The title aside, this post won't be up to my regular standards. Apologies in advance. Moral of the story - DON'T GET TONSILITIS.
Fun Fact: the marching band just doesn't work when there's only six people.
At state music camp, there are evening concerts. Students audition for performance spots in them. A subset of the marching band members who were on the camp decided it might be an idea to audition for one of those spots playing Battlefield (mainly because we all knew it).
That day, there was a weather warning for high winds meaning that during afternoon rec time (i.e. rehearsal time) everyone was confined to the auditorium. after recieving permission to use the entrance area (which had glass doors separating it from the rest of the auditorium) for practice, we set to playing through Battlefield, adapting choreography and parts where necessary to make it work. This leads me to mention
Fun Fact the second: glass doors don't stop sound. They barely even muffle it.
This was discovered when we began to notice that everyone was looking at us. To test our theory that the doors really weren't working, it was decided that I would stand outside the doors and walk backwards until I could no longer hear playing. I was fifty metres away at the other end of the auditorium and I could still hear them clearly. Fun times.
Anyway, we got to the audition and had barely made it to the drum feature when we were cut off. Apparently when you're using a tuba (me), a trumpet (Holly), two alto saxes (Kayla and Christine), a clarinet (Bella) and a snare drummer (Emily) to play something written for a 100 piece marching band, you [and this is a direct quote] "don't have enough parts covered".
We did try though. Rock on, ladies.
One day of recovery later (but not if you had an exam the day after music camp ended - moral of the story, get your year 12 assessments done BEFORE you go on camp) we all assembled at Cumberland. And by all I in fact mean a subset thereof. Because attendance was reasonably pitiful. On the upside, the majority of us were wearing our blue performance shirts. Didn't we look snazzy.
Following morning assembly we played through the circus music which we will apparently be performing for spec. At which point the sousas experienced that awkward moment when you don't have any music for your entire section. It's not ideal.
It was then onto the field for warm-ups with Normo. It's surprising how much complaining is warranted by the order to run a lap around the field. We then proceeded to run drill until lunch. To be entirely honest, I can't remember anything which happened during saturday's field sessions - I'm reasonably sure I repressed the memory due to the overwhelming HORROR.
But I digress.
Just like Rebecca Black said it did, Sunday came afterwards.
Again in our classy blue rehearsal shirts (and for the record, I am for once not being bitterly cynical, I actually am a massive fan of the shirts), we reassembled at Cumberland, still numerous people short. Greggles (sousa), I'm judging you. No-one can be THAT diseased after band camp.
Following another music rehearsal, wherein we sightread Birdland (and while we're on the subject, nothing needs that many accidentals. Seriously. Not cool.), much to the general entertainment of everyone. Thankfully, we won't need to memorise the music we're playing for tour.
It was then onto the field for some more rehearsing so that we'd look all nice and polished for when the parents arrived. But first we practiced marching in slide. This in turn brings us to yet another
Fun Fact: When you're doing slide in a sousaphone, in order to keep bell to front, you actually have to rotate past 90 degrees when marching to the left. Not ideal.
But back to the story... That morning saw the appearance of what I call my 'stabby-stabby-murder-face': a rare occurrence, but nonetheless one which generally involves much hurling of abuse. This was brought on by the profusion of people who weren't running on the field. Not OK, kids. Make an effort.
Just before lunch, we made it from the start of Opening Production to the end of Battlefield without a single stop. Oh happy day.
There was then lunch with the parents, which featured a DVD of the 2010/11 MMB season highlights. It was full of entertaining things like Holly with long hair, Zac with long hair, and (of course) Dale with dreads.
It was then back onto the field for some more drill practice, wherein Sophie coined a term which I myself will be using quite a lot - WWJD: What Would Julian Do? Because he always invariably seems to know what he's meant to be doing/where he's meant to be going. Because he's a bit of a champ like that.
This was followed by a drilldown. Much to her surprise, Holly was victorious, with Hamish (as always) reaching the top three before failing in some way. During drilldown, I discovered that when at ease, flute players need to keep both hands on the flute. Because apparently they're just that heavy.
It was then time for a full runthrough of the show. It was awesome. Following the aftermath of our success, Dane proceeded to talk to the parents about the post-spec tour which is currently in the works. I know I'm excited.
It was then time to pack up and be dismissed.
This post isn't over however. Not by a long shot. Because I have spleen to vent regarding facial hair.
This month's rehearsal saw a lot of facial hair. From Julian's 'I just went on school music camp and didn't bring a razor' beard to Shane's somewhat surprising neck-beard (I didn't think it was possible until I saw it); spanning from sax Ben's 'It isn't movember?' to Jacob's 'I'm secretly a thirty-year-old man' beard, everyone seemed to be doing what university students do before exams: grow a beard of knowledge.
Fun Fact: Facial hair won't help you remember your drill. Remembering your drill will help you remember your drill.
So shave. Otherwise come post-spec tour, I will find you when you're sleeping and shave off one of your eyebrows. And you won't know which one.
In the interim, make sure you know your drill, stay un-diseased and I'll see you all on Monday, caped and awesome.
Until then, play loud and proud.
And shave.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
The Arts Unit Showcase, or Why the Marching Band is so Awesome
To start with, I’d like to acknowledge the assistance I received from Keevers, Julian and Bob (Liam the trumpeter) while I was writing this post in the car on the way home. Thanks, boys.
Today it rained. Lots. Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots.
And then it rained some more.
Fun Fact the first: rush hour trains going from Hurstville to the city are inordinately packed.
Related Fun Fact technically the second: When one is planning to catch a train of the aforementioned nature, it’s generally a good idea not to do that with a sousaphone.
But moving on.
Getting off the packed train at Redfern, the heavens proceeded to open with their righteous deluge of aqueous fluid, drawn by a gravitation attraction to the dense magnetic ooze in the middle of the earth.
