Hey, Miss J!

For some reason, I keep assuming that I’ve mentioned how I was at one point a concert percussionist. If not though, surprise! I also performed in an orchestra on stage. It was exciting but nerve wracking!

My goodness…

It’s one of those wonderful recollection posts again!

I love listening to performances done by orchestras. It makes me so happy to try to pick out individual instruments being played.

Especially the noble triangle. Because we all know that the real MVP of the percussion section is the one playing triangle. Not the one on cymbals, or the one playing the ridiculous number of timpani. The one on snare with that complicated segment of music isn’t the main one, nor the one playing the chimes, xylophone, glockenspiel.

Not even the claves.

It’s the one playing triangle.

I had to do that a few times and tried desperately to keep a straight face the entire time.

I was struggling a bit to keep up with some sheet music, so the conductor would gesture to me to let me know to hit the triangle.

If it sounds lame, I don’t care.

I played that triangle with all my heart.

Then… I became that person standing behind the timpani.

Nothing more frightening than trying to tune those massive drums and then need to remember which drum is which note!

I still struggle to read sheet music, which unfortunately is a problem I’ll deal with for as long as I live in this world.

Now though, I can still read percussion sheet music. It’s similar to piano, but not.

Now, the MVP of percussion is the triangle, but you know who the ride-or-die is? The backbone of that section?

I got to play that one as well. This ginormous bass drum. The thing was taller than I am.

Granted, I’m below 5’5”, but that still counts!

I had to use my entire body to muffle it. I found it hilarious that the mallet I had to use was bigger than two of the (construction) hammers at home combined.

I had to hit on time and then muffle it.

With my whole body.

I actually got so bored once during a performance at graduation that I sped up. I heard the clarinets scrambling to keep time with me.

I might have grinned at one of them when they had a chance to stop and look back at me.

However, when the music is in 4/4 time and you literally hit 1-2-3-4, it’s just…

Ugh!

And I had to play that for over ten minutes! Over and over again.

No wonder my arms were huge when I was performing. Pfft.

Ah well.

Time for me to get to my assignments and see how everything else goes?

TTFN! Ta Ta For Now!

~J. Lyst

I accidentally wrote “Lust” again. Man…

I also was rewatching a scene from “The Brave Little Toaster”. The song was called “Worthless”. The last car made me so upset… He could still run and was dumped there at the junk yard!

That movie frightened me from the age of like 4 till 26.

I kid you not.