Pages

Monday, April 10, 2017

the big bang

As I mentioned, I managed to get some bootlegged video of the winter percussion championships.  Typically, video recording of these things is discouraged because of student privacy.  Another band mom shot these on her phone, so the video quality is not so great.  As such, it's a bit difficult to make out individual people, let alone their faces, so I'm okay with it.

Anyhoo, I'd never heard of winter percussion before Meego got into it his freshman year.  Shows are performed inside and are limited to, I think, six minutes, which includes setting up, tearing down, and getting on and off the floor.  Groups are penalized if they go over that allotted time.

They score points through a variety of factors including

  • complexity of music 
  • playing in synch 
  • audience engagement
  • "general effect".  


The music of Meego's group this year was quite complex with several points requiring the marimbas to play very fast and in unison.  They were in third place going into the finals and totally got 'er done to take home the first place trophy!



So with that in mind, here's the bootleg of their finals opening number.  Probably not something you would choose to play at your wedding or background for the garden party, but it kicked butt at competition:





I include this portion of the video because in the beginning, there's a break where Meego, on bass, and the guitar player play behind their heads. They just decided to throw that in.  The video also  highlights those marimba skillz





So definitely a memorable finish to the season for this nice bunch of kids and their coaches!


6 comments:

ShadowRun300 said...

I have always enjoyed watching the percussionists, and totally wish my kids had been a part of the winter drum line. So fun!
I can see how these nice kids finished first. Totally deserving of it! And I loved the backwards guitar playing. Seeing them have fun makes it that much more enjoyable to watch. Thanks for sharing! :)

Abby said...

It really is a good activity for the kids and entertaining to watch. The top 3 scores were very close, but if someone's gotta win, might as well be our kids!

Jimmy said...

Wow, impressive, I have never seen this particular competition before, although have been to many others while the kids were in school, yes when there has to be a winner you always want it to be your own.

Abby said...

Yeah, I don't think it's that well known a thing, which is why I thought I'd post the video. I'd sure never heard of it before Meego asked for the money to do it :)

Jennifer Worrell said...

How great is this? What talented kids!! Love it!

Morgan Cartwright said...

Yay! First play! Champs! :)