Day 38

Today started out pretty rough. Since we were late to visual (I don't think it was our fault), we ran a lap, then marched 1/4 mile forwards, then 1/4 mile backwards. It got better after that - that's the thing that is great about this activity: if something really sucks, something better will follow soon. We cleaned some drill at the beginning of part 2, and it's remarkable to think how far we've come since we first learned that drill. In music, we worked on part 1, then auditioned for a euphonium solo (the solo in parts 1 and 3 are now euphonium solos). We finished off by working on a parade tune for Saturday - Hang on Sloopy. We ended with EPL and a bus ride to Kansas. Looking forward to the show tomorrow!

Day 37

Today was a pretty crazy day. Field lining crew woke up at 7:15 AM to line fields; we got to the stadium, and there was a small lake by the entrance, so it took us a while to find a suitable field. It was quite the adventure trying to navigate around the puddles, but we made some good memories from that. Then we went to brass and worked on the first big hit in part 1 and some technique exercises, ending with ensemble. Our show today had a lot more passion and energy than the previous. I have noticed a trend of shows with high energy, then low energy. I hope we can get some more consistency in the coming shows.

Day 35

This morning at around 5:30, we arrived in Michigan City, Indiana, so we got 3 hours of floor time. Luckily, today was a shorter day - we started with cleaning choreography, then we were in subsectionals for a while. Our ensemble block was cut short because of heavy rain, and we went to laundry and Walmart. During visual block, we got some bananas - the picture below is of us "stacking " them.

Day 34

Today brought a good number of changes, mostly to the musical shaping. We started out in visual where we worked on posture and presence, maintaining this in different situations. Then we had a corps meeting inside, where members of the design team went in depth about the emotional content of the show. We stayed inside for the first part of music, where we listened to a judge's critique tape, then discussed it. Visual block was next, learning some slightly different drill at the end, then putting all the changes together with ensemble. We left the housing site at 11 PM for Michigan City, Indiana. Overall, it was a hard, but rewarding day. Laundry and Walmart are tomorrow, then a show on Saturday night.

Day 33

Today I had the best day so far of my entire summer. We had a good visual block, followed by a music block where we discussed the emotional storyline of the show, and discussed this in a personal way with a new person we hadn't met. Following that, we had an amazingly focused ensemble rehearsal. The focus was on performing every rep and we took this to heart and did it. My performance tonight was great as well - a lot better than my previous show. We performed at the Reitz Bowl, which has no track, so we were really close to the crowd. After the show, Jacquie (our head Drum Major) challenged us to rehearse like every rep is our last, because one of her best friends might have to go home. This really got to me emotionally, and I hope this feeling of urgency sticks with us for a long time. I'm excited about the direction we are going this summer!

Day 32

Today was a rather abnormal day. We spent visual block working on a new characterization at the beginning of the show meant to display peace, calmness, and something like a park scene before we destroy it in part 2. Then in music, we talked about the storyboard of the show - what each movement is supposed to be emotionally, and how they relate to the other movements. Then we had EPL and performed our 3rd show. I had a less than stellar run, but we were told as a group that we had less energy and were a good bit cleaner, and jumped up 5 points from the last performance. I'm doing my best to be indifferent about the scores, and always keep pushing, but it's more difficult than I thought. Tonight I got to see Cadet's show for the first time, and I was very impressed with their precision and control.

Day 30

We've officially passed the month mark! Move-ins started on May 22 and it's now June 22. I think this is becoming a trend, but visual started out a little slow. Subsectionals was pretty frustrating, too; we worked on the baritone feature for about 30 minutes straight, doing our best but not getting much better. We did have a phenomenal ensemble rehearsal - high energy, lots of excellence, and getting things right on the first try. Can't wait for our show tomorrow!

Day 29

It was a pretty brisk day, which was a nice change in pace from what we are used to. We had our first true show in Plainwell, Michigan tonight! I had a good run, I think we weren't quite as loud, and we need to do a better job of conveying emotion, but we presented a good representation of where we're at. We scored a 58.1, beating the Colts by 0.3, finishing third of four. I think we're still working on getting a hang of tour, as EPL (Eat, Pack, Load) was really chaotic today. I'm sure we'll get the kinks worked out. 

