I have been involved in band since the sixth grade when I picked up my very first clarinet. This year I was very fortunate to be selected as the 2017 Senior Drum Major of our marching band. This role has taught me a lot about myself and it has allowed me to strengthen my abilities as a leader. During the course of the marching season, I learned the best way to effectively lead the band so as to make progress while still maintaining an upbeat atmosphere. As you can imagine, spending eight hours a day for two weeks in the summer and rehearsing two hours every morning can take its toll on a person’s energy and motivation, however, I made it my personal objective to make as many people smile as I could to lift group morale. Making a joke, asking
With an upcoming drumline of around ten freshmen, eight sophomores, three juniors, and one senior we have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us and to achieve that goal of being the best we need someone to lead us. Our ensemble can become amazing and I have a lot of great goals I hope we accomplish next year but more than anything else our group needs motivation to become the best. And by the end of next year we will have pushed ourselves and we might be bloody and tired at the finish line but we will have made it. That 's what I strive for if I get the position of Drum Captain for the 2016 Pirate Drum Line.
Looking around and seeing bright lights and feeling all eyes on you. Hearing both sides of the stadium cheer and shout for their teams and getting nervous during the last few seconds of the second quarter and at the same time being very proud of what the band has accomplished in the brief amount of time it took to learn the pretty intense and complex drill. Then suddenly you get the adrenaline rush that pushes you to perform. Many people would agree that being a drum major is one of the most eminent positions that is held by students who are Being the Drum Major of any band shows that you have the respect and trust of the members of the band and it’s directors. It also shows that you are passionate about what you do, responsible and that
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
The marching band is directed by Kathleen Jacoby, she started managing the band six years ago. When being interview by a local newspaper, she describes how she felt when she started managing the band. According to Jacoby, “The band director I replaced had been here 30 years and it was very difficult to replace a legend.” She goes on to explain, “The Herndon community was suppor...
One of the biggest decisions of my high school career came my sophomore year when I decided to try out for the role of drum major in my high school band. This decision was very tough to make due to the fact that I was a sophomore, and although I already had three years of experience under my belt as a band member at Northview High School, I knew that it would be very tough to earn the respect of my peers if I succeeded in becoming drum major. Out of the three years I had spent in the band, the biggest influence on my decision to try out came from my very first marching season, between August and December of 2012. From that year forward, after seeing many areas that the band could improve, watching how underclassmen and middle school band members
I love marching band because, while it is so challenging and physically draining, it is also an amazing and rewarding experience. To me, band is more than a class. It’s more than an extracurricular activity or a summer pastime. Band is a way to express who you really are-- a way to find your true character. I’ve met some of the most influential people in my life through band programs, and they’ve helped me shape myself into
It is about who I am off the podium. For the past five years (I marched up as an 8th grader), I have been proving something to these people, so that they trust me in this position. The character of drum major or leader is one I have been perfecting since I was a freshman. For a long time I was just an actor trying to be a character. Eventually, I had acted the part so much that I became it, and it was my role. I give respect to receive it. I build real relationships of with members to achieve trust, accountability, and effort. When people are torn up inside because of their home life, which is quite frequent in Lenoir City Tennessee, I am their shoulder to cry on, or a set of ears to vent to, or a buffer to dull their anger. When people are frustrated with me for some reason, I seek them out and learn what I can do different. When there are five flavors of gum stuck to the floor of the band room at 11:30 on a Friday night, I get on my knees with a plastic fork and start scraping. When the band director constantly yells at me for this that and the other, I take into account the criticisms and practice harder. The band and the director see this character I have transformed into, or maybe the one I have always been, and that is why I have the honor of standing on the podium and wearing the gloves. I have become the band’s teacher, nurse, cattle driver, answer dispenser, and friend. Somehow, those all add up to leader. I refuse to let them down, rather I lift them
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.
While I'd love to write a four page essay on all of my positive attributes and why I can be a positive addition to band leadership; I'm going to narrow it down to three key points that clearly show my success in the band program. I’ve looked forward to demonstrating my will to become a part of the band leadership program since the end of freshman year; wanting to prove how much i've learned throughout my participation in the color guard. Starting with my dedication to the whole band program, will to improve my all around skills through the band, and ending with the fact that the guard has evolved tremendously throughout my highschool years in a positive way.
Upon learning the position of Drum Major has an opening, I did not immediately consider pursuing it. Simply being able to play my instrument in band was enjoyment enough, or so I thought. Pondering the idea more thoroughly, I came upon the realization of all that I could accomplish musically holding the position of Drum Major. I realize that this opportunity has many potential benefits in regards to my future. Being Drum Major would allow me the opportunity to hold a broader leadership position in the band than my currently held position as section leader.
According to Martha Graham, “Dance is the hidden language of the soul.” To me, dancing is more than just a hobby, it is my life. My dance team is also more than just a team, it is my second family. Each girl on my team has her own unique personality, but somehow, we all get along well. We are all such good friends and have had to make it through many difficult situations already, but all it has done was bring us closer together. The girls on my team are all caring, talented, and funny.
Involvement in marching band, field hockey, and various other activities has given me many opportunities to show leadership. My first leadership opportunity was in eighth grade when I became a WEB leader. While I was a WEB leader, I helped incoming sixth graders get adjusted to middle school life and find their classes on the first day. I also met up with the sixth graders in my group once a month at lunch and got to know them while I asked how school was going and helped them with any issues they had. In marching band, this past season I was a marching captain for my section. I helped the freshmen learn to march, demonstrated proper marching techniques for others, and gave advice to anyone having trouble with part of our marching show. At the start of field hockey season I showed leadership by helping new players learn to play field hockey by demonstrating how
At first I was apprehensive about marching band, but throughout the season I grew to absolutely love it, I loved how so many different people with different skills and one similar interest came together to make such an amazing show. It really was mindblowing how the first days of band camp was just the start that would end with such an amazing product. I am so excited to be apart of that again, and to hopefully be a leader and help my section be even better than they were this year. If I am chosen for leader I will improve my section by giving positive feedback, but also giving them ideas on ways to improve. I will make sure my section will be focused and hardworking.
Ever since I was a small child, I have loved music. The strong, steady beats, the
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