Arriving rather sodden with the exception of my feet (moral of the story: wear gumboots to marching band. It’s mad cool), the equally sodden remainder of the band were assembled, waiting for a lessening of the downpour so that we could get ourselves to the Sound Lounge (because we warranted an entire jazz theatre as our holding area. That’s right, “dancers” [I’ll explain that later], we are that much cooler than you.) without gaining an extra kilogram or so of body mass in the form of the aforementioned solution of aqueous fluid.
We then embarked on a journey through the bowels of the Seymour centre to find the drums and sousas which the stage crew were meant to have taken to the sound lounge, at which point we set up our instruments and were released into sectionals to go over any last minute issues and to teach the newcomers the drill and choreography in all its multiplicity. This saw the appearance of Bob lacking much of his hair. It also saw the appearance of Jake, who had sparkles on his face, rather like the “dancers” (but I’ll elaborate on that later too). That’s right, I still haven’t gotten over the whole lip piercing thing.
After a somewhat delayed dress rehearsal (just because we run on schedule doesn’t mean the rest of The Arts Unit does), we returned to the sound lounge for some silent practicing, and for Scott to start watching the trombones for horn angles. Fun times for them. Eventually we made our ways to our respective stage doors to get ready for the matinee performance.
The primary school kids were beyond enthusiastic, whereas the high school kids in the audience generally had their fingers in their ears. I suppose the fact that the sound of a marching band is designed to be consumed from several metres away in windy conditions does mean that when consumed from about 50 centimetres away in an enclosed space it’s somewhat loud, but still. A little intense loudness never hurt anyone. Look at the drumline...
Upon returning to the Sound Lounge, we were greeted with the news that the August rehearsal had been changed to accommodate a performance at the AFL - a 20 minute show at the 3rd final at Stadium Australia: the first time since the olympics that the marching band will be performing there. The fact that we've been given 20 minutes of performance time at what is apparently the 3rd last game of the season (I don't really follow AFL) gives me the impression that they probably would have given us the grand final if not for the fact that it isn't in Sydney (I know enough about AFL to work that one out). EXCITEMENT.
Following that, we changed into our rather snazzy blues and assembled to go to Broadway for some free time [in groups of four or more]. On the way there, the uni students all looked upon the spectacle of 80 or so school students in matching uniforms walking in a regimented fashion (rather unlike the ragtag mess of the “dancers” and the drama kids). Upon arriving at our meeting point inside the shopping centre we were released in our groups [of four or more].
A reasonably sized contingent of the band went off to watch The Hangover, with the remainder merely floating about the centre making violently acerbic comments about the dancers. No, sorry, “dancers”.
So now I’ll actually get around to explaining that. As anyone who bothered to read the back of their jackets would realise, the jackets of the “dancers” have the arts unit logo and the word “Dance”. Not just the word dance, but the word in inverted commas. This led us to wonder what the purpose of the commas was. Was it an ironic comment of the quality of their dancing, was it merely an accident on the behalf of the jacket makers, or did the person who designed the jacket (probably a dancer themselves) not realise that inverted commas cannot be thrown about willy-nilly, but that they are in fact a greatly misimplemented grammatical feature, which when used properly can bring much happiness to the user... but I digress. Either way, from the moment I realised what their jackets actually said, I ensured that from then on anyone who said the word dancer within my earshot pronounced it “dancer” replete with inverted commas gestures.
Over the course of the next few hours, my little group [of four or more] spent the majority of our time making lists, the contents and nature of which will be revealed come the end of the year when I hand the reins over to someone else - just a reason to keep reading; and ghosting "dancers" in an attempt to get photographic evidence of the grammatical travesty (I almost wrote transvestite there... Freud would have a field day) of their jackets. Eventually I managed to ghost on particular "dancer" into the children's section at Dymocks where I got a photo from about 50 cm away and then managed to escape without being noticed, which just goes to show how much snesory awareness "dancers" have. Namely incredibly little to none.
There will be a link to a photo as soon as one is uploaded. Stay tuned.
Upon returning to the Seymour centre, we were told we had to be super quiet because of the performance going on in the theatre right next door to our holding room, so after a lot of miming, we were left to our own (albeit quiet) devices, at which point I discovered that when in doubt, lying on your back is the way to go when it comes to long periods of waiting. You heard it here first.
But back to the story, we had some storytime from Dane wherein we learned two valuable life lessons:
Lesson the first: Always make sure your fly is done up.
Lesson the second: Never listen to the Raiders March when you're locked into a school with your crappy P plater car.
It was then time to neaten ourselves up for one last performance in a completely packed theatre containing a whole load of people who are in all likelihood only now regaining full hearing. Because we were just that awesome.
We then packed up and (in my case, being the bearer of a large instrument) headed off to the Engineering entryway to pack the 'truck'. I use inverted commas because the vehicle in question was in fact Greg's car. A large one, but by no stretch of the imagination a truck. This brings me to believe that in Marching Band terms, a truck is any vehicle which could be made to contain instruments, regardless of dimension or appearance. That's something to ruminate upon...
Then came the sparkles. Once outside, we began to notice that there were sparkly-faced dancers EVERYWHERE. And as the descriptor suggests, they were covered in sparkles.
This for some un-understandable reason brings me to mention hairstyles. In addition to the loss of hair Bob was exhibiting; Jack the bass drummer had shaved his head, resulting in a scalp which was just about as entertaining as Shane's when he shaved; speaking of Shane, much entertainment was derived from feeling his hair.
As for Jacob - Holley definitely had fun.
And as an added bonus, Keevers was no longer rocking the reverse mullet. Oh happy day.
The day finished with sitting in a car with Keevers, Bob, Julian and Papa Keevers, watching Ben Mills do a Phantom of the Opera impersonation using his Trumpet jumper. Because he’s just a cool kid like that.
We also spent a lot of time trying to beat Keevers and Bob’s ex-music teacher out of the carpark. We lost.
