Items
Tag is exactly
instrument
-
2021-09-30
Masking through the pandemic
I have submitted this picture to show what it was like just to be at school during the pandemic. This is a picture of my friend and I in band class. We had to wear masks, and even had special musician masks we had to wear while playing our instruments. This was a very hard time, especially with it being my senior year of high school. I just wanted things to be normal again. -
2020-02-14
COVID-19: From Italy To New York
In February of 2020, from the 14th to the 22nd, I was on a school trip in Italy. It's safe to say I was having the best time of my life, until I became ill towards the end of the trip. I felt extremely lethargic and fatigued, my nose and throat were as stuffed as could be, my voice was gone, and my body was consistently hot. It wasn't until I got home from my trip that I suspected my illness was COVID-19, because I was informed that the exact day I returned home from Italy, Venice went on lockdown. I had been in Venice at the beginning of my trip. My suspicions heightened once my mother, father, and sister all got COVID-19 several days later, yet I was healthy as a horse again. In the weeks I had been quarantined with them, I hadn't gotten sick again. Now, this is my earliest memory from quarantine, and quite frankly one of the only memories since the days began to mesh together. I remember time no longer felt real, and I tried to pass it with as many activities as possible. The family began solving puzzles and playing more board games. I was playing more of my instruments, including piano and ukulele. I listened to countless albums and new artists. But, in all of the good, there still remained some low points such as overeating and inactiveness. I'm sure everybody can find pros and cons in their quarantine experience, definitely more cons for some. But, I just wanted to share what I remembered from my own experience. It's the story we always told people when they asked if we ever got infected; I'd say I'm pretty sure I came home from the best trip in the world only to infect my family and almost immediately go into lockdown. -
2020-09-01
What I think about the rules and procedures I have to follow
The masks are the worst, but the other rules are o.k. I HATE wearing the masks all the time. The weirdest rule is the one that says we can't play wind instruments inside, as the only 2 instruments that would be a hazard would be the clarinets, because they are straight with no curves in the tubing. All the other instruments have areas where all the spit collects that are below the bell (opening) of the instrument. The likelihood of "dangerous" spit coming out is almost 0, especially for bassoon, and most brass instruments. There was one time where I asked the kid next to me to feel the inside of the boot one the long joint side (I play bassoon), and he was hesitant at first, but then he felt it, and THERE WAS NO SPIT! IT WAS NOT WET! The other side, however, is different story, but that is to be expected as all the spit travels through there, and gets stuck at the very bottom of the boot. Another one I think is absurd is the whole plexiglass-between-the-cashier-and-the-customer-rule, as it is supposed to prevent the transfer of Covid, but the cashier touches everything that the customer is buying. So it is practically useless. -
2020-08-17
Music Brings the World Together
Over the quarantine, something that I really love was not able to happen. The Drum Corps International 2020 season was cancelled. Drum corps is like marching band, but a lot more intense. There are only brass and percussion instruments, and you spend the whole summer training to learn one 12-minute show. As a result of the season being cancelled, a nonprofit organization has started called Virtual Arts Inc. Over the summer, they put on a virtual drum corps show that I was a part of. I met a bunch of new people, learned a new instrument, and got a lot better at playing music. They are putting on another show in December that I plan to be a part of as well. -
2020-05-10
Through Chinese Social Media -- 4
I’m a study-abroad student. Due to the virus, I had to stay at home in New York. I got the update of the virus through Chinese social media, and I think it is really interesting. I’m going to share some posts from Chinese social media about the virus. Those two weeks, China holds an online concert, “Believe in the Future,” steaming on the social media. It is the largest online concert in the Chinese music industry. The concert invited more than hundreds of celebrities to do cloud performance. The goal of the concert is to bring hope and heal the heart. There is no advertising and no copyright, all things free. The following is one recorded part: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIeVt0vUpGM -
05/07/2020
Drums
Since the start of quarantine I've found myself with so much more time on my hands than I ever have before. So as a result, I figured I was going to practice and practice and practice until it was over. I can tell that even a month in my playing has improved significantly. *Uh me *It is ma drums lol, Photograph -
2020-03-25
Noisy neighbours
We were out for a walk and heard a housebound resident in a local apartment banging out on the drums — more people confined to home might suggest taking up a quieter musical instrument! Neighbourly protocols might be tested.