3rd Clarinet

This just in: I really don't enjoy playing 3rd clarinet. All the parts are low and sustained and are absolutely killer for your chops when you haven't practiced on a regular basis... which I haven't. So sitting through the three hour rehearsal at the Higashikurume community center was a little painful. It was good to get back into an ensemble and playing again and it's great for my Japanese exposure. It's a quite a difference from last year. I feel like this year I'm understanding quite a bit more than I did last year. And I can kind of tell people that I'm playing gigs on the weekend without thinking a ton about it. It's not complete sentences or anything but enough to get my point across.

Anyway, the rehearsal wasn't that exciting itself other than there was one gentleman who speaks Really good English. He is a John Phillip Sousa scholar and spoke for about 25 minutes in the context of the rehearsal about Sousa. However, in all his studies he had never learned to conduct. Each time before we started playing the Sousa he would need about 20 seconds to figure out how to conduct a 2/4 pattern. It was rough... and hysterical, at least it was to me.

We have a performance in November, I think for the Higashikurume festival but I'm not sure. If I can get a friend to record it I will.

I should also say that the ensemble isn't of the highest quality and that intonation can be an afterthought. (it took me about 4 or 5 rehearsals to figure out why peas so flat until someone else told me that Japan tunes to A=442. Exciting times

I'm falling asleep as I write this so,
Peace out!

Location:ひがしくるめしゅあくしょう