The band room at Reynolds Middle School was filled to the brim with over excited, prepubescent children who were about to be given thousands of dollars worth of metal and wood because on that day we would be receiving our instruments. Sitting anxiously with my hands in my lap waiting for forever as Mr. Love went down the list alphabetically to give each student his or her new toy. When Mr. Love finally called my name to get my clarinet I shared excited glances with all of my friends who had gotten their new instruments before me and giddily running to the storage room to get the black case that would contain the thin tube of plastic that would be used by me to drive my parents up the wall to this day. While learning how to put the five pieces …show more content…
together correctly I learned that my hands were still to small to reach fully to the pinky keys, as well as revolting the taste of a brand new reed. The factory and processed thin sliver of bamboo that would be the source of a clarinet players sound; the make it or break it element to the entire instrument. That day when I got home I was home alone, meaning I could squeak and squawk on my new clarinet to my heart's content. I sprinted to the door of my house and put the clarinet together, gagged over the taste of a new reed for the second time that day, and went outside onto the porch and with one large breath I squeaked into the ear of my unsuspecting dog, who was lazily basking in the sun. Immediately regretting that choice seeing the panicked look on her face. I took my clarinet inside and ran a couple laps around my house squealing to what i thought was the rhythm of Jingle Bells and Mary had a Little Lamb. Shortly after my joy was killed shortly after due to the arrival of my father who was very expressive of his feelings toward my new found musical ability. All County band auditions, I was in the seventh grade. a three step audion process that consists of all the major scales including the chromatic scale, a pre assigned solo and a sight reading selection. That would be my first audition audition, my worst audition, and my first and final rejection. I was assigned to be the first clarinet audition of the day, leaving me no additional time to warm up or practice before hand. When my time came I hastily walked into the colorless room with my clarinet in one hand and my solo in the other shaking as I went over the the music stand, feeling the cold eyes of my first judge on me as I walked. I began playing and almost immediately messed up. With my confidence shaken after a slight slip up I continued with my solo and seemed to mess up the one thing I had been working to perfect for almost two months. Shaking and almost in tears I walk out of one room and into the next. New judge, new pair of judgemental eyes on me. After similar results in the two following rooms I left my first audition shaken up and thoroughly embarrassed. That night I sat watching The Office with my mom, wrapped in my purple snuggie while eating ice cream impatiently waiting for the email with the final results. I knew I wouldn't get in but 11 year old me was still hopeful that I would. The email finally came and results showed that I had not gotten in, as expected. It was at that utter moment of sheer defeat that I swore to myself that I would never be denied entrance to a band again. An oath I have yet to break to this day. The moment I knew wanted to play music was the day a single day towards the end of seventh grade when I was looking at a sixteenth note run and I realized that I could clearly understand what was written on the page.
The musical terminology was lyrical and acted as an instruction manual to the person playing it. Telling what to do, when you need to do it and the manner in which it needed to be done. It was like a new language, to someone who has no musical experience it is meaningless, but just like a new language it must be learned, practiced and developed overtime. But in the hands of the correct people, ink on a page could make music. The small dots represented a sound. a single note. a common factor and a calming simplicity in knowing that everyone in the room was on the same beat at the same time. The moment that the music clicked in my head changed the way I played from that moment on. Similar story to the day i didn't have to think about the placement of my fingers on the keys and it just came naturally. The muscle memory in my hands taking over while my eyes followed the black notes on the page and my hands danced over the keys and holes in time to the music and the beat of the sound. It was these moments that have lead me to becoming the award winning musician that I am today. The milestones of anyone are the small things that lead to a greater goal. The baby steps that lead you to success. For me these include the firsts, the fails and of course the
successes.
When music was still new and developing, it was something that you could just dance along to, not worrying about the lyrics or the meaning of a musical piece. Today there are concept albums like The Antler’s Hospice, with a whole story behind it.
On Tuesday, October 17, 2017, I attended a musical concert. This was the first time I had ever been to a concert and did not play. The concert was not what I expected. I assumed I was going to a symphony that featured a soloist clarinet; however, upon arrival I quickly realized that my previous assumptions were false. My experience was sort of a rollercoaster. One minute I was down and almost asleep; next I was laughing; then I was up and intrigued.
As a child I always loved to listen to bands being played. Watching all the instruments playing a part was interesting for me. But, the instrument that caught my attention the most was the clarinet. Now as I got older in fifth grade the students and I were sent to try out what instruments would best fit each one in the class. I was lucky enough that the instrument that best fit me was the clarinet. I played the clarinet all through high school and never really knew anything about the instrument, I just knew that I played to make sound out of it. As I found out more information about the clarinet I will explain the history, the parts of the clarinet, tone range and sound, and the types of ensembles a clarinet are in.
