The time is now. The roaring crowd settled, the stadium lights shined above us, the field was set. It was time to show the audience how much dedication, sweat, and tears were put in the show right before the eyes. The masterpiece, I like to call it. The hardest part however, is making it seem so effortlessly. Welcome to Marching Band.
Why I Hate Band What is the real definition of insanity? Merriam Webster’s definition is “severe mental illness : the condition of being insane.” Albert Einstein’s definition is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. And my definition is “running the same set over and over again expecting the freshmen to hit their set.” Unfortunately, this is a daily occurrence for members of a marching band, who spend countless hours walking from one side of a field to another just so that they can perform at a game while the audience is at the concessions.
I demonstrated how much I enjoyed a song while managing to forget my minor concerns. I became content with my performances, not bothered by mistakes. It was my freshman year with my older brother that brought me back to my love of music. Each performance was not just showing what I could do, but a chance to enrich and live my life. The true joy was not only in sharing my music, but devoting myself to something
The History of Marching Band There are many things that have influenced my love for music. However, the most influential of them all would have to be marching band. Marching band has been a major part of my life for 10 years. Marching band has been a way that musicians for many years have portrayed music throughout history.
I was relieved second semester when other kids transferred over into chorus, growing our chorus slightly. At the end of the year, we had learned that the chorus was trying to put a group together to go to Disney World at Christmas to sing in the Candle Light Processional at Epcot, so when it came time for school to start again in August, the room was full of new people. Once again we could divide our guy section into tenor and bass and divide the girls into Alto, Soprano II and Soprano I. After sending in an audition video, our chorus was selection to join the mass choir for two performances and to prepare, we learned 15 songs. My junior year, I transferred voice teachers because my old voice teacher was moving away.
Now I knew almost all of the coaches except the freshmen. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew we were going to come out and work hard every practice. All I wanted to do was impress the coaches. I had an advantage over all my teammates, I kinda knew what they expected.
I meet ambassadors from around the world, and I was able to speak with amazing musicians and performers. While in Hawaii, I snorkeled in Hanauma Bay, hiked Diamond Head volcano, and visited Pearl Harbor. I will never forget the friendships that I forged all because of music. I began as a naïve middle schooler and transformed myself into a confident performer and student. I now carry a sense of pride because I finally completed my dream.
Joining band had an immense and almost immediate impact on my life. Before being in band I had never had a talent that I felt completely confident in. I enjoyed practicing and spent many hours trying to improve my musical ability. In
On November 1st, 2014 at 11:34pm the Summerville High School marching band was announced the SCBDA 5A State Champion for the first time in a decade. I believe this to be my greatest accomplishment, being a part of an organization that accomplished so much even though we were the underdogs of the rest of the competition. Our high school was not the most musically talented, nor are we the largest. However, the heart and soul we put into our performance was recognized by the judges.
I’ve spent hundreds of hours working with my peers, building friendships while working toilsomely to perfect one show each year. When we weren’t on the field practicing, we were performing at football games or at community events, bringing the community together with a sense of pride. Being a part of the marching band has taught me to put the betterment of my peers over myself and I have made it my goal to make the people around me the best that they
Many students have the opportunity to work in teams whether it’s a sport or a club that partakes in competitions. For me, that activity is marching band. Although marching band isn’t a sport, it’s similar in the team aspect, except we can have 150 or more other team members. Working in such a large group can be very overwhelming and time consuming. The season starts in late June and can go on well into the months of November or December. The overall objective of our band is to put on the best show possible. With each year, the hardest obstacle is training the rookies. They have to be just as disciplined and have the same conditioning as the older members to be able to carry out the drill. As one of the older members, it’s our job to guide them
I have learned how to read musical pieces, how to play different piano-like instruments, and how to better organize my thoughts and critical thinking. I am a sophomore in high school and have been for a while now. That makes the experience of me being in band a time period of one to two years. Band has changed me for the better, whether it be me learning how to navigate myself through life or music, it has been there for me for a long time now. Without band and music, I do not know who I would be.
At the end of the year for auditions, I decided to try out for Symphonic band, the top band in our school. Because I was in one of the last bands, a lot of people told me this would be very difficult to do. When the results came in I found out I had made symphonic. I was very proud of myself with how much I had improved within just a year. I even got the Academic Excellence for Concert 2 band award at the end of the 2013-2014 school year.
The experience at school was a defining life moment for the transition because it caused me to be an independent individual. The school had a very demanding level of study with a very burdensome load of work. With this big work load I was taught, and learned, how to work at professional level in both my academics and my artistic requirements. I also had to learn how to get my work done and also practice my vocal technique in a timely fashion while keeping my mind and body healthy.
It all came down to this. All of the long hours of hard work, all leading up to this one final practice. Next Saturday the Liberty High School Marching Band would be competing at the FootHill Band Review and every member had to give it their all if we wanted to have a successful practice. It was a brisk October night, the leaves on the trees were turning a beautiful auburn, and the sun disappearing into a golden sea behind Mount Diablo. As we got into our formation in the parking, I felt the brass slowly turning my hands numb as I held my trumpet.