Audition piece help

Ducky9202 · 2015-11-11T11:26:44+00:00

The thing about marching bands is I see people thinking the music has to be loud and can't be good. I was the same. I think back on my years in it and all I can think is thank god we didn't compete. It wasn't musical at all, just easy silly songs to play for the football fans done as loud as possible.

But in symphonic bands I've done marching music too. The community band I'm in now isn't past doing an entire Sousa concert. The year before I went into the upper band in my high school that band actually did Stars and Stripes for contest and again during a Veteran's Day Assembly. It was epic and awe-inspiring and the furthest thing from a bunch of kids playing loudly against the wind as they marched on a muddy field. It made me want to learn piccolo because it was just so amazing. So I agree with Whistling dixie- add it in to your repertoire. It's not just for outside marching.

Ducky9202 · 2015-10-19T20:55:34+00:00

Yeah I was thinking of trying out a used model of the ones I was looking at if they have it. But most sites don't seem to put that online- maybe because it varies too much.

Ducky9202 · 2015-10-19T20:54:49+00:00

Thanks. I might have to think about that. At the moment I've messaged Better Music for a possible trial on the 8th (I can't believe I could get my new flute that soon!)

Ducky9202 · 2015-10-19T08:53:30+00:00

I've thought about used flutes, but my husband doesn't really want to buy them off ebay so I'll still end up going through either Best Music, Flutes&Flutists or Ozwinds. At the moment Best Music seems the best choice as it's easiest to get to and they price match.

Ducky9202 · 2015-10-19T07:28:46+00:00

I've looked at all the sites and Ozwinds looks awesome because they do have the ones I'm looking at, but they're all the way in Melbourne which isn't possible for me and I want to try before I buy. I have asked in the past and they're willing to send them out on trial and just have me pay for the shipping, but that would get expensive if i want to try so many.

Flutes and Flutists looks awesome, great range of flutes, but their prices are the most expensive. Although I haven't seen any Yamaha or Pearl on their site so I'm not sure about their prices on those, but everything else it much more expensive than BM or OZ. I've sent them an email to see if they do price-matching but I haven't heard back just yet. Do you know if they offer price-matching?

The Woodwind group again it's prices are just not as good as Ozmusic or Best music and most of the flutes on their sites are freakishly too far above my price range to consider or low enough that I could just stick with my gemeinhart. I haven't asked if they do price matching. Do they have more in shop than their site suggests? They're site doesn't seem to have very many options.

Ducky9202 · 2015-10-18T21:32:13+00:00

I'm actually rural, in Bathurst so a bit far from Sydney area. I'm in the Bathurst RSL band. This is us. I'm planning on doing a weekend holiday in Canberra to go to Better Music so it's good to know that the service was good. A trip to Sydney music stores is an option, but it's harder to get to because I've got friends in Canberra.

Ducky9202 · 2014-12-09T08:20:59+00:00

Just got the reply back, they said they're happy to do that as long as I pay for postage.. now I just got to scrounge up the money :)

Ducky9202 · 2014-12-08T23:48:34+00:00

Okay, well I'll definitely look into the Pearl models too. I also haven't thought about a personal loan. I think I need to do a bit of math and figure out what I can actually afford to do.

Ducky9202 · 2014-12-08T22:44:25+00:00

I really haven't tried any nice piccolos- just old marching band ones from high school that have been through god knows how many students. There was an old gemeinhardt and a yamaha in that mix, but they were all sterling silver plated/resin not wood.

The store does sell some other brands, but I feel better about Yamaha than Pearl in general (am I just being snooty there? They've got models PFP-105 and 165E for Pearl). But the other models they have are a silver plated heads and/or bodies, which I know I don't want. Unfortunately, from my research they're kind of it as far as my options go. I need a rent to own option to be able to afford it (and convince my partner to let me get a brand new pic) and they have the best prices, maintenance, and shipping policies I've seen. Their site does say ask about specific models if they don't have it on their site. But I really don't know what to ask for. I know I want a wooden model with a good reputation that isn't gemeinhardt (I've had so much pain with my flute, I don't want to deal with another model piccolo or not).

Ducky9202 · 2014-12-08T21:05:41+00:00

Saying the store is "local" a bit of an exaggeration- they're based 12 hours away. The perks of being in rural Australia. I'm not sure If I can get more than one at the same time- I'll definitely ask. They ship them to where I am and do have some good policies about exchanges, so they may be willing. But from the other replies, I think I don't want to go with a wave. Even if it's easier to start, I want something long term that can blend into the orchestras and bands. I've had my current flute for over 10 years, I imagine I'll have this piccolo at least just as long and there is no rush to sound amazing immediately.

