I'd be lying if I said the day started "bright and early." Well, it WAS early, but still dark. Since it wasn't raining we moved from the gym back out to the track for some cardio work. I was happy to see our deputy commandant this morning, instead of the instructor who claims to "enjoy training for triathalons." The exercise event consisted of lining up in two long lines, or "sticks", and we moved out at a walk. These "sticks" were each about 15 people long. The name of the event is "Last Man Up" which is pretty descriptive ... the last person in the line moves up to the front of the line, and this rotation continues as the lines are on the move. We did the first mile at a walk - adhering to Olympic rules that at least one foot must remain in contact with the ground at all times - which made for some rather comical forms moving up the line. Then we did several miles while jogging. Overall not too bad.
We had a Class-A inspection in the morning formation, which was COLD. We had to ground our overcoats and gloves, and stand there while everyone was inspected one-by-one. SFC Hood's first comment after looking me over was "Um, that jacket looks a little bit big for you?" Thanks a lot family ... that contest of yours almost got me into trouble. But then when I mentioned that I'd lost almost 40 pounds in the past few months her tone changed. She said to make sure I get the jacket and pants altered before we wear the uniforms again at next Friday's graduation.
The drum major instructor wimped out and held class inside. It was probably a good call though, more because we were in dress uniforms than because it was a little bit cold and windy and pouring down rain. It's easy for me to say he wimped out since I wasn't the one who had to make the decision. :+)
Today's indoctrination was actually a class about personality types. Our instructor did a major presentation on the development of various personality categorizations, including the work of Plato, Freud, Jung and Keirsey. Apparently the current theories suggest four major categories which are assigned based on people's temperment and character. If anyone is interested you can take the test at www.keirsey.com. My results indicate I'm a GUARDIAN type, although I think I'm RATIONAL too.
After lunch we had our baton techniques evaluation. This consisted of everyone leading the class in playing the National Anthem. There was a list of things that would be scored, including each of the required cues, dynamic changes, style changes, procedures for starting and stopping the music. I'm hoping I get extra credit for leading the vibrato that corresponded to the rhythm of my nerves. I'm pretty sure everyone passed no problem, even though we hadn't actually practiced in front of the group before the final exam.
The weather still included liquid sunshine, so we had our military ceremonies class inside. We're basically role-playing all of the important characters in an on-field review ceremony, and will be evaluated on how we perform the bandmaster position. Apparently most of the bands represented in our class do these outdoor reviews somewhat frequently, so I'll be doing some extra run-throughs with the script on my own.
The end of the duty day was some extra MST rehearsal, and our program and script are starting to come together. Three of our group got together after dinner to try to work the script a bit more. I think we'll be busting the stereotype that most people have of horn players and horn groups. Think "Name That Tune" and "Lederhosen." Boring ... I think not.
Until tomorrow ...
No comments:
Post a Comment