#tuba Christmas

[johnthestitcher]

Pioneer Valley Tuba Christmas concert, December 3, 2022. South Congregational Church, Springfield MA

[keystonewarrior]

Tuba Christmas brings hundreds of tuba players to downtown Portland

[thefaearealwaysamongyou]

I feel like Tumblr would appreciate my creative project for band.

Since we're going on Christmas break next Wednesday the band teacher decided instead of wasting time learning music we're not gonna remember after break, we'd do a fun competition to see which section could decorate the old unusable stands the best. This was the turnout of the low brass' (my sections) stand,

I think he's beautiful, but my mom disagrees for some reason.

[sharoscylla]

tuba Christmas 50th anniversary... peace and love and light and joy on the planet earth

[tubatoad]

oh yeah my favorite Mariah Carey hit song, all i want for december is tuba

[thatsoupbitch]

[whatisstrangelov]

Christmas Eve 12-24-2022

On Christmas Eve day, a storm was predicted by the Weather Channel, with rising winds toward evening. Elsa Anderson is sitting at the table, cupping her coffee mug, sipping slowly as she looks out the kitchen window. She’s wearing yoga pants and a light cotton hoodie. Her shimmery golden hair is tucked into a black ski cap.

After a few more sips of her extra-hot cup of cheer, caffeine buzzing through her body, Elsa picks up her mother’s old tuba and raises it to her lips. Filling the big brass horn with life-giving air, a Christmas carol toots out of the dinged-up bell. Her cheeks turn rosy with every puff of breath.

🎶Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?🎶

🎶Ho, ho, ho! Who wouldn’t go?🎶

🎵Up on the housetop—Oom-Pah-Pah!🎵

🎵Down through the chimney with old Saint Nick!🎵

[ashensgrotto]

Never Had A Friend (Like Me) - Part 3

Original art piece by pfbatakopd on twitter (Used only for Header. Do NOT REPOST ORIGINAL ART)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 (You Are Here)

YandereSoulmate! AU:

Part 1 (Am I Feeling Love?)

Part 2 (Protective)

Part 3A & Part 3B (Poor Unfortunate Souls)

Characters: Azul Ashengrotto X F!Reader

Word Count: 9,105

Synopsis: A chance for redemption comes in the form of a wish…

Author’s Notes: Ok, here we go. I received an anonymous message in my inbox for the next part of the Yandere!Soulmate series and I was actually going to work on it - but with the arrival of GloMas, working on the next part of ‘Raison D’être,’ wanting to finish “Weren’t You Aware, Angelfish?”, AND the holidays, time got away from me and I forgot about Scarabia’s segment for a short while. 

However, because you all seem to enjoy this and want to know if the tako has redeemed himself - I figured I would work to get this part done. Now, warning - Pompefiore’s part is going to take a bit of time to complete because I will have to wiggle my way through my memory bank and replay a few parts of it (which is approx 76 chapters in length for those players who haven’t made it that far into the game yet) since I’m working so deep into Ignihyde’s chapter right now (which is a doozy - I’m still in chapter 67-tower 1, oof help).

This one is also going to be split into three parts - I promise it will not be a long wait for the second & third parts as this is my Christmas gift to all of my readers <3

Thank you all for your continued support!

Notes: Last part of 'A Friend like Me'!

Pompfiore's part will take some time to go through - I'm likely going to be busy up until the second or third week of January, hence I will be taking a short Hiatus from Yandere!Soulmate AU to focus on a few other projects. I will also be updating Raison D’être in the next few weeks after the holidays have passed.

Thank you everyone for your continued support and I will see you in the next story!

Warnings are as follows: yandere behaviors, manipulation, imprisonment, & hypnosis

***

Can your friends do this? Can your friends do that?

Can your friends pull this out their little hats?

Can your friends go - POOF!

***

Azul shook his head as he pulled himself up off the ground after landing, brushing himself off. He took in his surroundings, noticing that he still seemed to be within the Scarabia dorm, but unsure of where. Sands still surrounded him from all angles - making him feel more like a mer out of water than anything else - and a noticeable chill hung in the air, cold enough to make out the fiat traces of one’s breath as it hung in the air. Azl’s eyes shifted around as his mind began to refocus. Where was he? And… where were you?

