Keyboard_Countessa

Although I was in pit for 4 years in high school, I can (sort of) see where the original poster is coming from, at least in regard to the part about running laps. If the rest of the band must participate in a mandatory activity like lap-running, the pit shouldn't be excluded just because they don't march. For example, my high school pit practiced outside with the rest of the band, had the same number of water breaks, and we even marched in the homecoming parade every year. But as others have said, the pit/battery comparison doesn't hold up; with all the different instrument sections, it's impossible to hold everyone up to the same standard. That reminds me of my "pit-mantra": since we don't march, we can work twice as hard on our music!

I don't have it in terms of pitches and colors... but I remember seeing a TV documentary on synesthesia where they did experiments that indicated that a lot of people may possess minor degrees of synesthesia. That makes sense to me, because I do tend to associate certain letters, numbers and words with colors.

I've read and enjoyed the books. As for the movie... the first word that came to mind after seeing it was "awkward." After more contemplation, my overall opinion is that it was "so bad it's good" (i.e. funny in places when it shouldn't be, things like that).

It may not be much, but this is what I remember from my years at Cy-Creek. 2002: Music for a Darkened Theater (don't know the arranger, but the show consisted of excerpts from "Batman," "Black Beauty," "Beetlejuice," and "Edward Scissorhands" by Danny Elfman) 2003: New Beginnings (don't remember the arranger or movement names) 2004: Labyrinth (Key Poulan, movements 2-4) 2005: Chronometry (Key Poulan, movements 1-3) I think Creek has done a couple more Key Poulan shows since then, but I can't recall which ones.

I saw The Dark Knight last week, and it was definitely awesome, as well as intensely scary and scarily intense! It's the kind of movie that requires a significant other to grab onto during the freaky parts!

Marimba 16 (+) Xylophone 15 Vibraphone 10 Chimes 10 Bells 11 Concert Snare 10 Marching Snare 11 Marching Tenors 10 Concert Bass Drum 10 Marching Bass Drum 11 Tom-Toms 9 Crash Cymbals 10 Suspended Cymbal 10 Triangle 10 Timpani 9 (-) Gong 10 Finger Cymbals 8

Marimba 15 (+) Xylophone 14 Vibraphone 10 Chimes 10 Bells 11 Concert Snare 10 Marching Snare 11 Marching Tenors 10 Concert Bass Drum 10 Marching Bass Drum 11 Tom-Toms 9 Crash Cymbals 10 Suspended Cymbal 10 Triangle 10 Tambourine 1 (-) Timpani 10 Gong 10 Finger Cymbals 8

Marimba 14 (+) Xylophone 13 Vibraphone 10 Chimes 10 Bells 11 Concert Snare 10 Marching Snare 11 Marching Tenors 10 Concert Bass Drum 10 Marching Bass Drum 11 Tom-Toms 9 Crash Cymbals 10 Suspended Cymbal 10 Triangle 10 Tambourine 3 (-) Timpani 10 Gong 10 Finger Cymbals 8

Marimba 12 (+) Xylophone 13 Vibraphone 10 Chimes 10 Bells 11 Concert Snare 10 Marching Snare 11 Marching Tenors 10 Concert Bass Drum 10 Marching Bass Drum 11 Tom-Toms 9 Crash Cymbals 10 Suspended Cymbal 10 Triangle 10 Tambourine 5 (-) Timpani 10 Gong 10 Finger Cymbals 8

Marimba 11 (+) Xylophone 11 Vibraphone 10 Chimes 10 Bells 10 Concert Snare 10 Marching Snare 10 Marching Tenors 10 Concert Bass Drum 10 Marching Bass Drum 10 Tom-Toms 9 (-) Crash Cymbals 10 Suspended Cymbal 10 Triangle 10 Tambourine 10 Timpani 10 Gong 10 Finger Cymbals 9 (Not that I have anything against toms...)

--a new Killers' t-shirt --a Houston Astros baseball cap (I was hoping for a jersey, but the cap is nice, too) --the 6th season of Scrubs and the third POTC movie on DVD (a shared gift for me and my sister) --a fleece blanket hand-crafted by my sister --"I Am America (And So Can You)" by Stephen Colbert --various other odds and ends But one of the best things I got on Christmas was a text message from my drumline director wishing me and my family a Merry Christmas. That made me smile.

