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ValLanNarrative

Page history last edited by PBworks 18 years, 6 months ago
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My Short Lived Blue Band Experiece

 

Who I really am and who I want to become is still a mystery to me as of yet. There are, however, two definite, recent events in my life that have effected who I am and will continue to effect it in the future. I will only discuss the most recent because it will be long enough as it is. I will do my best to captivate my audience, though it may be difficult.

 

"Songs are good. Singing brings us joy. It is the highest point in the culture that humans have created."

—Kaworu Nagisa - Neon Genesis Evangelion

 

I started playing a musical instrument in 5th grade, and it just stuck with me ever since. The first instrument that I started with was the baritone, but by the time 7th grade rolled around, I was converted to a tuba player by my director. My middle school director could have been considered the devil by many, but since I played a rare instrument in our area, he was always nice to me. In 8th grade, he tried to start up a middle school marching band and make it a mandatory activity for everyone in the concert band. I basically refused and that was that, and judging by the horror stories that I have heard, it was for the best that I did. He sadly just retired this past year so my youngest siblings won’t have the opportunity to live through his torture. Once in high school, there was another fruitless marching band recruitment attempt. I resisted recruitment attempts every year, and every year it got more and more difficult to resist because I was making more and more friends in the band.

 

Finally, my senior year, they got me. They didn’t have to push to hard really, I was the only tuba in the high school by that point and if I hadn’t there would have been a tubaless marching band, which is unthinkable, so I decided to give it a try. I was the only rookie senior in marching band that year, but I was complemented that I actually did better than a lot of the seniors who had been in for four years. The short of it is, I had the time of my life and I regret not getting into it sooner and it saddens me that when I saw them this year at a practice they had no tuba. Before graduation, my high school director talked to me about Blue Band, and even gave me some music to play if I decided to try out. When time for course registration for this year came around, I put down MUS81, which is Blue Band. I practiced and practiced the music my director had given me, and when last Tuesday came around, I felt ready.

 

I woke up at 5am to get ready and get over here by 8am for registration. I walked into the awesome new Blue Band building and filled out all the papers and signed up for a 2:00 audition time since all the morning slots were taken. I came back after moving into my room and went into the warmup room. I was instantly awe struck by the sight. There were 24 practice sousaphones lined up all around the room, and they had two of the ultra shiny show sousaphones set out to see. I had never actually seen a real metal sousaphone before that time. In high school I had to play a convertible three quarter tuba that I held on my shoulder. After warming up I went into the audition room and played my audition. I felt really good about how I played so I wasn’t worried about the music part of the audition any more. That night, they began teaching us marching fundamentals. The Blue Band’s high step style of marching can be challenging at first, but with a little practice it becomes second nature.

 

Wednesday we finally got to get out the instruments to march with and continue learning the fundamentals. By the end of the day they had us playing and marching, doing all the different drill moves, my personal favorite being the three quarter turn. At the end of practice, they had hus do I final field marching while playing to get a last look and they did it in small groups so they wouldn’t miss anyone. I completely messed it up, even though I did well with it all day, so I wasn’t feeling so great when they started announcing who the would like to come back the next day. When they called my name, I was stupified. I couldn’t belive that I had made the first cut of the famous Penn State Blue Band, and especially excited because basically, there is no second cut for sousaphones. I went back to my dorm and sat down staring at the wall, when my schedule on my bulletin board came into focus with my 18 credits of classes for the semester. That’s when it hit me. I had already been told by several people that I was going to die with that schedule, but it just never really registered until then. Something had to go, and the only thing on the schedule that wasn’t recommended for my first year intending to be a computer engineering major was Blue Band.

 

I got no sleep that night, trying to decide what to do. I woke up extra early the next morning and hiked up the hill to the blue band building, at that point still unsure as to weather or not it would be the last time I did it. When I walked into the building, I saw the band president and I knew what I had to do. I talked with her about it for a while and then she finnaly directed me to Dr. Bundy. When I told him that I couldn’t do Blue Band anymore, he was a little disappointed, but he understood my reasons. I walked back down the hill to the commons and ate a late breakfast, still unsure if I had done the right thing. By the time the first day of classes came around, I realized I had made the right decision, no matter how much it hurt. Growing up only about 45 minutes to an hour from campus, I’ve been a Penn State fan all my life. It would have been amazing to play on the field of Beaver Stadium, but I doubt that will ever happen now. I am missing out on a dream, "the highest point in the culture that humans have created," all for an education.


 

ViciousMarshmallowSelfNarrative Got the idea to use a quote

 

VanillaLaceNarrative More paragraphs makes it more bearable to read


 

TheWarmthNarrative I couldn't find any specific connection between our narratives, but reading the part about staring into a fire made me think a lot about the choice I didn't write my narrative on

 

TheFishBowlNarrative Wow... that is possibly the most exciting coning adventure I have ever heard of. Reminds me of the good ol' days....

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