2 Weeks/Sickness/Blogging Hawaii/Packing Angst

Remember these?

Well, we recently passed the two-week mark (that was Sunday 11/20), and the one-week mark is approaching with extreme expedience. It's a busy week ahead. 
Thanksgiving dinner was great, and thankfully I was feeling well enough to enjoy it. I unfortunately picked up a rather virulent cold from my dad on Monday and have been in bed sleeping ever since (why I didn't post the 2-week mark earlier).
I promise you all that I will try my hardest to live-blog Hawaii, but I will tell you honestly that I don't think I'll have time to do anything more than take snapshots from my phone and then post them all when I get back. Whenever it happens, you'll get the whole story eventually. 
And also I find it amusing that I'm as packed as anyone can be at this point. All I have left is my uniform, which I can't pack until next Friday because we have a performance Thursday night. 
But yea. That's what's going on at the moment.

21 Days

Agh. Fast approaching are three things- a visit to our school from Wayne Bergeron (Monday), the local music dealer's private sale, at which I will get a new trumpet (Wednesday), and HAWAII, the event of the year, in 21 DAYZ. 
WOOOOOOW. 
Right now, I am doing this:

In preparation for this: 

And yes, that is my trumpet on a floor pouf:

We're all getting pumped for Hawaii. Not long at all now. 

Less Than A Month

WE ARE 23 DAYS OUT FROM LEAVING FOR HAWAII ON DECEMBER THE 4TH. Where the heck has the past year gone???
We have an early morning performance at one of the district elementary schools tomorrow (so early it's essentially zero hour, and I get to miss a math test), a send-off concert after that, and then we leave 4 DAYS AFTER THAT.
AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...
!!!
Yay. :D
So my job right now is to study and keep my grades up so I don't fail everything during the week we're across the water on Oahu. 

That rug-looking thing is my beach towel, by the way. It came from Amazon on Monday and I love sitting on it. 
But yea. ONLY 3 WEEKS. O. M. G. WOW.
Happy. :)

Pinterest
The band when anybody says the word Hawaii

In other news, I might (probably will) get a new trumpet next week, but more on that later. Hawaii here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (uh... overreact much?)

What DCI Geeks Do for Halloween

When Halloween rolls around, we can all change who we are for a day, and unfortunately one day only.. honestly I'm going to miss walking around school like this:

Mine.

Yep, I dressed up as someone from the Santa Clara Vanguard today. For those of you that know me, did you honestly expect anything less? For those of you that don't... get used to things like this.

I painted the shirt and made the plume and the star for the hat. It all cost less than $100.
It all made my band director very happy this morning. We were all just sitting there, discussing our last concert, with me casually under my hat, when Mr. Taylor looks around and says, "You are wearing a Santa Clara Vanguard costume. You have no idea how happy that makes me!" I collapsed into a fit of laughter because that was exactly how I imagined the morning going. At the end of class he took a picture to add to the Wonderfulness of Band archives. (Actually I made that up. It's just the band archive. But whatever.)
Thanks, Mom and Dad, for buying the materials; everyone else for noticing (words of Sam: "ten out of ten"); and mostly the Vanguard themselves for always being their awesome selves out there! #SCV @scvanguard 
Thank you all.

Don't you be smiling in uniform! Oh wait... never mind.

It was great. The best Halloween I've had. 

My Favorite Field Shows

Since it's homecoming halftime field show season, I thought it's about time we all had some inspiration to get us through the after school practices until next week. So here are my favorite field shows by DCI corps. (Videos released from the official DCI YouTube channel)
Santa Clara Vanguard 2014:

Bluecoats 2014: The very best of them all! And why I want the 2014 DCI World Finals DVD for Christmas.

Cascades 2016: This one hasn't actually been published, because the season's not over yet! But it's an excellent show called 'O' and if you went to a western region DCI competition over the summer you probably saw it. I'll put it up on this post at the end of the season.

Yep, with the big orange hoops.
ddd000fff.blogspot.com

Cascades 2015: From the Cascades official YouTube channel.

Yep. Be inspired. Good luck. May you always be in step. :)

Cool Things that the Vanguard Did

What I do on Sunday/Monday nights: look at DCI pictures.
Now, I went to a DCI competition in July and saw 5 world class corps and it changed my marching life.
I learned some things.
Namely that the great people in California that are called the Santa Clara Vanguard are amazing.
In fact the Vanguard is so obscenely awesome that they can do things like all of these that I found on the Interwebs today. Exhibit A:

www.youtube.com

They can randomly stand on stacks of Arabian-style floor cushions all across the field.
Exhibit B:

www.pinterest.com

Things like this. No explanation needed.
Exhibit C:

www.dci.org

The 'V' of cymbals. Or this view:

lordsworkr.deviantart.com

Exhibit D:

dci271.dci.org

Complex forms. Hard to march to, still way cool-looking once they get there.
Exhibit E:

www.santaclaraweekly.com

Cymbal moves.
Exhibit F:

dimasmonde.blogspot.com

Cymbal suicide. Ah, them crazy cymbals... (HA look who's talking...trumpet girl...)
Yep. More cool stuff from other corps coming later!