And then I discovered what teenage boys do in their spare time...
...they play corners.
Today it rained. Lots. Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots.
And then it rained some more.
Fun Fact the first: rush hour trains going from Hurstville to the city are inordinately packed.
Related Fun Fact technically the second: When one is planning to catch a train of the aforementioned nature, it’s generally a good idea not to do that with a sousaphone.
But moving on.
Getting off the packed train at Redfern, the heavens proceeded to open with their righteous deluge of aqueous fluid, drawn by a gravitation attraction to the dense magnetic ooze in the middle of the earth.
Arriving rather sodden with the exception of my feet (moral of the story: wear gumboots to marching band. It’s mad cool), the equally sodden remainder of the band were assembled, waiting for a lessening of the downpour so that we could get ourselves to the Sound Lounge (because we warranted an entire jazz theatre as our holding area. That’s right, “dancers” [I’ll explain that later], we are that much cooler than you.) without gaining an extra kilogram or so of body mass in the form of the aforementioned solution of aqueous fluid.
We then embarked on a journey through the bowels of the Seymour centre to find the drums and sousas which the stage crew were meant to have taken to the sound lounge, at which point we set up our instruments and were released into sectionals to go over any last minute issues and to teach the newcomers the drill and choreography in all its multiplicity. This saw the appearance of Bob lacking much of his hair. It also saw the appearance of Jake, who had sparkles on his face, rather like the “dancers” (but I’ll elaborate on that later too). That’s right, I still haven’t gotten over the whole lip piercing thing.
After a somewhat delayed dress rehearsal (just because we run on schedule doesn’t mean the rest of The Arts Unit does), we returned to the sound lounge for some silent practicing, and for Scott to start watching the trombones for horn angles. Fun times for them. Eventually we made our ways to our respective stage doors to get ready for the matinee performance.
The primary school kids were beyond enthusiastic, whereas the high school kids in the audience generally had their fingers in their ears. I suppose the fact that the sound of a marching band is designed to be consumed from several metres away in windy conditions does mean that when consumed from about 50 centimetres away in an enclosed space it’s somewhat loud, but still. A little intense loudness never hurt anyone. Look at the drumline...
Upon returning to the Sound Lounge, we were greeted with the news that the August rehearsal had been changed to accommodate a performance at the AFL - a 20 minute show at the 3rd final at Stadium Australia: the first time since the olympics that the marching band will be performing there. The fact that we've been given 20 minutes of performance time at what is apparently the 3rd last game of the season (I don't really follow AFL) gives me the impression that they probably would have given us the grand final if not for the fact that it isn't in Sydney (I know enough about AFL to work that one out). EXCITEMENT.
Following that, we changed into our rather snazzy blues and assembled to go to Broadway for some free time [in groups of four or more]. On the way there, the uni students all looked upon the spectacle of 80 or so school students in matching uniforms walking in a regimented fashion (rather unlike the ragtag mess of the “dancers” and the drama kids). Upon arriving at our meeting point inside the shopping centre we were released in our groups [of four or more].
A reasonably sized contingent of the band went off to watch The Hangover, with the remainder merely floating about the centre making violently acerbic comments about the dancers. No, sorry, “dancers”.
So now I’ll actually get around to explaining that. As anyone who bothered to read the back of their jackets would realise, the jackets of the “dancers” have the arts unit logo and the word “Dance”. Not just the word dance, but the word in inverted commas. This led us to wonder what the purpose of the commas was. Was it an ironic comment of the quality of their dancing, was it merely an accident on the behalf of the jacket makers, or did the person who designed the jacket (probably a dancer themselves) not realise that inverted commas cannot be thrown about willy-nilly, but that they are in fact a greatly misimplemented grammatical feature, which when used properly can bring much happiness to the user... but I digress. Either way, from the moment I realised what their jackets actually said, I ensured that from then on anyone who said the word dancer within my earshot pronounced it “dancer” replete with inverted commas gestures.
Over the course of the next few hours, my little group [of four or more] spent the majority of our time making lists, the contents and nature of which will be revealed come the end of the year when I hand the reins over to someone else - just a reason to keep reading; and ghosting "dancers" in an attempt to get photographic evidence of the grammatical travesty (I almost wrote transvestite there... Freud would have a field day) of their jackets. Eventually I managed to ghost on particular "dancer" into the children's section at Dymocks where I got a photo from about 50 cm away and then managed to escape without being noticed, which just goes to show how much snesory awareness "dancers" have. Namely incredibly little to none.
There will be a link to a photo as soon as one is uploaded. Stay tuned.
Upon returning to the Seymour centre, we were told we had to be super quiet because of the performance going on in the theatre right next door to our holding room, so after a lot of miming, we were left to our own (albeit quiet) devices, at which point I discovered that when in doubt, lying on your back is the way to go when it comes to long periods of waiting. You heard it here first.
But back to the story, we had some storytime from Dane wherein we learned two valuable life lessons:
Lesson the first: Always make sure your fly is done up.
Lesson the second: Never listen to the Raiders March when you're locked into a school with your crappy P plater car.
It was then time to neaten ourselves up for one last performance in a completely packed theatre containing a whole load of people who are in all likelihood only now regaining full hearing. Because we were just that awesome.
We then packed up and (in my case, being the bearer of a large instrument) headed off to the Engineering entryway to pack the 'truck'. I use inverted commas because the vehicle in question was in fact Greg's car. A large one, but by no stretch of the imagination a truck. This brings me to believe that in Marching Band terms, a truck is any vehicle which could be made to contain instruments, regardless of dimension or appearance. That's something to ruminate upon...
Then came the sparkles. Once outside, we began to notice that there were sparkly-faced dancers EVERYWHERE. And as the descriptor suggests, they were covered in sparkles.
This for some un-understandable reason brings me to mention hairstyles. In addition to the loss of hair Bob was exhibiting; Jack the bass drummer had shaved his head, resulting in a scalp which was just about as entertaining as Shane's when he shaved; speaking of Shane, much entertainment was derived from feeling his hair.