“(Y/n)? (Y/n)!” he spun around before hearing your grunt as you pulled yourself up from under a pile of sand and fur.

“Owww…” Grim clutched at his head, his eyes screwed shut as he moaned softly, “I really can’t catch a break around here…”

“I feel that…” you sigh, sitting back on your knees, gripping your lower back as you wince in pain.

“(Y/n)! Are you alright?!” Azul moved quickly, his breath coming out in pants as he knelt beside you, his gloved hands tilting your head up to examine you. 

You were covered in sand and were shivering from the cold, your teeth chattering as you took in deep breaths. Your face had a cut on the forehead and your eyes seemed a little hazy, dazed from the landing. You steadied yourself against Azul’s hold, the warmth of his gloves warming your cheeks.

“I’m alive… barely. It felt like he knocked us into next week and then some.”

“It would appear that he flung us some distance. Are you two alright?”

“Fine - given that we were knocked to the ends of the earth,” you answer as Azul pulls you up with Grim in your arms, “Where’s Jade? Floyd? Kalim?”

“Over here, shrimpy!” the tuba voice of Floyd spoke a little ways away as he approached, his arms wrapped around himself, “Brr! It’s seriously cold here. It’s like we’re under the ice floes or somethin’.”

You feel a shudder rattle through you as Azul wrapped an arm around you, pulling you close to keep you semi-warm under the covering of his overcoat. The temperature here was noticeably different from when you were in the Scarabia dorm - it would seem that at the edge of the desert dorm was freezing like the inside of an icebox. 

Jade was crouched beside Kalim, the ex-headwarden of Scarabia, rubbing his forehead as the others approached, “Where am I?”

“Good, you’re awake,” Jade sighed in relief, “I believe we are at the edge of the dimension that contains the Scarbia dorm.”

“So… Jamil literally did send us to the ends of the earth,” Grim chirped in surprise, before glowering, “When we get back there, I’m going ta let ‘im have it-”

“How, though?” you asked, “We don’t have any carpets, or brooms.”

“And with this cold, I doubt Kalim and (Y/n) will last long out here,” Azul nodded in agreement.

“It’ll be a slog,” Floyd shrugged, “but walkin’s our only way back.”

“Floyd,” Azul growled, “we spent quite a bit of time in flight before we landed here. It could take hours - wait, more likely days at this rate - to trudge back on foot. And… I can’t take another minute of you with that voice. I’m tearing up the contract and annulling it.”

“O-oh c-come on, Azul,” you shiver, trying to be light-hearted, “H-he’s h-having f-fun.”

“Having fun, my ass, (Y/n),” Azul grumbled, “That voice is annoying me - even more so than his normal one. Back to the old voice, Floyd.”

“Aww… but I like bein’ all baritone.”

A snap of his fingers and the contract disintegrated, leaving Floyd clearing his throat as his normal voice returned to him.

Kalim let out a soft sniffle then, “Jamil… I trusted you.”

“Hey, you cryin’, sea otter? Your tears are gonna freeze over, ya know,” Floyd asked.

“It’s all my fault…” Kalim sobbed a little harder, “I drove Jamil to the brink without realizing it. The real Jamil would never do such things! He’s a good guy… always helping me… giving me a shoulder to lean on… and… and…”

Azul rolled his eyes. Before he could open his mouth however -

“Isn’t th-that the a-a-attitude r-right there what d-drove him to th-the b-brink?” you asked, your voice shaking still from the cold.

“Wh-what…?” Kalim looked at you in awe.

 “Yikes, (Y/n) - you do go for the jugular sometimes…” Grim spoke up from his spot.

“I’m with shrimpy on this,” Floyd agreed, turning toward Kalim, “Sea otter, you’re… TOO nice. It’s kinda grating.”

“Grating?”

“Yes,” Jade nodded in agreement, “If I were betrayed in the same way you were - I’d lash out with a torrent of unmitigated verbal abuse to break them down mentally, then bind them and drag them beneath the waves. The way you blame yourself and to excuse Jamil’s behavior is… a tad galling.”

