melluransa (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
melluransa) wrote2012-09-15 01:38 am
melluransa) wrote2012-09-15 01:38 am
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37/100: Band camp
Yes, I was one of those band nerds. Band camp was an amazing experience for little homeschooled and socially-awkward yet exceedingly eager and energetic little me.
I played the drums, and I firmly believe they were (and still are) the best band instrument. I played concert band, which involved snare drum, bass drum, all the cymbals, various accessory percussion instruments, tonal instruments (xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, wind chimes), and my fave -- the tympani. Seriously, no other instrument lets you have this much fun and variety -- plus you get to be really loud.
It took place at a state college in a mid-size city, and a country girl like me loved it. I attended for three summers in a row and learned so much. All of the instructors were college kids, and to me then, they seemed like such cool adults. Now as a college "kid" myself, I find that hilarious. There were even "classes" like on music theory, jazz, and instrument maintenance. Every evening there were leisure activities planned. And to eat, we went to a college food court, which to me was the coolest thing ever at the time. Now I know better! XD I made friends and stayed with a dorm mate.
I adored the music we played. The concerts were recorded on CD. I was 11 or so -- all the kids in this are 11-ish, and I think our group was pretty good for being 10-11. Each student had to audition to get sorted into different level bands. I sorted into the top band each time, so we were all pretty good I guess (for being 11 years of age).
We had a whole program of different songs where me and the other drummers switched out and played different percussion instruments. Out of all of them, "Overture For Winds" is my favorite of all the songs we played. On this song, I'm playing the cymbals. Yes, those crashing noises are me! Listen to little cute preteen me making all that noise!
Overture for winds by adesadi
Or click here if the embeddy thingy doesn't work.
I actually broke the cymbals during practice by crashing them so hard. They hit each other perfectly and caused a vacuum inside, which inverted a cymbal and kind of bent it all weird. Even a strong college guy couldn't bend it back (which was funny because I was an 11-year old girl who broke it). After breaking the cymbal, I became really popular! Funny what gets you popular.
Eventually, the instructor took it outside on the grass, put it down, and jumped on it which popped the cymbal back into place. Then, for the really loud grand finale part, they gave me bigger and thicker cymbals that I could barely lift, so that I wouldn't break those too. XD Those things were so heavy, and you have to hold them in the ready position for the length of the song. *flexes muscles*
So right before the end crashing notes, I had to hurry and put the littler cymbals into their stand, grab the big heavy ones, do it on time, hold the handles right, get into position, and crash them together correctly. If you listen carefully, you can hear me flinging down the little cymbals and frantically grabbing the bigger ones. I made all that extra noise because I'd nearly forgotten I'd needed to switch my cymbals out. Whoops. Hey, I still came in on time.
So anyway, band camp was pretty much the highlight of my pre-teen years. :) I loved going so much.
I played the drums, and I firmly believe they were (and still are) the best band instrument. I played concert band, which involved snare drum, bass drum, all the cymbals, various accessory percussion instruments, tonal instruments (xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, wind chimes), and my fave -- the tympani. Seriously, no other instrument lets you have this much fun and variety -- plus you get to be really loud.
It took place at a state college in a mid-size city, and a country girl like me loved it. I attended for three summers in a row and learned so much. All of the instructors were college kids, and to me then, they seemed like such cool adults. Now as a college "kid" myself, I find that hilarious. There were even "classes" like on music theory, jazz, and instrument maintenance. Every evening there were leisure activities planned. And to eat, we went to a college food court, which to me was the coolest thing ever at the time. Now I know better! XD I made friends and stayed with a dorm mate.
I adored the music we played. The concerts were recorded on CD. I was 11 or so -- all the kids in this are 11-ish, and I think our group was pretty good for being 10-11. Each student had to audition to get sorted into different level bands. I sorted into the top band each time, so we were all pretty good I guess (for being 11 years of age).
We had a whole program of different songs where me and the other drummers switched out and played different percussion instruments. Out of all of them, "Overture For Winds" is my favorite of all the songs we played. On this song, I'm playing the cymbals. Yes, those crashing noises are me! Listen to little cute preteen me making all that noise!
Overture for winds by adesadi
Or click here if the embeddy thingy doesn't work.
I actually broke the cymbals during practice by crashing them so hard. They hit each other perfectly and caused a vacuum inside, which inverted a cymbal and kind of bent it all weird. Even a strong college guy couldn't bend it back (which was funny because I was an 11-year old girl who broke it). After breaking the cymbal, I became really popular! Funny what gets you popular.
Eventually, the instructor took it outside on the grass, put it down, and jumped on it which popped the cymbal back into place. Then, for the really loud grand finale part, they gave me bigger and thicker cymbals that I could barely lift, so that I wouldn't break those too. XD Those things were so heavy, and you have to hold them in the ready position for the length of the song. *flexes muscles*
So right before the end crashing notes, I had to hurry and put the littler cymbals into their stand, grab the big heavy ones, do it on time, hold the handles right, get into position, and crash them together correctly. If you listen carefully, you can hear me flinging down the little cymbals and frantically grabbing the bigger ones. I made all that extra noise because I'd nearly forgotten I'd needed to switch my cymbals out. Whoops. Hey, I still came in on time.
So anyway, band camp was pretty much the highlight of my pre-teen years. :) I loved going so much.