So Kongo went to school today. Actually, he wand to Band Camp at San Diego State University with ten advanced and aspiring tuba players. Kongo’s good friend, Brent, is a professor of music at SDSU and after several glasses of wine on the patio last night they came up with the great idea of the monkey tagging along to see band camp and take some pictures.
Now there is something amazing in watching these motivated young people lugging their tubas around and settling in for their first hour of lectures and playing. This was mostly about warming up and the monkey had no idea there was such an involved process to get ready but as Brent told them, if you do it right, your face will feel wonderful.
It was also fun to take pictures of these musical models who did a very good job of ignoring the monkey and just doing their thing.
And no tuba session would be complete without a little trash talk about the other horns such as the trumpet or saxophone. Who wants one of those dinky brass tubes when you can have a TUBA!
And did you know that the sound frequency of fluorescent lights is B Flat? Kongo didn’t know this but all the tuba players did. It was all about listening to the room. It added a whole new dimension to what ears are for.
So this was a group that John Phillips Sousa would love. By the way, do you know the range of a tuba? Twenty yards if you have a good arm.
These young people will soon be getting ready for football season and marching bands so the next time you see them swirling around a field on television just think about how many band camps are in their rear view mirror and bless those parents who have been lugging that big brass horn all over town for lessons!
Travel safe. Have fun. Blow your own horn.