“Galling? Really? Kalim asked this as if it was a compliment, “But… Jamil would never betray me…”

“News flash; he did,” Floyd shouted.

“A-And the w-way he w-was m-making you out to be the b-bad guy and get you expelled is even m-more nerve-wracking,” you explain, “H-However… I d-do understand why Jamil d-did it.”

“Huh?” Kalim and Grim looked at you in shock.

“Allow me to explain,” Azul adjusted his glasses, “Kalim - you carry yourself like a goody-two-shoes, laughing off conflict with a flippant word or two. Those remarks, however, are barbs on the skin to those that are calculating and twisted - Jamil and myself being prime examples. They might seem like nothing, but to us - it makes us go crazy and push harder to see you reach your breaking point.”

“And w-when you d-didn’t, Jamil t-took alternative m-measures,” you finish.

“You seem to really know the inner workings here, (Y/n),” Grim commented, looking up at you.

“T-Takes one t-to know one,” you answer, looking at Azul.

“I would argue, though, that in Kalim’s case,” Jade spoke, clasping his hands behind his back, “that it might be simply a case of naturally innocent disposition.”

“So… what you’re saying is… that Jamil’s… a bad guy?”

“Extremely,” everyone says in unison.

“In that case,” Kalim stands, resting his hands on his hips, “I’d better get back fast! I have to punch Jamil and yell ‘Traitor!’”

“You ought to make him march to the oasis and back ten times,” Grim growled, his ears falling behind his head.

“That, and we’ll need to bring him to his senses fast,” Azul agreed, “If we don’t, his magic reserves will run dry and his life could be in danger.”

“And thus that puts us back where this whole conversation started,” Floyd grumbled, “How’d we get back? Walkin’?”

“If there was a river, we could swim back,” Jade commented, looking around, “Though, it appears the rivers here are all dried out.”

“So, lack of water is the problem?” Kalim asked with a knowing smile.

“Of course,” Azul answered, “Floyd and Jade can easily outpace brooms and magic carpets for that matter when they’re in their true forms. However, we can’t exactly restore a river - even my own magic wouldn’t be able to -”

“Maybe you can’t, but I can!”

“What?!”

“‘Oasis Maker’!” your eyes widened, “Kalim! T-That’s it!”

“What do you mean?” Azul asked, looking down at you, “I thought Grim said it was only a glorified waterspout.”

“‘Oasis Maker’ allows me to produce an enormous volume of water with just a smidgen of magical power,” Kalim explained, “If I make you a river, you can get us back to the dorm, right?”

“T-that’s… your signature spell?! That’s insane!”

“It’s pretty useless when you have running water, though,” Kalim shrugged.

“Some countries don’t HAVE that sort of infrastructure!” Azul shouted, “Great Sevens, Kalim! Your power would make you nothing short of a HERO to those people! That’s… that’s… ABSURDLY marketable!”

“Azul!” you smack his cheek light, returning him to the task at hand.

“Kalim, if you would oblige us?” Jade asked.

“Of course! One river coming right up!” Kalim smiled, closing his eyes as magic began to encircle him, “Then water you shall have… and I’ll make it cool and refreshing for you! Respite in the scalding sands, a never ending party. Dance! Sing! Oasis Maker!”

***

The dorm was still cloaked in darkness by the time the group returned, sneaking into the lounge.

The students of the Scarabia dorm all encircled Jamil, who lounged before them in the headwarden’s chair as he ordered the students about, each of them still entrapped in a puppet-like state.

“The good thing is that he hasn’t gone too far to the point of no return yet,” Jade commented, looking over the banister before turning to the group, “Azul - do we have a plan?”

“We’ll have to snap Jamil out of his trance as you’ve done to me,” Azul answered, “But we also need to get close enough for both Kalim and (Y/n) to reach him.”

“Huh?” Grim asked, “What do you mean?”

“I agree, it would be too dangerous for (Y/n) to get involved with this,” Jade answered.

You looked over at Jamil, a feeling and the same urge slowly growing within you.

