Monday, May 23, 2011

Band geek, without the talent

I joined band in 5th grade, and chose the clarinet based on how pretty the word "clarinet" sounded. I'd never even seen one until my first band practice when my dad comes running in late with my rented clarinet. I remember opening it, and saying "what the hell?"



I was enthusiastic, but lacked the talent and finances for private lessons. I made up for it by determination, and played hot cross buns for hours, twisting the tune up like I was a jazz musician playing on the streets of New Orleans for dollar bills.



I wasn't good. I was never good. But for some reason, I stuck with it. In middle school I volunteered to play the school supplied Bass Clarinet. This turned me from "Random clarinet player #36" to the FIRST CHAIR bass clarinet player! I was addicted!



In highschool I kept with it, and even moved up from "random bass clarinet player #2" to FIRST CHAIR CONTRA BASS CLARINET!!! (Kinda like it's so famous, it's INFAMOUS. It's so Bass it's CONTRA bass)

We flew to disneyland one year to do a parade and workshop, and there I was, little 15 year old me and this GIANT thing marching in a parade. People looked at me and I'm pretty sure they thought "wow she must be good to play such an impressive instrument".



Well, I never amounted to much in high school band, despite my mad big clarinet skillz, but I did have an extra period senior year and joined the beginning band so I could learn Baritone Saxaphone. I was good, man. I even did a solo of "You're just too good to be true" in front of like 20 people. And I felt cool. Again, twisting it up like a jazz player, dancing with my sax as I played, bobbing up and down, impressing the parents of my fellow beginning band mates like they've never seen anything so talented.

You know, they probably hadn't, since their kids were all beginners.

I was high on learning new instruments, and offered my services to learn the trumpet to help fill out the 2 person trumpet section, as I had passed my wisdom to the other baritone sax player and taught him everything I knew.



My instructor replied "Don't you think you're stretching yourself too thin?"

While at first I took it as an insult, later I took it as a challenge. A dare.

And I've been stretching myself too thin ever since.