It's Us!!!!!!!

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It's Us!!!!!!!

Click here to listen to our podcast!!

The Band Final-

At the end of every second semester the band has a two part final...yes the band has to do a final. The first part of this band final includes playing scales around the circle of fifths. But this year my band Director decided to make it a little more entertaining...we all have to play twinkle twinkle little star around the circle of fifths. It doesn't sound too bad; but we have to play it in a room in front of the impending recorder of doom. You get one shot and that's it...you either somewhat succeed or miserably fail. Now that is only the first part of the band final, the second part of the band final is playing Pomp and Circumstance at our high schools graduation. This also doesn't sound too bad. But graduation ceremonies normally occur at the end of May and early June...when its blazing hot out and we are wearing our black tuxes and dresses. Don't get me wrong I love spending time with my fellow band geeks but when its the last day of school the last thing I want to do is to play the repetitive song at graduation...I want to go swimming with friends and have some fun! I will say though if you survive the band finals you can officially call yourself a band geek!

-S

A Day in the Life of a Band Parent (part 1)

They are the ones who get there earlier and stay later. the ones who make sure we have food, water, and clean uniforms. that's exactly right, I'm talking about our lovely, lovely band parents.

There's so much they do for us that I think we should just take a second to say:

Thank you band parents. For all you do for us, we love you. 

Shall we start with the food? My personal favorite!

 They(1) plan out each meal,  also (2)shop for it, (3) let it take up space in their freezers or refrigerators, (4)cook/prepare it, again, (5)let it take up space in their refrigerators, (6)bring it to school, (7) set it up, (8)serve, (9)clean up, (10) pack up leftovers and containers,  and yet again (11) let it take up space in their refrigerators and freezers until needed again.

What d you think? cause to me that sounds like a frikin' long list of stuff that they do for us. And what more: rinse and repeat 9+ times each marching season and you get a small amount of everything they do for us.

-R

How I Got Here

   How I Got Here

     It was the end of the eighth grade and my mind had been made up since the beginning of  the fifth grade. From right there and then, I knew that I was going to do four years of band in high school. There's really a simple explanation for this. See, my fifth grade year was also my brother's freshman year in high school. He had done band in middle school and was continuing on into high school, and so i had planned to do the same.
      I'll admit, there was some pressure to join band. By the end on my brother's high school career, my family had become very involved in the program, and I had already told my family of school band was fun and I loved it, but like many of my classmates, I was ready to get to get to high school. From my middle school band experience, I had developed a tentative picture of band in my head. It looked like middle school. Even after listening to my brother's stories. Even after hearing presentations on high school band. Even after watching videos and slide shows. Even after helping out at the football games and events, that picture still looked like middle school! I really couldn't figure it out.
     But now... I think I got it...
     The reason why I couldn't figure it out before is because band is a truly unique experience and it's completely unique for each individual. I never stopped thinking about it like middle school, because I had never been apart of any band except for middle school band. I had never seen band through a high school band member's eyes. It's a purely "in the moment" experience.  And to me, there's nothing like it.

    

The Worst Mistake I'd Ever Made

Oh….this is probably the worst experience I've ever had in band….here we go, it’s confession time… last week I lost my music folder.

I’m not saying I lost it and I had to sing to get it back, oh no, I’m saying that nobody could find it. My only option then would have been to pay for some of the missing music and probably copy some of it down from the score since I rarely ever share parts with anyone. And believe me when I say that there was A LOT of music in that folder.

Anyways, let’s go back in time a bit. We had a band event, I remember playing it, putting it down in the green room, and taking it up from the green room when it was over. The next day, I want to practice and it was missing! Naturally, I started to freak out.

We looked high and low. We tried calling the venue where out event had been, but no luck. We tried asking everyone and anyone who might’ve had any clue about what went on after the event. I tried to go back in my memory to see what I could find, but everything was fuzzy. I sort of remembered bringing it in the house, but then I started to seriously doubt myself. Next thing I knew I only sort of remembered bringing it out to car. At this point I was so stressed out that I didn't know what was true! For all I knew, my music was out there blowing around in the wind somewhere, alone and lost!!!!

The next day was Monday. I went to school trying to hope that somebody knew where it was. But I had heard nothing. I had to share music the rest of the day. Expecting the worst, I asked my band director for some of the scores, so I could start copying down my music.  I had been in for a lot of work, but at least I had a plan for now which was calming.

Two days later, I had just finished copying down one of the longer charts, when my mother got a call. It was the venue, and they had found my music!!!!!! Overjoyed and relieved it didn't matter how much time I’d spent worrying and copying down music now, all that mattered was that my baby was safe and sound and that we would soon be reunited:)

So if you’re reading this, band geeks, do yourself a humongous favor and learn from my mistake. Keep track of your music!!! Put a rubber band around your wrist, write it down on your hand that you need to remember it, or even duct tape it to yourself!!!!!!! ‘Cause take it from me, nothing is worth going though that lost-music-related-anxiety!!!!!!!

-R

How to Survive a Band Review

     Well to start things off I may not be the best source for advice when surviving a band review but I can help you try! Each year my band does five band reviews and one of them requires us to be at our school ready for bus departure at 3:00 a.m. My freshman year I went to a sleepover party with some best band buddies and we decided to stay up till 1:00 a.m. on the night of our notorious 3:00 a.m. band review. Well I am just going to come out and say that it was a dumb idea because when I had to wake up I was sleep deprived and vomiting...and all the band geeks out there know you can't exactly miss a band review even if you are vomiting! So I sucked it up and continued to feel horrible that day in the blazing sun. Well the next year when I was a sophomore we had the same band review and I didn't learn from my mistake so I went to another late party and the next day I found myself sleep deprived and vomiting in a plastic Ziploc baggie on the bus ride...wow I realize I am an idiot! So my best advice for the band geeks out there is to NOT party the night before a band review especially when its a 3:00 a.m. band review! Next year I am planning on going to bed 10 hours before I have to wake up because when you are Drum Major you cannot afford to be vomiting...
     The next thing you need to know about surviving a band review is that you constantly need to be drinking water and eating food because during the competition you are out in the heat wearing a band uniform that covers you head to toe. Water is the most important thing I cannot say that enough! Drink extra water the days leading up to the competition and drink plenty the day of. You need to be nurturing your body as much as possible because you don't want to have to pay for it the day of. If you feel sick it will be your worst nightmare. So please take care of yourself because you will feel better and perform better for the rest of the band.

-S

Personal Band Story-


When I was an 8th grader signing up for my high school classes I had to make a decision if I was going to continue with band. To be quite honest I didn't want to do band because my older brother had experienced it and decided it wasn't for him. I also had the thought in my mind I would be a total geek and I would be a loner...well that turned out to be completely untrue. I decided to try band and if I didn't like it I could easily quit. Quitting seems easy, like it is the simple option out of everything. But when I got into band I discovered how incredible and supporting the people are. The football games where I was in the stand screaming and playing my instrument gave me a rush. Quitting was and is out of the question. Today I am a sophomore in high school with the future of being drum major my junior and senior years! Back in 8th grade I would have never thought I would be where I am today. Thanks to my amazing friends and family who supported me and pushed me out of my comfort zone. I love band because its the reason I wake up in the morning, its the reason I work hard, and it is the reason I am happy.

-S