Back into it

OK, ok, it's definitely time to update.

I'm so very glad that the semester started. I had a wonderful break, but it wasn't filled with many musical opportunities. That's just fine.

However, a huge highlight of my break was getting back into drum corps land and going to the first music camp at Phantom Regiment. I couldn't attend the audition camp because of the Christmas Concerts here at Concordia, but that was dismissed because it was a school activity. Drum corps is an eerie thing because you live and breathe and make music together for such a long, rigorous time, and then you leave and go home after 3 months. Well, I usually don't get to see any of my friends until the camps...some I honestly won't ever see again. And I had to wait a whole month longer. That was a painful thing, it really was.

Regardless of the social aspect, I really needed to PLAY. There is a deficiency of sorts for me at school--I was able to play in symphonic band everyday in high school, along with honor bands, drumline year-round, teaching lessons, etc. and I haven't had the schedule-clogging events that I'm used to. So, a weekend full of snare drumming is definitely good for me.

Ok, I need to interrupt myself. The reason why I'm talking about the first camp is because I'm going to the second one tomorrow... I'm just ready.

And what shot me into being so excited was an extraordinary night of drumming with a praise and worship band last night. I've been stressed out with the new-fangled theatre world (I'm double cast! eek! that's for later, though), new classes, and other things in my life. I wasn't having a very enthusiastic day. But, I sat on the stool and just went for it. I drummed how I wanted to drum, and it was such a relaxing burn within me. Oh, I'm not the most efficient drum set drummer, but I allowed myself to just play. I hadn't ever done that with a band before. In my own practicing, sure, but WOW. That's the reason why people get hooked into things. I was musically patient or aggressive when I needed to be, I waited for the right moments and directly drove time and energy. It just felt good.

The great thing is, I feel like I'm getting to the point where I can unlock that experience in snare drumming whenever I want to. I'm going to try that out this weekend. I don't have to worry about classes or anything. I'm just going to drum. Those couple milliseconds of contact are going to be filled to the brim with clarity. A clean snareline doesn't just have more volume, it also has an incredible substantial impact. It's never to early to reach for that. That'll make the summer that much easier. And harder, of course, especially when you want to shrink those milliseconds.

Man, I'm so glad I can just talk about drumming, and music. There is so much to dissect and perfect.
Ah!
This weekend will be wonderful.