2015-05-20

【Aiden in English】

        All things have a beginning, such as a person, book, even the universe. But not all beginnings are pretty and some hurt the ear quite a bit. I’m talking about hearing sounds I’ve never heard before. Yep, those are the 4th grade beginner band member for ya! 

        To set this straight, I’m not saying that I wasn’t a bad player in my first year. It’s just that the experience kind of makes listening to bad music sort of… feel weird. There is Montgomery Band Spring Concert that involves the beginners, and so all 6^th graders, especially kids in the Wind Ensemble, were able to play with their eyes close. Although I would’ve fallen asleep like that, you get the point. The evening performance was slightly more crowded because of the chorus performance after, and the only problem was the high temperature. Half an hour upon arriving, I started playing probably the easiest concert of my life. While the 4^th graders honked, squealed, and squeaked like animals, Rob, my friend, and I tried our best to stay on task. You know, some artificial animal noise can get very distracting. At the time two years ago, a honk sounded like angelic, musical for the first woodwind sound I made as a beginner and the sound of air being blown through my mouth. I even felt the tiniest sympathy to the 4^th graders, not exactly how you wanted to start your music career with a messed up performance.

        This performance had one special thing that was not an embarrassing one. We played a comedy, in which the band invited Mr. Theodore, the Physical Ed teacher. He held high an Olympic torch, wore a cape, and marched on stage while the band played the Olympic Fanfare and Theme. The piece was called “Concerto for Crash Cymbals” Mr. Theodore would pretend to be a guest soloist. Once the piece began, however, he messes up a lot. A little conversation between our band director, Mr. Marcopul and Mr. Theodore happened for the show. In the end, he was handed tiny cymbals that clinked together for a small ring, then the song ended on a final note. Through it all, I remarked a stone face, and didn’t really care. If everyone started laughing, at least someone would still be playing.

        For the beginners, they had an interesting start since this was the first ever comedy piece played by the Montgomery band. Soon, those 4^th graders will realize how hard they need to work on and probably criticize the beginners two years from now.

【红霞译文】

        世上任何事物都有起始，譬如人、书乃至宇宙，但不是所有良好的愿望皆尽人意，个别的反倒有点摧残听力，这里我专指前所未闻的声音，没错，特别是由小学四年级管乐队新秀所吹奏的曲子。

        打开天窗说亮话，我并非想夸耀当年自己首次登台演奏水平不赖，只是眼下每当听到蹩脚的音乐心里难免起急，春季音乐会将由这些睁大眼睛看不准乐谱的新秀联手那些闭上眼睛吹不乱音调的初中一年级特别是来自管乐团精英组成的蒙哥马利小学管乐队隆重推出，我情绪萎靡，你该明白怎么回事了嘛。因为有合唱队加盟，晚场演出显得稍微拥挤一点，所以室内温度攀升便成了问题。我提前半个小时到校，开始为这场堪称有生以来最为轻松的音乐会做好准备。四年级新秀像动物一样时而吆喝，时而尖叫，时而乱喊，我和朋友罗比则尽量集中精力，要知道有的动物仿声噪音十分叫人抓狂，极易分散注意力。两年前，喇叭声听起来如同天籁之音，那是启蒙木管吹奏初尝气流激振的音乐之声；两年后，面对四年级新秀，我心中不由得生起一丝同情，但不能把良好的愿望和出色的表演之间划成等号。

        这次演出还穿插一个特别节目，挺大方的。我们邀请体育老师西奥多先生出演喜剧小品“铙钹协奏曲”，当管乐队伴奏《奥运主题曲》时，他高举奥林匹克火炬身披斗篷昂首阔步走进会场，但他故意跟不上节奏，中间出现很多失误。管乐队指挥马可波先生见状跟他笑对几句台词，最后西奥多先生用微型铙钹敲击小铁圈随旋律一起结束。我神情淡定，丝毫不受干扰，当人们笑作一团，总得有人继续吹奏吧。

        对于初学者来说，首次登台演出十分有趣，尤其这回管乐队又破天荒地加了一段喜剧小品，但不久四年级学生就会意识到必须努力练习才能提高表演水平。两年后的今天，或许他们也会对新秀横挑鼻子竖挑眼。