Music has always played a major role in my life. I began my life as a musician at age seven when I started taking piano lessons. Having to learn independently and contributing extra time out of school was a challenge for me. Committing to regular practice and music theory homework would certainly appear as a burden in the eyes of many young children. I nearly quit. However, I continued to play and after making that decision I was hooked.
As I advanced as a musician my appreciation and understanding advanced as well. I began to feel the music rather than simply hear it. During my junior year in highschool, I was accepted into the CMEA eastern regional concert band. The ensemble played the piece, One Life Beautiful by Julie Giroux. While playing I noted how interesting the piece ended because the final note ended in a manner that suggested the piece was not finished. It suggested to me that this One Life Beautiful hadn’t ended as it should have. The conductor later explained that the reason for this peculiar ending as well as the title of the song was due to the fact that the piece was commissioned by a couple
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New to my instrument, new to highschool, and uncomfortable with unfamiliar faces, I felt intimidated at first. Prior to marching band, I had never played in a musical ensemble; I had only studied music independently. I found, however, that I quickly bonded with my new peers. Although this certainly could be contributed to our comedic attitudes, unique personalities, and mutual feelings of apprehension; There was one contributing trait that unified us all: music. When we played as a group we all spoke the same language, although with different timbres, and contributed to the single form, the song. This showed me how, as in music, each person has a role in life, and although people contribute in contrasting manners to society, everyone contributes to the greater
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.
Because people in band do have that ‘barrier’ we do have to work harder to create those relationships with people, and to perform with emotion. However it is because of this barrier that we are able to rise. You build much stronger relationships with these other instrumentalists, because you have to. Because it’s true: if relations are ignored that instrument will become a barrier and your music will suffer because of it. But the class is not called instruments, or brass and winds, or emotionally unstable kids. No, it’s called band because that’s what you do. You band together to create a beautiful piece of music to present. You band together and get to really know and understand each other and the piece. And because of this you can present so much more because you can’t convey the emotion of the piece with only one player, otherwise it would be a solo piece. Each and every person in the band has to play and put forward their part, otherwise the whole feeling of the piece will be off. We are used to conveying things with our words, our voices, with a choir we don’t have to all work together to create a feeling; you do all have have to portray the same emotion, but one person on their own could portray that emotion. Band you have to rely on others to convey what your instrument cannot, and because of this, the relationship you build and the emotions in the song are that much more
Mauricio, being a freshman that was just placed in a random band class and having no knowledge of playing any type of instrument, is now a close friend that has had a change of heart about his views of marching band. Many can say, himself included, that he was just a “kid who was in a group of guys” that he called his friends, always one to get into trouble for the most childish things, but when joining this fine art he was able to “find structure and balance out [his] life” and “find his love for music”. When joining band, it can impact one’s life, no matter what circumstances you are in, it helps you find who you are as a person, and give you confidence to be able to pick yourself up after a downfall. Mauricio was able to discover his love for both saxophone and drumming. To this present day Mauricio now a junior in high school is the section leader of percussion. Having that position is not as easy as it sounds, it took him countless days and section leader battles to get him to where he is now. Making the heartbeat of the marching band sound incredibly sensational. Mauricio has overcome his obstacles and his so called “friends” who first judged him for being a part of the “lame” marching band, now salute him for not only being able to play two instruments, but for also expanding his horizons to play all different sorts of
We all have our favorite genera of music, one that we believe has shaped us. For me, my musical experience began while still in the womb. While I was still a fetus, my mother would play classical music for me every day. I believe that this experience has shaped the type of music that I listen to today. When I was a child, I remember having music playing but simply as background noise. As I grew up, music became more important to me. When I entered fourth grade, music becomes something more than background noise to me. To further indulge in my love for music, in fifth grade, I joined the chorus and band. I thought that since I enjoyed listening to music, I would also enjoy making music. Being a part of the chorus was short lived for me. I sang with them for about three months and then decided it was not for me. However, the same was not true
If someone had asked me back in sixth grade what my passion was, marching band would not have ever even crossed my mind. First of all because there is no marching band in sixth grade. Second, when I got into band in sixth grade, I was the worst French horn player in my section. I knew absolutely nothing reading music or playing and although I was still just learning, I always thought I had no chance to get better and that I would quit, but I didn’t. I stayed in the band and my opinions changed my freshman year of high school.
