The next week was spent listening to judges' tapes and figuring out what
areas we could improve upon. Mr. Wilson printed out a list and posted it
in several places around the band room, along with the quotes Caitlyn had
written on the board the first night of practice.
Another thing we did that week was start working on symphonic band music. We were all bored of playing three short movements over and over, and Mr. Gunter wanted to start working on Christmas music. It was nice to go back to my bassoon one lovely day a week.
As the end of October drew to a close, the weather began to change. It got a lot colder on practice nights, and we had to start coming with heavy jackets and gloves. Usually it would be cold for a while and then we'd all warm up from marching, but one night that week I marched the entire rehearsal in my letterman jacket and Ben's gloves, and it was COLD. We had some problems trying not to go flat.
That same night was our annual section pumpkin-carving contest. Since Matt didn't want to do a pumpkin (or didn't have time, they're one and the same), Laura and I teamed up with Sarah and Kei, our mellophone friends, to create the Valve Mid-Low Brass Section. We met an hour before rehearsal and began working on our masterpieces. One was a Sarah Classic: a penguin (she always said we looked like penguins in our uniforms). The pumpkin itself was the penguin, with the stomach shaved off but not completely cut out, and a beak sticking out. On its head we placed a shako, complete with plume. The other was a very deformed-looking elf. It was supposed to be a gnome, from the infamous brass sectional with Mr. Gunter, but it didn't quite turn out right.
After rehearsal was the judging. Mr. Gunter, Mr. Wilson, Jason, and Caitlyn were the judges. First they went around looking at all the pumpkins. The pit had done several pumpkins, one for every two pit members. They had stenciled and carved out each individual member with their instrument, and they could identify each one. The battery simply drew a face on a piece of paper and pinned it to a pumpkin. (Not too surprising—they're drummers, after all.) The trumpets were the most creative, however. They carved a normal jack-o-lantern face in their pumpkin. Then they had Ben recline on the stairs outside the band room, pull his head inside his sweatshirt, and hold his trumpet where the mouth would be. The rest of the trumpets placed the jack-o-lantern inside Ben's hood so it looked like it was his head and he was playing the trumpet. It was lit inside with a glow stick. He sat really still and everyone was amused. The judges ruled that the pit won, with Valve Mid-Low Brass second, trumpets third, and battery last. Overall, it was another successful pumpkin carving contest, and the most creative ever.
That weekend we had a nice little break from competing because of the Sadie's. I wasn't going to Sadie's because the guy I'd asked had already been asked (darn those popular people). So I went to a UCLA vs. Stanford football game with my family. I've always loved seeing the UCLA band because they're one of the only bands who still does classic marching band stuff. They don't dance and they don't do weird things. They just get out there, do their thing and do it well, and get off. That's really all we needed to do too.
Another thing we did that week was start working on symphonic band music. We were all bored of playing three short movements over and over, and Mr. Gunter wanted to start working on Christmas music. It was nice to go back to my bassoon one lovely day a week.
As the end of October drew to a close, the weather began to change. It got a lot colder on practice nights, and we had to start coming with heavy jackets and gloves. Usually it would be cold for a while and then we'd all warm up from marching, but one night that week I marched the entire rehearsal in my letterman jacket and Ben's gloves, and it was COLD. We had some problems trying not to go flat.
That same night was our annual section pumpkin-carving contest. Since Matt didn't want to do a pumpkin (or didn't have time, they're one and the same), Laura and I teamed up with Sarah and Kei, our mellophone friends, to create the Valve Mid-Low Brass Section. We met an hour before rehearsal and began working on our masterpieces. One was a Sarah Classic: a penguin (she always said we looked like penguins in our uniforms). The pumpkin itself was the penguin, with the stomach shaved off but not completely cut out, and a beak sticking out. On its head we placed a shako, complete with plume. The other was a very deformed-looking elf. It was supposed to be a gnome, from the infamous brass sectional with Mr. Gunter, but it didn't quite turn out right.
After rehearsal was the judging. Mr. Gunter, Mr. Wilson, Jason, and Caitlyn were the judges. First they went around looking at all the pumpkins. The pit had done several pumpkins, one for every two pit members. They had stenciled and carved out each individual member with their instrument, and they could identify each one. The battery simply drew a face on a piece of paper and pinned it to a pumpkin. (Not too surprising—they're drummers, after all.) The trumpets were the most creative, however. They carved a normal jack-o-lantern face in their pumpkin. Then they had Ben recline on the stairs outside the band room, pull his head inside his sweatshirt, and hold his trumpet where the mouth would be. The rest of the trumpets placed the jack-o-lantern inside Ben's hood so it looked like it was his head and he was playing the trumpet. It was lit inside with a glow stick. He sat really still and everyone was amused. The judges ruled that the pit won, with Valve Mid-Low Brass second, trumpets third, and battery last. Overall, it was another successful pumpkin carving contest, and the most creative ever.
That weekend we had a nice little break from competing because of the Sadie's. I wasn't going to Sadie's because the guy I'd asked had already been asked (darn those popular people). So I went to a UCLA vs. Stanford football game with my family. I've always loved seeing the UCLA band because they're one of the only bands who still does classic marching band stuff. They don't dance and they don't do weird things. They just get out there, do their thing and do it well, and get off. That's really all we needed to do too.