The Band Camp Survival Post

One more time, from the top! One more time, from set 5! 
One more time! 
One more time!
One more time!
'One more time!' say people at band camp. And since pretty much ALL the 'one more time's that you'll hear at band camp are LIES, here's how to get through.
Before camp starts:
If your school's marching season is anything like ours, you'll have done the longest parade of the summer season on July 24th and then had a 3 or 4 week break before band camp in August. This means that you likely won't march for 3 weeks before jumping right back in when camp rolls around. So stay in shape. I did strength training and I ran a few miles a week in those three gap weeks. The weight training really helped me hold up the 2 pound weight that is my trumpet for hours on end.
Also, remind yourself why you're doing this.

oregoncrusaders.org

Why do we go to band camp? CUZ THE VANGUARD. Actually, though, it's because you love the spirit of band and you're volunteering your time and energy to be a good marcher in your show. 
1. Be prepared. For everything. Be ready for sun and extreme heat, rain and cold, and music and marching in general. That means have a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, jacket, and gloves. Also always have your music, just in case and for reference, and stuff like valve oil and slide grease. These are good things to have: if you need them, then you'll have them, and everyone will love you for always having some on hand to lend.
2. Always have your drill charts and dot sheet. The number 2 time waster at our band camp was trying to figure out various sets because people didn't have their drill charts. If everybody has the charts then time won't be wasted borrowing charts. 
3. The number 1 time waster was lack of focus. I know: Band camp is hard and you'd likely rather be elsewhere the whole week, but please do focus. Guaranteed that you'll get nowhere if you let your mind wander during camp. It will also make your directors angry and that isn't fun. Just focus. It's only 3 days.
3b. Pay attention. It isn't fun to be that one person who's trying to fix a drill set and suddenly the band gets called to attention and you're still talking and moving. Don't be that guy. Also pay attention to directions. It also sucks to be that one person who starts on the wrong set and marches a completely different move from the one that everyone else is doing. Don't be that guy either. Focus and pay attention.
4. Do what your director tells you to- and when they tell you to do it. Moving slowly, not listening to directions, or violating the general band camp code of conduct will also make directors angry and leads to drums corps-style discipline, namely running laps and doing pushups.
5. Listen also to your section leader. Be quiet when they're talking. And then, the next time you do whatever they were talking about, improve. Make it better. 
6. You can always be better. Instead of focusing on how tired you are and what drudgery band camp is, choose something to work on on every set, every time you go through the show. Your good technique and focus will spread to your fellow band members and make the show better.
7. Lastly... always put your best foot forward (that would be your LEFT foot... lol marching jokes). The show won't be perfect the first time, but trying to get better leads to improvement. 
Good luck on your field shows. You'll survive.

The Marching Band Master List

Since marching band is about to start, I thought we should get back to what this blog's supposed to be about- band! 
I almost like making lists. I'm good at it. I organize things quite a bit, and I clean things the minute they border on getting out of hand. 
So, of course, there has to be a marching band list. Here you go. 

Les Shakos
by ME!

