I’ve
written about being a music major, but I don’t think I’ve ever written about
the amazing experience that lead me to that. And that is a very weird way to
put what I’m about to describe… It’s been one of those weeks…
So, I was a
freshman in college—actually, I don’t think classes had officially started yet…
meh, details (No, classes had started. I was wearing a green shirt and a black
skirt, so that I looked a bit dressy for the audition but not over dressed for
classes)—and I was re-auditioning to be a music major. A few weeks/months
before that I had found out that I was pre-music. I thought that I was just an undeclared
major because I hadn’t been accepted into the music program. Well, for this
audition, it was just me and the man who would be my private lessons teacher
for clarinet. We were in his office which never seemed large because he had a
desk and filing cabinet, but mostly it was the table-display-case-thingy that
took up the most room. It had old clarinets and the like in it.
So, I start playing this piece and it’s not
good. My tone is eh, I don’t have any confidance, it’s just not at all up to
par for being a music major. And then I get to a note in the middle that is
held for a measure or two, and it is beautiful. It has the air support, and the
tone is nice, and nothing like what I had sounded like. It was just that one
note, but I’m sure that that is the only reason I was allowed to stay
pre-music.
Looking
back on that moment, I can imagine my teacher doing his amazed face that I
eventually learned. He would lean forward and his eyes would bug out. He was
probably wondering, “Where did that come from?!”
Anyway,
without that one beautiful note in a sea of gibberish, I would probably never
have made it into the music program. And though I wasn’t a music major for
long, I know it’s lead me to some great places and introduced me to some truly
amazing people.