Marching Band Analysis

Of all the things I’ve ever experienced, being in the Blanche Ely Marching Band was the most meaningful. Growing up I couldn’t fathom the value of life’s intangible things, but my perspicacity grew when I made the decision to stay in the band. The most important lessons I learned while being in the band would be: the importance of resilience,

On a whim in fifth grade, I decided that I wanted to learn how to play an instrument. I had never thought about how important it would become, but it has become a primary part of my life. I think this reason starts with you. You made learning music more entertaining for 10 year olds who don't have the first clue as to what they're doing. Not only did you teach me the fundamentals of it, but you created a love for it through opportunities and encouragement.

One of the most influential leadership roles that I have had the honor of holding is being the drum majorette for my high school and junior high marching band. Included in this role, I not only conducted the band, but I energetically gave constructive criticism, provided encouragement, and listened to my fellow band members’ opinions. Relating to John Quincy Adams’ quote, I implemented goals regarding to success for individual band members and the band as a whole, essentially supporting my members to “dream more” and to see the bigger picture. Junior high members who joined our band this marching season were granted the opportunity to attend a pre-session with our band director and I before the start of band camp. During this session, the band director and I taught them marching fundamentals and presented them with tips relating to memorizing music and how to sufficiently mark their maneuvers in their music. This session allowed the junior high members to catch up with the older members and ,substantially, “learn more”.

When I joined marching band in my freshman year of high school, I felt nervous and reluctant about joining because I questioned my abilities. However, I decided to commit myself to it so that I would know if it was something meant for me to pursue in the future. On the first day, I was overwhelmed with the many people who I did not recognize, and I started to feel as if I should never have come. Things began to change for me when I met an upperclassman named Sophie, who was my flute section leader. She was kind to everyone and did not get upset if anyone made a mistake in the music or marching technique, but rather, she gave constructive criticism. Sophie was an amazing leader and musician, and she was, and still is, a role model to me. Without

Marching band offers valuable benefits for students, whether it be discipline, social skills, or physical health, and can impact their lives significantly. It is normally thought of as the “sport” for students who can not play other sports such as baseball and football, but this simply is not true. Marching band is just as beneficial, dare say even more beneficial than other sports that are more and more praised for playing. Marching requires strength, stamina, and discipline. Not only is it beneficial to a student’s physical health it can often be very helpful to the mental health of the student as well. Students who can not seem to come out of there comfort zone can become social butterflies with the help of the

It’s a normal October Friday night, and I’m at the football field. No, I’m not in the student section cheering for my football team with big signs or streamers; I’m on the actual field, about to conduct my marching band’s field show. The bright stadium lights reflect off my glowing smile as I silently wish all of my bandmates good luck. My adrenaline rushes and I start to conduct as if my life simply depends on it. For five years, I have contributed to this band and called it my family (and for good reason). I have met some of the greatest people that I have ever known through playing with them and being by their sides through the best and worst performances. The first 10 weeks of school are some of the busiest in the entire school year, due to all of the practices and games. However, despite its craziness, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Becoming the drum major of the band I had

Why was I cursed with the passion to learn what was called the Universal language of the world. My intentions with music arose from a young age in a middle school band when I was given a trumpet after being rejected a saxophone. I was as good as a middle school musician. Even so, my middle school band director chose me along with a few others to represent the school in a regional 6th-grade honor band. To be declared as outstanding (or as outstanding as a middle schooler can be) musician was different enough that it sparked an obvious passion in me. My older brother was a school year ahead of me and was also being recognized for his achievements in band which allowed me to have a close incentive to be better. To get into Honor band after the

The summer of 2013 was both a time of celebration, as I had just graduated middle school, and a time of insecurities, as I started my journey as a member of my high school’s marching band. In middle school, I was normally a shy, quiet person, so it comes as no surprise that I felt uncomfortable at my first marching band practice. In addition, very few of my band friends in middle school had continued into high school marching band, creating a feeling of isolation over me.