“You feel it, then?” Azul asked you softly.

You turn and give him a slow nod, “I do.”

Azul huffed - he had little choice in the matter. He turned to the others, “Here’s the plan - (Y/n) and Kalim will take this side of Jamil while Jade, Floyd, and I distract him. Grim - I’m expecting you to form a barrier to keep unwanted guards out of the way.”

“No worries, Azul,” Grim gave a mischievous smirk of confidence, “Grim the Great is at your service!”

“Do you think we’ll be able to pull it off?” you ask quietly.

“Trust me, angelfish,” Azul winked, “You know what to do.”

The group split, hiding themselves among the crowd of students, slowly inching forward toward Jamil.

“Haha! That’s it… go on,” Jamil’s twisted voice spoke as he sat back in his chair, closing his eyes, “keep singing my praises.”

“I never realized what a gallant figure you cut.”

“You oughta LIVE on a throne…”

“Your intelligence is beyond compare.”

“There’s royalty, then there’s you.”

“You look so strong and powerful!”

“Jamil, Jamil, he’s our man, if he can’t do it… GREAT!”

Jamil bolted upright at the sight of the five exiled students standing before him, “Wait, it’s YOU?! I sent you to the ends of this dimension! How did you get back so fast?!”

Kalim stepped forward, a hand in front of you while Scarabia’s headwarden staff was clutched in his hand, “I filled a dry river with water and we swam back.”

“Not that it was a cakewalk,” Floyd growled, “I’ll tell ya - I’m pretty worn out!”

“Tch,” Jamil tsked darkly, “Now I see… you used Kalim’s signature spell. And here I’d written it off as a worthless gift only good for watering plants or filling a pool.”

“Heh - you clearly don’t appreciate Kalim’s power for what it is then,” Azul shrugged, gripping his cane tighter.

“Jamil - I now see what you’ve thought of me all this time. There can be no question now - you are a coward and a traitor!” Kalim shouted, “Face me in combat! I’ll win back the housewarden seat you’ve stolen from me.”

“You accuse me of stealing?” Jamil stood, the overblot power growing around him, “You’re the one who stole everything from me! Now you shall witness my true power! Cower before my might! Phenomenal… cosmic… power!”

A fire bolt was flung and everyone ducked as the puppet dorm launched forward.

Grim blew a wall of fire up, preventing the students from getting involved and kept his guard up should any of them attempt to bypass the barrier. Floyd and Jade shot forward, pens at the ready and spewed fire and flora at Jamil’s attacks, Azul following close behind. Kalim worked from the side, keeping you behind him as he waited for his opening.

Azul dodged an attack, gritting his teeth, “Sevens! How much power has he been hiding all this time?!”

“I refuse to give up!” Kalim shouted, a wave of water mixing with Azul’s ice shield forced Jamil further back, the overblotted vice warden now taking on the defense. 

Suddenly, Jamil’s power made everyone lose their footing, the group falling to the ground, “You little fools… you thought you could defeat the most powerful being on Earth!”

“Jamil! Snap out of it!” Kalim begged, looking up at his friend-turned-enemy, “You have always been powerful! You don’t need that darkness to prove otherwise!”

“You don’t understand!” Jamil shouted, “You always had to be the best! You always had to be better than me! I could never outdo you! I. Wasn’t. ALLOWED. TO! I was FINALLY going to be free… to be number one…”

As Jamil raised his hand, a figure darted to him… and another resounding ‘smack!’ echoed in the room as Jamil fell back.

“Jamil!” Kalim rushed forward, but was held back by Azul.

“Kalim! Wait!” Azul shouted.

“Azul? What’s going on?” Jade asked as he and Floyd watched on.

You stood before Jamil - eyes locked on each other as tears suddenly began to appear in Jamil’s eyes. 

“Jamil…” your voice was soft, barely above a whisper, “I’m so sorry you had to endure that life… to be forced to hide your true self behind the pretense of incompetence, to always be… second-rate. I know that pain of wanting to be number one, too. Life… has truly been unfair to you - but this is not the way to fight back. You fight back… by simply being you - show your true strength in your magic… in your abilities. Then… you’ll get the recognition you want and deserve.”

