I think I need to bring my horn to the repair shop. The trigger that switches from the F horn to the B flat horn isn’t working properly. I thought it was just that I hadn’t oiled the valve recently enough (though I knew I had) but my band director thinks it’s actually something mechanical about the valve. Sigh. I really hope it doesn’t cost too much, but it needs fixing for sure – there were a few times I was scrambling to use a different fingering since the valve just wouldn’t work. That’s fine for slow passages or notes that I have a rest before playing, but not so great for eighth-note runs!
And speaking of band, we got our music for the June concert tonight. And we’re playing my favorite song of all time again! (You really need to read that last sentence with a healthy dose of sarcasm.) I think at this point I can play Stars and Stripes Forever with my eyes closed. Heck, I can even play it with only three out of four valves working on my horn!