~EVERYTHING YOU WILL NEED FOR MARCHING BAND EVER~

STUFF FOR PRACTICE

• That musical instrument thingy. If you forget it everyone will murder you and things won't end well. Plus you won't be able to play, so you'll just be standing there awkwardly while everyone else does lip slurs.
• Mouthpiece. Even if you have above-mentioned instrument, it's useless sans mouthpiece. Always remember this bit.
• SUNSCREEN!!! Oh my GOSH, SUNSCREEN! Especially in an arid mountain environment like where we are, this is SO IMPORTANT. Over the month of June last year- about 30 days total- I had a complete tan and proceeded to become both more tan and sunburnt over the rest of the summer, since I didn't put on enough sunscreen. YOU NEED SUNSCREEN. Even if there's a shared bottle you can usually get at, have your own on hand in case it goes missing, like ours did last summer. We had a nice big bottle the first day of practice; we all used it, but then it disappeared into an instrument locker, and vanished off the face of the earth. I never saw it again. Shame on you, Jack, for losing that so quickly- but whatever. Lesson learned.
• Also- attention, wind players! You need sunscreen lip balm! This prevents embouchure sunburn, which makes it extremely painful to play. And you wouldn't want that, because it would spoil marching band. Prevent it, and wear that lip sunscreen.
• Regular Lip Balm- you'll need this for before and after practice. I've used more lip balm- both regular and sunscreen- in the past year being a wind player than I have in the prior years of my life. It'll be better than having chapped lips when you're not playing your instrument.
• Valve oil and slide grease (Maintenance Materials)- for yourself, of course, but your section will appreciate it when you have some to spare.
• Hair Ties- For tying back long hair, of course, but also to lend, or to use as slide stoppers. That's a useful purpose too. Keep a few in your case, in your pockets, and on your wrist.
• Sporty Watch- digital or analog is fine, whichever you prefer. I have a diving watch that I use, so I can dump water on myself and it's fine. May I give you some advice, though? Don't wear it under your uniform, the gauntlets get in it's way.
• Sunglasses- you want to be able to see the drum major and such without getting the sun in your eyes.
• Marching Shoes- Let's face it. Most teenagers complain that their marching shoes are uncomfortable. But the heels are shaped in a curve for a reason- to help you with your glide step. Your marching just isn't going to be the same if you don't wear the marching shoes. Just wear the shoes- blisters aren't the end of your life. The only exception I make is for people whose shoes literally rub holes in their toes- Emily, for example. But no skipping the marching shoes just because they're inconvenient. They actually help you march.

STUFF FOR PARADE DAYS

• Uniform (including marching shoes) and instrument, of course- check before you leave your house that you have  all the parts of both your instrument and uniform. Also check when you're getting off the bus at the parade line-up area.
• Comfortable shoes for before and after- sometimes I'll wear street shoes to and from  our high school, then change into my marching shoes before I get on the bus. I just leave the street shoes at the school. Some good types include Birkenstocks, Converse, Vans, or boat shoes. A pair with memory foam soles are nice, particularly afterwards. And no, no one will mind if you wear sock and sandals. That's actually quite stylish, to be honest. Just wear shoes that are comfortable.
• Phone- this one's a no-brainer, especially on a long bus ride.
• Sunglasses- for the bus. Stylish aviators are a plus, if that's what you like.
• WATER WATER WATER WATER WATER WATER WATER WATER WATER SO MUCH WATER
• FOOD. NEED I SAY MORE? NO. ... FOOD.

STUFF FOR BAND CAMP

• Everything mentioned above for practice. 
• The comfortable shoes I told you to have on parade days.
• Your phone
• A lunch, even if you plan to go out to Subway or something
• Probably a hat, preferably in the school colors.
• Extra socks. Trust me on this one.
• A first aid kit with Bandaids at least for blisters, probably some Advil, and whatever else you might need.
• Marching shoes. You need to practice your glide step on the field turf. It's a different feel than what you're used to. 

More? I can't think of more right at the moment. Maybe later. But that's really all you need for marching band.

The Thing with Trumpets

swivelstone.deviantart.com

The thing that some people and not others (shame on them) do in school called 'band' can be taken in through many different points of view. To some it's an easy A on your report card. To others of us, it's a serious lifestyle. I fall into the category where it's a lifestyle.
This may sound odd, but if you think about it, there are always people who really love band. We practice more than most, attend nearly every band function there is, and listen every minute of band. And spend the summer doing marching band. Good stuff.
Over time, a lot of people have amassed hordes of band personality tests, memes, and that sort of stuff. It amuses me to read these. They can be horribly inaccurate or else disturbingly correct (for some individuals). My friends complain that trumpets are loud and obnoxious and never stop talking (very true of one certain guy who literally WILL NOT be quiet when we're not marching), and cause a loss of water breaks during field show practice.
Goodness. If I ever did any of that, do excuse me, friends.
The other thing that bothers my non-brass friends is spit valves. When I go to talk to them before band class, I'm careful not to empty those in the front of the room, where the woodwinds sit.
I think that all this loudness and such is indeed one iteration of a trumpet's personality, but also, trumpets nearly always play a key part of every piece in concert bands. Currently, in Esprit de Corps, we play a loud fanfare kind of thing at the start, which must stay on tempo and, of course, is what everyone hears. Listen for yourself:

It's excellent music, yes, for concert band. This particular video is from this channel and was actually conducted by the original conductor of the piece.
UPDATE: I HAVE A LIVE AUDITION FOR WIND ENSEMBLE IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS AND I HAVE TO PLAY PART OF ESPRIT DE CORPS AND BAND-A-PALOOZA IS TONIGHT. SOMEONE HELP ME. I NEED TO EXTEND THE NUMBER OF HOURS IN A DAY BY ABOUT A BILLION AND A HALF. THANK YOU. :) I'll be fine.
What was I saying? Oh yes, about trumpets. Although we can be loud and do a lot of showing off, we play the fanfares and melody, too. Yep.

bvso.org

I really have no idea was this post was for, but anyway. It's here now so... yea.

