Questions by @duckbills Answered by: @BandGeek4 Thumbnail made with Canva Q1: Why did you choose to do band? A: I had played piano for about 5 years prior and I thought it would be cool Q2: What instrument(s) do you play? A: I started on clarinet in 6th grade, switched to bass clarinet in 7th and stayed bass in 8th. I also have played piano for 8 years now and have been working on the alto sax in my free time over the past couple of months. Q3: Craziest thing your band Director has done? A: 2 things: 1. For our spring 6th grade concert, we had a song called Aliens Landing. She had her son dress up in one of those inflatable costumes that make it look like the alien is picking you up and made him walked around in it towards the end. 2. When I was in 7th grade, the 8th grade was playing You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch and she had someone (not in the band) dress up as the grinch and the grinch literally PULLED a trumpet player IN THEIR CHAIR (the chair was closest to the side) back like 5-10 feet. In the MIDDLE of the concert. It was great lol. Q4: Is your band class big, small, or average? A: It's HUGE! We got like 8 or smth french horns, 4 oboes, and 4 bassoons IN EACH GRADE!!! Q5: Do you wish you could play another instrument than what you have already played? A: NO (maybe bass flute, it sounds really cool) Q6: What section has the least amount of students? A: The contrabass clarinets or the bari saxes (one each) Q7: How many years have you played your instrument? A: Piano: 8. Clarinet: 3. Bass clarinet: 1.5-2~ish Q8: What was your favorite piece of music you ever played? A: A piece called Brazilian Bell Carol. Basically Carol of the Bells but with a Brazilian-style street party percussion highlight. Pretty freakin awesome. Q9: Have you ever damaged your instrument? A: Yes, actually. I set it down, by the peg (the bottom stick thingy for people who don't know) and the part where you screw in the peg literally SNAPPED OFF! Thankfully one of my band directors (I have 3) was able to weld it back together. It's a little crooked now, but whatever. Q10: How long do you practice your instrument? A: Not long enough :( Q11: What do you hate about your instrument? A: Bad reeds/not getting the mouthpiece/ligature/reed PERFECT and consequently sounding terrible. Also, having to adjust the peg to the perfect height. Q12: Are you beginning, intermediate, or advanced in your opinion? A: Compared to my peers, advanced, but in reality, probably intermediate. Then again, I can play a 2-octave chromatic scale in one breath. Which for my clarinetists out there, is A LOT of breath. Bass clarinet uses a lot more air than soprano. Q13: What section is the most annoying? A: Trumpets. Need I explain? I don't care, I'm gonna anyways :) They're SO FREAKING LOUD, whether it's talking or playing their harmonies when the low team has the melody. And they have big egos. And a lot more that I'm probably forgetting. Or maybe percussion like YALL ARE SUPPOSED TO KEEP THE TIME, NOT CONSTANTLY ALWAYS SLOW DOWN OR SPEED UP!!! WHY ARE THE PERCUSSIONISTS THE WORST IN BAND AT RHYTHM!?!??!??!? Q14: Worst part about being a band kid? A: Having no life outside of band :) Well- Q15: How often do you do performances/concerts? A: About 2-3 times per year, but I'll be in marching band next year, so I think that will definitely increase. Q16: Have you ever messed up during a performance? A: Yes. I forgot to take the repeat to the second ending. Thankfully only the other basses heard me. Q17: Has your band director ever called you out for making a mistake? A: Forgetting my tuner. That never happened again. Q18: What section always mess up on their part? A: Trumpets, percussion, trombones. Q19: Favorite scale? A: Either Eb, F, or G cause I get to hit LOW NOTESSSSSS Q20: Last question! Does your band do any activities during class time? A: Sometimes, at the start of class on mondays, my band director will play a game. She started this earlier this year, and she always plays either of these two: 1. Dolphin training: One person is sent out of the room temporarily, and we collectively decide a simple task for them to do, like grabbing a hat and putting on a certain trumpet player, (we actually did that with the principal) or picking up an item, or starting the metronome... etc. When the come back in, we can only tell them what they need to do by cheering or booing. Kind of like the "hot or cold" game but for actions too. 2: "Pool Noodle Fight... I think?" Basically, there are two players (one is typically the band director) and each player has two half pool noodles. One has a small plastic cup at the end. The one without a cup is used as a sword, and the goal is to knock your opponent's cup off before they can do the same to yours. It's really fun, but not as fun as dolphin training. BONUS: Did you enjoy this? Tell me what you think! A: Yeah, I wasted like 30 minutes doing this lol!
*Sorry to percussionists, trumpet players, and trombonists* :)
