After a fine performance at the festival, it’s finally time to start preparing for nationals. Of course, this means that the teacher will hold auditions to see who will be in the group that will participate in the competitions. For Hazuki, it’s a tough road ahead.
I have to admit that while there were no auditions during my concert band years since it’s an elective course and what part you play is determined by your skill, I participated in several from my childhood up until high school graduation for the piano. You are evaluated based on the piece you play and other things (scales, arpeggios, cords, etc). I will share about it next week since it would be more appropriate.
On the other hand, I’m not against the idea since it will weed out the slackers, even if they are seniors. Of course, this also gives the opportunity for others who are good at their instrument to participate in the group that will be competing. While some people are against it, it’s clear that Taki wants to have the best group possible in order to increase the chances of advancing further. However, in the end, I think it will benefit everyone for the fact that people will become motivated to improve so they can make the cut.
Obviously, preparations for the auditions are not the main focus as Hazuki finally get some character development. For a while now, Hazuki has been a stand-in and focusing mostly on the basics. Even after a lot of practice, she is not satisfied with the results.
Yep, it’s very frustrating not to be good at something, even after practicing for hours. Before you know it, one will get sick of it since there is nothing that will motivate him or her. It seems that Hazuki is heading to that point, especially when she had the same experiences with playing tennis in middle school when she was unable to win a competition after practicing on her own. There is no wonder why Kumiko is worried, although I wonder about past experience she got reminded of. I’m very curious.
Sure, I have been there once since at one point since I wanted to quit concert band in elementary school mostly because there was nothing that motivated me compared to playing the piano (besides the fact that I had a crappy band teacher and I have to wake up early in some mornings for practice). When I got into middle school, everything changed as I enjoyed playing the music that we were given to play, especially in high school. Of course, I made a good number of friends who were in concert band too. To me, It’s a good thing that the girls decided to play a simple song together to get Hazuki motivated to pass the audition. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to appreciate the Tuba and will eventually get tired of it.
Aside from that, there are a lot of fun moments besides Asuka poking at Hazuki’s face for giving up so easily. Also, Asuka’s idea of having Kumiko wear the Tuba mascot costume was funny as well. While it failed to create any motivation for Hazuki, it bought some cute moments with Sapphire. Moreover, it’s nice to see Kumiko interacting more with Reina when she ask her about a soft-tuba case so that Hazuki can practice at home. Yep, it seems that they are getting along better since the last episode and I wonder how their relationship will progress, especially if both of them pass. We’ll see.
Yeah, this was a nice episode and had a lot of good little moments.
I could relate a bit to both Kumiko and Hazuki in this one. The euphonium really is a forgotten instrument at times. And sometimes you do end up playing an instrument you didn’t plan on or want to. And it is hard to see the bigger picture when you are playing the support role like a tuba. Playing even in a small group was crucial for Hazuki to appreciate being in an ensemble and how fun playing music can be. The basics are important, but you need to see the bigger picture as well.
This series is all kinds of nostalgia for me since I also started playing music first in highschool. It was difficult, but in the end a lot of fun.
It’s quite understandable why Hazuki would have a hard time since the Tuba tends to have a lot of long notes, compared to something like the Clarinet, which in general contribute more to the melody compared being a small part of the song. Regardless of what part one is playing, one ultimately contributes to the overall piece as you mentioned.
For me, while this show brings a lot of nostalgia, it’s easy to see why since I have played music since I was 4, which is the Piano. Of course, the Piano, it’s a lot harder than any of the other instruments since you have fingerings and have to play with both hands. To me, it’s a good payoff, although I wonder if I can still play it.
Going to get drama next week with this audition stuff. Third years students are going to be pissed once Reina manages to pass the audition easily…:D
Yep, I can’t wait for that as this will perhaps be the reason why so many third year students have quitted… but as they say, being a third year does not mean that you will get in. Even during my senior year, I still played 2nd chair Clarinet in concert band. It really depends on the person’s skills, although there is some favoritism with the teacher.
Hm, a lot of people are sharing their concert band histories, lol. Unfortunately, I don’t have such stories to share, but I can certainly see how nostalgic Hibike can be.
I have too much memories to share in episodic posts that I plan on writing an editorial relating to this show and my experiences in the future.