Band Camp, looking back

Band camp is almost over. I have only 3 more hours with the beginners in the morning, and then a concert in the afternoon in place of the usually scheduled "advanced" band camp. Looking back, it's been a really fun experience, and I learned quite a few things about band and people.

From the first day, it's pretty easy to identify who plays what instrument. On day one, none of the kids had gotten their instruments yet, but my new friend Andrew, a music major at ACU, and I were able to identify which instruments about 80% of them were going to be playing. 5th and 6th grade band people are also somewhat similar to their counterparts in the MOB.

Flutes are cute and fun, but pretty loud, especially when compared to the clarinets. They really like talking with each other and others, very social. You can't help but love being around them though.

Clarinets are pretty quiet and reserved, but great learners. They listen to what you say, which makes any teacher happy, and play well with others. Most of them also like challenging themselves and were eager to learn new notes that they didn't need to know for months.

Saxophones are loud! The "make you wish you could stick a mute down their throats" loud. They do whatever it takes to make sure everyone's attention is on them. If you say the words "play more softly" they don't make it to their brains, so don't bother. They are also notorious for being late. For two days in a row all 3 of the beginning saxs were at least 20 minutes late, while the 8 clarinets were all there on time.

Trumpets are just disrespectful and silly. I didn't work with them personally, but according to Andrew, they intentionally do what you don't want them to do, and do all kinds of things that annoy people. I heard that one of the trumpet players kept crossing his legs like a girl, knee on other knee. Andrew claimed that he wanted to smack the kid on the back of his head and remind him "You're a man!!" Maybe the trumpets in the MOB should be reminded of that as well.

Trombones got great reviews, but also had no idea how to listen to directions, which I suppose is common among beginner players. They did a great job of annoying Andrew, which I guess is good since he needs to get used to it if he's going to be a band director soon. Low brass think they are the coolest section in the band, and that if they weren't there, everything else would fall apart.

A joke that one of my flutes told me today: If you're flying over a desert in a canoe and the wheels fall off, how many flowers does it take to paint a house?
A: None, cause snakes don't have armpits.

She also tried to teach me how to play flute, but apparently I lack the epic skills that it takes to play it. Flutes must have some kind of wisdom that just transcends my understanding, because I am pretty sure that you can't actually make music with that long rod of metal and buttons. I know where to place my fingers though. I guess that's a start.