In A Rehearsal for 80 Hours
A/N: Yes, thanks to my reviewers for reviewing this. To:
PuddingBandit: Wow, I'm sorry to hear about your rehearsal, I feel sorry that you had to do that several times.
Band Idolizer: Yes, this is the North Mesquite Drumline from Texas.
Ok, on with the story.
Hour Four, Five, and Six 3:00 pm
As the group came back, it was time to practice the music. The music this year was called "Transformations" and it consisted of three parts. (Technically Four, but I'm lazy) There is part 1A, 1B, 2, and 3.
Aside from the warm-up group, the other instruments consisted of Bass Drum and Gong, 2 synthesizer keyboards, and various other small equipment.
Mr. Mason came to them.
"Sorry, pit. The battery is coming in and going to go along with us for the moment and they're warming up so go ahead and sit and wait patiently. No talking!" he said the last part sternly.
Joseph let a smirk cross his face as the battery began to come in a set up. Jessica took out her music and looked over it, Dave walked over and sat by her, and Lopez sat on the ground then stretched out and started to sleep. Taylor went over to Katrina, the last vibe player. She was white and a sophomore and very…skinny, which made for the fact that she couldn't keep up most of the time. She often complained about her problems and had an open mind. (No offense to her, I'm just explaining things!)
Taylor sat by Katrina and started talking to her, and from where Joseph was sitting he could tell she was griping about her finger again.
'She really needs to grow up.' Joseph said to himself.
Ronald, Silent Bob, a small freshman boy, Kane, and another freshman named Bill. Bill couldn't do much, seeing as he was hit by a cop in his arm. The cop "didn't see him coming" as Bill was obeying the rules and crossing the street when he was supposed to.
Nathan, a heavyset Indian sophomore, sat in the back by himself, uttering things Joseph didn't care to know.
Jackie, a white sophomore, sat next to her marimba, leaning against it. Then there was Laura, a freshman girl who played the last marimba.
The two synthesizer players, Sheila and Jeff, Mexican and Black, both freshmen, sat down and did nothing but sleep. Last but not least, Cecil and Kalvin, Cecil a freshman and Kalvin a junior, sat by themselves over behind one of the concert bass drums.
Joseph grew bored a perusing the crowd, until he listened to the battery playing of their cadences. The drumline altogether was very good and played clean most of the time. This particular cadence was played in the stands at football games often, and loved by many who heard it. It is that way because some say that the band songs do nothing for the crowds. Only the drumline provide a beat for the band, and that's what it's been like for how long Joseph never knew. Joseph sat for a while, the beat of the drumline mixing imaginary beats in his head. Taylor came over and sat next to Joseph and told him a joke, but Joseph didn't really laugh, he was busy thinking about important things.
"Alright pit, get up." Mr. Mason said as the last of the drumline cadences were done and their warm-up complete.
"Change in plans, we're going outside for a while. Spence, go get the tarp and bring it outside on the cart." Mr. Kollens said.
Spence nodded and headed towards the locker rooms.
The pit began to move their instruments outside and into the parking lot, but not before hitting the door with some instruments and also riding on them as Joseph witnessed Taylor doing as he zoomed by. The pit set up, and the tarp was brought out.
"Butch! Get the tarp undone and stretch it across this line." Mr. Kollens shouted to him from atop the conductor's tower.
Butch nodded and called everyone to get the tarp off the cart. When they pulled if off the cart, they had to unroll it.
"Alright, some people stand on this side, and everyone else stand on the other side."
They all nodded and Butch nodded to them to pull the first layer back. They pulled it out until it was ¾ of the way undone when they noticed that the side they march on was underneath.
Everyone started to talk as Mr. Kollens and Mr. Mason left to get something.
"Get the other side and turn it around!" the 2nd bass player, Brandon, a dark colored Indian boy shouted.
Several ran under the tarp and Joseph and the others laughed as they began to run through and begin to turn in right side up.
"Ok pull!" Butch shouted from underneath the tarp.
The group pulled and realized that the people under the tarp started screaming/laughing as they were pulled with the tarp.
"What are ya'll doing?" Mr. Kollens shouted as Butch got out from under the tarp.
At that moment so did the others who were underneath it. As the tarp was set up, the pit put their instruments on it and the battery lined up for the first set.
"Alright battery, go from the 1st set to page…" he said as he paused, looking for a place to stop.
"…23. Stop on the snare solo."
They all nodded as Mr. Mason grabbed the Lone Ranger metronome and turned it on, the tempo at 160. Right as they turned on the met, it picked some radio station and started playing songs on it.
"What the?" Mr. Kollens said.
Mr. Mason fiddled with the thing as Joseph and the others snickered and laughed.
"Stay set; it's just a simple distraction!" Mr. Kollens said.
After they reset the frequency, they got back to getting this started. They counted off and they were gone!
The pit, stood there, waiting for the opening snare solo by Brittany start them off, then the rest of the battery joined in…….then the pit came in 3 measures later. The pit flew through several 4 mallet pieces and played magnificently, obvious by the fact that Mr. Mason was happy that they were finally together for once.
"Good pit keep it up! More emotion!" Mr. Mason shouted.
"Sell it!" he shouted some more.
The pit rose to a good 15" with arm when the first of the set hits were played. The pit had several small runs leading up to the big long run at the end of 1B and 3, and the battery stopped playing as the pit solo began. All the way from the bottom of the mallet instruments to the top as the pit solo went, but it still wasn't together!
The music past swiftly, and they eventually reached page 23, the end of Movement 1B.
"Pit…watch the runs, relax. You guys look like it's the hardest thing in the world!" Mr. Mason said.
"Oh and battery…" Mr. Mason said as Mr. Kollens was looking at and studying the music.
The battery all looked at him.
"…play clean!"
End Hours 4, 5, and 6