Tonight was the first Grange Moor Brass Band rehearsal this year. And with the last four weeks before Christmas all based around carols, and many times since stopping rehearsals out playing carols, it was nice to be out of the house playing once again.
Being a percussionist in a brass band is not the greatest of jobs. There isn’t always a huge amount to do and a fair bit of time is spent waiting around, or getting ready! Tonight I played kit, glockenspiel, timpani and cymbal. It’s a varied life but, for instance, it would be rare that a percussionist would play a star role.
However, it gets me out of the house, is a social time and is such an enjoyable thing to do.
I’ve played music pretty much all my life, starting to learn to violin when I was 8. I then played that all through high school. It was only when I began my university studies in 2001, that the violin fell out of my life. By this point, I had joined the Morley And District Concert Band playing keyboard to fill in bass lines. I now conduct that band after they were desperate. I’m still filling that role.
So, getting back into a band routine is great for me. Love it.
