I never was in band growing up, so when I was asked to attend a Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble rehearsal in advance of its February 18 performance, I had no idea what to expect. As an athlete (rubgy), I know exactly what most practices are like: warm up, do some drills, scrimmage, then cool down and stretch. The rehearsal was not that different so it was fun to see how musicians practice their own exercises. I watched the first part of the rehearsal and was there when all of the musicians were warming up their instruments and bodies. The different sounds and notes made no sense … [Read more...]