Musically nostalgic? Maybe
What if I hadn’t discovered the tuba?
At an age when I felt invincipble, my main vibe was the p tercussion chair. Not on vibraphone; my school didn’t have that funding level. We had a mediocre xylophone, and orchestral bells, but nothing tip tier. When I “did” my audition for university, I got away with my elementary mallet skills because… maybe I didn’t get away with it. Could that have been the real message in their pass (I didn’t pass).
So, where am I going with this? Well, after watching some modern performance videos on the marimba, I am forced to admit that the mallets and me were nothing more than ships, passing in the night. I was never, and will never be, at the level I saw in those videos. Alas. But I did have the tuba and friends.
Should I be lusting after something cumbersome like a vibraphone? Isn’t the tuba cumbersome enough? No, I do not own a tuba, but if I suddenly got that envelope that declared me to be a millionaire, I might reconsider. Still know my alternate fingerings, and my embouchure would return. There must be a low brass ensemble in the area. No? Well that makes me sad.
There is a trombone, downstairs. I used to play one of those, so the muscle memory could be called up. Recalled. Whatever. Imagine those glissandos, as I annoy the dog.
There is always the recorder. Portable, compared to my virtual tuba. No need to spend all of my budget on fancy mallets for my virtual marimba. Is this what they mean by nostalgic?
