Author's notes: Okay so my first chapter has been completed. Just a reminder to certain people who know me, this is fictional! It is not real, but the situations are, and they have happened to me. Just maybe not you or on a different instrument. You'll see what I mean later. So without further ado, Chapter Two of Beyond the Band Room Door
Chapter Two: My First Experience Marching Trombone.
"John, I really don't think that me marching trombone is a good idea." I say to John as we are walking to the band room. Today was to be my first experience marching trombone, and, to be flat honest, I didn't want to do it!
"Sarah, are you done complaining?" John said pick up his walking pace. John has a tendency to take much larger steps than I do and when he does that I have to basically almost run in order to keep up with him.
"No I am not," I say to him quickly following suit behind him. "I am just saying that did last season say nothing to you and Mr. Adams about my poor marching abilities?"
" Sarah, you will do fine." He said to me stopping and putting his hands on my shoulders. " If you keep thinking that you will do something wrong, you actually will."
"But this gives Alex, Sean, and Mike a reason to laugh at me some more!"
"Alex won't laugh at you, he will instruct you." Said John
" Yeah and then laugh at me after practice." I say to him. John shakes his head, and puts his arm around my shoulder and walks me to the band room door.
" Sarah, you will not fail Mr. Adams, myself or anyone else, you may and in fact most likely will make mistakes." He says, his blue eyes piercing into mine. " But that's expected, and you give Alex, Sean and Mike reasons to laugh at you if act stupid and decide to make constant mistakes. So just have an open mind and be ready for tons and tons of criticism. Now come on, we'll be late if we stand here any longer." With that, John opens the door and I enter the band room.
The sounds of euphoniums, trumpets and trombones, flutes and clarinets warming up is a sound that most people don't find interesting unless you are a part of that group that needs to warm up. I put together my trombone and begin to warm up when Stephanie comes over to with her old school, beat up, clarinet, but it still does have a nice sound to it none the less. I stop warming up for a moment and look at Stephanie.
"Yes Stephanie, would you like something?" I ask her, she punches me in my arm.
" Today the day that you march trombone for the first time huh?" She says. "You still have time to get your oboe out."
" I have said this before and I am going to say it to you again. I am not going to march oboe, I did once and almost destroyed it, it's going to happen again." I say to her. When I was in junior high school, I marched oboe, during my set up, I dropped my oboe and made our band lose ten points. We lost 1st place because of it. So till this day, I have never played my oboe unless it was for concert.
" And you would have been section leader had you marched oboe." She said to me. " Now you'll never be section leader."
" It doesn't bother me at all Stephanie." I say to her. "So how was your day nonetheless?"
"Chaotic sound good to you?" she replied to me.
"No not really." I answer her.
" Be glad that you aren't a junior," she said to me. "but be sad that you will be." With that Morgan and Cathy came over to me. Morgan Acacia and Cathy Riana are best friends, and also trombone players as well. They used to be flute players and then they switched because they did not like the drama that was there. Morgan always gave off two impressions, one that she was goofy and charismatic woman, the other was that she never had a good day, and she decided that she was going to take it out on all those around her with the exception of Cathy. While it is okay sometimes, there are days where I cannot stand Morgan, and I just think that she needs to go home and deal with her problems. But I never think ill of Cathy at all. Cathy never wants to start fights with people unless she has a good reason to fight them. I like Cathy more than Morgan, but hey, where is it in my place to judge people?
"Hey Sarah, so today is the day that you are marching trombone huh?" Said Cathy.
"Yep." I relied.
"Just remember two things, guide right and watch your horn angles at all times got it?"
"You bet, thanks for the tips."
" Just watching out for ya!" Said Cathy "See you in the block."
" See you later." With that Cathy leaves and I hear the traditional blow of a whistle. The signal to stop doing what you are doing and be ready to stand at attention. Then I hear the traditional command that every band heeds to from our drum major Kyle Franco.
" Band Attend Hut!" And in one synchronized reply, our band calls out this one word.
"ONE!"
(Authors Note: The Attention command is different for every band. However, no matter what way you do it, that is the same way that you bring you whole band to complete silence and prepares them for marching.)
"Good afternoon students, it's nice to see all of you here once again. A couple of things that everyone needs to know." Mr. Adams poised and standing tall among us. Kyle to his right.
