Tag Archives: I promise..it is music…somewhere in there

Squeak Stick

It seems like we have been involved with a lot of musical stuff lately in our house.  The kids have had band stuff pretty regularly since Christmas.  They played holiday concerts and, this week, are trying out for “All-County” band which is a band comprised of the best players in the county as determined during a blind audition.

Scaredy cat
Scaredy cat

All of that involves a good bit of practicing pieces and trying new things.  What has been especially fun is when Abigail (flute), Isaac (tenor sax) and I (clarinet) all get to playing at the same time, we can make a powerful lot of noise in the house.  It might be a pleasing noise if we played the same song, or even complementary songs, but that is never the case.

Scaredy cat

Isaac is the most experienced player and has the loudest instrument, by far.  He plays complex pieces and often plays them very loudly.  Abigail is playing very well also and her range is fairly high pitched.  Finally, on my “squeak stick”, I have a good range between high and low but I am not a great player yet.  I just changed reeds so I actually squeak a lot trying to get used to the new feel.  All three of us together makes for quite a…performance I am sure.

Another Scaredy cat
Another Scaredy cat

We practice every evening (or at least 5/7 days) for 30-60 minutes.  During that time, Emily holes up in the bedroom where the cats take cover.  They literally tremble in fear under the bed covers or wrapped up in Emily’s robe.  I don’t think of myself as a particularly cruel person, but there is some sort of special pleasure in seeing the cats respond as they do.  I do not know if it is the volume or the tone, or just the squeaks, but the mere sight of our instruments, especially my clarinet, sends them running for cover!