It is during monotonous afternoons in the sweltering heat where one discovers the true limitations of his or her resolve. Remarkably, our exuberant group of approximately 160 members repeatedly managed to accomplish a new feat and set a precedent after every repetition. Much of this persistence I attribute to our band director, whose passion and resolution roused us to attain superior versions of ourselves. Often, he would remind us that “what was acceptable yesterday is not acceptable today”, a sample of his wisdom that prompted me to audition for the role of drum major. A drum major is essentially the foremost proprietor of student leadership within a marching band and he or she functions as a musical conductor during performances. Though I was not chosen at the conclusion of my freshman year, my commitment only intensified. I auditioned once more at the end of the following year and was selected. Suddenly, I was thrust into a renowned position of liability. My success depended on effectively communicating with individuals unfamiliar to me on a daily basis and defusing stiff situations. Stressful and tedious as I have discovered the role to be, it has bolstered my confidence and allowed me to acknowledge the mantle of leadership in a new

So, I might as well write about something that consumes my life 24/7: marching band. I didn’t officially start marching band until the ninth grade. You could join as an eighth grader, but I was way too scared. Ninth grade rolled around and I decided to join. My first marching show was named ‘Double Crossed.’It was set in the 1920s, which is my favorite time period. We had music from Chicago: The Musical and many other pieces. It was one of my absolute favorite shows. It still is actually. Even though we didn’t even make it past regionals that year, I didn’t care. My first marching show was one to remember.

Marching band was one of the most difficult/challenging activity systems that I have ever done in my life. But at the same time it was an inspirational and motivating aspect of my life. The very first thing it taught me was the definition of hard work. This was because I spent hundreds of hours to my dedication and devotion to band marching around the field in the hot sun every day. Even though there were times when I wanted to quit; one such instance was when we were out performed by another school, other times it was becuase of the teacher being a little too hard on me when I first started. Despite setbacks such as these, I had an ardent attraction to marching band, mainly because in middle school I was a part of concert band, which made me love music. The biggest, reason why I chose to do marching band, aside from my enjoyment of music, was because towards the end of my eighth grade year my middle school band director told us about a huge opportunity that we had coming up to become a part of the high school across the street marching band. They were called the Titan Regiment. She told us the difference between concert and

“Drum major is your band ready?” if you haven’t heard this you must not be in marching band, and you most definitely haven’t lived in the color of music. Music has brought color in my life like you wouldn’t believe! I finally realized this at state. Crowds roaring for their home band, band moms screaming their lungs out for their kids, it’s where everyone gets to participate no matter how good you are, and you finally find meaning through music. Yeah it’s pretty great, and I’ll share my wonderful experience with you.

As Newt Gingrich once said, “Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of the hard work you already did.” This quote applies greatly to marching band. Many people like to discredit it as something that is simply “walking around and playing an instrument,” but it is much more than that. We didn’t win championships across the east coast twice by doing something just anyone can do. No one perseveres quite like the band.

12. Skateboarding and marching band might not seem very similar with alike characteristics, but you would be surprised how I train for both of them very similarly. When I go to the skatepark I always am there for over three hours at a time. This means that I have good breath control. If a random person tried skating for three hours they would be passed out on the ground because they would run out of breath. That is the same thing for marching band. In marching band I will be running across the field while playing blasting into my tuba. In order to be able to do something longer, such as skate for a longer period of time, you must do a warm up. This means that I can’t just go to the skatepark and start shredding. I first should do basic tricks before advancing into harder tricks.

Marching band is a culture that many people in the world participate in whether they're in high school or college. Members of any marching bands share characteristics such as hard work, the strength to keep going when things are hard and to stay calm under pressure. Power is distributed in the group from the marching band director to the drum major and to the section leader. Many people think marching band is something anybody could do with ease, but we practice day to day, which means we practice two hours and five minutes to learn the show. The common nickname is being called ‘band nerds’ which I think is fitting because we live for it. Band is more than a hobby - it’s a sport because of all the time we practice.