If somebody asked me, “When did you start band?”, I would reply saying that it was the beginning of my 6th grade year, this year. But for months, I wasn't having a lot of fun in band. So when did I start enjoying playing my music? I would say around the time of my first concert. Now, in the Beginning Band, a lot of kids are just there because their parents made them. I joined band because I thought it would be fun. But, eventually, I had gotten bored of practicing. One day Mr. Buck, the band director, said we would be having a concert. This really got me excited. I began to practice the songs he gave us at home more often. I began to love my trumpet. Then the day of the concert arrived. I came to school, wearing a black dress and a smile, ready for the announcement to come. “All band students, please make your way down to the bus loading area. All band students, please make your way down to the bus loading area.” When it came, many of us got up and left. Carrying my trumpet off to play among my peers. We get there, and being in the Beginning Band, we had to wait for the Intermediate and the Jazz Band to practice first, seeing as the Beginning Band plays first in the actual performance. …show more content…
We finish rehearsing, and it is time to go get a small snack of a slice of pizza and a bottle of water.
This was a time to socialize with friends and take a break before we play. As the students finished, they made their way back into the auditorium. We take our place on stage, ready to
begin. As the audience pours in, we sit there, waiting. Eventually, it is time to start. Mr. Buck says a few quick words to the audience, and we begin. We played many favorites, such as Jingle Bells and Good King Wenceslas, and I enjoy every second of it. We have an audience, and they want to hear us play. We finish, leave the stage, and the other two bands play. They are amazing, and I hope I can one day play like that. After the performance, we make our way back to the High School Band Room to gather our things and then we left with our parents. So that’s how I began to love playing in the band. If you start to not like something, just stick with it a little longer. You never know, you just might come to love it as I did band. And if not, don’t worry, there has to be something out there for you.
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.
Band is family. When your student walks onto campus, he or she is instantly adopted into the strongest society on campus. They will be spending their school days among the top achievers on campus, with fellow students who look out for one another and steer each other away from trouble instead of towards it. Teachers, staff, parents, and volunteers watch over all the kids as if they were their own.
Not only am I in the band, but I am an essential component to the success and well-being of my section. The clarinets never sounded better than when they were under the direction of Section Leader Sarah, whom they all loved and adored. Okay, that's a boldfaced lie. As a dedicated band member, I demand perfection, not only in my own performance, but also in the performance of others. I refuse to accept mediocrity from any section member. In my opinion, there is no excuse for not knowing music, ignoring instructions, or not knowing right from left. Sadly, this quirk of mine doesn't make me terribly popular among t...
My older sister loved the marching band, so I always got dragged to their performances. I could not tell what was so appealing about it all; it consisted of walking on a field while playing instruments and flags being swung in the air. Participating in a marching band was never what I intended nor wanted to do. The idea bored me, but my mom insisted.
Whitehill, C.D. (1969). Sociological conditions which contributed to the growth of theschool band movement in the United States. Journal of Research in Music Education, 17(2), 179-192.
Where I learned how to become a leader through the leadership ensemble within the marching band. Where in my senior and fourth year of marching competitively, I became the Drum Major, and earned the Best Drum Major Award at the Roxbury Marching Band Classic Competition. From marching band I progressed into jazz music, where I became the lead alto saxophonist in the top jazz band at my school during my junior and senior year. I was also one of three saxophonists in the top band at my school. I picked up the clarinet, the flute, and the soprano saxophone on my way through high school, and have played all three as well in my performing ensembles. I played in the pit orchestra of the theater production of “All Shook Up”, and was the principal saxophonist at my high school. Too be short, I am very involved in all things music in the past and currently. Band and music have been a place for me to rely on, something that brings me joy when sad. Allows me to express myself through sounds and through instruments. It is truly a talent and a hobby that I hope to continue through college and through life because of the joy it brought me and creative outlet it was throughout my
I have played an intrinsic role in my school’s band and orchestra department through helping organizing performances, teaching classes, and tutoring individuals. On a regular basis, I am responsible for directing and teaching classes including beginning band, with grades ranging from fourth to twelfth, and more advanced ensembles like concert band and marching band. I also play an important role in their performances sometimes by directing and other times by contacting venues to organize dates and times for the shows. I also dedicate time during the week to help beginning players
As a freshman in high school and band, I was nervous, and very unconfident. But band changed it all for me. I found that helping people out was much more rewarding than just being a good player or marcher. Leadership is the best skill I've learned from band, and it will
I am not from a very musical family, so band opened up a completely different world to me. Participating in band allowed me to be more well rounded in my school activities and created a better sense of culture with in me. Playing saxophone in our high school band was an extremely enjoyable experience, I personally enjoyed listening to my part and corresponding parts. Listening to the tones of each individual instrument, as a perfect harmonic sound protruded. It was relaxing as it was a break from my rigorous course load. Band gave me the opportunity to be creative, which was generally absent in my daily life. Having the opportunity to play a musical instrument has also enhanced my intellectual abilities. Studies have shown that playing
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
to lead. I craved for an opportunity to really make a difference in the band program that meant
I was the first one to arrive; Askanase auditorium was dark as I stepped tentatively onto the stage. A conference table sat with roughly 20 chairs guarding the periphery. My role prior to this point was that of an audience member; tonight, I entered a new world. Sitting in the glare of the harsh work lights, the chairs of the auditorium were hardly visible. I took a spot at the center of the table, not wanting to be too close to either end. I faced the door so that I could see the others as they filed in. Several of the cast members knew each other, I know them only as staples of the NDSU theater community. The group dynamic is a little intimidating; I hardly spoke at all tonight.
It was in eighth grade when my father made me started to listen to Johnny Cash. His music was old at my age, but his guitar made me fall in love with his music. It was right then that I decided to play the guitar, both acoustic and electric. When I got my first guitar, the new smell of wood spread across my room as I opened my guitar case. I could barely lift up my first time. My little body was covered by the size of the guitar. The strings felt thin on my little hands and my ears were filled with magic when I played it. With time I discovered that the guitar opened new things into my world. This instrument has dominated the way we make and listen to music. The guitar is one of the most versatile instruments in
However I did not have a big problem being in that class, the only issue was there were no instrument like a keyboard piano. The instrument that I picked was the brass flute since it looked easy to learn. As I continued to practice playing the flute in my Beginning Band class and rehearse after school, I mastered to which keys to press and how to blow properly in the riser. To be able to play at a slow tempo, regular tempo, and swift tempo. As matter of fact, I also learned to work well and play all together with my classmates and my flute partner, Robbie Lee. From being in this class, My Beginning Band has taught me skills of playing an instrument besides a keyboard piano and gave me more knowledge about music. Somehow being in that class, it inspired me to teach myself to sing well and show people that I do not just draw, but that I know how to sing and
From my experience of playing with an orchestra and also a band, I have boosted my team skills, perseverance, responsibility, interaction, and stage fright, all of which are important aspects of being successful in life. While being a part of a band or orchestra, it 's essential that you learn to cooperate with those around you in order to make beautiful music together. The time and effort that it takes in order to learn how to play an instrument teach the qualities of patience and perseverance that almost every musician possesses. Responsibility is also taught while maintaining your instrument in working condition or such as remembering to get to your performance, rehearsals, and making it on time to practice. Being a part of this musical community can also greatly affect anyone 's social skills. Being surrounded by many other musicians who share the same interests as you, makes it easy for a person to open up and create strong