UPDATE (again): The final Rhythmic Force audition camp is this Saturday!! (Dec. 15th) The camp will include both battery and front ensemble and will take place from 10am-4pm at Campbell Elementary in Austin, Texas. (Map) Also, auditions for the group will take place on Sunday, Dec. 16th from 12pm-6pm at Campbell Elementary. (The time blocks for individual sections will be determined at a later time.)

UPDATE: The second round of audition camps are coming up! Battery: Saturday, December 8th, 10am-4pm Front Ensemble: Sunday, December 9th, 12pm-4pm These camps will be held at Lanier High School in Austin, Texas. (Map) Plus, music and excepts are posted on the Audition section of the Rhythmic Force website, so feel free to print them out and practice them before coming to the camps!

*shrugs* I just go with what's on the website.

CORRECTION: The age range for auditions is actually 14-22. (My mistake.)

Rhythmic Force, a non-profit indoor percussion organization, invites all Austin-area percussionists to its first audition camp for the 2008 season! The camps will be held at the LBJ High School band hall in Austin, Texas. (Map) Battery: Saturday, December 1st, 10am-4pm Front Ensemble: Sunday, December 2nd, 12pm-4pm The camps are free of charge and open to individuals aged 14-30. Those attending the camps should bring their own sticks and/or mallets. For more information about the camps and the upcoming season, please visit the Rhythmic Force website: http://www.rhythmicforce.org. The Rhythmic Force organization welcomes all percussionists interested in attending the audition camps.

One time at a contest, a freshman bass drum player dropped one of his mallets... and an on-field judge picked it up and gave it back to him.

I always felt that I did better in school during marching season because having a full schedule made me prioritize my time to be as productive as possible. Then during concert season I'd be more prone to being lazy and procrastinating. Something I find amusing: when I started college last year and not in any music organization, one of the things I had trouble adjusting to was having free time in the fall.

My senior year, all the drumline upperclassmen got together at around 4 a.m., "kidnapped" the freshman, and took them to IHOP in their pajamas. And then we went back to one of the senior's houses and threw waterballoons at them.

I was in pit for 4 years, and I always hated the notion that people in pit were somewhow "less" than other band members. I will note, however, that in my band there were three kinds of people that were usually in the pit: those who were REALLY good at mallets, double reed players willing to join the pit, and those who tried out for the battery but didn't make it. Personally, I never thought that pit was easy; my philosophy was that if we don't march, it means we should work twice as hard on our music. What really annoys me, however, is when pit members think that "not marching = pit should be easy," because it is those kinds of attitudes that keep the pit as a whole from achieving its full potential, as well as maintaining this (false) notion that the pit is not at talented as the rest of the band.

Here's how our band did it... Hey Band! HEY WHAT? This is _____. *cheer* He/she plays the _____. trombones: TROMBONE!!! And his/her favorite ice cream/cartoon/cereal/etc. is _____. saxes: SAXOPHONES!!!

This year, I'm planning to be a poser! My costume includes my "I'M WITH THE BAND" t-shirt, plaid skirt, metal-studded belt and fishnet stockings/gloves.

Musically, I don't have much of an opinion on it. Practically, I'm glad that all of my high school band shows had no electronics, as having electronic equipment, to me, means more stuff to haul on/off the field at every rehearsal/performance and more stuff to worry about in rainy weather.

Yay for band jokes! Here's a few of my favorites: How many drummers does it take to change a lightbulb? "Dude... is it dark in here?!?" --- What's the difference between a bassoon and a trampoline? You take your shoes off before jumping on a trampoline. --- What's the difference between an oboe and an onion? You cry when you chop up an onion. --- How can you tell which kids on the playground are the children of trombone players? They can't swing and they don't know how to use the slide. --- One day little Timmy told his mother, "I'm gonna be a trumpet player when I grow up!" His mother said, "But honey, you can't do both." --- What's the difference between a flutist and a seamstress? The seamstress says, "Tuck the frills." (Switch the T and the F to see what the flutist says )

TTR: getting to see The Killers, my most favorite band EVER, live in concert... for the second time in 6 months!!!