All About that Microphone

By -
By Claire Sauer

 Hundreds of students are staring at me expectantly as I walk up the stairs and onto the stage. Hundreds of faces the don't know the obstacles I had to overcome to get to this point. Well, that is, if you count forgetting the guitar and having to make a trip from the hall to the music room and back again. 
Then realising the guitar needed a strap and having to make yet another trip to the music room and back. Meantime discovering that the guitar and microphone wouldn't even connect to the speaker. 
Then with only fifteen minutes left until the bell to get all the equipment set up and to do a sound check and rehearsal, finding that the issue is the guitar itself so we needed to get yet another guitar for the performance, then finally noticing that the new guitar doesn't need a strap and that I will have to use a chair instead, with only two minutes left until everyone comes rushing in, as a “few obstacles”. 
But nevertheless, here I am, about to perform my own song. Phew!
I sit down and pick up the guitar, then start strumming. 
I remember to smile. 
At first, everything seems to be going smoothly and the intro sounds great. Out of the corner of my eye I see the microphone slowly starting to slip down. 
Down, 
down, 
down. 
Away from me. 
Away from my the sound coming out of my mouth as I'm trying to sing and play guitar at the same time. Before I know it the microphone is literally  facing down towards the ground, and the audience can't hear a single word I'm singing! 

 As soon as I come to a pause in the pre chorus, I quickly re-adjust the mic so that it is in the right place again. After recovering from this small slip up, I continue into the chorus and the crowd seems to like my song. 
Thankfully everything seems to be fine now. It stays like this until I get to the end of the next verse, when I again spy the traitorous microphone slipping out of my reach! 
This time a boy who was sitting on stage comes over and grabs the microphone while whispering something to me which I didn't hear, so I stop playing briefly and say “huh?” This makes the audience laugh though this was NOT my intention. 
I mean, who could blame me? I was simply trying to find out new information… 
During my performance…

He kindly holds the microphone up for me as I finish the song, and the performance does actually go smoothly from this point on. I finally finish and the audience applauds as I walk off the stage. In hindsight, the whole experience of performing in front of the whole junior school was thrilling and I would definitely do it again, especially given the worst is already over. And anyway, at least now I know to CHECK THE MICROPHONE and do NOT leave a single detail to chance.

applause....



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

French Exchange 2019

By Anonymous -
On the morning of Saturday 15th June, more than 20 anxious MAGS students rolled up at Auckland International Airport to meet their French exchange students for the first time. Families got to know each other in the hour long wait for the kids to emerge with French teacher, Madame Olive. There was a flurry of excitement and a jumble of "will I recognise her?" and "is that them?!" as the wait grew longer and nerves escalated. Eventually a bunch of familiar faces rounded the corner, and students and their families awkwardly met their new house guests for the next five weeks. The French kids spent three weeks at school with their students, following them around classes and making new friends. They got the chance to practise their English skills and learn different subjects, even though in France it is the Summer holidays! After the three weeks of work, the real fun began! MAGS students took their kids on road trips throughout the country, visiting places such as Taupo,
Read more

Captivating Holiday Reads!

By Anonymous -
Nothing to read these holidays? Don’t worry, we’ve got your back. Here is a list of highly recommended reads compiled by members of the MAGS Blog Club! Alex Rider series - Anthony Horowitz Dear Vincent - Mandy Hager Everyday - David Levithan  Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng Everything, Everything - Nicola Yoon Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury Far From the Tree - Robin Benway Hive - AJ Betts Lists of Note - compiled by Shaun Usher Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng Matched - Ally Condie Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend - Mathew Green Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs Moonrise - Sarah Crossan  Mortal Fire - Elizabeth Knox My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece - Annabel Pitcher Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro Northern Lights - Philip Pullman Noughts and Crosses - Malorie Blackman Paper Towns - John Green She is Not Invisible - Marcus Sedgwick Starters - Lissa Price (and sequel Enders)  The Book Thief - Markus Zusak The Curious Incid
Read more

Little Ways to be Eco Friendly

By -
Sustainability. Environmental awareness. Some people would call these fads, but climate change is not going to be short lived. Unless we take action. Nowadays there is lots of talk about how to save our earth. Friends talk about it, family talks about it, people post about it on social media. ‘I spent the weekend doing volunteer tree planting’, ‘I joined a stream clean up’, ‘I’m going vegan, long term’, ‘I donated to a wildlife rescue organisation’. It’s easy to feel guilty that you aren’t doing all of these things too, but the reality is they involve time, money, effort and organisational skills. Don’t worry! You don’t have to be extreme. As an individual there are innumerable ways that you can play your part in being sustainable and preventing damage to the earth. And they don’t have to be expensive or grand, just simple changes that will reduce your carbon footprint and help you have a positive effect on the world. So many products include plastic these days. Excessive pa
Read more