Day 28

Today didn't quite go as planned, but we made the most of it that we could. Something happened with the equipment truck (It's safe, just couldn't leave on time), so we had to do the day without horns, then we were informed later we wouldn't be performing at our first show. On the bright side, at the end of visual block, our visual instructor played an outro for us (Pokemon theme song). We had brass with just mouthpieces, then we packed everything back up and headed to our next housing site in Michigan. It's a nice facility, so I'm excited!

Day 27

We had pretty relaxed blocks today. In visual we did exercises like the zipper and the grilled cheese sandwich focusing on foot placement on count 8. We did part of brass block inside to get away from
The heat a little bit. After that, we cleaned the school, then were off! After 27 days of Spring Training, we're off to Louisville, KY for our first show. It's been a tough road, but I'm really excited about what we bring to the table in 2015! ‪#‎outoftheashes‬

Day 26

Today was pretty rough but in a normal sort of way. Visual is the hardest to get through, and afternoon ensemble in heat takes a lot out. We had some interesting meals as well, like barbecue in a hot dog bun for snack. Excited that we leave for tour tomorrow! Overall, I'm doing well and glad to almost be done with spring training.

Day 25

Yesterday was our last full day, today we went to Walmart and laundry, and tomorrow we leave for Tennessee to rehearse for a day before our show at Louisville. Morning visual and conditioning blocks continue to be difficult, but the pace of everything will change because tour starts tomorrow! I made it through the toughest part of the summer without injury. We pushed just as hard as yesterday, and I realized that the simple things like resetting portions of the show quickly gives you extra focus and drive; I bet I can apply this somewhere in my life when I get back.

Day 24

Today we achieved a new level of drive in rehearsal. Things started out slow in visual. A good bit of music was working on segments moving and playing, during which we had a pleasant surprise! A woman who lived in the area named Ms. Gray hears us practicing at her house, came to listen, and brought some Popsicles. It gave me a little extra push. Then at ensemble, we were doing fairly well; we started really hustling back to resets, and amazingly everything changed: our effort level, our ability to do reps right the first time, and we ended all that with a great run through. We were told to be physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted by the end, and I think I reached that - I was in tears by the end of the run through (I think they were mostly good tears). I hope we can keep this level of energy to rehearsals.

Day 23

Today we had our preview show! We played parts 2, 3, and 4 of the show and had a pretty good run. The prep before the show was rather stressful, as we'd never done that before and we only had an hour to get ready; despite that, I'm confident that the process will get easier as we go on. After the marching run of the show, each section played something else. We played chord progression #1, salvation is created, and Georgia on my Mind with some alumni, then had the rest of the night off.

Day 22

Today was a good, but hard day! We did visual in the morning, where we finished up learning part 1, then had breathing block (which consists of running and breathing in controlled counts), and subsectionals. The evening was rather chaotic, as we had to get uniform pieces and figure out that stuff on our own, so I was stressed going into ensemble, but we were fine after a couple of minutes. I had a great run through and look forward to tomorrow.

Day 21

Today was a rather strange day. We got to sleep in until 8:45, then had stretch and PT (Physical Training) as usual, then shortened music and visual blocks, leading up to a hot afternoon ensemble block. During music block, a middle-aged woman named Ms. Gray who lived in the area wanted to hear us play Georgia on My Mind for her. We really touched her heart - experiencing moments like this where you can personally connect with someone is why I play music and do drum
Corps.

We went through a lot of changes in the evening visual block with the drill designer to learn part 1 of the show (we've done parts 2, 3, and 4 already and are coming back to the beginning)   It was a slow process, with the designer hand setting most people, and became tedious after a while. Naturally, people started being silly, doing things like throwing pencils into the ground. Our head  Drum Major, Jacquie, was doing it right as the drill writer called her name and was looking at her; it was perfect timing and we all laughed. Times like those help keep us sane in this activity.

Day 20

 I had a pretty good day! For visual, we walked to the field in our "performance mode", practicing how we will walk to the field in shows. Then we learned some choreography for the beginning of part 3 (the ballad), where we form little "tornados" that are supposed to represent the embers from a fire. Pretty pleased with how this turned out. For music, we worked on playing on the move more. Ensemble was pretty normal, working on parts 2, 4, then we had music ensemble inside, working a new transition into part 2 where we are playing a chorale and the battery cross fades in at a different tempo. I'm very excited about this transition - I couldn't stop grinning towards the end of that ensemble.