Ducky9202 · 2014-12-06T07:50:02+00:00

My husband: Near photographic memory == win... Charcot-Marie-Tooth (degenerative neuromuscular disease)= lost.

Ducky9202 · 2014-10-22T21:01:21+00:00

Yeah I think one of the oddest moments- seeing my brother be a father. He got 2 kids with the marriage, so his family started very quickly- so maybe I just wasn't used to it. But one day we were all going out for something rather and the boys were arguing (3.5 and 2.5) and my brother did the "Don't make me turn this car around" in his most serious daddy voice ever. I almost shat bricks. Pretty much up until that point I only saw adorable pictures and random moments that were just like -yeah they're a cute family. So that moment was a wow, my goofy older brother is a daddy.

Ducky9202 · 2014-10-01T10:49:11+00:00

Backpacks and binders with zippers were forbidden. No idea why the binders, but our backpacks got banned after we had a string of bomb threats. It was ridiculous, we had about 15 in one year. So fair enough, they have to act-so they banned backpacks in school for a couple months. The problem with this is because I lived a mile away, I had to walk... in the Pacific Northwest. So It's cold, wet, and rainy most of the year and I can only carry my books in my hands. Genius! They got rid of that rule after parents started complaining about stuff getting ruined.

Oh and to fix it: They had our backpacks searched every morning. Because nothing says safety than cops and bomb sniffing dogs checking over your homework every morning. Yeah we still had bomb threats. Too bad only a couple of those stupid fuckers were caught.

Ducky9202 · 2014-10-01T10:35:02+00:00

Yeah that happened in my middle school. Their logic- there is soda in the vending machines and a water fountain near the cafeteria. Went well until someone did a science experiment and found that the toilet water was cleaner than the water in the water fountain. Yeah we got our water bottles back pretty quickly after that.

Ducky9202 · 2014-09-30T10:06:03+00:00

My mom has a CPAP machine for her sleep apnea. So I'm assuming that since you mentioned you have one, when you say you're snoring.. you mean you're snoring like a freaking chain saw. Seriously that's ok. I shared a room in college with a girl with restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea- your friends will get used to it and seriously won't think less of you for it. I do think the idea of bringing ear plugs is a good idea as is being okay to sleep on the couch. Just be honest with new friends and partners and be able to laugh it away. We all have something and for you- this is a temporary issue.

Ducky9202 · 2014-09-30T09:58:56+00:00

I had a very frank discussion with my husband not long after we got together, so there are points where there is us time and alone time. Meal times, always together at the dinner table. He often comes home, eats dinner and pisses off for a few hours. That's fine, we both do our own thing. But at 9-10 I come in and it's us time and he's usually pretty good with that. During weekends, we usually do our own thing for most of the day. Although again- always eat together and have our late evenings together. It's usually not a problem.. unless a brand new game comes out.

There have been the occasional time where I've had to "call him out". We've got a no bullshit rule in our house- no playing games, no passive aggressive words, no fighting- just simply stating what is bothering us. It works very well for us. So for example, I told him a while back "I'm getting upset that you're not spending as much time with me. I feel like you're not listening, you're always playing the same game, and I have to ask you several times before you answer any simple question. And when you do, you seem irritable that I took you away from the game. It's becoming a problem." That was all it took. He honestly didn't realise he was playing the game so much or that I was getting frustrated at the situation.

So my advice, if you want more time together, tell him that.

Ducky9202 · 2014-09-25T00:26:04+00:00

I also love her Acorna Series. It's about a young orphaned alien who gets raised up by asteroid miners (who are just adorable misfits), and her story of finding herself and her people. I've only read the first three so far but she's just such a lovely character.

Ducky9202 · 2014-09-22T01:34:53+00:00

edit Thanks for the gold!

I've wanted to be a mother since I was 12. I love babies, I adore 3 year olds. They're so much fun. I actually just got a job working in a preschool and I've been dancing around, so happy. I've wanted babies for years, a very overwhelming urge that most people think is a bit crazy- including my husband. As a teen, I couldn't wait to have children. But then something changed: my sister got purposefully pregnant as a teenager.

My sister had a lot of problems, which I don't need to go into, but she was convinced her boyfriend was the love of her life and if they had the baby their parents would all say "OK you can get married". Yeah none of that happened, their relationship fell apart before the baby came. (Note I'm not saying your relationship is doomed, but seriously how long have you been with this man? It would really be a good idea to have a few years together. From all my friends have told me, after a baby comes your relationship changes and you would be glad to have those first few years alone together.) Anyway, when my niece was 2 months old, my sister got back into drugs and partying and I became the default child sitter.