As for Jacob - Holley definitely had fun.
And as an added bonus, Keevers was no longer rocking the reverse mullet. Oh happy day.
The day finished with sitting in a car with Keevers, Bob, Julian and Papa Keevers, watching Ben Mills do a Phantom of the Opera impersonation using his Trumpet jumper. Because he’s just a cool kid like that.
We also spent a lot of time trying to beat Keevers and Bob’s ex-music teacher out of the carpark. We lost.
And then I discovered what teenage boys do in their spare time...
...they play corners.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
May, or The Revenge of Cirque du Soleil...
Fun Fact to start us off for today: Dancers serve no discernible purpose. Maybe they have some kind of function integral to the smooth running of the planet, but if today's experiences are anything to go by, it's probably not a very important or complicated role. But more on that later...
Aaaaanyway, when the weather forecasts are taken into account, the rehearsal weekend had some pretty spectacular weather. Not only did it not rain, there weren't gale force winds (something those of us who play giant wind traps - namely sousas and the larger bass drums - rather enjoy the lack of), and it wasn't even that cold. All in all, when the weather of previous rehearsals is taken into account, it was a good omen.
After much stretching and warm-up games at the hands of the drum majors and Normo, we spent the morning practising the drill for Tuesday, using a quasi-Seymour centre built using some chairs from the hall and some strategically placed cones, an arrangement which meant that whenever we were asked to reset to a certain point in the music, the imaginary audience were constantly being trampled by the lower brass, and that the stage was constantly being invaded by the brass and wind players during the 7/8.
Saturday also saw the appearance of Greg's teaching prac student... or at least that's who the trombone section said the member of the teaching staff whom no-one had seen before was...
Following lunch, we rehearsed in the imaginary Seymour centre for a while longer before we headed onto the field for some fieldshow practice. The first run was... questionable, but by the time it was dark (which happened really fast, might I add), we were actually making the forms correctly, which according to Katrina was a great improvement. This was success even lacking a reasonably large chunk of the band. which leads me to a quick request to everyone to TURN UP TO REHEARSALS! IT MAKES EVERYONE MUCHLY HAPPYFUL! It also makes working on the fieldshow easier, because there aren't vast chunks missing from forms. Think about it.
Following the packing of the 'truck' (pronounced: Greg's car), all were dismissed for the movie/bingo night organised by the social committee. Following dinner (the third meal of the day provided by the Boosters), the band and their families went into the hall to watch Monsters Inc., interspersed with some bingo. All in all, a marvellously enjoyable night, and thus I bestow congratulations upon the social committee for organising it.
On sunday, at noon and clad in our new blue rehearsal shirts, replete with section label on the arm (because we truly are that cool), we assembled outside the Seymour centre and had another rehearsal in another imaginary theatre, one of different dimensions to that of saturday. That was a learning experience. It was also free entertainment for the uni students/hipsters/dog walkers who happened to be in the general vicinity at the time.
In due course we actually entered the theatre in which we were to perform... only to discover that most of our drill just wouldn't work in the space provided. So true to form, we learned almost everything from scratch to suit the venue. In about 45 minutes. Respect unto us.
We were doing our final runthrough when the incident which prompted the primary Fun Fact took place. Following a large amount of shrieking at Keevers and Galuzzi playing at regular volume in an incredibly enclosed space (have you ever tried carrying a sousa in a tunnel which is about 6 feet high? It's incredibly difficult. Especially when there are things hanging off/out of the ceiling to make it harder... but I digress), the clump of dancers behind those of us in door 1 proceeded to faff about in our walkway AS WE WERE ACTUALLY DOING THE SHOW. Thus actively getting in the way. The boosters managed to scream at them enough to get them out of the way before anyone ended up with sousaphone or trombone shaped injuries, but honestly. Surely they realised that the scary people with giant instruments (i.e. us) weren't exactly likely to make way for the faffers about (i.e. them) when they were faffing in the middle of our rehearsal. This in turn made Keevers fondly remember the days of Spec last year when if any dancer was fool enough to get too close they'd get hit... but back on topic.
After an impressive hour long runthrough, we packed ourselves up, put larger instruments into the dressing room (which was not in any way shape or form built to withstand an entire marching band) and were in due course let out to rejoin our parents and go home to practice our horn angles. Because golly there were a lot of them.
And let's not forget that this rehearsal was but the beginning of a tale of epicness (and we're talking epicness of Classical proportions...) which will culminate in the Arts Unit Showcase 2011, which will in fact be the first time the marching band have performed at it. Excitement.
Remember, practice the choreography, make sure your horn angles are nice and high, and whatever you do, don't get injured and don't blow your lips out before Tuesday.
Until then...
Aaaaanyway, when the weather forecasts are taken into account, the rehearsal weekend had some pretty spectacular weather. Not only did it not rain, there weren't gale force winds (something those of us who play giant wind traps - namely sousas and the larger bass drums - rather enjoy the lack of), and it wasn't even that cold. All in all, when the weather of previous rehearsals is taken into account, it was a good omen.
After much stretching and warm-up games at the hands of the drum majors and Normo, we spent the morning practising the drill for Tuesday, using a quasi-Seymour centre built using some chairs from the hall and some strategically placed cones, an arrangement which meant that whenever we were asked to reset to a certain point in the music, the imaginary audience were constantly being trampled by the lower brass, and that the stage was constantly being invaded by the brass and wind players during the 7/8.
Saturday also saw the appearance of Greg's teaching prac student... or at least that's who the trombone section said the member of the teaching staff whom no-one had seen before was...