Busy (But Good) Times

I, along with the rest of the band department, am heading into a busy time. A week from last Friday (this Friday, which is now tomorrow), we're hosting our biggest fundraiser of the year- a Valentine's Day dance. It's not uncommon for us to raise enough money to sustain the band and (partly) percussion program for the whole year- about $20,000. I helped with set up today. My dad's taking pictures and my mom's managing the student volunteers. This year we have a major fundraising push because of Hawaii (which is 10 and a half months away!!!!), so we're hoping for a good turnout. It'll be a good benefit event if all goes as planned.
After that, we have a recruiting drive for the entire band program grades 6-12 called Band-A-Palooza after February break, which is where each section of band plays music with all the ensembles below it. So that means we're playing with the 8th grade band, 7th grade band, and 6th grade band. Plus the Wind Ensemble plays a more complex song with us. It's a nighttime concert and a lot of the kids from the elementary schools come and see if they want to be in band. Plus we're a bit... inspirational... to the younger bands. 
With the Wind Ensemble we're playing Esprit de Corps, a Grade 5 (the scale goes up to Grade 6) piece that's quite fun to play even though I'm not perfect at it. I'm pretty sure that will be the premier part of the evening, so we're working at it. 
After that, auditions for Wind Ensemble are due. I am trying out. I'm also going to see about trying out for Junior Varsity Jazz, the precursor to Varsity Jazz. If all goes well, I'll be in both Wind Ensemble and JV jazz. :) I'm practicing every night to have a good chance of getting in to both of these. 
After those tryouts have passed and we all know if we succeeded or not, we have region solo & ensemble in March. I'm also doing a bunch of stuff for St. Patrick's Day with dance, so I'll have band and dance to practice. 
We have a band concert in there somewhere. An early spring concert. 
Come April, we have our last or second-to-last concert.
In May, the concert band season comes to an end. I think we have a very-end-of-year concert for the rest of the school. On Friday the 13th of May, I take the AP Human Geography test. I know, bad day for it. 
In the 3 days of school we have in June, we have beginner's camp for marching band, although we all go anyway just for the fun of it. 
Then it's MARCHING BAND SEASON!!!!!!!!
All in all, the next year will be very busy and planned out plus I have to take driver's ed in the summer. 8(

Life.
trompete.ru

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone, although I find little to actually celebrate in the holiday other than family and close friends. Whatever, it's all good. :)

December 7th

Yesterday was Pearl Harbor Day. Remember that. 

The harbor.
commons.wikimedia.org

Only a year exactly (from yesterday) to our parade in Hawaii!

ONE YEAR LEFT

It's one year, down to the day, until we leave for Hawaii! (It'll be December 4th, 2016) What a year it'll be, too, filled with fundraising and the marching season and pep band (and school). 

I just thought I'd announce that.

www.holidaysurfhotel.com

Yep.

Ridiculous Costumes

Before I go on from here, I will warn you: I speak not in jest!

Whoops. Slipping back into Shakespeare mode. Sorry. I've been forced to read enough Shakespeare that when I have to say something forcefully I say it like Shakespeare would have done in his infamously stupid plays. (With all due respect to my English teachers past and present, I really dislike English classes and Shakespeare.)

Yes, you know that I do marching band. (If you don't know that, where have you been?) It is fun except for the small hitch called our uniforms. No, they aren't the bane of our existence, (I am actually quite proud to wear mine) but there do make us really hot and sweaty, and every time you take off your shako (marching hat- I hope that's how it's spelled), your previously-silky hair is matted and- quite literally- wet. This is due to the fact that the insides of the hats are made entirely of plastic and vinyl. To the average teenager watching a parade, these [uptown] band outfits look stupid (average person), cumbersome (smarter person), or just to much work to bother with (someone who thinks they're smart). I like them. But, I will say that the style is a bit outdated.

It's marching style. You wouldn't understand.

< Marching coat (shown with the left gauntlet, although in parades, of course, you wear both gauntlets). Not bad, except that the shoulders have about 2 inches of padding in them and the gauntlets add an extra layer of already-thick fabric. Plus, who wears gauntlets anymore?








Below is the shako (MY shako). Not a lot of high school bands use shakos, as it's supposedly a hat for higher-ranking military people or something. I guess that means... we're a high-ranking band? I'm not sure, although I know that our jazz program has been nationally recognized. Anyway, that's what's ridiculous about marching uniforms. Bulky, thick, and really cool but stuffy hats.