Jamil’s features shifted before them, an arrangement of anger, frustration, fear… and sorrow. He bowed his head and the darkness slowly receded from his form.

Azul and Kalim moved quickly - Azul to your side and Kalim to Jamil’s. Kalim leaned over Jamil’s form as the vicewarden slowly reawoken.

“Ngh… Where am I?”

“Good,” Azul smiled as he sat with you at Jamil’s other side, “You’ve regained your senses.”

Kalim started to sniffle before large fat tears rolled down his cheeks - the regained housewarden pressing his face into the carpeting as he cried Jamil’s name, “I-I’m so glad you’re alive… so so glad…”

“Must you always be so dramatic?” Jamil sighed, sitting up, “I’m fine.”

“I… I never knew… how miserable you were all this time *sniff* *hic*. A-All this time… I never knew *sniff* just how much I put you through… So, l-let’s just stop. We can stop holding back on account of our social status.”

“Um… what?”

You couldn’t help but chuckle softly as Kalim explained - relieved that the two could act as rivals for the spot of number one and - to be equals. Azul arched a brow at you in silent question.

“Azul - mind if I talk to you?”

“Not at all, angelfish.”

He followed you out into the hallway, away from mischievous eyes as you took a breath and gave the headwarden a small smile, “First and foremost - I want to thank you for your help. I know that it normally isn’t like you to poke your… tentacles in other people’s businesses unless there’s a deal to be had.”

“(Y/n),” Azul gave you a smirk, resting his hand on your shoulder, “If you recall when you first came here, I said I would take responsibility for you.”

“You also promised to get me home,” you reminded him.

“Yes - I did. The point I’m trying to make here is that… regardless of if you’re in Octavinelle or not, I will still want to protect you - to make sure you’re safe,” Azul answered, “Have I not done just that? Does this not prove that I’m more than willing to at least be there when you need it most?”

You let out a sigh and nod, “I suppose so.”

Azul nodded, tilting your head up to meet his gaze, “(Y/n), I want to be there for you, to help you… will you at least allow me a second chance to prove that I’m more than what I appear?”

You look at Azul wearily, your gaze shifting a bit before meeting his eyes again. 

His sea blue eyes, framed by the semi-rimmed glasses, still held a possessive desire within them - however, hope also burned within. He could have turned you away when you had initially asked for help, he could have ensnared you in a bubble - take away your voice - or even turn you into a mermaid again… and yet he didn’t. As you looked into his gaze, it seemed all Azul wanted… was another chance.

You let out a soft sigh and nod, “I think you should, and I believe you do. I would prefer to rewarm myself back up to you - which means I would like to stay in Ramshackle with Grim.”

Azul nodded, as much as he wanted to argue. He needed to get you to trust him again - which meant he would have to work extra hard to earn your favor again, “Very well. If you would like - I would be willing to help give you a few things that would help with the accommodations greatly. Whatever you wish, I will make it happen.”

“And what will you get out of it?” you ask, already knowing that Azul was looking for something.

“Your time,” Azul answered with a smile, “To be honest, the students of Octavinelle miss working with you. I know the headmage has you running ragged with janitorial duties, but if you could work a day or two in the lounge - I will consider it more than enough payment.”

“And, during my shifts, you’d be able to talk with me while we’re working.”

“Correct,” the headwarden nodded, “Does this seem like a fair deal to you?”

You nod in agreement, “More than, thank you.”

Azul offers a gloved hand, which you took with a shake.

The first steps to amending the bridge were in place… as well as the first steps toward an unknown trap.