Music has always been one of things I excelled in. In elementary school it was required to be in music but second in 5th grade you have the option to be in band. I was in band for 6 years before I stopped and I went to 5 honor bands. I played tenor saxophone and was 2nd chair all six years. Jazz band was something we had in middle school and high school. We had 2 jazz bands in middle school. Jazz one was for 8th graders and jazz two was 7th grade. I played in both. My first year I played tenor 1 and 2 and the second year I played baritone saxophone. My 9th grade year I played only tenor one. We didn’t have to audition but the students who plays that instrument normally would have first say in who gets 1st, 2nd and sometimes 3rd part. That
The feminist theory, the idea of gender inequality, still exist in our society. Gender, just like race, structures the world, yet women are treated unequally in most aspects. Women are seen as a minority group compared to men. They are expected to be sensitive, weak, supportive, and passive. In the other hand, men are seen as dominant figures that obtain roles that are highly valued. They are though as strong, independent, and competitive human beings. In addition, gender is biological. Each gender one is born with, either man or woman, later on leads one to adopt a gender identity early in life which creates a development of gender-role performances in society’s view. Therefore, in society, each one of us are created to find our own self-discovery.
Music is one of the most fantastical forms of entertainment. Its history stretches all the way from the primitive polyrhythmic drums in Africa to our modern day pop music we listen to on our phones. It has the ability to amaze us, to capture our attention and leave us in awe. It soothes the hearts of billions, and it is so deeply rooted in my life that it has touched my heart as well. Everyday I walk to the beat of the song stuck in my head and hum along to the melody. For me, to listen to music be lifted into the air by the hands of your imagination and float around for a while. You forget about your worries, your troubles and find peace within the sound. Every chapter in my life is attached with a song. Every time I listen to a certain song, thoughts of my past come flooding back
The following Christmas half way through my fifth grade year, I received my first string instrument. Immediately I dropped the clarinet and fell in love with that cheap, 45 dollar, first act guitar. Everywhere I went, it followed. I was 11 at the time and that 45 dollar guitar made me feel like the hotshot of the town. Music made me happy.
Ever since I started band in fifth grade, I’ve always had the capability to achieve what was given to me: a hard song, solo, or other musical challenge that most kids wouldn’t want to do. I was always the one in my section to volunteer to play the solo of a song, try out for honor bands, and play the first part. My band director looked to me when there was an issue that wasn’t being resolved in my section because he trusted that I would fix it in the correct way so that it wouldn’t happen again. Today, that still happens, and I’ve continued to grow in my musical abilities.
Of all the instruments laid out on display, only one caught my attention. I was thirteen at the time, and naturally, my eye was drawn to the shiniest of the group. I had never heard the sound of a flute before, aside from the cheap imitation of one on my family’s electronic keyboard. Nevertheless, I picked the pretty, gleaming, easy-to-carry flute on that first day of band class. Three years later, I can’t imagine playing anything else. What started off as blind luck and an attraction to shiny objects is now a part of my life. Playing an instrument is always a worthwhile investment; you develop a skill that many people only wish they had, you have opportunities to meet other musicians, and you may even get to travel in a band setting. But in order to reap the benefits, you first have to learn how to play.
Ever since I was a small child, I have loved music. The strong, steady beats, the
Mr. Dunlop, at first, was an exceptionally mean and moody instructor. I was accustomed to teachers displaying content with my work and allowing me to drift towards a state of complacency. In my first day of band, however, Dunlop heavily criticized the musicality, or lack thereof, of my clarinet playing. Instead of growing dejected and quitting, he ignited a fire in my eyes, a fire that can only be
...s a set of rules which musicians must follow. Also just like any official language, music can be used to communicate emotions. In order for somebody to understand music they must have some sort of knowledge about rules in order to appreciate musical experiences. Every culture is different, every language is different and every music is different, but to fully appreciate the music; listeners must be musically literate. In our first week of class, “Khoomi” was our first musical example and all the students were confused about this type of music. But now with my little knowledge about music and how diverse it is, I learned to appreciate it more.
Musicians had to be trained to read musical notation and interpret it due to a lack of notation rules that exist today. Part of the cause for interpretation was because of the switch from vellum to paper (New World Encyclopedia Writers). Vellum was tougher than paper and when composers went to do something as simple as fill in the note head on a quarter note, the paper may not have held up (New World Encyclopedia Writers). All this combined created written music which was not fully notated. When playing, musicians would have to figure their parts based on cadential formulas and the parts of the musicians around them (New World Encyclopedia Writers).
For a year, I danced to polka music every night. I was a preschool student at the time, and after a long day of coloring and napping, I would cut loose on the dance floor that was my living room. I would often put an expression of awe on our parents’ faces with the physical absurdities I was capable of. It felt as though every facet of my life as a toddler was brought together in these moments, and the music perfectly represented this phase of my childhood. While this emotional agreement with a piece music was somewhat coincidental, the result is something that I have consciously pursued throughout my life.
It is with a kind of fear that I begin to write the story of my life. I have, as it were, a superstitious hesitation in lifting the veil that clings about my childhood like a golden mist. The task of writing an autobiography is a difficult one. When I try to classify my earliest impressions, I find that a fact and fancy look alike across the years that link the past with the present. A few impressions stand out vividly from the first few years from my life but “the shadows of disappointments and getting hurt are on the rest”. Besides, many of the joys and sorrows of childhood have lost their poignancy; and many incidents of vital importance have been forgotten in the excitement of great memories. In order, therefore, not to be tedious I shall try to present in a series of sketches only the episodes that seem to me the most interesting and important.