Super Suction Ears at Bell Rehearsal

My boy joined the church bell choir.

Actually, I signed him up.  But we won’t go there.

Anyhow, his first few practices have been interesting. His perfectionism is showing. I’ve noticed that he has to check all the bells, to make sure that they are indeed in the correct order up the scale.  He also is having trouble not being able to stop and correct his mistakes as the choir rehearses.

I can see him begin to twitch.

His answer to his perfectionistic anxiety: Be a clown.

One time he held his bell handles up to his ears, so that the bells were sticking out.  He said to the choir, “Look!  My super suction ears!”  Larry Boy, A.K.A. Larry the Cucumber, would be proud.

Another time he made a joke, but I was the only one who got it.  Wish I could remember it so I could share it.  Ah, well.

Bell choir will be a growing experience. The music, for the first time, is hard for him. He’s having trouble finding his individual notes amongst all the other notes.  Bell music looks totally different than piano music!  I didn’t want him to give up, so I wrote out his individual bell part on blank staff paper.  It had been forever– since my music major days at college– since I’d done that!

I had him practice that individual part on the piano, using his left pointer finger to play the A and his right pointer finger to play the B, while I conducted.

He was so happy, he giggled.

Then he said, “Look!  When I get to measure 72, I don’t play, I just stand here and cry. Boo hoo hoo hoo…”

He was taking the director’s cue– during the last three measures, he has no notes.  The director joked that all my son and another bell ringer had to do was stand there and be sad that they didn’t have anything to play.

I told my son that the director was joking, and that he shouldn’t really cry.

“But it’s fake.  I’m just pretending,” he replied.

“Yes, I know, but I don’t think Mr. F will be amused.”

“But it will make the other kids laugh!”

Yes, it will be an interesting time at bells.