[doctorwhoisadhd]

also for the record for people in the us who would like to get back into playing a concert band instrument, you can look into pride / freedom / gay and lesbian bands via the pride band alliance, and then the association of concert bands has a find-a-band directory that you can look into (though this won't have every community band in it). sometimes universities have community bands that are open to the community also, and idk about this with other types but with universities you may be able to borrow an instrument from the school as well! also, another place you may be able to find lists of community bands is some state music educators associations may keep lists (for example PMEA does), and you may also want to look into instrument specific things such as flute choirs or tuba christmas

[lonelyroommp3]

what's your favourite hymn to play? or just what's one that you think sounds nice. me, i'm a lay clerk not an organist but i love me some hyfrydol

i love absolutely anything where i can do some really stupid unnecessary over the top word painting with the registrations because i quite simply do not take my job seriously in the slightest... first one that came to mind was "dear lord and father of mankind" (verse 5 in particular. you start off on a nice generic moderately loud last verse registration, crescendo up to an absolutely thunderous SPEAK THROUGH THE EARTHQUAKE WIND AND FIRE!!!!!! 🗣️🚨, then immediately cancel almost everything for a tiny little manuals only o still small voice of calm. never, ever stops being fun). similarly when it comes to ANY hymn that talks about loud organs... i am going to be fucking around and - as happened when i moved to my current church and discovered in real time while playing that one verse of "o praise ye the lord" that the choir tuba stop was about 50 decibels louder than i anticipated - possibly also finding out.

(and of course my one true favourite thing to play will always and forever be the WORD!!!!!! OF THE FATHER chord in the christmas day verse of o come all ye faithful. a chord so filthy they only let you play it on one day of the entire liturgical year)

[senpai-tuba]

Drew 3 kitties for family this past christmas Art is © to @senpai-tuba.

[miracles-and-butterflies]

