My Hungarian Peashooter

The photograph you see above was taken during the summer after I graduated 5th grade. That was the first year of band classes and I loved blowing my Hungarian Peashooter. After I learned the 7 positions on the slide and how to change octaves, I would come home and learn how to make other noises on my trombone. The race car noise was the best as the slide on my trombone helped it sound like the motor was going faster or slower. Bringing the slide up to my face made it sound like the race car was going faster and pulling the slide out farther, sounded slower. Trilling my tongue fast made for a powerful motor and I could change the trilling for different motor sounds. I could do a large block V-8 or a small 4-cylinder Model-T. I could even sound like a Volkswagon engine. I also did exotic bird noises and crows and hawks and ducks, geese and loons. I even did Elephants and Tigers and T-Rexes [at least what I thought a T-Rex would sound like] Plus my friend who played trombone and sat next to me in band did all the sounds also. In fact most of the trombones did some kind of weird sounds. We were the comedians of the band. I think all trombone players are. It just comes natural when you got such a goofy looking instrument in your hands.
 On occassion we would do our animal or car sounds during a song the band was playing. Many times the band director would ask us tromboners to play a certain part in the music because he felt something was not jiving properly [Boy if he only knew!]
 When our sheet music fell off the stand, we could even use our slides to drag the music back without even getting out of our seats. [Tromboners are extremely Lazy] In band room we had these practice rooms you can play in and they are suppose to be sound proof but I'm not so sure. Once in the 8th grade me and a few bandmates were practicing some Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass songs. We goofed off pretty hard in there, cussing and swearing at the top of our lungs. Well, when we came out, the rest of the band just sat there perfectly silent staring at us. Come to find out they were goofing off as well and the band teacher made them sit for an entire hour in silence. I think they must have heard us swearing in there, but the band teacher never said anything to us.