Yes, these are cool hats.

BUT... what about dance costumes??? I've never really told you guys much about dance, and that is due to the fact that next year I will be quitting dance to save money for the band trip! And, without all my dance practices and competitions, I will NEVER miss another band event! Unfortunately, I have to miss the very last Pep Band of this year so that I can go to a dance competition tomorrow. I am very sad to miss band but also a bit excited for the competition as I probably won't do another one for years. Anyway, it's unfortunate that I must miss band, but the year's not over yet, so I must persevere with dance for the moment (and to my band friends that are angry at me for having to miss Pep Band, I WOULD MUCH RATHER BE AT BAND THAN AT DANCE BUT I MUST GO TO THIS COMPETITION SO THERE). Moving on... my dance dress is almost as ridiculous as my band uniform, and, like my uniform, it's heavy and made of velvet and satin. That aside, though, (also like my uniform!) it looks nice on stage.

Not your typical dance costume...

Yes, it doesn't look the best in the drawing, but that's as good as I can do on the computer. It looks better in person, and the dots on the left sleeve and skirt are actually rhinestones, so they add sparkle and don't look like weird polka dots rather than... looking like weird polka dots. Yeah. In short, it's also cumbersome and I can't really draw it.

So, what has the most ridiculous costumes? Marching band... or dance? Reminder: I'm not joking!

(Pretty-good-but-not-great-digital artist: me)

The Bandwagon

You've (most likely) heard the phrase, "jump on the bandwagon" (or whatever it actually is; I happen to not remember exactly). But, in band, we give this a new meaning.

Now, in the summer, when us marching band kids are the only ones in the school district that happen to need buses, the school buses are the default transport for us. We ride them to parades. I'm not exactly sure when I realized that we could start calling these "bandwagons"; but if you think about it this is very logical! Buses can be classified as wagons. It's a stretch, but it works. And the bus-wagon-thingies are carrying...a band! So they're bandwagons! I told all of my friends this, but I'm not sure how they feel about it. I personally think it's pure brilliance. 

But the bandwagons have problems. Keep in mind that we must haul around our uniforms- quite cumbersome- and instruments whenever we go to parades and things, and these can get in the way. Plus, nearly all of us insist on having our phones and a pair of sunglasses on the bandwagon. So things get quite crowded. First off, we are unevenly distributed on our 2 school buses/wagons. The high woodwinds (flutes/clarinets) and drum line go on one bus, and the brass and saxophones go on the other. Since both the drum line and high woodwind sections are quite small, their bus isn't even full. And then the brass bus is close to full, although I usually manage to get a seat to myself. Also is the problem of storing and keeping track of everything- uniforms, instruments, and phones. Instruments are easy because we put them in the undercarriage compartments. Then the only hard part is finding where they've slid around to when you get to the parade. Uniforms and hats are harder. 

A semi-good solution to uniform storage on the bus. Drawn by me.

Right now, we roll down the bus windows and hang our uniform garment bags on that, then put our hat boxes either on the seats or on the floor, but this causes problems as to keeping track of your own uniform pieces. One of 2 things can happen and cause uniform mix-ups:

a. Your hat box slides all over the bus floor and ends up in the very back, or...

b. After you take your uniform out of the bag, you forget to zip it up, it falls on the floor, and you have to hunt for your hangars when you get back from the parade because they slid all over the bus.

These things are not fun. Also when you hang your garment bag from the window, it covers the whole thing so you can't see out. Especially on longer drives, this bothers me. 

There's hardly a problem with phones on the bus. I just hope that no one calls me while we're driving because my phone's ringer has only 2 volumes: loud and louder. Everyone would hear, and then ask about, my outdated flip phone. But that's not the main point. The main point is that our school buses are not quite up to par with the "requirements" (aka luxuries) of a bunch of teenagers obsessed with band. So last night, I designed... The Bandwagon!!! It's a private motor coach designed specifically for marching bands; and it has all the creature comforts a band could want/use! (I made a list over the summer.) I'd been wanting to do it all summer, but I ran out of time- I wonder why- and now I have it done! Yay. Here are my blueprints for it: (I apologize for the lack of readability, but you get the main idea.)

Pic and drawings by me.

As you can (hopefully) see, the front half is more for just-a-short-drive kinds of trips, and the back half is akin to a tour bus. And it has spots for uniforms, hat boxes and instruments so that nothing gets mixed up! Anyway, this is my exaggerated luxury marching band tour coach. I'm good with the school buses for now. And I'll still call them bandwagons. But someday I hope to see something like this. That may or may not actually happen. But I'm hopeful. 