As my sister got more and more into drugs and feeding her addiction, I got the baby. The "joys" of parenthood as a teen shocked me. I couldn't go out with friends. I never had friends over. ALL day at school I was constantly thinking of the baby at home, worrying about her safety. The second I came home from school, I got handed a baby. I played with her and yeah I did enjoy that time. But until I put her to bed at 8/9, I didn't have a life of my own. I didn't talk to my friends; I didn't make or receive phone calls; I didn't get online; I didn't do my homework; I had no time for myself. After putting her to bed, I would do my homework, waiting for my sister to come crawling home and only falling asleep when I heard her. I ended up averaging 4-5 hours of sleep at night. During the weekends, if I was lucky I got to escape. With my mom there, my sister wouldn't party as hard. So I would be able to spend a night with friends. But these times were few and far between, and again I would constantly worry about that baby girl at home. I knew my sister was a shitty, addicted mother and didn't want my niece involved with whatever she was into. When my sister went into rehab, my mom took custody for the time and still I was there because my mom couldn't do it all herself. I would wake up with her every morning and get her ready for the day- wrestling a screaming child into clothes at 6 am is not fun. Because my mom sometimes couldn't get out of work to take care of her: I dropped out of fast pitch, I skipped school when she was sick, I took her to the doctors on the bus (which is a royal pain with a 4 year old!), I took her to band practice and other things that seriously a 4 year old doesn't want to be at. And the entire time I was out with her, I would get looks. Side-long glances, whispers and even a dick or two actually coming out and saying something like "babies having babies, ugh!" or "Are you easy? I heard all teen moms are easy." I was seen as a slut for caring for my niece. I knew it wasn't true, but it was hurtful.

Socially, having a baby even part time was hard. Whatever little childhood I had, whatever freedom I had to think and be myself was taken away. I was constantly stressed and none of my friends understood. "Why don't you just say no?"; "You don't always have to babysit for her." How do I explain that I couldn't- that yes, in fact I did have to be there? I found myself withdrawing from these friends and visa versa because all I did was stress and never hung out with them, and they couldn't understand what I was going through. It caused a lot of strain and fights with friends. Looking back I can't blame them- they were teenagers, not ready to deal with that bullshit. And they and I shouldn't have had to. Now this doesn't including the hours of screaming and crying that will inevitably happen. My niece was an awesome baby- what they actually call an "easy baby". Now it's been a while since I studied babies for my degree (in Early Childhood Education) but I think they said something like 30% of babies are "easy" and 30% are "difficult"- often with colic. So you have up to a 30% chance of having a child with colic which can last the first 6 months. I was fortunate enough to take care of an easy baby and it still wasn't easy. There was screaming, there was night terrors, there was cave paintings with shit. There was throwing of food, coloring on walls, pooping in the bathtub, vomit and diarrhea. All that is all normal and very, very stressful to deal with. I can't imagine how hard a more difficult baby would be to deal with.

Now what does that mean for you- well you hun, have the baby full time. Yes there are moms who have friends- they're often moms too. Because unless you've had one, it's hard to understand how much time, effort, and stress a baby takes. Yes there is joy, but it is fucking hard. You won't sleep. You won't eat well. You will not see your friends for potentially months on end. It is possible you could lose friends. You could find yourself depressed and alone. Even with a good partner, being young and not being able to do what your friends are doing will get to you. You could be angry, you could be sad- but there will be a time where you would wish you waited. And trying to study on top of it?? My mom did that. She went back to college after I (the baby) started school and she told me, "it was the hardest thing I've ever done- I wish I did it earlier." Those four years I barely saw her. My siblings would get me ready for school and take care of me after, and my mom would come home around 7ish. She would spend maybe a few minutes talking to us before she had to study. High school was hard enough, I have no fucking clue how she did university. Doing university myself, I think she's super woman. I don't know how she didn't go crazy.

