 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-03-24 22:36
Seeing as old threads occasionally get revived, and we've got lots of newbies here ... I thought I'd share my most embarrasing musical moment anecdote (again). I'd love to hear to new faux-pas
I was playing in a concert once (principal viola), community orchestra (I play clarinet, too--but not simultaneously) when my chair decided to break. It was a gradual process - the legs bent, slowly outwards and I was sinking with the chair - in the middle of a quiet passage (when else I ask you). The player sitting next to me (the co-principal) got the giggles and ended up having to walk out, guffawing from the wings. My shoulders, were rapidly going up and down and I laughed silently and tried to maintain my composure. It's really difficult to hold your self up with your legs on a dodgy chair, trying not to drop your viola.
This set off the whole orchestra (I noted that the woodwind section in particular laugh outrageously at me) and finally the conductor stopped, I got up - stuck my nose in the air, grabbed a new chair and returned to my spot. The audience were bemused at first - until they realised what was going on, and I remember a lady in the front row (in direct eye contact with me) had one of those really catchy, loud laughs - she laughed and set off most of the audience. This is my most embarrasing moment in my musical life. One my friends and colleagues constantly remind me of - shesh! I could have died that night.
diz
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Author: speez
Date: 2002-03-25 00:59
When I was 11 or 12, I started taking tenor sax lessons. In the summer, I participated in a beginner's band since I was new to the instrument. A lot of the pieces we played were little jazzy things, and I had all the walking bass lines. The whole 2 weeks during the summer band, my mother would make fun of the parts I had to play. Eventually she had me so that I couldn't finish two or three measures without cracking up. The day of our concert, I managed to hold on well. Then came the piece where all I did was the walking bass. I got past the first measure. Then I felt the corners of my mouth starting to lift. Soon, I had my face buried in my hands, laughing uncontrollably. After the concert, the director said to me, "Are you ok? I saw your face get all red, and I thought you might have messed up and started crying!" :o/
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Author: Brian
Date: 2002-03-25 20:14
My mishap, like diz's, involves furniture. I was a senior in high school and several first chair players were asked to go to the junior high school and work with the band members there.
I was put in charge of flutes and clarinets,which happened to be mostly girls, and thought I would be Mr. Suave and Debonair and show these girls what a high school boy could do. So I put my clarinet together and was preparing to play for them and when I leaned against a desk it slid out from under me and I fell flat on my rear-end! Needless to say the high pitched laughter of those little girls pierced the silence and I know my face was red as a beet because I could feel my ears getting hot!
It was all over with in a few minutes and the rest of the day went smoothly but I will never forget that day!
Peace
Brian
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Author: Stephane
Date: 2002-03-25 21:06
I didn't have the chance yet to be part of an orchestra, hence can not share any light moment with you guys, but Diz I had read your story a few threads ago, and I can't help laughing outloud when reading it again.
P.S: Diz, Go and check your thread about Spohr, I think you missed some info I gave you recently
Cheers,
Stéphane.
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-03-25 23:44
Stephane - thanks mate - I did see your response and I've ordered the CD from Amazon - I can't WAIT for its arrival.
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-03-26 01:41
Maybe I should have said: Stephane, j'ai bien vu ton message et j'ai commandé le CD à Amazon - Merci beaucoup
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Author: Stephane
Date: 2002-03-26 09:24
Waoooh!! Did you have a French mate at hand or are you actually that literate?? (Not that I doubt it of course!)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-03-26 12:41
Stephane...You'll find that diz is extremely bright, very well educated, and a fine musician - regardless of how he acts here.
(It's ok - diz and I are close friends. He'll get me later) ...GBK
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2002-03-26 14:46
Half of you have heard of my contra bell story before, but I'll tell it again for sake of the newbies (And I have something else to go with it too now!! Hehe):
I was marching in a parade - I don't know if it was a practice for one or the real thing, but it doesn't matter - with the saxophones right behind me. Suddenly I noticed that my contra was not only a little lighter, but my low E's were horribly sharp and my Eb's didn't exist. A few minutes later the saxophone behind me tapped me on the shoulder... and handed me my bell. It had apparently slipped off, somone saw it a few rows back, and it was slowly passed up to me.