The end. For today.  

THE BEST NEWS EVER (well, so far...)

I have waited a really long time to tell you about this tidbit of news (yes, it's a tidbit, though a large one) and I'm not sure why. I suppose that's just how it worked itself into my blogging schedule.
     Now, as I'm sure you all know, I recently finished my marching season with the homecoming halftime show. This year's marching season was fun, but I'm already looking forward to next season- and not just because I like marching band! I'm excited because...
WE'RE GOING TO HAWAII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Digital Artist: me)

I guess that's a few too many exclamation points, but this is exciting. And we aren't just going to Hawaii for a band vacation. We're going for the PEARL HARBOR MEMORIAL PARADE!!! We were selected to be the official ambassadors for our state, as our invitation letter said. Would you like me to read it to you? Actually, since you can't really read over the Internet, I'll just write it out.
Note for context: Mr. Taylor and Hughes are our band directors.

Dear Mr. Taylor, Mr. Hughes, and the Band: 
2016 will mark the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, etc. etc. 
We want to take this opportunity to congratulate you and the band for being selected as the official ambassador from your state in the 75th Anniversary Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade. *Goes on about how the band was selected* As a high school band from your state, this takes on more significance. There were nine battleships moored in the harbor on December 7th, 1941; each of these will be represented by an outstanding high school band from the state that bears it's name. *YUS!* 
*thanks sponsors for their support* On behalf of the Pearl Harbor Parade Committee we congratulate you and look forward to having you be a part of the 75th Anniversary Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade. 
Mahalo and we look forward to working with you in 2016!
(signed by one of the parade committee members)

WE'RE AN OUTSTANDING BAND!!! YAY! YAY BAND!!!
I am proud of my band.

Us after finding out about the trip! (Pic by me.)
Note: We wear white gloves with our uniforms, that's why the hand is white.

By the way, I feel that our directors need some credit for this great honorable selection that we have garnered for them. So, many thanks to Mr. Taylor for catching all of the articulation mistakes in the horn line and Mr. Hughes for making sure the drum line stays on tempo. And overall, congrats to both of them for cultivating us into the OUTSTANDING high school band that we are! At the very last parade of the season, the thing that I will always remember is that Mr. Hughes called us in (meaning told us to gather around and listen) and said, "I have a letter to read to you guys, and I think now is a good time..." or something like that, and then he read it, and for some reason I totally forgot that Hawaii existed for a minute, 'cause when he said "Pearl Harbor," I thought that it was in Chicago or something. And, horrifyingly, my first thought was, "That's nice, but I probably won't go." I don't know what got into me. But then he said, and I quote, "So basically, the marching band's going to Honolulu."
We were SILENT, and it was around then that I finally processed the fact that Hawaii did actually exist. And then someone (it might have been me) started clapping and said, "YAY BAND!" And after that there was NO silence whatsoever. It was GREAT.

Hawaii! (Waikiki, that is.) We'll probably stay somewhere around here.
www.planetware.com

A week later, we had a relapse of all the excitement, because we found out that this trip is NOT just for the parade! We're staying in Waikiki Beach for a WEEK, and that WEEK includes but isn't limited to: a while (I haven't calculated how much time exactly) to spend on Waikiki Beach, a visit to the National Memorial Cemetery, a circle island tour where we'll se Diamond Head, Pali Lookout, Dole Plantation, North Shore Beaches, the Banzi Pipeline, Waimea Bay, and Sunset Beach; a visit to Pearl Harbor; time to explore the International Marketplace, another morning/afternoon on Waikiki Beach to snorkel, surf, or boogie board; then the parade, of course; a post-parade picnic (I like that!); a morning to hike Diamond Head Crater; a day or so at the Polynesian Cultural Center; and the day after that we go home (that schedule's not final, but I've got my fingers crossed that the travel agent can get us booked for all of it!). I've already made my packing list (I know, I'm obsessed with this trip) so that I won't have to worry about doing it next year, when things will be extra busy with Hawaii marching practices, practices for the homecoming field show, and probably several band meetings thrown in there.

Now the only hard part is fundraising. In the weeks that have passed since we found out about the trip, about 53 band students (including me!) have signed up for the trip. We have about 8 months for all of us to raise around 2 grand each just to pay travel expenses. Actually, I want to help my family raise three times that so that my parents can come as chaperones. They helped me get into the band, grow my musical talent, payed my band fees, and helped me with many other things that I'm thankful for; they even offered to pay for part of MY trip (I feel bad for my friends, whose parents refuse to pay for any part of their trips). So now I must organize fundraisers. And do homework so that I don't fail any classes.