Following lunch, we rehearsed in the imaginary Seymour centre for a while longer before we headed onto the field for some fieldshow practice. The first run was... questionable, but by the time it was dark (which happened really fast, might I add), we were actually making the forms correctly, which according to Katrina was a great improvement. This was success even lacking a reasonably large chunk of the band. which leads me to a quick request to everyone to TURN UP TO REHEARSALS! IT MAKES EVERYONE MUCHLY HAPPYFUL! It also makes working on the fieldshow easier, because there aren't vast chunks missing from forms. Think about it.
Following the packing of the 'truck' (pronounced: Greg's car), all were dismissed for the movie/bingo night organised by the social committee. Following dinner (the third meal of the day provided by the Boosters), the band and their families went into the hall to watch Monsters Inc., interspersed with some bingo. All in all, a marvellously enjoyable night, and thus I bestow congratulations upon the social committee for organising it.
On sunday, at noon and clad in our new blue rehearsal shirts, replete with section label on the arm (because we truly are that cool), we assembled outside the Seymour centre and had another rehearsal in another imaginary theatre, one of different dimensions to that of saturday. That was a learning experience. It was also free entertainment for the uni students/hipsters/dog walkers who happened to be in the general vicinity at the time.
In due course we actually entered the theatre in which we were to perform... only to discover that most of our drill just wouldn't work in the space provided. So true to form, we learned almost everything from scratch to suit the venue. In about 45 minutes. Respect unto us.
We were doing our final runthrough when the incident which prompted the primary Fun Fact took place. Following a large amount of shrieking at Keevers and Galuzzi playing at regular volume in an incredibly enclosed space (have you ever tried carrying a sousa in a tunnel which is about 6 feet high? It's incredibly difficult. Especially when there are things hanging off/out of the ceiling to make it harder... but I digress), the clump of dancers behind those of us in door 1 proceeded to faff about in our walkway AS WE WERE ACTUALLY DOING THE SHOW. Thus actively getting in the way. The boosters managed to scream at them enough to get them out of the way before anyone ended up with sousaphone or trombone shaped injuries, but honestly. Surely they realised that the scary people with giant instruments (i.e. us) weren't exactly likely to make way for the faffers about (i.e. them) when they were faffing in the middle of our rehearsal. This in turn made Keevers fondly remember the days of Spec last year when if any dancer was fool enough to get too close they'd get hit... but back on topic.
After an impressive hour long runthrough, we packed ourselves up, put larger instruments into the dressing room (which was not in any way shape or form built to withstand an entire marching band) and were in due course let out to rejoin our parents and go home to practice our horn angles. Because golly there were a lot of them.
And let's not forget that this rehearsal was but the beginning of a tale of epicness (and we're talking epicness of Classical proportions...) which will culminate in the Arts Unit Showcase 2011, which will in fact be the first time the marching band have performed at it. Excitement.
Remember, practice the choreography, make sure your horn angles are nice and high, and whatever you do, don't get injured and don't blow your lips out before Tuesday.
Until then...
Monday, April 25, 2011
April: Easter, ANZAC Day and Oodles of Rain.
Fun Fact: when aqueous fluid falls from the sky, the objects touched by said fluid become dampened. That's right, kids. You heard it here first.
On saturday, it rained. The rain fell at varying intensities throughout the day, but it still rained more or less continually.
Following breakfast with the Boosters, we had a music rehearsal, during which the extent to which some sections hadn't been practising their ANZAC Day music over the holidays became apparent. Luckily, after a few runthroughs, everyone had the music more or less memorised, which meant we could practice parade marching.
So we all put on the marvellously stylish Bunnungs Warehouse ponchos provided for us by the Boosters, and headed down to the (completely sodden) field, where we formed up and then marched around and around and around until Katrina was happy with us. Everyone's shoes were soaked before they'd reached the first wheel.
But we soldiered on through the fundamentals which followed, and then we moved onto the fieldshow. During this time, Shane discovered that if he rubbed his fingers against the rain-covered heads of his drums, he would create a weird squeaking sound. Which he then proceeded to make whenever possible. Then certain members of the sousaphone section (namely myself) realised they could do the same thing using the water which collected on the surface of the bell. Much fun was had.
Then followed lunch, which itself was followed by more rehearsing of the fieldshow. It rained less in the afternoon, to such an extent that by the end of the afternoon rehearsal session, we could actually take off the ponchos. There was much rejoicing, followed by much formationing (I understand that 'formationing' is not a valid participle. Just go with it).
Sunday was drier than saturday (although let's be honest, that isn't saying much). It didn't rain for the whole day, which was marvellously pleasant for us because it meant we didn't have to wear the ponchos. Sunday also marked the end of people being sized for rehearsal shirts, and the beginning of the Easter themed fun the Boosters planned (it was Easter sunday, after all).
At the morning rehearsal we were joined by the alumni who would be marching with us on ANZAC day for some marvellously fun parade marching. Luckily the field wasn't as sodden, so everyone's shoes managed to stay if not dry, at least not soaked.
Two hours later, the alumni left, and we went back to practicing the fieldshow. Then came the Easter egg hunt, which was greatly enjoyed by all. There was also a dress-up competition and a 'guess the number of eggs in the container' competition, all of which were organised by the marvellous Boosters.
Following lunch, there was yet more fieldshowing (also probably not a legit participle), to the extent where we technically had all of the opening production learned, and its connection with Battlefield. Although the last move before battlefield started tended to be a touch exciting...
We then packed the drums and big instruments onto the truck in preparation for the ANZAC Day march.
Fun Fact Pertaining to Monday: Waiting is boring.
Monday dawned to copious rain. The sheer extent to which liquid fell from the sky was staggering. Everyone met at the truck at 7.30, with the exception of Katrina who was drum majoring for another band, and thus couldn't march with us.
Instruments were removed from the truck and set up, cases were put back on the truck, capes were pinned and ponchos were distributed, and finally we were ready to march off to the starting point of the parade. Where we waited. And waited. And then waited some more. Eventually, we moved undercover into the MLC centre, where we could continue to wait without the irritation of being rained on.