What made it worse was in another rehearsal for another parade I had to march sousaphone, and my sousaphone bell came off the same way. The drummer wasn't too happy trying to pick that one up. (When we don't play, we turn our "tubas" upside down on our shoulder and march that way. Turns out a screw fell off.)
That was when I found the values of duct tape. Thank goodness the tuba incident was during a rehearsal and not the actual thing!!
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Author: Stephane
Date: 2002-03-26 17:06
GBK - that was worth mentionning, as -as you rightly mentionned- you couldn't suspect it from the way he acts here
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-03-26 20:58
Ha - I remember your bell tale - I guess the experience left you feeling a littled dented?
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Author: dave
Date: 2002-03-26 22:01
hi
When I was in the eighth grade i had a habit of explaning to my friends how completely magnificant I was. One day during band rehersal the principal called the band director asking for the star spangled banner to be performed at the next assembly. The director said we would not be ready(the band was really bad) so I piped up that I, yes wonderfull-ole-me, would be happy to play the anthem. Many weeks later the band director asked if I was ready to play at that morning's assembly. I said sure, do you have the music? He did not, and then showed me my name nicely printed in a program! Oh it gets worse-I did not have my clarinet that day so I ended up completly not prepared improvising the Star Spangled Banner in front of my entire school unaccompanied on an alto-clarinet!!! I have never told of my wonderfull powers on the clarinet since that horrid day!
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Author: Josh
Date: 2002-03-26 22:39
wow...dave, that is just about the most humiliating thing I've ever heard! (unless, of course, you pulled it off beautifully, in which case...WOO, YOU! ) If not, then that's definitely YM Magazine's Most Embarrassing Moment material.
(one of) My own little embarrassing "moments musicales" happened during a rehearsal when I was concertmaster of a local youth symphony in high school. You see, I, too, suffered from the "I'm a musical genius and I'm a billion times better than all of you and you'll never ever be as talented as me" sydrome when I was younger (now, at the ripe old age of 21, I seem to have grown out of that *wink*). We were playing Scheherazade (look, Mark, I spelled it right! ;-D) and I was preparing to play the first big violin solo. True to my Diva-esque nature, I sat up arrow-straight in my chair, cocked my head back, and with a tight little flourish, brought my violin up quickly to my chin...except...I *missed* my chin and smacked myself in the face with it, knocking my glasses half off my freaking face. (the violin was unharmed, however..thank Heifetz for small miracles.) I was so embarrassed, I started shaking like mad, but went on playing...and about 3 bars in...my E string broke.
This was about 5 years ago...I still hear about it occasionally.
(remind me someday to tell you about the time I stabbed myself in the gums with an English horn reed or had my register key pad fall off during a clarinet solo or brought the wrong instrument to a pit rehearsal and tried to transpose the part...a half step sharp.) Oh the joys of music
Happy Bloopering!
Josh
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Author: Josh
Date: 2002-03-26 23:26
oh, suuuure...it's lovely NOW, but it wasn't so lovely THEN...(unless, of course, you were one of the 100 or so people who saw it happen and thought "HA HA, look at the jackass!!!!" Then, I suppose, it was consummately lovely.)
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Author: dave
Date: 2002-03-27 00:37
hi again,
Perhaps the best(worst) mishap was the guy years ago maybe the Boston symphony?(I forget now) who keeled over after playing the opening solo to rapsody in blue!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2002-03-27 03:13
Oooh, Good example!!
Yes, diz, I felt dented. My nerves were quite curved after that experience happening TWICE!!
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Author: Bob
Date: 2002-03-27 15:00
In high school band during a concert the screw finally worked its way completely loose and my top keys and all fell in my lap. I was on the end of the row at the front of the stage. So there I am trying to put everything back together and trying to look as if nothing happened. No one ever mentioned it so I don't know if anyone noticed....but it was unnerving.
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