Monday, September 21, 2015

Oh Yes, I Did

You guys. I can hardly believe this myself, but this actually happened Friday night:
A colossal accomplishment
I.played.the.drums.in.church!

I am still flipping out, as I type this.

So the story is... I've been practicing since around the beginning of summer, I believe. I mentioned in a blog post last month (here) about our drummer problems. These drummer issues are what inspired me to learn the drums myself, and the fact that I have a prolific drummer friend who was kind enough to show me around and teach me a few beats.
I learned a slow 3/4 and a fast 4/4. HAHA!!! I laugh as I write this. I get a kick out of remembering, and it is even funnier to me now considering what all went down Friday night.

It was a spontaneous decision - I decided during pre-service prayer that I was going to play. No time to get nervous and chicken out! I picked out some songs that I knew, that had the right beats. The first one went well. I don't think I messed up. When it came time for the next one, I heard a lot of whispering over by the piano. I didn't know what the deal was since I had already planned all the songs. Mom mouths to me, "Nicole says she doesn't know this one." *eye roll* Suddenly, Nicole busts out singing some random song that I have neverrrrrrrrr practiced in my life. Never have I ever had to more strongly fight the urge to choke somebody. Ha. Ha.
(My prayers started out as "God help me, help me not to mess up, help me not to bust out laughing from nervousness" to "OMW GURL YOU DID NOT JUST DO THIS", and various torturous things I wanted to do to Nicole passed through my mind.)

So I just tried to improvise while trying not to panic, and literally keep my head cool. The song was a slow 4/4, I knew that, so I developed a strategy of trying to do the same thing with the bass pedal on beats one and three. And consistently do the same thing with the snare on beats 2 and 4. And the high hat....I think I hit it twice for each beat? In my head in makes sense, but it definitely was not perfect in person. My main thought was, "Please end this song as soon as possible!" However, I didn't cause a train wreck. That is a plus!

On to the fast songs - I'd say they went pretty well. The only problem is that halfway through, the muscle in the front of my right leg started burning from the bass pedal workout. I spent the rest of the song service doing breathing exercises and chanting to myself, "Don't quit, it's almost over. Don't quit, it's almost over."Overall, it was pretty fun.

In closing: 
To those are you that are guffawing over the scandalous idea of a girl playing the drums in an Apostolic church - I hear you. And I am taking resumes! Your drum skillz are needed down here and I'd be happy to give up my position!
And to those of you that I know are smiling right now, proud of my accomplishment - thank you.

~Bethany~

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

:) I'm smiling!!!! I love your stories and most of all I just love your willingness to do whatever. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do...right?

One of your favorite fan club memebers...mama munchies :)

The Wakefields: Missionaries to Mexico said...

Thank you, Mama Munchies! Your comment made ME smile. Thank you for all of your sweet words - hehe! :)

Bethany

Anonymous said...

Y puedes tocar la batería los domingos también. Así vas agarrando mas practica, no es necesario que te quites de esa posición. Yo creo que haces un gran trabajo.

Abner

Tselot "Coco" Kifle said...

This is great haha. Reminds me of this huge debate we had after church one day. Are instruments inherently feminine, masculine or neutral? Anyhow, congrats on rising to the occasion. A Wendy's frosty should be in order.

CesiahG said...

Oh my goodness girl! Good job, I know exactly how you feel. When my brother was learning how to play, I got the bright idea to learn as well and boy was it hard. I actually had to play for a special service where like 4 churches came to visit us and I had soo many leg cramps I almost fainted hahah I gave up the drums though, the piano is easier :)
-Cesiah

The Wakefields: Missionaries to Mexico said...

Abner - Me gustaria tocar los Domingos, pero como no te quiero quitar la bendicion, no lo voy a hacer. HA!!!

Coco - Thanks! If I play on a Sunday can I get promoted to Cheesecake Factory cheesecake?

Cesiah - No wayyyy!! I would have been TERRIFIED! I am thankful it was just my church family there on Friday night - ha!
And I hear you on the leg cramps HAHAHAH!!!!

~Bethany~

Anonymous said...

I say keep practicing! Because it is very rare to find a Pentecostal girl that can at the drums! I get weird looks all the time haha but even as a girl I feel like it's cool to able to tell people you play the drums! :) good luck and God bless!

Hannah DeAnne

The Wakefields: Missionaries to Mexico said...

Thank you, Hannah! Girl drummers unite! :P
I was making dinner when your comment came thru and I tried to approve it with my pinky and accidentally deleted it....so I just copied and pasted it into an anon comment which is why it's not under your profile. Sorry bout that!! But thanks your for your sweet comment!

Bethany

Anonymous said...

Hello, my name is Bailey I absolutely love your blog! And I play drums at my church sometimes! I get so sick when I get up there and my face turns super red.. I guess you could say I'm good at it.. I mess up a lot though, and I'm SO GLAD I have never had to play when we have a special service! God bless all the work you guys are doing in Mexico

The Wakefields: Missionaries to Mexico said...

Bailey - wow! I never knew we had so many girl drummer blog readers! Good for you! When I get nervous I get the giggles...so that is what I had to fight on Friday night. LOL!
Thank you for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it. Thanks for reading!

~Bethany~

Allana Schreckhise said...

I'm stuck on the drummer friend. Do I know him/her/them?? HAHAHAHAHA

Good job, Bethany!! I knew you could.

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