Mostly band rehearsal

(To Philippa:) I will worry if I want! I have had pie and ice cream! I bought 5 dozen eggs on Monday, knowing that the Nativity Fast starts on November 14. And I'm allergic to eggs! (Don't worry. It's not supposed to make sense.

So, tonight at band practice was possibly the best practice we've had. Or at least, I thought ... our increment of getting better was larger. Does that make sense? It is my blog. Of course it makes sense. Also, we had percussion, and once that was settled into triplet rhythms (instead of contrasting duples), it sounded super-fantastic.

Dang. I forgot to ask whether or not we need anyone to print programs. I guess Dn. Tom has that all taken care of, or I can ask next week. You know, because he lives all of 50 feet away.

So Dn. Tom gave the concert schedule:
El Capitan (Sousa)
The Laurel Grove
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Violin Studio performs
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King Cotton (Sousa)
"... and then we will recept!"

Both the marches are in 6/8 taken in two: DA-da-da-DA-da-da is one measure. We started King Cotton, our second march, and sounded "monotone," i.e., did not use the accent markings. "See these?" our fearless leader inquired, stabbing his hands: < "Or for you this:" (he turns around) > (to make the accent mark (no. 4)). "So it sounds like this: 'da-da-da-DA-da DA-da-DA-da'" (which is from El Capitan; King Cotton sounds like this: DA-da-da-da-da DA-da-da-da-da; each DA is twice as long as each da). To which there was a general chorus: "That's not the piece we're playing." Nonetheless, we played it how he wanted it to sound (I hope) when he started us up again.

Sometimes I wish I didn't sit right in front of him. He is very intense, and there is only so much I can do dynamically (without my teeth falling out, of course), but I want to do more. (I wasn't kidding, though, about the teeth, which is why I was surprised that everyone thought it was such a great joke. I think I may need to wear my retainer—horror!—again.) *sigh* On the other hand, dynamics are one of the (many) things I need to work on. Along with fingerings and breath. Yeah, the lyricism and the tone and tuning I don't find that I need to work on as much. (If you know otherwise, let me know!)

I have always seen the flutes as sort of a goody-goody section. Or maybe that was just me. I want to be on time, and have a pencil (never a pen!), and measure the numbers number the measures, and have my eyes up, and use good dynamics, and only breath where it's lyrically apt, and all that stuff. I kind of feel ashamed for playing the flute. It's so ... girly. One of the reasons I stopped being in band (aside from trying to kill myself by bilocation with marching band rehearsal and fencing practice being held at the *same* time ... though I'd probably do it again, if Mary Beth were there to sing in harmony with me as we rode our bikes to the dining hall in the dark—singing to let pedestrians know where we were) was that all my section-mates were so ... fluttery. They wanted to talk about guys and hair and she said and oh my goodness did you see ... and at ND, you were pretty limited in terms of everyone hung out within their own sections which wasn't true at my high school, where the flute cabinets were between the clarinets and the French horns who were pretty cool, so we hung out with them. Also, I didn't like being one of the tallest people—(I'm 5'3")—I don't know why, but that made me feel nervous.

I need to take the bubble bath my husband has drawn for me, and think about my teeth, and how to keep them while being louder.

In the meantime, I think this is a cool test.