At this point Lachie (or Lockie, I am yet to work out which is the correct spelling) had a nap, still in harness, the photos of which should be floating about Facebook soon enough if you can be bothered finding them.
In due course, we were told that we'd actually be marching, so we all went back outside and formed up. And then we waited. It wasn't raining, so we took of our ponchos, and then waited. Finally, a while after 10.30 we actually started marching. And then the rain began afresh. Suffice to say that much dampness was experienced.
After the completion of our first pass we returned to the truck for ANZAC biscuits and water - we had fifteen minutes before we needed to form up again for our second pass. We said hello to some of the alumni who weren't marching with us, and then formed up and once again marched to the start point of the parade.
Where we waited.
And waited.
And finally started marching, at which point it started raining. Again.
After another damp lap, we returned to the truck and were dismissed, leaving us to pack up and then go home to dry out.
Reminders for May
There will be a dress-ups theme of 'M'. Get creative.
Because of the Arts Unit Showcase, the date has been changed (it's now the 28th/29th), and the format of the rehearsal has also been changed.
Saturday will be lengthened, with the rehearsal ending at 5.30 followed by a movie night. Sunday will then begin at midday at the Seymour Centre. More information will find its way to your inbox in the interim, filling you in on all the details.
Remember to fill in the tinyurl survey regarding your attendance at rehearsals and the like. The url is www.tinyurl.com/MMB(insert month here).
The tinyurl for the Arts Unit Showcase is www.tinyurl.com/artsunitshowcase
Those of you who were in attendance on Saturday will be in possession of one or more boxes of fundraising chocolates. These are to raise money for a band tour either up or down the coast after Spec. Which will be awesome to the extreme, so make sure you sell the chocolates and then bring in the money at the May rehearsal.
In the meantime, practice walking up and down flights of stairs whilst playing your instrument. It'll make the performance for the showcase so much easier.
Also, a reminder that I graduate this year, so anyone interested in taking over the reigns of the blog ought to contact me so that I can walk them through how it all works.
Until the next, stay keen, learn your music, and don't get injured. And play loud and proud.
On saturday, it rained. The rain fell at varying intensities throughout the day, but it still rained more or less continually.
Following breakfast with the Boosters, we had a music rehearsal, during which the extent to which some sections hadn't been practising their ANZAC Day music over the holidays became apparent. Luckily, after a few runthroughs, everyone had the music more or less memorised, which meant we could practice parade marching.
So we all put on the marvellously stylish Bunnungs Warehouse ponchos provided for us by the Boosters, and headed down to the (completely sodden) field, where we formed up and then marched around and around and around until Katrina was happy with us. Everyone's shoes were soaked before they'd reached the first wheel.
But we soldiered on through the fundamentals which followed, and then we moved onto the fieldshow. During this time, Shane discovered that if he rubbed his fingers against the rain-covered heads of his drums, he would create a weird squeaking sound. Which he then proceeded to make whenever possible. Then certain members of the sousaphone section (namely myself) realised they could do the same thing using the water which collected on the surface of the bell. Much fun was had.
Then followed lunch, which itself was followed by more rehearsing of the fieldshow. It rained less in the afternoon, to such an extent that by the end of the afternoon rehearsal session, we could actually take off the ponchos. There was much rejoicing, followed by much formationing (I understand that 'formationing' is not a valid participle. Just go with it).
Sunday was drier than saturday (although let's be honest, that isn't saying much). It didn't rain for the whole day, which was marvellously pleasant for us because it meant we didn't have to wear the ponchos. Sunday also marked the end of people being sized for rehearsal shirts, and the beginning of the Easter themed fun the Boosters planned (it was Easter sunday, after all).
At the morning rehearsal we were joined by the alumni who would be marching with us on ANZAC day for some marvellously fun parade marching. Luckily the field wasn't as sodden, so everyone's shoes managed to stay if not dry, at least not soaked.
Two hours later, the alumni left, and we went back to practicing the fieldshow. Then came the Easter egg hunt, which was greatly enjoyed by all. There was also a dress-up competition and a 'guess the number of eggs in the container' competition, all of which were organised by the marvellous Boosters.
Following lunch, there was yet more fieldshowing (also probably not a legit participle), to the extent where we technically had all of the opening production learned, and its connection with Battlefield. Although the last move before battlefield started tended to be a touch exciting...
We then packed the drums and big instruments onto the truck in preparation for the ANZAC Day march.
Fun Fact Pertaining to Monday: Waiting is boring.
Monday dawned to copious rain. The sheer extent to which liquid fell from the sky was staggering. Everyone met at the truck at 7.30, with the exception of Katrina who was drum majoring for another band, and thus couldn't march with us.
Instruments were removed from the truck and set up, cases were put back on the truck, capes were pinned and ponchos were distributed, and finally we were ready to march off to the starting point of the parade. Where we waited. And waited. And then waited some more. Eventually, we moved undercover into the MLC centre, where we could continue to wait without the irritation of being rained on.
At this point Lachie (or Lockie, I am yet to work out which is the correct spelling) had a nap, still in harness, the photos of which should be floating about Facebook soon enough if you can be bothered finding them.
In due course, we were told that we'd actually be marching, so we all went back outside and formed up. And then we waited. It wasn't raining, so we took of our ponchos, and then waited. Finally, a while after 10.30 we actually started marching. And then the rain began afresh. Suffice to say that much dampness was experienced.
After the completion of our first pass we returned to the truck for ANZAC biscuits and water - we had fifteen minutes before we needed to form up again for our second pass. We said hello to some of the alumni who weren't marching with us, and then formed up and once again marched to the start point of the parade.
Where we waited.
And waited.
And finally started marching, at which point it started raining. Again.
After another damp lap, we returned to the truck and were dismissed, leaving us to pack up and then go home to dry out.
Reminders for May
There will be a dress-ups theme of 'M'. Get creative.
