RRR: A Major Event

Finals week is underway, and it goes well so far. I have taken several finals so far (I think I have done well in all of them), and... *dum dum dum* a GUITAR PLATFORM.

Well, I wasn't too nervous, except about a couple of the scales and, one part of one of my songs, and the fact that I was gonna have to play a random song by ear. Well, so I went in, a little nervous and hoping I wouldn't flip out and forget my pieces or anything (I had them all memorized, by the way). So I played all my pieces. Three of the ten greatest musical minds I can personally think of sat before me. Dr. Rick Townsend, Jedi master of music audiation and band director extraordinaire; Miss Betsy Pabon, expert of musical expression and strings expert; and Dr. Monty Budhal, a man who has so much musical knowledge and capability it makes my head hurt. Piece one, no comment. Piece two, no comment. Piece three, no comment. Piece four, no comment. They asked for a couple scales. No problem. A couple pieces by ear. First one, Motherless Child... weird melody, took me awhile to find the key, kinda botched it. A few more... Bingo, My Country 'Tis Of Thee, Row Your Boat, etc... no problem. They say "okay", and I get up to leave and await my verdict.

Miss Pabon stops me before I can get out and says I have a bad habit... Oh dear, I think, what have I done? She says that I play with my tongue outside my mouth. Oh... stink... I kinda was doing that, wasn't I? So I need to find a practice room with a mirror and develop a new concentration habit. The beauty of the music does me little good if I look ridiculous. They then tell me I can leave so they can discuss my Fate. (they really judge hard, by the way. this is to see if you're cut out to be a literal pro)

I tell my entourage of friends that await in the hall that apparently I need to develop a non-MichaelJordan-like concentration habit. They all laugh at me. Several seconds later, Dr. Townsend, my dear band director, pokes his noggin out the door and tells me to step back in for a minute. Oh dear... I'm about to wet myself...

They all three smile and say I did a wonderful job!!! (news to me...) They said that I have the wonderful opportunity and responsibilty of being a guitar pioneer, the first Maranatha guitarist with any level of noticable competency. Continue to play well, they said. You can be an influence on the hundreds of guitar hackers there are around here, they said. Such an easy instrument to play poorly; show the axe slingers how it's really done, they tell me. And probably the best thing an aspiring musician can hear from musicians he respects... "Good Job."

And for the first time in weeks...

I exhaled.