The Bermuda Tattoo, hosted by the Bermuda Regiment to celebrate its 50th anniversary, was held between October 22 and 24 and included musicians from all over the Island, as well as faraway places such as Jamaica and the UK, totaling about 400 performers.

As part of the preparation for the Tattoo, several musicians, including myself, were engaged as “Limited Engagement Musicians” in February and have been training with the Regiment ever since, learning how to do various activities such as staying in dressing — marching on and off in time and the various patterns formed — and performing in several parades and concerts.

Rehearsals took place on Monday nights and on those occasions music was distributed and practised and dressing learnt.

We had some interesting nights, as mixing in the new musicians with the more senior and experienced people created some mayhem! Any issues were usually resolved within a matter of minutes as everybody was very helpful. We all wanted everything to be as perfect as possible.

To be part of the Royal Bermuda Regiment Band was a huge honour because I got to play with some of the best musicians from all over the island, which is an opportunity I wouldn’t get elsewhere.

Another challenge for me was that, since I don’t play in another band or orchestra, I had to learn and hold my own part, which challenged me as a musician. This helped me to improve.

Learning the music itself was not the most challenging part as it all fits together.

Trying to play in gloves and stay in dressing can be deceptively difficult, as it is easy enough to lose your step or place in the music. All the same, looking back on videos of the Tattoo, and seeing the view of the audience for the first time, it seems that everything in it seemed to go smoothly, which is a great relief.

The music for the Tattoo came from several genres and time periods, which was really cool. It brought up music that may have been lost in time or was unknown to some of the younger people in the audience or the Tattoo itself, and it’s certainly influenced the music I listen to. It was also cool to hear some of the arrangements of famous songs formatted for the bands and the dancers.

• Rosemary Swain is a student at Bermuda High School.