Because of the Arts Unit Showcase, the date has been changed (it's now the 28th/29th), and the format of the rehearsal has also been changed.
Saturday will be lengthened, with the rehearsal ending at 5.30 followed by a movie night. Sunday will then begin at midday at the Seymour Centre. More information will find its way to your inbox in the interim, filling you in on all the details.
Remember to fill in the tinyurl survey regarding your attendance at rehearsals and the like. The url is www.tinyurl.com/MMB(insert month here).
The tinyurl for the Arts Unit Showcase is www.tinyurl.com/artsunitshowcase
Those of you who were in attendance on Saturday will be in possession of one or more boxes of fundraising chocolates. These are to raise money for a band tour either up or down the coast after Spec. Which will be awesome to the extreme, so make sure you sell the chocolates and then bring in the money at the May rehearsal.
In the meantime, practice walking up and down flights of stairs whilst playing your instrument. It'll make the performance for the showcase so much easier.
Also, a reminder that I graduate this year, so anyone interested in taking over the reigns of the blog ought to contact me so that I can walk them through how it all works.
Until the next, stay keen, learn your music, and don't get injured. And play loud and proud.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
An Apology (or, Oops, I Should Have Thought That Through In Slightly More Detail)
For whatever reason, the ...dary of legend...dary didn't end up in the post below where it should have ended up, because that's how I timed it with the posting and such. Oops.
I'm sure you all worked it out regardless.
Don't forget to use the tinyurl thingy for next rehearsal.
I'm sure you all worked it out regardless.
Don't forget to use the tinyurl thingy for next rehearsal.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Marching in March (Gosh, I'm funny)
FUN FACT!!!!! (You can tell I'm excited about this) There's an actual contraption purpose built for removing the mouthpieces from brass instruments should they become jammed in permanently. HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!?!?!?
This post is dedicated to the memory of Shane's hair. Whilst we may not miss it as much as his pants, there was something to be said for the hair.
Anyway, here we go again.
This month it rained. A hell of a lot. It was actually faintly ridiculous just how much it rained. As a result, we didn't go onto the field at all for the entirety of the weekend, making do with a couple of passes around the school buildings when the weather was favourable enough. Which was seldom. Regardless, we soldiered on (I'm really on a roll with all these marching puns. Yes, I know. I also want to be me when I grow up.) for a marvellously productive, if somewhat damp weekend.
Saturday started with a rehearsal for a recording of our music for Ka, which showed us that just because our drumline is incredibly talented, it doesn't mean they are in any way able to use a rainstick. The sheer extent to which the humble rainstick seemed to mytstify them was somewhat humorous, leading to Greg needing to overdub onto the recording the sound of a rainstick in bar 3 of Battlefield.
After a few runthroughs of Opening Production and Battlefield, we recorded the tracks when the rain wasn't too noisy. Although we didn't end up hearing the end product of Opening Production, we did hear the Battlefield recording on sunday... but more on that later.
After that, we got to learn about the innumerable joys of 7/8 marching. 7/8 marching is the kind of thing which puts the Fun into Fundamentals. It's like marching in 3/4, but with occasional slo-mo sections. Fun times.
Moving on, once we had mastered the concept of 7/8 marching, we formed up under the COLA to work on the drill for the end of Battlefield, which as it turned out was to be the drill which was filmed to send off and get us performances. And so we spent an hour (and then another hour and a half after lunch) forming a big triangle, then splitting down the middle and spinning around to another triangle, then making a big square around what will eventually be the drumline, but in the case of this rehearsal was really just empty space, filled temporarily by colourguard for the course of the filming.
This then flowed on into sunday, which was exponentially more rainy than saturday. The sheer amount of fluid which descended from the heavens (and the ferocity with which the descension took place) was staggering. But being the tough cookies that we are, we managed to film our drill and run through some new music, all of us managing to memorise Pump It after playing it twice. Snaps for us.
We began by splitting into three groups and practising the fundamentals of parade marching under the close scrutiny of the Drum Majors and the teaching staff, before forming into a full parade block and gallivanting (And by gallivanting I in fact mean marching in formation) about the school grounds to the tunes of I Am Australian [Cadence] Road to Gundagai [Cadence] Great Escape [Cadence] and so on in endless progression.
Then followed more practice of the end of the Battlefield drill, a pursuit made all the more enjoyable by watching the Drumline playing whilst in flair. Special mention must go out to the basses, who really got into the spirit of things, and of course Shane, who was as always, violently enthusiastic.
After we'd been drilled to Katrina's satisfaction, we settled in for a look at Pursuit, another movement from Ka, and some new music: You Are The Sunshine Of My Life by Stevie Wonder, and something (the name of which escapes me) which was basically just little bits of Black Eyed Peas songs. These will apparently come in handy if (although judging by the level of awesome we brought to the filming, I probably ought to be saying when) we end up doing an NRL gig. Go figure.
Before the judging of the Circus themed dress-ups, the drumline, featuring Shane, came up the front to show what they were doing during battlefield. It was greatly entertaining. The dressing up was dominated by the trumpets, and was won by Mini Winnie (Kirsten) of the colourguard and Ben M of the trumpets. There was then lunch, during which we got changed into our Arts Unit Blacks in preparation for the filming.
This brings me to an important point: uniform. People were without belts, without shirts, in one case without shoes, and often those who had shoes hadn't polished them. We're bound to be lectured on the topic at the next rehearsal, but I'll start it off: make sure you have all the stuff you need for ANZAC day. Seriously. Anzac day is the day when we march around the city looking decidedly awesome, and part of that awesome is the fact that we're so neat and tidy. So if you do nothing else before the next rehearsal, at least polish your shoes. It's not that difficult. And if it turns out you lack a certain piece of the band uniform, email the boosters to organise them ordering it in for you in preparation for next month. mmbboosters@gmail.com
Back to the rehearsal, we filmed several times from differing angles, including Greg standing on a car; Dane walking through the band with a handcam after the final halt, filming our stillness and my personal favourite, Katrina conducting with such intensity that first we laughed, then she did, somewhat detracting from the intensity with which she was conducting.
