Sam Myers: The Blues is My Story

urn:iso:std:iso:639:ed-3:eng

26-27

text excerpt

Anna Mae [Williams] brought the horn the next day and do you know, instead of just learning, I found that it was a gift that I had, to be in music. She showed me how to focus my lips on the mouthpiece; she showed me how to make the different keys and notes and how to shape my fingers. They [the school band] started playing a song called "White Heat." I messed up that one. The next one was called "Symphony C." It had a big-band sound and I almost got that one. Mr. McGilvery [the band director] said, "Well, what are we going to do next?" I hollered out, "‘The Stars and Stripes Forever’!" and I thought to myself, "Oh, my goodness, I messed up." They all looked and said, "Oh yeah, we can do that." They thought I was just saying something, that I was just going to listen. Then, somehow, when they started, "Da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da," I was playing that on the trumpet, and they all tricked me. Everybody looked right at me, but they started playing quiet. I was being heard by all of them, and after I played that part down, they all came up with a big, strong rhythm and played their parts, and then they started laughing. I said to myself, "Oh, they're laughing at me." Mr. McGilvery walked over to me and tapped me on the shoulder and said, "My dear boy, you did good." And from then on I got in the swing with the rest of them. And I thank that girl, Anna Mae Williams, wherever she is, right today, for me to be able to do that. She was a real good friend. That part of my schooling was where I really learnt the scales of music, listening to it by ear since I couldn't read the notes on the sheet music.

excerpt from 'Sam Myers: The Blues is My Story' pp. 26-27 (315 words)

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1430827538687