I want to ride my...BICYCLE

It is 10:30 am on what promises to be an unusually hot day for the week we had been having. Many of the members of the band dressed for rehearsal expecting cool, rainy weather but were very surprised when the weather proved to be anything but. The humidity was in full swing though! You could tell this was the case because twenty minutes into rehearsal EVERYONE was sweating.

The tension was high as it was the day of the biggest rivalry in the state and everyone was expecting a huge crowd that night. Huge crowd meant huge performance which also meant that the band had to be on their A-Game this morning in order to be ready for their half-time show later that day. As one would walk around warm-ups we hear various conversations about the night before and the burning of the other teams mascot, Trombone guy was particularly annoyed with the fact that the band had to perform at that event because it was about a twenty minute performance and cut into his Friday night shenanigans. Sousaphone girl—who was dressed in a crimson and black outfit with clunky black shoes—was particularly disgusted with the smell emanating from the sweaty trumpet section.

“SET!!” says the band director in a stern tone of voice, “Alright guys, Bicycle Race from the top, pay attention, I’m gonna stop you about twenty measures in, go”. The metronome blares a high-pitched beeping noise: *Beep…Beep….Beep beep beep beep* And all of the sudden we hear this loud but surprisingly in-tune arrangement of an eighties rock hit, complete with dynamically sound phrases and a percussion section that is actually in-time for once. “Stop stop stop stop!” We hear a loud voice yell from a speaker facing the back of the band. “Trombones! You are slowing us down with the rock section, move those slides faster! Drum majors! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? Beard guy, we need more less wrist and a little more stamina with those arms! You’re getting tired too quickly!” That comment from the director seemed to make a lot of the band upset because from their point of view it was the drum line that was slowing the band down, not him. But alas, if the band slows down, it is often times the drum majors fault—even when it is not their fault.

As the morning progresses we see that a lot of the band was not prepared for the hot and humid morning that they were presented with. The rest of the rehearsal was sluggish and not what is usually expected of the band and resulted in a very mediocre run of the show and a very upset and worried band director. Attitudes were not pleasant and there was even a yelling spout within the saxophone section. It appears that the heat and an early morning does not make for a happy or productive rehearsal for the band. As the band was dismissed for the morning Ms. Director tries to get the bands hopes up by saying that she knows they will have a good performance despite the horrible rehearsal that just took place and that she is certain that the crowd and adrenaline mix will for sure make for a well-received performance.