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Positives and negatives of confidence
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It happened a few years ago while I was living in Virginia. The season was the marching season. We in the band were hot and the air was constantly humid, this, of course, did little to deter us from our goals. To march the show. My goal, in particular, was to perfect my french horn solo for the field. A feat that I took to heart. This would prove to by my downfall. A few weeks before the show it was time to display my talent. I was prepared, I had practiced, and I had boasted of how my horn solo would sound great by the time it was off paper and on the field. The one thing I wasn't counting on was my own attitude to mess me up. That my own pride and gloating would overshadow all the work I had put into my solo. The afternoon sun started
to grow hotter and it was the moment I had been preparing for, talking about, preparing for. It was the horn solo. We took the field, thirsts quenched from our water break and ready to finish out the shows run through and go home. I stood on the fifty, ankles together and ready to push off for the back march. I lift my horn to my mouth as the drum major lifts her hands and I take the step off. In that moment of graceful back stepping something happens, there's sound coming from my trumpet but, it's wrong. There was something off with my solo. The band director called to cut off a mere eight counts into the run through. My face lit up in embarrassment, it felt like everyone was watching me. Unlike Montaigne, whose life was full of terrible misfortunes that never happened, this was one I hadn't even thought was possible!
Sweat dripping down my face and butterflies fluttering around my stomach as if it was the Garden of Eden, I took in a deep breathe and asked myself: "Why am I so nervous? After all, it is just the most exciting day of my life." When the judges announced for the Parsippany Hills High School Marching Band to commence its show, my mind blanked out and I was on the verge of losing sanity. Giant's Stadium engulfed me, and as I pointed my instrument up to the judges' stand, I gathered my thoughts and placed my mouth into the ice-cold mouthpiece of the contrabass. "Ready or not," I beamed, "here comes the best show you will ever behold." There is no word to describe the feeling I obtain through music. However, there is no word to describe the pain I suffer through in order to be the best in the band either. When I switched my instrument to tuba from flute in seventh grade, little did I know the difference it would make in the four years of high school I was soon to experience. I joined marching band in ninth grade as my ongoing love for music waxed. When my instructor placed the 30 lb. sousaphone on my shoulder on the first day, I lost my balance and would have fallen had my friends not made the effort to catch me. During practices, I always attempted to ease the discomfort as the sousaphone cut through my collar bone, but eventually my shoulder started to agonize and bleed under the pressure. My endurance and my effort to play the best show without complaining about the weight paid off when I received the award for "Rookie of the Year." For the next three seasons of band practice, the ache and toil continued. Whenever the band had practice, followed by a football game and then a competition, my brain would blur from fatigue and my body would scream in agony. Nevertheless, I pointed my toes high in the air as I marched on, passionate about the activity. As a result, my band instructor saw my drive toward music and I was named Quartermaster for my junior year, being trusted with organizing, distributing, and collecting uniforms for all seventy-five members of the band. The responsibility was tremendous. It took a bulk of my time, but the sentiment of knowing that I was an important part of band made it all worthwhile.
The Western concert flute was developed over the centuries from a simple end-blown flute to the current transverse flute. Transverse flutes are flutes that are held parallel to the floor. To play a transverse, the flutist directs the airstream across the mouth or blow hole and not directly into the instrument. The flute constitutes one of the most important instruments of the orchestra because of its high range, ability to blend in with other instruments and play the melody.
George Helmholtz, as the head of the music department at Lincoln High School, is very determined with his regular students and the gifted musicians of the band. Each semester and year at school he dreams of “leading as fine a band as there was on the face of the earth. And each year it came true”. His certainty that it was true was because he believed there was no greater dream than his. His students were just as confident and in response, they played their hearts out for them. Even the students with “no talent played on guts alone” for Helmholtz.
What started out as a hobby transformed into a passion for an art form that allows me to use movements and expressions to tell a story. Whether I’m on stage in front of an audience of just friends and family, hundreds of strangers and a panel of judges, or the whole school, performing over thirty times, has helped me build lifelong
It was on a burning summer Sunday morning the day I received my initial traffic citation. My best friend and I got this crazy plan the afternoon before it all occurred .We determined that instead of going swimming at the recreational local pool of Tallahassee, we ought to head on in a journey to Panama City beach to enjoy the last week of summer that was left for us. The only problem is that it was 6:00 pm and by the time we arrived at the beach the sun would be hiding in the orient.
