I had missed practice time on Wednesday because a friends basement flooded and we spent the night bailing and pulling water out of the carpets with shampooers and shop vacs. Somehow it seemed much more important than squacking Bb on the Olds.
So I determined that I would not miss last night. While I was changing out of my uniform after work, I heard Michael start up with his tuba. I didn't want to practice in my bedroom, so I waited until he finished to take out the Olds. I also didn't want the tuner to be conflicted over whose notes it was monitoring.
Anyway, he finally finished and I moved my daughter into another room while I set up.
Lost my lip and couldn't finde my Bb for nearly 15 minutes (or at least it seemed that long). After hitting it pretty consistently I tried the C which popped forth right away. After a while there I went for the D. Wow
I thought I lost my lip on the Bb! It took me nearly forever just to find the D 
I found G, F#, A, and I think I discovered a Z 
. Nearly a half hour later I was comfortable with the three notes and despite my better judgement, I flipped a page or two ahead of the exercise on the three notes to see what "songs" were available for a 3 note set. Of course I found "Hot Cross Buns". Like I said, I knew I should go back, but it was like one of the Friday the 13th movies
. I couldn't heed the warnings and gave it a shot. Actually I unloaded an entire 200 round belt of .50 ball linked (gratuitous USMC shooting analogy) into the crime scene.Toward the end it became almost recognizable. Even my wife sang "Hot, Crossed, Buns" at one point from the living room.
Well, it all became too much for Michael. He came into the dining room and his first words were "You're flat." I resisted my sarcastic nature and admitted that it even sounded flat to me. He then had me greas my slides, oil the valves, and drain the spit (not necessarilly in that order). I then received about a 20 minute class on my breathing, jaw position, embrouchure, and how to buzz the mouth piece. I was thankful for the lesson and proud that Michael didn't leave me hanging.
At the end, as we were packing up the Olds, and I was trying to get rid of my light headedness from the breathing exercises Michael told me that I did sound better after my first week than did the 6th grade euphs at his school after their first week.
I'm taking that as a compliment.
