Playing large instruments definitely can be a pain, but we bring a lot of color, and the
body into the music.
My role in the orchestra is more being felt than being heard.
And I kind of like being the foundation.
All the instruments--we have different roles.
But music is like another language that we all speak.
For me, the instrument that can bring my voice the most is definitely percussion instruments,
especially marimba.
I mean when I came to the states the first year from South Korea, my English was broken,
but when it comes down to music, I don't really have to speak, all I have to do is play.
Playing percussion requires a lot of patience, and if there's a single mistake, that can
affect an entire orchestra.
Sometimes, there are patterns that are repeating for at least 15 minutes.
The same pattern, over and over and over, and more instruments are piling up.
Our role is making sure everyone is on the same page and basically boosting up the dynamics
of the music.
The way we play can bring emotional attachment to the audience, and show the moment that
this is one of the climaxes that we have.
I wanted to be a musician because my mom studied piano.
She taught me the importance of freedom, and for base, that's even more important, because
it is the one who leads the orchestra.
We are not known as the principle instrument in the orchestra, we don't play as much as
the violins, or the cellos.
Sometimes people think we just play harmony, that we are holding the same note for all
the piece, and that's not true.
Sometimes we have very rhythmic passages, we also have melodic passages.
For base, it is very tough to practice, because it is a very big instrument and you have to move
a lot.
It is difficult to get used to the positions and everything.
Right now I am playing, like a, very hard piece for an audition.
You have to take some rests in between, like play for an hour, then rest a minute, play
another hour, it's like running a marathon, and I love it.
You cannot be anywhere with a tuba and not have someone come up and ask you about it.
Like, "what is that, is it a bassoon?" "No, it's a tuba." "Oh, is it heavy?" "Yeah, it's
heavy."
I would love to be better at something smaller, but, I mean we don't have to play nearly as
much as flutes and we get paid the same, so [laughs].
I guess the biggest thing with any big wind instrument is the amount of air that you need.
How am I going to project, how am I going to rock this band, how am I going to keep
the tempo going, right?
You have to have a lot of lung capacity and you have to be able to mediate how much you
use, you can't put it all out the same time that you bring it in.
So I got to be strong.
I got to be able to withstand some pain.
Physically it's taxing but sonically is what I really dig about it.
I wouldn't say that I'm like a meditative person, but playing like low, fat notes just
makes your body feel zen, and also you can do some really weird stuff with it which I
love.
I mean you can do multiphonics, you can make like disc jockey noises, you can do like turntable
sounds, and like what I am doing now is like diving into this stuff that you don't really
see in orchestral music.
To me, being a musician nowadays you have to be as versatile as possible.
You just have to be musical beings of all sorts, no matter what is in front of us.
It's just everything, really. Everything I do is geared towards being a better musician.
I feel like music is one of the best ways to tell people, "this is who I am."
Everyone should have their own character and personality in their music, but when it comes
down to large ensemble, it is not about my own self, it's about everyone else and making
sure we are blending in as one group.