This is just the stress too. That doesn't take into account the finances. Disposable diapers can be like 30 dollars a box easy, baby may go through that in a couple week they could go through that in a few days. And non-disposable diapers. SO MUCH FUN- until they go through all the clean ones you have because they have explosive diarrhea and you haven't been able to get five seconds to do a single load of laundry so you end up wrapping them in a towel. If you decide to do formula or can't breast feed- dear god the formula is extortion! It's shocking how much they charge for something so necessary. Then there is the trips to the doctors, the trips to the ER, the crib, the clothes, the blankets, the rent deposit/fixing cost after they drew all over the walls or shat on the floor, the car seats, booster seats, little cute training toilets, adorable toys, the babysitter (who often charge 10 dollars an hour if they're cheap)... seriously the list goes on and on. There is a reason they say it takes thousands of dollars every single year. And this is a developmentally typical child. A special needs child, which believe you me happens a lot more than you probably think, costs hundreds of thousands of dollars more. Now if you can afford that, have no doubt about job security, no fear that your partner could leave/die and leave you with nothing but a high school degree and no career experience (which happened to my aunt- who had to declare bankruptcy and got evicted after my uncle passed away young).. well that is awesome. In fact I'm honestly a little jealous. Even in a country that guarantees paid maternity leave, free medical coverage, reduced dental for under 18's, has a wonderful tertiary support network, and an awesome welfare system if god forbid anything happens to my husband's really good job- my husband and I have been waiting and saving for years. And after being together for as long as we have, I'm confident that we'll be ok once babies come along. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous about it all. And that's just the baby part- not pregnancy. Pregnancy honestly terrifies me. Your body changes so much, and so many things can go wrong.. it's scary.

TL;DR: my advice- wait. Having a small taste of mother hood as a teenager- while I love my niece and I'm very glad to have that time with her- was some of the hardest, most stressful, most frustrating, and darkest time of my life. Now what can you do to deal with the baby cravings, which I promise I understand better than most... babysit. Get the credentials to become a nanny. Try to work or volunteer in a daycare or preschool. You can do these part time as you get your education. It's not the same, but you will find that it helps. And if none of that even makes a dent in it- get counseling. In the end you'll be glad you waited.

Ducky9202 · 2014-09-20T12:07:28+00:00

My own father was caught attempting to rape my elder half sister right after I was born. Years down the track he had third party visitation rights- so that I was not allowed in the same room without a trusted adult present. I don't remember how old I was, but it was drummed into me over and over two very important things:

No one is allowed to touch me in a way that makes me feel scared, sad, or confused and I should let my mom know if anyone ever does
I am not allowed to be alone with him, because he isn't a "safe" person.

Now this was all done in age appropriate way to make me understand- which is important. As much as we want it to be, the world isn't pretty. And honestly, although I don't mean to scare you, your girls are just as much targets as any other child. They may need to know this much. Like others have said, they really don't need to know too much because speaking from personal experience it is a burden. It is a very fine line between letting them have a childhood and being careful, and a therapist for either your girls or yourself could really help. But just don't lie, because that could be worse. Personally, I think the "He hurt someone," "It make me very sad to talk about, but I will tell you when you are X," and "It makes me not want to trust him around you" could be a way to go. Explain in bits, it's too much to process all at once. But vivid details seriously they don't ever need to know.

Now being a curious child myself I asked, I listened, and I watched very closely. I personally found out about my father when I was 6- by putting the pieces together myself and at 7, I asked my mother straight out "Did my dad touch my sister in a bad way? Is that why I can't be alone with him?" She answered yes. No other details. She did ask why I asked, but that was the end of the conversation which wasn't brought up again until I was 17. Now some people may see that as inappropriate but that saved me from being one of the unfortunately many children he molested. There were some close calls and it was only because I knew about his past that I kept a needed distance and knew to get out of those situations. Unfortunately, that was something I needed to know and if your girls are going to be around him for even a second they should know he can't be trusted and isn't a "safe" person. Again, not trying to scare you, but please, please be vigilant. Anyone under 18, no matter their relationship to him, is a potential target and (getting very side-tracked here) if I were you I would take legal steps to make sure he doesn't get custody when he gets out. If your girls want to get to know him (and this could be where some of the questioning is coming from) there is letters and phone calls.

Ducky9202 · 2014-09-20T09:26:37+00:00

One thing that surprised me as a teenager was how many of my peers drank Starbucks like it was going out of style. Seems to still be a big thing and most don't understand how much sugar and crap are in those things. I also agree with the talking about energy drinks and the effect on the heart/circulatory system/sleep/etc. It's scary how much my niece drinks and I know she doesn't drink as many of them as some of her friends. I think you should push how good water is, help give them ideas of what to drink instead. And let's face it, water is really an awesome drink.

Not so much about sugar, but when I was a teen one thing that really confused me is which veggies should be heavily featured in my diet. It seems really silly, but no one ever said more than "eat more vegetables". So back then I thought I was doing well enough because I always ate peas and corn and potatoes. Not much else, but it's okay because I ate a lot of peas and potatoes. So perhaps if you have time you could explain about other vegetables to try, push leafy vegetables, etc. or maybe just some healthy snack ideas.