" If you did not attend Band Camp please know that your uniform money is due next week. And that we have a practice next Saturday for field show." The whole band groaned at that comment. We like field shows, just not when we have to drill them down on Saturdays.
" And I hope that all of you will be there on Saturday and ready to work. Kyle, have anything to say?" Kyle steps forward, and he looks at us for a moment, an awkward silence fills the room at that moment, I look to Stephanie and she shrugs.
"Welcome, nice to see you all once again. I hope you guys are ready to win more trophies once again." He looks at us and we are still so silent as he gives his commands.
"Band Attend Hut!"
"ONE!"
" Form up the block out side please. Go." And with that all 98 of us went outside and formed up the block.
Now before I continue, I must describe some marching terms that will be used a lot during this chapter as well as this story. Many of these terms will come back up in jokes, so read on and take heed! Otherwise you won't understand some of the jokes!
The Seven Steps of attention: When your drum major gives the command " Band Attend Hut!" It means that you must observe these seven rules of attention. To not, is fatal!
(authors note: The Seven Steps can vary from band to band as well.)
1) Feet- your feet must stand at a 45 degree angle, and your section leader must be able to put the tip of their toes in-between your feet and then it's perfect.
2)Knees- your knees must be slightly bent. THEY ARE TO NEVER BE LOCKED IN!!! To lock them in will ensure pure and total knee pains for life. (An: I know, I've done that a thousand times.)
3) Dime- This one is the one not really liked by members of our band. Basically you are to think that you have a dime between your butt that you must not let fall out. So you must squeeze it in.
4) Shoulders-They are to be pulled back, showing your sense of pride, basically it is to make sure you look pimp as you march into competition.
5) Chin- Pointed upwards and looking absolutely pimp.
6) Hands- depends, if you are a woodwind it must be bunched in a fist and to your side not swinging at all. If you are brass or percussion, they must be firmly place on your instruments or sticks, depending as well.
7) Horizon-means that you are to be looking ahead and not thinking about what is going on behind you. A good tip, always think about those trophies that you are going to win. Cause then you'll look pimp in order to win those trophies.
The Block: The Block is basically the whole band marching in a rectangular shape that may vary in size depending on the size of your band. Since there is 98 of us, we march 9x7. But some bands march smaller than that. It just really depends. The organization of the block goes like this. The low brasses are the first you see which is also known as the front rank. A lot bands try to have a whole trombone line in the front ranks because of our slides. (AN: No pun intended!) Occasionally you'll see a euphonium or a marching baritone in the front rank but that's okay.
After them in the next two or three ranks, you would see the trumpets, French horns, frumpets (which are a hybrid of the French horns and trumpets) and if your band is lucky, you'll get some cornets! Because there is a huge shortage of cornet players. Following them are the saxophones, all of them. Then in the center of the block in all their huge glory, are the sousaphones. Every band has to have a few sousaphones in their ranks other wise, they aren't a full marching band. Some percussion is with the sousaphones, but usually they get their own rank.
Then they are followed by clarinets and bass clarinets if you are lucky to get a few bass clarinets, because they always seem to break a lot. Then they are followed by the flutes and piccolos and if your band has an awesome marching program, you'll have oboes as well. But oboe players have a tendency to dislike their instrument or dislike marching altogether.
Then there are the blessed percussionists, the last ones you see as block moves by you. Basses and snares are upfront, but you must have one cymbal player or bell player between the snares and the basses in order to see for the bass drummers, because they cannot see! You think they can, but they really can't.
Guide Right- A huge problem for many people is for them to be able to guide right and play at the same time. Guiding right is basically lining up to the other person's shoulder.
Diagonals- Another huge band problem, members must always remember their left and right diagonals otherwise they will be butchered.
Band Boosters- The Band Boosters are basically a bunch of parents who love their kids and the things that they do.
Drum Majors- There are two drum majors. Depending on your band of course. There is the head and the assitant. Our head drum major is Kyle Franco and our assitant is Alex Swanson.
Right Guide- The person that you must guide right to. They are to your right obviously.
So there I was in the front rank. All trombones this year. What a blessed thing for us. To my left, was Cathy and Morgan, and to my right was John, Chris Stevenson, David Lowe, Andrea Marianna, Mike Rumania, and Alex as the right guide.