How's Camilo doing? I hope he's suffering a lot

Itching forever.

~~~~~~

Because of everything, nobody was really having dinner together.

It was more unintentionally staggered intervals of people making their own food or eating stuff Julieta had made earlier in the day.

Coincidentally, Dolores ended up joining Isabela.

“The poison ivy. Was that you?”

“Guilty!” Isabela sang. “Yeah, it was me. I love my gift.”

Dolores playfully rolled her eyes at her cousin. “It’s a good idea. It’ll keep him out of our way. I don’t want to see him for the time being.”

“Same.”

That’s when Luisa came running into the dining room.

“Hey, Dolores,” she called, panting. “Do you have a… shit, I don’t remember what it’s called, but a.. you know? Big brass thing?” She mimed.

Dolores blinked.

“…I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Yeah, you do! The instrument?”

“You mean… a tuba?”

“Maybe? I don’t know! I need an instrument.”

Isabela burst into laughter, “What for? You can’t play music.”

“I’m reading to Mirabel and this bit needs music, so I need an instrument. And I also need you to teach me how to play a carol. Any one. Doesn’t matter. Actually, no. It does - needs to be in Charles Dickens times.”

“And you expect me to do this in two minutes so your sister isn’t kept waiting?” Dolores raised an eyebrow.

“I could read to her while you do it.” Isabela offered.

Now was Luisa’s turn to laugh.

“You? Reading? That’s good actually.”

“I can read!”

“It’s Charles Dickens, Isabela. You’ll find it wordy and boring.” Dolores commented.

“I’ve probably read it before,” Isabela shrugged. “At school or something. You forced me to read a lot when I was Mira’s age.”

“You’ve read A Christmas Carol?” Luisa asked in disbelief.

Isabela nodded. “Yeah, I actually know that one. Who hasn’t? You hear it every years. Fuck, Antonio knows this. Mary and Joseph had baby Jesus in a barn—”

“No. That’s the Nativity, which is a Bible story.” Dolores corrected flatly, while Luisa collapsed against her chair in laughter. “A Christmas Carol is about an old man who hates Christmas and three ghosts show him the magic of the holiday.”

“I’m gonna go ask if Papa will play the piano,” Luisa dismissed, hurrying off. Not without picking up a bowl of fruit first though.

“There was three wisemen! Not ghosts!”

“They are two different stories.”

“It’s all the same, isn’t it?”

“No, it really isn’t, Isa.”

“I swear you’re having me on.”

Camilo appeared on the doorway.

The conversation went dead.

“…Nobody came to get me for dinner,” Camilo explained, scratching the back of his hand.

“Why do you think that is?” Dolores retorted.

“I know… B-but you can’t starve me.” He said.

“I left some greenery in your room, you could eat that.” Isabela suggested, beaming innocently.

Camilo didn’t say anything. He turned imploringly to his sister.

“Please, Dolores?” He begged. Presenting his best puppy dog eyes. “I already said I was sorry and I didn’t mean for her to get hurt. You can’t make me eat… whatever poisonous plants Bela’s left in my room.”

Dolores didn’t hesitate once.

“No, go back to your room. You were told not to leave.”

He whined, but nevertheless, he did begrudgingly drag himself back upstairs. His stomach growling loudly enough that Isabela could hear it too.

[slamamanderb]

As a euphonium player, I get excited every time I see a euphonium/baritone show up in pop culture. Someone finally recognizes us! Though I feel like it's always a coin flip between "hey we need some sort of obscure brass instrument" and "we actually want a euphonium". I'm looking forwards to see which one this turns out to be.

One of the telltale signs that someone is familiar with euphs is that 95% of us fit into a personality type that I think of as "go with the flow". We don't 'choose' to play euph, but rather pick it up as the path of least resistance. Maybe all of the other instruments were already taken (like Kumiko from Sound! Euphonium), or it fills a hole in the ensemble's instrumentation (this was me), or there is less competition during auditions (maybe a third of fellow euphs/tones from my school years). Usually our laid-back nature extends beyond music as well - the only time you'll find a euph as an instigator is when it involves dancing to the music or planning where to go to lunch. There's a reason why we all show up to Tuba Christmas but don't care that our instrument isn't in the name of the event :P

I have no idea if they talked about it on the stream, but I'm hoping to find that Bassline is the chillest of the Leithanian ops. Like Noir Corne levels of chill. Or Elysium in beach mode.

I hope that lore for how their callsign was chosen is included too. I can already imagine the conversation;

"It's a Euphonium, I use it to channel my arts... Maybe you've heard it called a Baritone? They're pretty similar... No, I don't sing. Though if you were singing I guess it would be in the Tenor range... Well, a saxophone is a woodwind, this is more like a trombone... Yeah, it does look like a small tuba... *exasperated sigh* Yes, I do know how to play Seven Nation Army... sure, 'Bassline' sounds fine."

[strid3rofthen0rth]

Here's a sentence you expected to read about as much as I expected to write today: I bought a tuba.

Mostly for sentimentality, I have nicer low brass horns lying about for the occasional Christmas time brass quintet and such. It's one of the ones I used in college marching band eons ago.

[ohc-and-the-music-tapes-archive]

Artwork from "The Singing Saw at Christmastime"

Front cover by Brian Dewan Design by Katy Clove

Drawings by Julian Koster Photos by Nesey Gallons

Transcipt:

Saws encouraged to sing (alone and in groups) by Julian Koster