After filming, we changed back into our clothing and settled down in the hall to watch some footage from the DCI (Drum Corps International) competition, to show us just how amazing marching bands can be. I have nothing to say about it but for Wow. That was insane.
There was a final assembly, wherein we were taught how to operate the new online paperwork thingy, thus eliminating the usual papertrail of an MMB rehearsal. Huzzah. The theme for the dress-ups was also announced. Easter. Get planning.
We were then dismissed into the lack of rain, with instructions to memorise our music and keep fit so that we can be all perky and keen for the parade next rehearsal.
So practice, have fun and stay unmaimed, and get mad keen for Anzac day. Because like all parades we do, it's going to be legend...
...wait for it...
...wait for it...
This post is dedicated to the memory of Shane's hair. Whilst we may not miss it as much as his pants, there was something to be said for the hair.
Anyway, here we go again.
This month it rained. A hell of a lot. It was actually faintly ridiculous just how much it rained. As a result, we didn't go onto the field at all for the entirety of the weekend, making do with a couple of passes around the school buildings when the weather was favourable enough. Which was seldom. Regardless, we soldiered on (I'm really on a roll with all these marching puns. Yes, I know. I also want to be me when I grow up.) for a marvellously productive, if somewhat damp weekend.
Saturday started with a rehearsal for a recording of our music for Ka, which showed us that just because our drumline is incredibly talented, it doesn't mean they are in any way able to use a rainstick. The sheer extent to which the humble rainstick seemed to mytstify them was somewhat humorous, leading to Greg needing to overdub onto the recording the sound of a rainstick in bar 3 of Battlefield.
After a few runthroughs of Opening Production and Battlefield, we recorded the tracks when the rain wasn't too noisy. Although we didn't end up hearing the end product of Opening Production, we did hear the Battlefield recording on sunday... but more on that later.
After that, we got to learn about the innumerable joys of 7/8 marching. 7/8 marching is the kind of thing which puts the Fun into Fundamentals. It's like marching in 3/4, but with occasional slo-mo sections. Fun times.
Moving on, once we had mastered the concept of 7/8 marching, we formed up under the COLA to work on the drill for the end of Battlefield, which as it turned out was to be the drill which was filmed to send off and get us performances. And so we spent an hour (and then another hour and a half after lunch) forming a big triangle, then splitting down the middle and spinning around to another triangle, then making a big square around what will eventually be the drumline, but in the case of this rehearsal was really just empty space, filled temporarily by colourguard for the course of the filming.
This then flowed on into sunday, which was exponentially more rainy than saturday. The sheer amount of fluid which descended from the heavens (and the ferocity with which the descension took place) was staggering. But being the tough cookies that we are, we managed to film our drill and run through some new music, all of us managing to memorise Pump It after playing it twice. Snaps for us.
We began by splitting into three groups and practising the fundamentals of parade marching under the close scrutiny of the Drum Majors and the teaching staff, before forming into a full parade block and gallivanting (And by gallivanting I in fact mean marching in formation) about the school grounds to the tunes of I Am Australian [Cadence] Road to Gundagai [Cadence] Great Escape [Cadence] and so on in endless progression.
Then followed more practice of the end of the Battlefield drill, a pursuit made all the more enjoyable by watching the Drumline playing whilst in flair. Special mention must go out to the basses, who really got into the spirit of things, and of course Shane, who was as always, violently enthusiastic.
After we'd been drilled to Katrina's satisfaction, we settled in for a look at Pursuit, another movement from Ka, and some new music: You Are The Sunshine Of My Life by Stevie Wonder, and something (the name of which escapes me) which was basically just little bits of Black Eyed Peas songs. These will apparently come in handy if (although judging by the level of awesome we brought to the filming, I probably ought to be saying when) we end up doing an NRL gig. Go figure.
Before the judging of the Circus themed dress-ups, the drumline, featuring Shane, came up the front to show what they were doing during battlefield. It was greatly entertaining. The dressing up was dominated by the trumpets, and was won by Mini Winnie (Kirsten) of the colourguard and Ben M of the trumpets. There was then lunch, during which we got changed into our Arts Unit Blacks in preparation for the filming.
This brings me to an important point: uniform. People were without belts, without shirts, in one case without shoes, and often those who had shoes hadn't polished them. We're bound to be lectured on the topic at the next rehearsal, but I'll start it off: make sure you have all the stuff you need for ANZAC day. Seriously. Anzac day is the day when we march around the city looking decidedly awesome, and part of that awesome is the fact that we're so neat and tidy. So if you do nothing else before the next rehearsal, at least polish your shoes. It's not that difficult. And if it turns out you lack a certain piece of the band uniform, email the boosters to organise them ordering it in for you in preparation for next month. mmbboosters@gmail.com
Back to the rehearsal, we filmed several times from differing angles, including Greg standing on a car; Dane walking through the band with a handcam after the final halt, filming our stillness and my personal favourite, Katrina conducting with such intensity that first we laughed, then she did, somewhat detracting from the intensity with which she was conducting.
After filming, we changed back into our clothing and settled down in the hall to watch some footage from the DCI (Drum Corps International) competition, to show us just how amazing marching bands can be. I have nothing to say about it but for Wow. That was insane.
There was a final assembly, wherein we were taught how to operate the new online paperwork thingy, thus eliminating the usual papertrail of an MMB rehearsal. Huzzah. The theme for the dress-ups was also announced. Easter. Get planning.
We were then dismissed into the lack of rain, with instructions to memorise our music and keep fit so that we can be all perky and keen for the parade next rehearsal.
So practice, have fun and stay unmaimed, and get mad keen for Anzac day. Because like all parades we do, it's going to be legend...
...wait for it...
...wait for it...
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