Singing in the Rain S.H. Doshisha International Jr/Sr High School, Kyoto, Japan

"I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain! What a wonderful feeling oh...hey!" The rain kept falling in steady drops as the noise from the stands grew more and more intense. The 170 navy ponchos glistened with water, but neither the wetness nor the cold could prevent the rusty bleachers from shaking with excitement. The song was about to enter its fourth round, while the cheers from the opposing stands diminished into silence. Thunder rumbled, rain beat down. Lights shone brightly on the muddy football field. Trophies stood tall, the ribbons drenched and hardly recognizable. All eyes lay on the Worthington Kilbourne Steppin' Wolves as they generated their intensity throughout the stadium.

I picked up the flute during the last three months of middle school with one motive in mind. My older sister Fujino, had been a member of the flute section for three years, two of which she was a section leader. She was about to start her final season in the marching band as one of the four field commanders at the time I became a freshman. Fujino's love for her instrument and dedication to the marching band was something I had always been familiar with. I envied my sister's commitment to the band, mostly because I could not feel the same way about orchestra or anything else in my life.

"You should take lessons with Mrs. Allen before the season starts, and you'll be just fine." I could not believe that my sister could say something like that as though there was nothing to it. For me, the prospect of joining the marching band was a delicious thought, but starting another instrument seemed to be way beyond me. Fujino believed that if I could learn to play the scales plus a couple of simple tunes before the end of summer, I would be able to keep up with the other flutes. I doubted this, although there was certainly a place in my heart that wanted so much to believe in her words. After all, Fujino was talking from experience.

"I know I won't be able to keep up," I whined, "everyone's going to be a lot better than I am. I'll just embarrass the both of us." "Band music isn't hard at all. Besides, if you have any trouble, you can just have Mrs. Allen work with you on it." In the end, I decided to believe in my big sister, mostly because I was excited about the idea of starting something new. This became my goal and incentive to practice hard before the start of my high school life.

During the last two weeks of summer before the new school year, I was able to meet with and become a member of the Worthington Kilbourne Steppin' Wolves. Practices started everyday at eight in the morning and went to two in the afternoon, with additional practices every week on Tuesday evenings from seven to nine. It took a full week for my body to learn to react on time to the given commands, from Parade Rest to About Face. The most difficult aspect of marching band throughout my career was simply discipline. The marching coach, Mr. Clark, often ran around the practice field screaming, "Even if it's the end of the world, don't move!" As a freshman and inexperienced band member, I was scared to death of this strict man with slicked back hair. We were forced to fight back our urge to brush away potentially hazardous bees when commands were given. Developing the discipline to stand still forms the basis of marching band performance. It was certainly not an easy skill to acquire, despite the endless hours of practice.

Along with the regular football half time shows, the decision was announced that the marching band was to perform at contest during the 1996-1997 season. This meant that we were to compete with other experienced bands in order to fulfill our ultimate goal of going to the state contest and receiving a superior rating. The contests, held by the Ohio Music Educators Association, do not judge the musicians to decide on a winner. Judges score the performance of the musicians, which are then added up to result in a rating. The rating system places superior at the top, with excellent following close behind. Receiving a superior rating at the state contest is considered to be the highest accomplishment that any musician can hope to achieve. At least one superior rating at any contest was mandatory in order to qualify for state competition. Mr. Clark announced that we had three opportunities to receive the much-needed superior. The current show had to be polished to perfection in less than two weeks, and three chances seemed so few for a young band like ourselves.

A loud hissing sound swept through the field as we stood facing down on the muddy sidelines. Letting out long breaths of air through clenched teeth was a trick used to improve our concentration. "Worthington Kilbourne Marching Band, you may take the field for pre-placement and or warm up." With the announcement signaling the start of our evaluation, one of the four field commanders started to clap loudly, barely beating the rain in its loudness.