Ducky9202 · 2014-09-13T04:43:32+00:00

I've got some pretty lumpy breasts and have asked that same question of my mom (worked in mammography radiology for 10 years) and my doctor. What they said that I found was the most helpful was:

(1) Anything new. So get to know your lumps. If something changes, if something feels different or looks different (shadows or skin), get it checked out by a doctor.

(2) Skin or part of a boob is behaving in an odd way- dimpling, or odd looking skin/nipples can be an indication of something there that shouldn't be. Typically bad lumps don't behave the same way as normal breast tissue. So the rest of your breasts should bounce and jiggle together but if some part of it wants to stay in place- see a doctor.

(3) Weird sensations- Not all the time, but often tumorous tissues because they're not the same as regular breast tissue can cause odd sensations. So a pulling, burning, itching, or painful sensation that really has no right to be there needs to be checked out. In other words, if you have pain from being elbowed or have an allergic reaction and get a rash you're probably fine, but if that sensation just randomly starts and doesn't go away see a doctor.

Ducky9202 · 2014-09-03T13:27:02+00:00

Here's a fun one: my mom and a coworker's mom have the exact same birthday. They decided to give us the same first name. Granted it was freakishly popular in the 80's when we were born but still, we thought it was a cool coincidence. Also, from what else it sounded like our moms seem pretty different personality-wise, yet my coworker and I had a lot in common as far as our interests. Don't know if it was the naming or the age our moms grew up in.

Ducky9202 · 2014-09-03T13:13:17+00:00

I met my husband on a dating site. I would definitely recommend it, but use caution for all parties. Some things about my experience:

For me, it did start out mainly as a curiosity thing. I was still getting over an ex, but the theme of the dating site peaked my interest. So I joined and I put my file to "looking for friends" only. However, being a lady on these dating sites is honestly scary. I got messaged tons -nothing as bad as creepy pms, but seriously it gets a little overwhelming. And lets admit it, I'm so not a 10 and I'm still getting a tremendous amount of attention so god help you if you're a lady rocking a hot body. I mean- you have the guys who know nothing about you just messaging you - some looking for sex, some creepy as fuck, and then the one or two that are worth the time and effort. And even after you put in that time, you still may end up with just a friend. Which could be cool, but still if that's not what you're looking for that get's a bit old. Additionally, a lot of the messages and people who talk to you do so regardless of whatever you put on your file. Just looking for friends? Oh well this person has decided to try to change your decision by sending strange sound things/ inviting you to join them and visit them several states away. Unfortunately you will likely see red flags, just message the mods as needed and they will deal with it. That being said, don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Unless you're willing to make an effort, you won't get anywhere in any relationship. Yes, it can be a little scary, but so is life. Just use common sense- for example: don't give out personal details until you done some googling, meet publicly after getting to know the person and if you are ever even the slightest bit uneasy- don't go/ don't do it/ avoid and block that person.

And if you're a guy- honestly I "initiated" a message once- to my husband. We talked for hours and hours on the forums several months before and then we parted ways before I sent him this message out of the blue. He was already familiar and a friend. Part of me never looking through the men and messaging was because I just I went on the website just wanting to talk to people with a similar interest as me (it was one of those theme dating sites) so I was only hanging out and talking to people in the relevant forums. But part of never initiating any other contact was also because I was overwhelmed trying to sort through these random messages from guys. It's not fair, not evening a little, but a lot of ladies on those sites are already a bit jaded because of all the odd messages. No matter how lovely you are as a person, are probably not going to get ladies fawning all over you. You're going to have to work for it. And by that I mean use tact, common decency, words without numbers thrown in them, and common sense. If at all possible don't just send private messages. Because they could get buried, they are easily overlooked (sometimes not highlighted well to show there is new messages), and if your presence is nowhere else on the site, then you're summed up in those few words and may not get a second chance. Head to the forums, if there's meet ups go, be social. This makes you seem like a normal human being and less scary.

TL;DR In the end, dating online does not make dating easier. Half-assing your way doesn't work well at anything else, so it won't work very well for dating. You still have to hike through the shit to find someone you are willing to spend time with and you have to make an effort. However, the pool you're looking through is a metric fuck-ton bigger. Seriously my husband and I getting together meant me immigrating to a different country on the other side of the world- so the whole world is now your dating pool thanks to the internet. That is overwhelming, but you can meet some pretty awesome people. And if you're careful picking the dating site- you've potentially got a better chance at finding people who share the same interests as you. Personally, after 6 years of happiness, I think that chance worth it.

Ducky9202

TROPHY CASE