Music Convention

There was a local elementary and middle school music convention today. Schools from this 'county' gathered at one elementary school to show off their singing and instrument playing abilities. I'm not sure if this was for entertainment, competition, or none of the above. The host school, I believe, really put everyone to shame by performing first. It was a brass band with percussion. Think marching band without woodwinds. These kids were anywhere from 1st grade to 6th grade and they meant business when they played. It was by the far the most practiced and professional performance of the day. None of the other schools matched anything close to this. The rest was a hit or miss smattering of performances with off key singing and painful out of beat percussion miss hits. But that is how it is supposed to be. The elementary schools all did a singing song and then played a song with instruments. You get piano, harmonica pianos, xylophones, recorders, and other percussion for your listening pleasure. I think it's a miracle that the students didn't completely fail in this process. That is some testament to the teachers who prepared them.

One of the elementary schools I visit played 'Tequila' which was probably my favorite of the day. It was even complete with the little kids screaming tequila at the appropriate times of the song. Ah the blissful innocence of not knowing you are screaming out the name of hard liquor. I assume nobody thought the better of it either. Same thing goes for the elementary girls and their short shorts and super miniskirts. Other than that the other most memorable part of the event is how uncomfortable it was sitting on a gym floor for several hours. I did forget the cacophonous bus ride back where some of the girls were singing songs. One of those girls just wouldn't give it up and her singing was painful enough to make your head feel like it had survived 20 consecutive inversions.

After we returned to school and had lunch, everyone was running around getting ready for the school festival this weekend. This left me with nothing to do but sit around and occupy myself. I asked if there was anything to do and the response was no. My day took a turn for the worse from this point on. I knew I was supposed to do a rehearsal with the students for the song I was playing guitar on. I thought for sure someone would tell me where to go and when or at least remind me. Well it goes past 4pm and I'm starting to wonder whether I missed something or it was just later. About a few minutes past the top of the hour the music teacher comes back from the gym which is across the main ground of the school. I don't even remember most of what she said but she told me how I had missed rehearsal. This didn't come across in a very positive or gracious tone because it wasn't. All I could say was that nobody had told me and I thought it was at 4pm. She countered with telling me that it was my job to remember to go and that I didn't do that so I wouldn't be performing with the students. I said sorry and that I understood. Not much else to say to something like this. This put me in a pretty sour mood because of how I was treated. On Monday I was told there was a rehearsal on Friday but I didn't interpret that it was my sole responsibility to know when and where to go. I thought someone would remind me. I saw the music teacher at the music convention and she didn't say anything. None of the students said anything to me. While she didn't erupt like a volcano or anything, her dissatisfaction was easily felt. I think she could have been a little more understanding so that is what bothered me the most.

I wrote an angry sloppy piece of prose about all my contempt and frustration which was actually the backside of the music I was supposed to play. Before I left school, however, the music teacher came back over and boldly told me she had thought for awhile. Well what was it that she thought of? She asked me if it would still be possible for me to play. I bet she regretted what she had said to me. I would have felt that way if I was her. So after flat out telling me that I couldn't play she came back to offer me another chance. I sat there for a few seconds fumbling over my thoughts like oil coated noodles. I said, "I don't know" to which she replied she was afraid if that was my feeling that I couldn't play. That ended that. I'm left to wonder if that was the best decision. Yes it's true that I probably was a tad spiteful but after already telling me I couldn't play I didn't feel welcome to do so. Part of it is just the principle of the fact. I'm not going to shamefully take the second chance in this instance. It's rife with complications. Ever since she asked me to play with the students and I then said yes, she has been weird. I felt flat out depressed and sad about the whole thing today. I don't like being treated like that. I could care less about playing the guitar. So it's over and done with now.

On to tomorrow and better things....