screaming 'go trumpets' and 'go clarinets' alternately. On the plus side, they were an incredibly receptive audience.
The first few runthroughs were a touch questionable thanks to the fact that instead of the field being marked in a delightfully convenient 5m grid, we had vertical lines every ten metres and precious little else. This was perhaps a good thing as we were missing so many people (flutes, I'm judging your attendance) that we were marching more to keep the forms recognisable than to actually follow the drillbook to the step.
After we finally got it presentable, it was time to pack the 'truck' (pack the larger-than-average people-mover just doesn't have the same ring to it, even if it's true), get changed, eat lunch and then head onto the swivelly bus to get to the Sydney Football Stadium.
At this point, the sock puppet with whom I have monologues on facebook was revealed. Apparently it's a creepy looking sock puppet. Also apparently, most people thought I was just having a SPD moment (i.e. the sock puppet was merely a figment of my imagination).
I can't comment on anything else which went on during the bus trip as I was asleep most of the time. It was awesome.
Once we arrived at the stadium, we went to our holding room above the SCG and hung around until it was our time to practice. We only needed one runthrough. It was awesome. We then got off the field just in time to avoid being possibly maimed by the Canberra Raiders U21 team. Because that would have been somewhat awkward.
As it turned out, we were in fact restricted to the areas between the 30s, not an ideal restriction as at times the drill postulated that we were in fact meant to be heading past them towards the 20s. We improvised.
Following another wait at the SCG at which time we ate our prepacked dinners and got into our blacks and capes, it was time to perform. From the screams emanating from the dancers, out ten-hut was impressive in its volume. Our performance was valiant, if at times creative, and it seemed that the reasonably meagre crowd liked us.
An entertaining aspect was the ability to catch glimpses of the show on the JumboTron. As it turns out, the fact that I am significantly shorter than the rest of my section shows when photographed from above. Go figure.
Now, it is time for another Fun Fact: whilst high wind may be terribly visually dynamic when we're wearing capes, it is nonetheless not ideal when one plays a sousaphone. They're like giant fibreglass wind-socks.
After the performance, we were all dismissed from the SCG at which point some went to watch the game (the outcome of which I cannot comment on, having left to catch public transport home) and the rest went home.
I myself had a mild adventure on buses which leads me to
Fun Fact the Third: the eastern suburbs were not (a)well set out or (b)designed with logical public transportation in mind.
Moral of the story: if you have to get from Moore Park to the city, you're almost better off walking to Central. Almost.
Regardless, today served as a great learning experience for the AFL show, one which will be made all the more entertaining as THERE WILL BE NO LINES ON THE FIELD. OH YES, THEY WENT THERE. As a result, you should really practice your drill in the meantime. Also, those who didn't, really ought to shave.
We have a while until the next rehearsal, make the time count.
Finally, props go to Hayley Squires, who turned up to marching band still swollen (and mildly doped up) from dental surgery (five wisdom teeth... how does that even happen?). Follow her example and nut up. Whatever illness/injury you're nursing, statistically, it isn't that bad.
I'll see y'alls next rehearsal. Stay cool.
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