Medical Maracas

Abstract

For ten years I was one of Edinburgh's few medical maraca players. I hope that's clear: I was a medical player of maracas, not a player of medical maracas. A maraca is a Latin-American musical instrument constructed originally, I suppose, out of a coconut with beans inside. Little natural aptitude is required to shake one in time to the music, but because they come in pairs, two hands are needed. Thus Latin-American orchestras have a limited number of openings for musical illiterates who own their own dinner-jackets, which is why your intrepid correspondent eventually ended up shaking bean-filled coconuts at the revellers at ten consecutive Medical Faculty Balls.

Our band, the Unbelievable Brass was born in the Physiology Library in 1968 in those days the library was equipped with high shelves, ladders and a variety of mini-skirted research workers, and we perspiring undergraduates were forced to sublimate by doing crosswords, writing songs and producing revues. To one such revue the class's own trumpet-player brought along half the brass section of the University Orchestra, and I found myself part of the ensemble, doubling as maraca-player and lady vocalist. M y debut involved rushing out to the tiny toilet to change into wig, balloons and dress, and tottering back to reveal myself to an appalled and largely silent audience.