We’ve all been in embarrassing situations where you had to think on your toes. But now imagine having to do it when you were in middle school, and it’s in front of a large crowd. The idea alone gives me the sweats.
After a young band member from Illinois ran into a mishap during a concert, he too had to make a quick decision with dozens of eyes on him. How he recovered? Let’s just say it’s a clip that’s been watched more than 10 million times for a reason.
You gotta give credit to any kid that joins the school band. Not only does it take a lot of hard work and dedication – you often perform in front of parents, teachers, and your peers (which is most frightening).
The video below takes place at the EJH Red & White Concert. FYI, the band member to focus on is the cymbals player.
To get things started, the kids were set to perform our national anthem. After it was announced over the microphone, everyone rose and pointed their direction towards the flag out of respect.
All the students began playing the patriotic tune with their instruments. While many of them sat in chairs, the cymbalist (along with several others) – stood front and center behind the flag.
Every once in a while the boy would crash his cymbals loudly. Surely they had practiced numerous times, so he knew exactly when to do so.
Things were going fine and smooth, that is until the musician’s seventh crash. Out of nowhere one of the cymbal’s handle busted off and the instrument fell loudly to the floor.
While we don’t know exactly how he felt at that moment – surely his heart jumped a bit. Inside his head likely he was screaming… “Nooooo!”
The kids standing next to him seemed to sense their classmate’s pain. Although they continued to play the drums, they kept glancing over (probably thanking their lucky stars it wasn’t them).
So, how exactly does a cymbalist recover in a situation like this? I mean, you can’t exactly play the cymbals with only one cymbal.
What he did was both brilliant and heartwarming.
The boy slowly bent down and placed his other cymbal on the floor. His eyes were wide as saucers, but then it hits him what to do.
He salutes the American flag.
For the rest of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the cymbalist stands like a statue facing the flag – while saluting it respectfully. He managed to take an embarrassing situation and recovered in the most epic way. Bravo, kid.
While the female drummer next to him couldn’t stop giggling, most other people have applauded the middle-schooler for his patriotic move. The clip quickly went viral after being posted online.
People have shared positive comments in response to the “cymbal fail.” One man wrote:
“Congrats kid, you handled that like a boss! Saluting the flag was exactly what you should have done. All performers have moments like this. All that matters is how you handle it.”
Another person shared:
“That kid has my respect. Even though it broke on him gotta give him props he was calm and acted like he knew what he was doing.”
It’s a situation that started out bad – but in the end, it won over the internet. Be sure to watch it for yourself below!
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