Jazzing It Up

Last Thursday, Son #2 called me at work to tell me that he had the chance of a lifetime.  Being that he's only 10, I figured this had to be something pretty awesome.  To him, it was!  His band director chose him to try out on the bass clarinet (instead of the regular clarinet which he has played since last year).   There are about 15 clarinets in the school band but only ONE bass clarinet!  Plus, his older brother has only ever played the regular clarinet so this would be all his own (and I do try to be sensitive to the competition and the middle child dynamic).

Ever seen a bass clarinet?  It's huge!  The size of a saxophone, with the same curved mouthpiece and curved bottom -- but the overall look of a clarinet otherwise.  And it is possible for an instrument with bass tones to squeak when it's first being learned...they're just not high pitched squeaks like you get from the B flat clarinet.  But the enthusiasm is there, so we're going with it.  This was the first morning he had to bring the new instrument to school.  Good thing he's tall and broad for a fifth grader, so he could manage the case by himself.  The kids in the before care center were pretty impressed!

Speaking of transporting instruments this morning...at 9:40 last night, when I had both eyes shut, Son #1 wakes me to tell me (oops) that today is the first day of Jazz Band for the school year.  We did this in the sixth grade too...no complaints on principle since it's a select group and he passed the audition.  But we have to leave the house at 6:40 Tuesday mornings to get him to the middle school by 6:50.  Not that I mind the early schedule, since I'm an uber morning person, but that's the window of time when Son #2 and Son #3 have to be rousted out of their beds.  Well, we just about did it this morning to get out of the house by the customary 7:20, but it was awfully close...this parenting thing really is a huge commitment ain't it...