"Band, attend hut!" "Hut!" The hissing abruptly came to a halt. Our chins lifted up, as all eyes faced the stands with determination showing brightly. The taps began on the snare drum, and all feet started to move forward, toes pointing as far up as possible. My gloved hands were numb as they wrapped tightly around my instrument, heavy rainfall making my fingers freeze with cold. Once I reached my starting position, I marked time with feet that were stiff with stage fright. Knowing that this was the last chance we had in order to receive that much longed for superior, my heart filled with excitement along with fear of a devastating scenario. The first two contests had not brought us the rating we yearned for. I pushed negative thoughts away, while I raised my chin high enough to feel my eyes sting as the raindrops fell into my eyes out of the dark sky. Soon, the taps marked their end, signaling that everyone was settled in their assigned position. The main field commander climbed the metal directing stand and began to clap.

"Band, horns up!" All instruments were raised, and every pair of eyes stared expectantly at the field commander as she took a deep breath. With the wave of the baton, she yelled, "One, two, one two three four!" Music immediately burst out of every instrument, and all feet began to move busily across the field in every direction. The intensity was incredible, as though we had come to beat the rain in every way possible. The cold and dampness escaped my mind as I concentrated on adjusting my position with those around me. I placed each step heel first into the soggy turf, and knew I was having the time of my life out there on that field. I knew that I would never have this much fun in orchestra, even though I had begun the violin on my own free will. It was just not the same, and never will be.

The climax was at the height of our excitement, and the energy built up so much that I was saddened to know it was over. All faces were smiling as we headed off of the field with taps. Once we were allowed to fall out of attention, we could not help but hug each other to congratulate our great performance. We did not need to be told how good we were. We just knew all along. Since we were the last band to perform that evening, the judges immediately began to turn in their evaluation sheets. We were to wait in the bleachers until the trophies were ready to be given out. At first, all other bands were as equally excited as we were.

When we began to holler, "We've got spirit, yes we do! We've got spirit, how 'bout you?" the opposing side of the stands repeated the same cheer. This continued on until the chants of "We've got more! We've got more!" diminished. After that, the other bands waited quietly for the results to be announced.

As for the Steppin' Wolves, the evening had just begun. "Singing in the Rain" was a song that we used everyday before practice as warm up. Not only do we sing, we move our arms and legs to go along with the lyrics. Since it had been raining the hardest during our show, we were sure that the rain had something to do with our incredible performance. It also seemed to be an odd coincidence that the song we used for warm up everyday had to do with rain. To celebrate this good luck, we began to sing the song for the whole stadium to hear. We did not care what others thought of our childish behavior. We were there to enjoy ourselves, no matter what the outcome may be.

Mr. Taylor, the band director, told us to quit the obnoxious singing with the start of the presentation of trophies. Once the singing came to an end, my heart began to beat fast as I slowly came to my senses. Although I was satisfied with my performance, our motive for being there in the first place was to receive a superior rating. I clenched my fists and began to pray that our performance had really been as good as we had thought it had been. The minutes seemed to pass by slowly, as our nervousness began to escalate.

"Superior rating, class Double A...Worthington Kilbourne High School." The moment these words were spoken, I was screaming with excitement. As soon as the announcement moved on to the next rating, I began to hug all of the flutes standing nearby. I remember feeling a small pang of guilt as I hugged Steve, a fellow flute whom Kelli, another flutist that was also one of my closest friends, happened to have a crush on. She had been standing next to me in the bleachers, but did not have the courage to hug Steve. I knew it was insensitive for me to act that way, but I could not help it. This was a special occasion, and I wanted to celebrate with everyone.

The rain truly became a sign of our good luck that season. State contest at Cooper Stadium was held through pouring rain, and we were able to receive a superior rating. I would give anything to go back to become a Steppin' Wolf again, even though my class has graduated already. I will never forget the disappointments, thrills, and hard work that were a large part of my life as a marching band flutist. My experience in marching band still means so much to me, even after all these years.

Hirai, Satsuki (2000). Singing in the Rain. Retrieved March 25, 2001, from the Doshisha International Jr/Sr High School web site: http://www.intnl.doshisha.ac.jp/projects/3sa/2000/memoir/sa2/f5-satsuki.html

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