Bobby knight once said, “If a basketball team trained as hard as these kids do, it would be unbelievable.” What could one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time be talking about? In this case, he is talking about something many people think is dying in this country. Truthfully, it’s actually thriving. Many people know it as marching band, but I know it as Drum Corps. Drum Corps was more than music; it was friendship, hard work, dedication, and emotion. It shaped my entire outlook on life from an early age and is one of the reasons I am where I am today. We were all working hard together as one towards something. It was finals week, and we were fighting for the championship.
When I was first elected as section leader in the TWCP Marching Band my junior year, I had a copious amount of hope in the people around me. Even though we did not share the same beliefs and interests, I felt that with my leadership position, I can still help those newer members thrive in band and make their time worthwhile. I was the first chair bassoonist in the top band and had placed well in multiple prestigious competitions, so I was confident in my abilities. This task was a relatively simple one for me. Always understanding of the younger students’ interests, I knew exactly how it felt to be in their position. Band was enjoyable for me, I lived for the competition
Being a member of the Firelands High School “Mighty Falcon Marching Band” has taught me more about myself, shown me respect for others, given me a sense of commitment, and brought me more positive experiences in my high school career than anything else I have participated in. The long, challenging rehearsals wonderful performances, and exciting trips have defined my experiences during the past four marching seasons. This ragtag group became my second family. I obtained these lessons about being a part of a group and putting the needs of others above myself; this has been the most crucial lesson. I’ve had the honor to partake in the extremely rewarding feelings, such as enthusiasm and excitement, that come with being a part of a band.
My mom has always told me that deep, deep inside me, buried by layers of my heart there was a love for music, burning bright like the heart of a fire. A fire that could never be vanquished, yearning with hunger for the time it could come out, struggling. It came out when I was five, when I started playing piano. Music really was like an instinct to me, a second nature. A talent that had always been there, but was just waiting to come out.
The members of each marching band gradually develops an impenetrable, socio-economically distinct society. Within a marching band, students organized a culture of expectations and acknowledgements of individuality that maintained a capable assistance group, that an abundance of students described to a perception of family. The quantity of these friendships in this organization help reinforced students’ personality within the group’s general identity, thereby adequately generating a balanced marching band group identity for individuals’ commitment to the composite integrity. Although in the end, a strong group identity always involves the individuals that participate in the group and, these individuals work around the obstacles to bring in the balance not convinced from other’s terrible
What does band mean to me? Band, specially marching band, looks as if it is a completely complex thing to be a part of. As a child I always desired to be in band, watching my sister march in band before I even was in junior high, and my brothers march at their football games some years later. I continually wanted to be like them and take part in the same thing because every time I went to watch my brother at his games I always had a blast listening to their band play and witnessing all of the excitement. Then it was eventually my turn to be in a marching band, and of course I needed to be in percussion because my brother was in percussion and seemed like he was having the most fun.
Life is like a rollercoaster, full of ups and down, loops and unexpected turns. Going through the years of my existence, I can look back on those ups and downs and see how much I’ve grown and how much I’ve persevered. Life was never easy; tons of ER runs, hospital visits, exams, and tests. It was an endless fight that I continue to fight to this day. Through the struggles, you learn about who you are as a person, do you give up or do you rise above?
Music has absolutely been an enormous part of my life and who I am. However,
I never thought that I would continue to play the alto saxophone into and even through high school, let alone grow to love the instrument. I had always liked music, and been interested in the instrumental side of various songs, but I’d only seen it as a hobby before committing so much of my time to playing an instrument. I’d like to think that each day I use my saxophone, I learn at least one more thing about music, the band, or my instrument all together. Throughout all of High School, I was involved with both Concert Band and Marching Band, having held leadership positions in both. While being the section and squad leader in Marching Band was nice as I learned how to teach, it was also nice being able to take a seat back in Concert Band where I didn’t have to teach anybody how to march
For as long as I can remember, music has central to my life. Some of my earliest memories are of me and my mother waiting in the car as the sun set for my older brothers to leave orchestra practice. It was, therefore, predestined (at least in the minds of my parents) that I too would one day play an instrument. The violin has been a large part of my life for the past twelve years, and has taught me some of the most valuable lessons of my life; disciple, cooperation, and creativity. All of which have helped me on my journey through life.