Unlike many activities where several elite members can carry an entire group, the marching unit’s nature necessarily and firmly instills the value of inclusion, as the position and movement of every individual is literally vital to the formation and success of the whole. For me, aiding
I stay after school for hours copying papers to be sent to the entire district. Band (Concert, Honors, Marching, Flute Quartet, Jazz) Positions: President, Quartermaster, Loadmaster; Honors/Awards: Honors Band & Varsity Letter 9 10 11 12
Drum Majors Drum majors are a vital part of any band, whether it is a middle school or high school band or a band like “The President’s Own.” Being a drum major comes with many essential responsibilities. Throughout history, drum majors have impacted the way bands have been run, they have changed how many people look at the drum majors of today, and they have many responsibilities. Drum majors have a vital role in their bands, which we see supported by history.
I want to be section leader because I think I am the best candidate to help the group. I believe this because of what I bring to the band, I have preset goals, and I have a plan to achieve them. I believe I bring many strengths and weaknesses to the group. My main strengths are in leadership and marching. Leadership is a strength of mine because over the past few summers I have lead sectionals in Summer Music Experience.
It is extremely irritating when people do not recognize all the sports that are out there. Sure, there are a lot of them but if we can consider cheerleading a sport then I think that we can call marching band a sport. People do not understand why I am so easily annoyed when they diss this great sport. Marching band is the place where the intelligent students are.
Marching band; copious amounts of people scoff at the sound of those words. I often hear students commenting on how easy marching band is, how we don’t train like the football players do. At Anderson High School, that’s not the case, the marching band trains for just as long. As a band of over 125 individuals, it takes determination, pride, and confidence to achieve the goals we have set forth to accomplish. As a leader of the saxophone section, I know what it’s like to face failure, to overcome and turn it into success and to march on with confidence.
When you think of sports, marching band is not necessarily something that comes to mind but should definitely be included in the category of a sport. First, marching band fits the definition of a sport by being physically exerting and requiring skill. A marching band not only consists of band members that play instruments, but also include the color guard. The color guard is a section of the band that does not play an instrument but uses props, flags or other items to enhance the visual appeal of the performance. Most times they can do as much, if not more, work than the members that play instruments.
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.
To the average person, the high school marching band is nothing more than a bunch of geeks that play during half time at the football games or monopolize the benches by the band hall, but to me, it is so much more. To me it is a family, a safe haven, a creative outlet, a home. I have been involved in marching band for three years, going on four, and I wouldn 't trade the experience for anything. When I entered high school as a scared and awkward freshman, I immediately had three hundred people that I could rely on. The program quickly became like a second home to me and opened up a whole new path in my life.
I know that memorizing your sets and playing a song is somewhat easy, but spending so much time with the same people can be exhausting. A large chunk of summer is filled with band, and we work a lot, but we become really close with the people we got to march with, and it is a great experience. I think a Drum Major gets to see all of this from a perspective that almost no other student gets to see it from. For the fall of 2017, I have no major plans.
I was only a few days in when I stepped back and noticed something, all the leaders were missing out on other opportunities. They were consumed with responsibilities and so narrow minded towards band that most of them were missing the fun times outside of their narrow vision. When they were given new opportunities outside of band they mostly ignored them because they only had one thing on their mind. It made me realize that all the duties I’ve done for band had given me more opportunities to be a new different leader around the school. By not being a leader in the band I was allowed to see them.
That being said, if we want to better ourselves, we have to be prepared. Marching band season requires not only physical preparation but mental as well. Everyone should be in the right mindset for band camp; get excited! If someone is excited because they’re playing the instrument they love, then they’ll be much more open to critique and working on themselves. Everyone should also be on time to practice, if not early.
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
Although the title “band nerd” doesn’t sound as impressive as being a star athlete, I wear my uniform with pride. Playing trombone in the marching band has earned the top spot on my list of favorite high school activities. Being a member of the Ardmore High School Marching Band has been both a positive and challenging experience. When I was selected to serve as band president for the 2015 marching band, I was both honored and excited for the upcoming season.
My life has been full of many opportunities to participate in things that I love and these opportunities have taught me fabulous lessons. Through my persistent hard work in the Clark high school marching band I have been very fortunate to learn important lessons about positivity, service and respect. Being in my high school’s marching band has drastically changed my life for the better. I would not have made it through all the curve-balls that school has thrown at me had it not been for the marching band, which taught me to find the positive in any and every situation. Working out and making countless mistakes in the scorching Texas heat does not seem like the ideal place to learn about positivity, however that is exactly what it is.
