In grade 4 I started to play the trumpet. Originally I wanted to play the clarinet, but, because I only have seven fingers (and two thumbs!) I couldn't. So, the music teacher at our primary school suggested the trumpet, because to play the trumpet you use three fingers on your right hand and that's it. At the time my mother was of the opinion that "oh well maybe you just shouldn't learn an instrument" but the music teacher at school basically sold the idea to me and I had a few lessons. I loved it, and my parents bought me a cheap Yamaha trumpet to last a few more years (It was mine! All mine! With a new mouthpiece! And a music stand! And a cleaning kit! It was so exciting at the time...)
High school: continued with lessons. Apparently I'd learned some 'bad habits' and I had to start afresh again, but whatever. It was fun. I joined the Year 7-9 Symphonic Orchestra and soon after the Stage Band. About 3 of 5 lunchtimes per week were taken up my Brass Ensemble/lessons/Symphonic Winds rehearsals and so on. The symphonic orchestra was less fun for brass instruments...we were usually the naughty kids at the back passing Natural Confectionary lollies to each other and making fun of the fat kids who for some reason always played the flute. Often our (celiac, vegetarian and well liked by all) brass teacher would advocate for a brass tutorial because it was 'boring as shit' when the saxophones stuffed up so much.
IN YEAR NINE I GOT A BACH TR200 it was amazing. My mother actually liked the trumpet by then, apart from when I practiced the scales (the number of times I played Dos Gardienias just to please my mother is embarrassing). My sudden appreciation for live jazz music fueled my mother's interest in jazz (What are you talking about Elizabeth? I've been listening to PBS on Saturday mornings for years, I'm going to subscribe this year...) and we've been to about twenty Cat Empire concerts since (how Melbourne of us). Ros Irwin gave us a tutorial once, subsquently my mother told everyone she knew. We played at Dizzy's before it moved, we went to Mount Gambia Jazz Festival and saw James Morrison play, and IT WAS ALL GOOD FUN. My high-school music teacher's husband was in the Navy Band and so we had their band came to the 'Big Band Night' and MY DAD EVEN STAYED FOR THE WHOLE THING (OMG).
Year 12: The trombone player and I were Co-Captains of the Stage Band. This involved ocassionally deciding which pieces we were to play at various performances and more often finding band members that were trying to wag lunchtime rehearsals. We got a badge on our blazer! And music colours! The stuck-up boys at Brighton Grammar totally envied how laid-back and awesome we were. We got to play Birdland and Norah Jones covers and WE HAD A SINGER AND THEY DIDN'T and we were just so much more awesome in so many ways. I was sad to see my school-band life goodbye, but it wasn't the end of the world...my music teacher and I are now Facebook friends and she's created a Facebook group for us all. She posts highly entertaining status updates for a woman in her early 40's, too including: "feeling fantastic after 40 vodkas"...gotta love having ex-teachers on Facebook.
Five years later: Haven't played much trumpet since. There was a brief flirtation with an RMIT band in First Year, Second Semester, but it was a long way into the city and we didn't play much. Plus, it was mainly mature-aged students and then me. I FEEL SO SAD THAT I DON'T PLAY THE TRUMPET ANYMORE. The case is still in the corner of my room.
Friday, September 16, 2011
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