Then, with a punchy five-note line the sax player began his solo. After that phrase he stopped and waited-allowing a few bars to roll by as he felt the rhythm and absorbed the harmonies the piano player offered in response to his line. With his head bent down as if in prayer, he countered with a longer, smoother second phrase that elaborated on the first one but then confidently let his last unresolved note bang out over the audience. I felt my legs moving under me and my head bobbing slightly, and my jaw began to open and shut tightly as if to sing the next phrase. As the solo progressed, I felt I had to hold my breath, waiting for each of the horn player's thoughts to finish before I could take a full breath. The phrases began to get faster and closer together until he was rapidly firing notes out of his horn, and there was increasingly less space to breathe. The notes came in clusters and bursts of creative energy. His ideas seemed to flow from deep within the realms of the unconscious until he seemed no longer to be in control of his thoughts.
My biggest accomplishment throughout high school so far has been learning how to fail. Not necessarily falling flat on my face in a viral video, but instead just barely coming up short and not being able to reach a goal, despite my best efforts. Although I was unaware of it at the time, failing my driver’s test on my first attempt would become a life altering incident.
Failure leads to disappointments but sometimes it can result in great lessons and successes. People can go through hard times, but if they stick it out and see it through, the failures and hard times can lead to success. This happened to me recently involving soccer. It was our second game of the high school season, and we were playing Northeastern. I had started the game and after the national anthem and the announcing of our names, the game whistle had blown, singling the start of the game. The first half went by slow it seemed to never end. With the end of the first half we were tied 0-0. The halftime talk was not very positive, understandably, considering we weren't playing well. Then the whistles blew again and we took the field to start
My youth pastor pulled out of our church parking lot at three am in the morning loaded down with a bus full of twenty four teenagers including me. We were off at last head to Colorado Spring Colorado, little did I know, our bus was going to fall apart this very day.
My fingers ran in a blur over the black and white keys, hitting the right notes at the exact moment—it was mindless work. The chords struck true until the end of the piece; once I finished, it was time for me to repeat.
Ferris High School, I was introduced to their developing jazz band. Adjusting to the schedule of a high school musician became tough, as I had to implement practice time along with daily academics. I patiently corrected my mistakes and always made sure I can perform to the best of my abilities. For the past three years, I have performed solos within concerts, and personally challenged myself to continue. Every year I have elected to compete in the New Jersey State’s Teen Arts Festival. Whether it’s a duet or solo, I use this opportunity to greatly expand my skill and learn from other musicians. Becoming a member of a band in middle school and high school has helped me develop into the person I am today. I’ve become more responsible, confident, and gained valuable knowledge. In the future, I expect to continue playing music, both instrumental and digital. Music has been a constant reminder that there’s always something new and with proper dedication, you can achieve your goals. I have been able to use music as a way to remain calm and help tackle daily obstacles. All in all, there’s multiple ways to stay positive by following your interests, and uncovering music has been a great
I remember one time, back in high school, I had basketball practice right after school, but I decided to tell my coach I was sick. The night before I had stayed up way too late doing homework and just really needed to go home, relax and catch up on sleep. The next day, I found out the team had to run extra laps because three girls, including myself, had called in “sick to practice. I felt so bad that they all had to run extra, they were probably tired too, but went to practice anyways.
Two weeks before school even started, the Hotchkiss High School Marching Band began its march to the state-qualifying competition in Delta. We worked four hours a day for five days, getting our fundamentals going and getting a feel for our new show. Once school did start, we started practice at 7:00 a.m. and went for two hours every day, working on music and marching. Our band was once again small (eighteen people!), but our sound was great. It was actually easier trying to teach a smaller group because of the difficulty of the moves we were attempting. Of course, I didn't help matters much by my trials of congeniality with the podium. I figured if I didn't fly off with flapping of my arms, then surely I would walk right off the stand.
When my dad was eighteen years old he went into the military, and was stationed overseas in Europe. One night, after having a few drinks with his friends and his commanding officer, he had to drive his commanding officer back to the base because he was not in a fit state to drive. It was late at night, very dark, and my dad didn’t really know where he was going. This resulted in my dad driving, and his commanding officer giving him directions. My dad was not 100% confident in his directions, but it was his commanding officer and you do what they say to do, when they say to do it. The man gave him a wrong direction, and it ended with them both toppling over a cliff and flipping the vehicle multiple times. Initially my Dad only
Playing musical Instrument as a hobby can be fun. It has a lot of benefits, including memory improvement and stress reducer. Music is an art which should be approached with intensity and great affection .Playing music as a hobby adds fun in life, peace, and fulfillment that lifts the spirit and make everyone involved enjoy. What then can be the benefit of playing a musical instrument as a hobby?