Mini Camp

The next Saturday the marching band had one of the infamous mini camp rehearsals from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM to prepare for their competition the following weekend. Phoenix, unlike most of the other band members, was delighted.

In the morning, the entire band did their usual physical warm up of stretching and running around the front parking lot. Afterwards everyone split off into sectionals in different locations around the school until the lunch break. The pit and battery had the front parking lot all to themselves. Matt lead the percussionists through a musical warm up before they started actually marching and playing their show music. After the warm up Matt sent Billy to find Jordan, one of the drum majors, to follow the battery with the metronome while they marched across the parking lot. Normally Matt would have done this job himself, but he wanted to take advantage of the empty drum major's tower so he could hear how well the pit and battery lined up musically and see the battery's drill formations.

Once Jordan was standing ready with the metronome behind the battery, Matt instructed them to play and march from the transition between the ballad and the closer to the fifth drill page of the closer. Jordan turned on the metronome at one hundred seventy beats per minute, and after eight clicks the battery lurched into motion across the field as the pit played the first notes of their mallet run feature. Suddenly the battery put their sticks out and began to play with the pit while simultaneously changing directions and marching forward instead of sideways. Matt, however, cut them off. Jordan turned off the metronome, and everyone stopped playing and looked up at Matt expectantly. "Battery," Matt called, "you didn't enter in time with the pit. Don't listen to what they're playing; the sound takes too long to reach you back there. Just listen to the met. Reset!"

The battery raced back to their positions on the field for the transition, and they started the segment again. This time they entered in time with the pit, which pleased Matt. They repeated this section of the show three more times, and then moved on to the drum solo, which Matt drilled them on for the remaining hour until lunch. When it was finally lunch time, the pitters covered their keyboards and trooped gratefully back inside with the battery to sit on the cool tile in the hallway and eat lunch.

Lunch was not greatly exciting. The battery girls ate with Sarah, Harrison, and Mark, three of the mellophone players. After they finished eating, Ally and Phoenix joined a few of the guys already in the drum room and took a short nap. Twenty minutes later, at the end of the hour long lunch break, Brad walked in the room and clicked on the lights. Several groans greeted him. "Come on sleepy heads," he mock-crooned to them, "You have to come back to reality now. And that reality is that we have to be at the football field in ten minutes." Ally, Phoenix, Dan, Michael, Eddy, and Jack all slid off the percussion storage shelves they had been napping on and grudgingly put their shoes and drums on before heading back outside.

For the first half of the afternoon block Mr. Swotcher worked with the full band on the closer. This nearly bored the drumline to tears as they had worked on the closer the entire morning. However, the second part of the afternoon was spent on the opener, which went quite smoothly. At last they broke for the dinner break at 4:30.

At exactly 6:30 the final block of rehearsal for the mini camp started. The battery went to the bus port with Matt to work on the opener while the rest of the band worked on the ballad at the stadium. Two hours later a slightly breathless clarinet player jogged up to the bus port from the stadium to inform Matt that they were going to work on the drum solo next. When she left, Matt told the drummers, "Apparently Swotcher wants us back at the stadium now because they're running the drum solo. So, to the field we go!"

"Don't sound so excited about it," Jason mumbled.

"What was that, Jason?" Matt asked.

"Nothing! It was nothing at all," Jason was quick to reply.

Matt smiled. "Uh-huh. That's what I thought you said."

Jason rolled his eyes, but made no further comment.

When the battery rejoined the band on the football field, they quickly found their places for the drum solo before the next repetition of it started. Samantha counted everyone off with a yell of "Mark time, mark!" and the percussion section began to play the complicated licks of the solo while the band set their instruments on the turf and started their sparring routine. The result, especially when viewed from the top of the stands, was impressive.

After several reps of the drum solo and fight scene, it was finally time for a water break and a full run of the show.

The run was without doubt the best show the band had marched in weeks in practice or performance. As they stood in their final set, everyone inhaling the sweet air of success, Mr. Swotcher called, "Alright, four taps from the snare, then turn to your left and march off. Go ahead, Dan." The battery captain hit his snare four times in a row while the band turned, then settled into the familiar tap, tap, drag-tap each time his left foot hit the ground.

The band marched off the field perfectly in step and then pulled in close to the drum major's tower to hear the announcements. Mr. Swotcher complimented them highly on the successful day of rehearsal and told them they were in his opinion ready for next week's BOA (Bands of America) regional competition in Tampa, Florida.

AN: Next chapter is the last one tear Get ready for the competition scene!