Yay band. We're going to Hawaii!!!!!!!!!! :D
P.S. Want to know more about this parade? Go here: http://www.pearlharborparade.org

Yay band. This was the warm-up arc that morning. Thanks to my mom for taking this pic.

The End of the Marching Season

The marching season is over.
NO!
Yes, it's over.
NO!!
It. is. OVER!!!
NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Actually, it is. Excuse me for being dramatic, but I'm quite sad about this small detail.

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This is really pretty much kind of how I feel. But I know that I have stuff to do, including but not limited to homework for A.P. Geography, squeaking out notes on my trumpet, banishing my fear of math, cleaning my room, and various other things. And since a high school freshman's homework scene can be pretty scary... well, let's just say that I have a lot to do. 

Anyway, homecoming was last Friday (September 25th) and it was super amazing. It was really, truly my first homecoming ever because I never went to the homecoming games at my old school. But the whole of last Friday was great. We wore our school colors (red and black!) and no one really payed attention to anything in school. The day crawled by but at long last my mom was driving me to pep band at 6:00. We warmed up in the band room and the game started at 7:00 and the 1st quarter flew by so fast that I hardly knew what was happening as the marching band filed out of the bleachers at second quarter to get into uniform and go through the field show once. It was dark and we really couldn't see anything but I could feel my band around me and... I don't know, I could kind of sense the life-of-band force that binds us all together. It was great. When we tuned in our sections I heard chords that were so powerful and uniform that they probably could have been heard all the way over on the football field. Once we had talked through the field show, our drum major called us in (meaning, gather around and listen up) and gave us a pep talk kind of thing- his very last- and led us out to the field. Now, this being a halftime show, we had to wait for the football team to come off and all of that, so we had some time to burn. I hope that some day, football will be played at halftime and the football players will have to wait for us to come off. 

My dad took pics and a video of it; here's one of the photos:

Yay band! P.S. None of these trumpet players are me, as I was on the other side of the field.

I thought we looked great under the field lights and seriously finished off the season with a bang! And after we were done and coming off the field our band director was like, "Good job, band! Now, get out of here!" So we did. Back at home after the game was done, I put away my marching shoes for the season, so at least I don't have to worry about practicing extra music. And though there won't be anymore marching until May, we have an EXTREMELY exciting opportunity as a band next year to think about in the meantime; more on this soon!

YAY BAND!!!

So you think your feet hurt???

My feet hurt. Somewhat. Mostly just from mild repeated shock. 
See, in addition to my life of band, I do irish dance (I just finished practicing b/c I must practice 9 hrs. a month at home). It's that stuff they do in Riverdance or Lord of the Dance or any of those Michael Flatley dance shows. Not only is it good exercise, I have lots of opportunities to injure myself. ; ) Not really, I've only done that once and it was around last year.
Dance has a lot to do with feet, actually, just like in marching band! Some of the only differences are that in dance we're always on our toes and that we start our dance steps with the right foot instead of the left. I'm proud to say that, thanks to all that fancy footwork in irish dance, I'm one of the top five marchers in the marching band. Mr. Hughes, one of our band directors, said so. I can actually do a backwards slide (that's how you march backwards in halftime shows) without dropping onto my heels! In dance, we're always on our toes, leaping through the air, making precision-sensitive rhythms with our feet, drilling moves that cause problems over and over and over again...
Now, on the subject of feet...
These are my marching shoes:

These are my dance shoes:

Which ones do you think would cause more foot pain?

WELL, I'll tell you. Your feet have not been in pain until you've broken in a pair of irish dance hard shoes! Those are the ones on the right that are akin to tap shoes. Something about the stiffness of the leather and the way they're shaped causes more and larger blisters than I've ever gotten from regular shoes in my life. These shoes need more breaking in than marching shoes for sure. Or maybe my feet are just pain-proof at this point, after 6 years of dance and 5+ pairs of these feet-killing shoes. 

And, take a look at these fiberglass taps:

If you hit an ankle with one of those, you're toast (just for about 3 minutes, but the idea is that it hurts a lot). I suppose you could fracture an ankle bone if you hit them hard enough, though. 

Anyway, a LOT of people complained about their marching shoes over the summer and how they had so many blisters and how their feet ached so much and all that, and I was just like, "Your feet haven't hurt YET! Try on these shoes and THEN your feet will hurt!" And I would shove a picture of my dance shoes under their noses. No one really said anything in response to that, but... yeah. Although I was mildly annoyed by my bandmates' complaining, I WILL make one exception, and that's for my flute-playing friend Emily (find her blog here). Her marching shoes literally rubbed a hole in her big toe because they just didn't fit the shape of her foot. By the end of the marching season she had to wear all-black Converse sneakers instead of her marching shoes, so I don't blame her for that, because who can control the shape of their feet?