Day 19

Today was a pretty normal day for us. We learned some new choreography to the baritone feature and the drill to the end of the show. We marched all the way through parts 2, 3, and 4, so we're very close to finishing the show. 4 days until the preview show! Just gotta keep pushing. Each day has been getting a little easier to get through, and for that I am thankful.

Day 18

We had to be flexible today, as we had a thunderstorm. Afternoon and evening blocks were inside, and for visual we learned 15 more sets. Then we went inside into the wrestling room and finished up sub sectionals, then returned to the commons area with the full hornline. Tonight was the first time we had all 76 members of the hornline here. The last time we played in the commons area at Luella (inside) was in April, and it was interesting to see how far we've come since then. It reassures me that all this is worth it. 

Day 17

We had another good day! During visual we learned more of part 4, then put it on the move with music during music block, putting everything together at ensemble. We ended full ensemble with our first full run through! Most of it was marching, but not all. This activity is really teaching me how persistence can turn failure into success. Fixing the mistakes I made in last night's run through helped me have a more successful one today.

Day 16

We've got a week left until the preview show! We had a good, focused set of rehearsals today. We reviewed part 4, choreography for part 2, and played the baritone feature individually; depending on how we each play this, he might not let us play that part during shows. Part 4 got on the field as an ensemble for the first time (drum break) and we did a full run of parts 1-3 and the beginning of 4, so we're getting pretty close to putting the whole show on the field. Each morning has been difficult, but getting better throughout the day.

Day 15

Today started out rough in the morning, but we made a lot of good progress. We had visual in the morning again, which energy was low for. We learned some new choreography for the halts in part 2, which will take some time to really get with precision. Then we went to brass and worked on tuning chords and drill. Ensemble was particularly productive and ended with a run of parts 1 standstill and 2,3 moving. Preview show is in a week!

Day 14

Today was a pretty rough day, but ended pretty gracefully. Field lining crew had to wake up at 5:30 AM to line fields, so I was pretty groggy throughout the day, but I got to watch the sun rise! We had sectionals for most of today, and we learned some choreography in visual that we reviewed later after ensemble. Ensemble went pretty well - we put everything in part 3 together, and continued to take the metronome out of part 2. This activity is really teaching me how to be flexible. Today we ran out of field lining paint, so we had to line the main parts and then just go with it.

Day 13

Today we had a morning block with music then visual (reviewing part 4 drill). We cleaned up the school, packed up the trucks and buses, and headed to a laundromat to do laundry. We walked to CVS, then cookout while our laundry was running. It was a nice break from doing the same thing every day. Then we went to Walmart - I got some new shirts and wrap for my horn. Here's to a great second leg of move-ins at Luella before we go on tour!

Day 12

Today was a good day! We did some breathing block in the morning and jogged to the lake (the view was beautiful!). Then we did more visual basics and learned the drill to part 4. We finished the day up with a sectional rewarm, then ensemble. A storm threatened all around the area, but never hit. We did a run of part 2 without metronome pretty successfully, so the night ended on a high note. This will be the last full day here; tomorrow we move to Luella High School and do laundry.

Day 11

Today was probably my hardest day yet. We did tracking of show segments in part 2 (tempos of 172 then 184), then played in our mixed arc before heading into sub sectionals. There, the low brass did some marching and playing. We also cleaned the timing in part 2 and took out the metronome in ensemble rehearsal, then did part 3 as well. I have got the bladder control thing down more - I just have to not drink right before bed. We also had chicken patties today! Those were delicious.

Day 10

After yesterday's recovery day, we all thought today would be really hard, but it wasn't so bad. We worked on moving and playing during slides in the morning, cleaned some drill in part 2, then a storm took over, thus we went inside to the Sandy Beaver Auditorium and worked on horn snaps for 30 minutes, went back there for music sectionals, then back outside for music ensemble. I think I hit my wall today - everything felt different emotionally and mentally, a sort of indifference, and I felt homesick, but I kept pushing and it'll be fine.

Day 9

Today was a recovery day, so they took things a little easier on us. We got protein bars, and music block was inside due to weather. We cleaned the beginning of part two some visually, made some changes to the music. At the end of the day, we had a decompression/relaxation block for 30 minutes