>JINGLE BELLS . . . Tuba Style

Drake (my first born grandson) is one of two tuba players in his school’s Sixth Grade Beginner Band, and the FIRST tuba player in our family. He goes to a small school (although not that small compared to their neighboring rural towns) so the Christmas concert is a combined effort of beginners, junior high, high school, and the jazz band. Before we left, Drake gave us a preview of the three songs he would be performing: Jingle Bells, Up On The Housetop, and Jolly Old St. Nicholas.

He takes a deep breath, positions his hand on the keys . . . or are they called valves? Then the boomp, boomp, boomps come out of the concert tuba. Rich. Punctuated. So much fun. Now I knew what to listen for when the band appeared on stage. It’s really quite amazing that less than four months ago, most of these kids had never held an instrument, let alone played a song. Now, they sat erect in front of their music stands, their feet tapping out the beats as they counted quarter notes, half notes, rests, and played their hearts out. Beautiful.

One of the fun things about the concert was hearing the progression of difficulty levels as the higher grades performed their numbers. My favorite, after the beginners of course, was the jazz band. Drake liked it, too, and has his sights set on playing with the jazz group one day. I like that.

We rounded out the afternoon with authentic Mexican food at a new restaurant and playing some cut-throat games of Sorry! and Trouble that my younger grandson, Nash, delights in. I had to leave in the early evening and journey on to visit with my dad for a day. ‘Twas a nice break from my writing routine and spending time with family is always time well spent.

So, O’er the fields we go, laughing all the way!

Hope you’re all getting ready for some lovely times with your families over the holidays. I can hardly wait.