Being A Drum Major Essay

Children are intrinsically irresponsible in the sense that they have nothing to be responsible for. Even older children are only responsible for themselves and their actions and they are not held accountable for the actions of others or the results of those actions. I learned what it meant to be responsible for an entire group of people and the performance that we created when I became the drum major of my high school marching band. I had to stop being a child when I became the drum major for the Jesse C. Carson High School Marching Band because it was an immense responsibility that required mature skills such as commitment, trustworthiness, honesty, and leadership.

Being drum major was a serious commitment of both my time and my energy because it required me to put marching band before anything else in my life. I didn’t have time to watch TV all

It was extremely difficult to plan and lead these rehearsals because I had no experience doing it. My band director always made it look easy and I learned very quickly that it was not as easy as it seemed. Planning a rehearsal required a lot of forethought because I had to know what areas of the music or drill that the band needed the most practice with. Being drum major taught me an appreciation that I did not have as a child for the job that my band director performs on a daily basis. In order to be drum major, I had to stop being a child with no rhythm and become the metronome of the band. My hands carried the beat and my face carried the emotion. Knowing when the band needed to play with more passion and how to show them in motion instead of words was one of the most important responsibilities of my position. I cued the entrances for the different sections and had to know where they would be on the field when that happened. Communicating non-verbally was a skill that I developed while being drum