1. The First Noel 2. Frosty The Snowman 3. Silent Night 4. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 5. Jingle Bells 6. White Christmas 7. Silver Bells 8. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 9. O' Come All Ye Faithful 10. O' Holy Night 11. O' Little Town Of Bethlehem 12. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Singing Saws sing all by themselves. The idea that a Human Being could play one, as one might a cello or a tuba, is a common and understandable misconception, as this illusion is encouraged and cultivated by the Saws themselves. Saws are tremendous pranksters, and the ruse of causing Human Beings to believe that they are actually playing them is perhaps the most beloved and persistent joke in Saw-kind’s long history. The absolute truth, however, is a bit more nuanced than this. Most Saws are incredibly shy about singing, and especially so in the audience of a Human Being. Saws regard Human Beings, their creators, much as children do their parents. But a human can learn to comfort and reassure a Saw to the point of singing. The perpetuation by the Saws of their age-old ruse simply serves to detract from their own shyness and fears while providing the comfort of another to take the blame should they sing poorly.

A Saw can be encouraged to sing by taking it into one’s lap and cradling it there, while gently petting it with a small violin bow. Many of the Saws who sang on this record were encouraged to sing in this way. Some of the others, especially the youngest as well as the choir from the Singing Saw Symphony, sang without need of any such coaxing. This I have witnessed them do on several occasions. It was a challenge in the making of this record that they have thus refused to do so in front of the smallest audience. Even when recording, the Saws often waited until the album’s co-producer Nesey Gallons retired to the control room before beginning to sing.

The Singing Saw’s excitement for the Christmas holiday is quite like that of a Human child. Christ, being by far the most highly regarded and beloved carpenter of all time, was a great friend to the Saws. Left abandoned by Human Beings on Christmas Eve, workshops, barns, and such places become the sites of the Saws’ Christmas festivities. Their observances, often attended by varying societies of small bells, usually begin at nightfall but do not begin in earnest until all the Humans have gone to bed. One of the most beautiful of these is the traditional beginning of their Christmas Eve celebrations: the Saws gather outside and arrange themselves into a giant circle, each angling itself so that it reflects the moon, so that in the darkness, one is surrounded by a vast circle of reflected moons. The field recording from which the version of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” was chosen for inclusion on this album marked the first time that Human Beings have been allowed to be present at the Singing Saws’ traditional Christmas Eve observances. This recording, made at a rural barn in the the central Canadian province of Manitoba, was made possible by the generous loan of Ms. L. Boulton's Presto Recording Lathe.

Certain songs have an almost inexplicable popularity among the Saws. There were so many who wanted to sing "Frosty the Snowman" that I actually had to record several versions of it in order to appease them. I ended up choosing the version of one of the youngest who, while lacking the maturity and polish of some of the elders, delivered the song with unmatched earnestness and sincerity. I only wish there were film footage to accompany this recording so that you might see the seriousness and solemnity of bearing with which he sang this song.

The Saws featured on this album represent a great range of ages and ability. Each Saw has its own unique voice and manner of singing. Some of their voices are quite high, others low; some have a great range, while others can only sing a few notes but with extraordinary sweetness. Saws are born a certain age and remain so for the rest of their lives. Saw children are children forever, while others are born fully formed adults (I have yet to find a satisfying physiological explanation for this phenomenon). The children were all wonderful to work with and were often absolutely fascinated by the methods and practice of sound recording, never tiring of listening to playback and watching the tape reels go round and round.

Another challenge in the making of this record, from the standpoint of co-producer, was the tendency of Saws to occasionally skip notes in the melodies of Human Christmas songs, due largely in part to the fact that they, unlike us, do not sing with words. And so we would commit a wonderful recording of “White Christmas” to tape, only to find when singing along later that the song would conclude, “and may all your Christmases white”; they had left out the “be.” And so the entire song would have to be recorded over. The ability to miss mistakes of this sort was heightened also by the fact that the recording of this album often went from night into the next morning, requiring myself and Nesey Gallons to ask the Saws to recreate some of our favorite versions well into the beginnings of the next day. Luckily, the Saws remained inexhaustible.

It was a wonderful experience for Mr. Gallons and me to spend those days and evenings recording them and so take part in the extraordinary simplicity and sweetness of the Saws’ observances of Christmas. There is hardly room here to describe all of the games and traditions they allowed us to observe and take part in. I only hope that a measure of the warmth and kindness of those wonderful hours has made its way onto the recording tape, and so, through your record player, into your rooms.

Julian Koster, 2008

This sound recording was produced and engineered by Nesey Gallons and Julian Koster, assisted by lan Ludder’s

Front cover by Brian Dewan Design by Katy Clove

[toodeepforyou]

good god i forgot just how wild the christmas invasion really was. an alien dies, comes back different, has to take a nap. santa bots try to murder the good guys first with tuba flamethrowers and then with a remote controlled christmas tree of death. badguy aliens kidnap a mars rover and use it to hypnotize half the earth with blood magic. the prime minister of the united kingdoms tells the villains to fuck right off. the goodguy alien wakes up and calls badguy a bitch. there's a sword fight in which the goodguy's hand is lopped off but he gets better. the badguy gets dropped from a mile above central london and his friends agree to hit the ol' dusty trail and mosey on out. the prime minister uses stolen alien lasers to death-star the retreating aliens' space ship. the central protagonist uses the power of misogyny to topple the prime minister's regime and then has an extended dressing room montage. jackie tyler still wants to fuck him and also it's christmas