In the end though, irish dance hard shoes are almost guaranteed to make your feet hurt more than marching shoes do.

The end. (Photos by me.) 

What's the point of Band, anyway?

To get good opportunities, for one...

Well, as I sit here trying to do homework about the scientific method, I was brainstorming what to tell you about band. And then the answer slid into my email inbox. 

Last night we had pep band at our home football game. The pep band plays encouragement songs for the team and the spectators. We have lots of fun. We scream and yell when our team scores and we talk and eat food and play louder than ever and when the game's finally done it's around 10 p.m. We all go home tired. I'm always glad that the home games are on Friday so we can sleep in the next day! But they're a lot of fun, these home games. We dance and eat and cheer and play fun music and grow closer as a band. I guess that's kind of weird, but sorry. A band must be close (and have music skills) to perform well because they must understand each other, and so they must be close. But I'm not saying that I know all the secrets of our high brass section. If I knew all of that I'd be disturbingly smart.
Anyways, my friend Danielle is in band with me. Several of our other friends are in it, too. Danielle is a cool person. She provides the comic relief when things aren't going great and cheers louder than most and is an all-around great band member. And yesterday she caught a cold, so she couldn't come to pep band. It was sad. Now, you might ask, what does this have to do with pep band? 

It has to do with the very meaning of school band itself. Read this:

I miss when the tubas would destroy small civilizations and the drums would hammer away and we would all dance.

Because that's what Pep Band is about.

Being a family...

AND BLOWING THE OPPOSING TEAM OFF THE BLEACHERS.

--Danielle, on the subject of pep band (check out her band-centered blog here.)

Pay attention to that second-to-last line. It's so important. That's the meaning of high school band, in the end. Not only are you learning how to make noise, you build memories so that when you think of high school, you don't remember how hard Chemistry and A.P. Calculus were. You remember how you and your friends looked forward to marching practice after school in the fall, and the marching field shows at homecoming, and how you used to dance to the music and cheer so loudly at pep band (and get your ears blasted out by the piccolos), and how you spent your summer marching at high noon in the summer heat, and the summer band camps and how you would come back on the first day of school and play your instrument better than everyone else because you practiced for hours a day over the summer. 

So, yeah. That's why I do band. Also I do it because it's fun. 

(Meaning: you should be in band, too!!!)

Marching Band...

...in other words, my entire summer life. For those of you that don't do it and hardly know if your school has one, here's my definition from my semi-dictionary (about a page and a half of exaggerated definitions):
Marching band- a.) a band that moves as one, in ranks (lines) of five or fewer (except the drum major, who sometimes marches backwards and conducts the music), and includes a wind section and a drum line. Each band can be defined by it's uniform, style, and director. There are high school marching bands, college marching bands, and professional marching bands. The 2 former take great pride in representing their schools when they perform.
b.) a popular entry in parades.
c.) an activity that school band students look forward to every summer.
d.) a group of people who are not allowed to like horses during parades because of the poop the horses are likely to leave behind on the route. (Marching bands do not like to get their leather marching shoes dirty.)
That last one's a bit extreme as we don't care too much, although it is a bother.
Marching band is a good way to occupy yourself during the summer. I had to make sure that I got to my high school at 8:00 (preferably a little before) every morning in June, for about 2 weeks in July, and most days in August. Also in August, we started learning our halftime show for homecoming. That was fun, except that we were out in the sun for 4 hours a day and I got quite sunburnt. But it was worth it in the end, so now we know for sure that we won't mess up at homecoming when the whole school's watching!
I REALLY want to go to a college with an amazing marching band. Duke in North Carolina would be nice. They have an amazing band that's quite well known; but that's an overly expensive private school. I don't have the money for that. I don't mind too much though, as sometimes in band we "devil up our hats", which refers to the way the Blue Devils marching band wears (or wore, I'm not exactly sure) their marching hats. They pull the brims way down so that no one can see their eyes, which sometimes does look better than having the brim more upwards. Where do the Blue Devils march? Mostly at their home football games. They do the halftime shows- see pictures here. In our band, we wear our hats so that you can fit 2 fingers between the brim and the bridge of your nose in parades. But coming back to school, my only requirements for now are:
A. that the school has a good band, and...
B. that the school has a good academic program.
I have yet to find somewhere that meets these criteria, but I'll find one, I'm sure.
But basically, marching band is a fun thing that gives us something to do over the summer. It's LOTS of fun!

The good old summer time- when marching band was the hardest thing.