Personal Essay: How Marching Band Changed My Life

My junior year of high school I auditioned and became a drum major. This means that I am one of the leaders of the band, and my voice is one of the ones that needs to be heard. My voice, however, cannot overpower the others involved in the band. Marching band has taught me leadership skills in which that I can now have

Marching band is hands down one of the biggest influences in my life. It has only impacted me in a positive way. From friendships that I know will last a lifetime to experiences i could never forget. My junior year in band I was baritone section leader and my senior year I was low brass section leader and brass horn sergeant. Having to be the leader of 60+ people has really

All of this contributed to me joining the marching band, beginning in eighth grade, which has taken over my life now, in the best way possible and given me a defined place. It’s nice to be a part of something like

Not only this, as competition marching bands are performing, the members are required to keep their shoulders perfectly parallel with the press box sideline, no matter what direction they may be traveling. On top of all the physical attributes, performers also have to have all music memorized to perfection. Part of playing music is to count—mentally count in time and tempo. To make the activity of marching band more difficult, members also have to be able to play while moving to at fast speeds to exact locations on the field to create new forms. To, as they say “put a cherry on top,” all of this has to be done at the same time. For all members of a competition band, they have to multitask throughout the entire performance with no mental or physical breaks. Mr. Spettel, Marion Local Schools band director, compares marching band and sports as “Physically and mentally it shares all the same aspects because the mental aspects of memorizing music, playing expressively, and using dynamic contrast. All of that is just like football or volleyball: remembering plays, strategizing to get the best possible outcome. And I think one could argue that marching band is just as physically demanding as a lot of other athletics.” All of these items lead to having a strong mental presence as members are

8. I am in competitive marching band. This means that I can compete up to 16 different bands at a time. In band we all have the mindset of a winner. Right when we march onto the field as a band, we know that we will own that field, and that we will win. Winning does not mean everything, but it means

During Senior year’s marching season, I was given two leadership positions. Section leader of the french horn section as well as Hornline Captain for the whole entire wind ensemble. I had many responsibilities and obligations to fill with both positions. With time,patience, and much failure I was able to rise to the challenge.

While participating in marching band, I have also gained many new experiences, friendships, principles, and musician skills. Deciphering music can be a challenge year to year, and each year the music has continued to expand my capabilities as a musician. Apart from the musical component, marching band has taught me true meaning of teamwork to achieve a common goal. Specifically during the last marching season, I learned the importance of

The end of junior year in high school I ran for band president against 6 other people; I ended up winning. I was the 2016 band president for Midwest city high school, I was very nervous for this new adventure. It was time for summer band, the first day of summer band was for freshman and band parents, I had to speak in front of 200 people. The next day was full band, it was time to start summer band officially. Practicing in the heat is the worst part of being in marching band, its long and hot and people always get sunburnt. Through the long hot days and playing good music and making new memories is the best part of marching band. My senior year I became a very good musician, I spent more time in the practice room and preceded my speaking

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

People like me, but I would not say that I have a lot of friends. However, marching band introduced me to students of all ages, boys and girls, and through the year I have come to accept the entire band as a second family. This band has made my senior year much more enjoyable and enriched, and I will be sad to see it go. As much as the band impacted me, I have also impacted the younger and remaining members. As a senior, I still had authority and was able to assist other flute players with fingerings and rhythms they might not have gotten on their own.

Marching Band- Marching Band is an extension of the concert band program. All the concepts from concert band can and will be applied to the marching band to aid in skill development year-round.

“In the Marching Band and Proud of It” by Debra Nussbaum followed the story of the marching band from Pennsbury High School in Philadelphia. In the second paragraph, Nussbaum claimed that band can be “cool”. Marching bands travel across the US, are becoming increasingly competitive, and perform more interesting shows. The Pennsbury marching band has a respected reputation in the school because they gain national recognition and have a certain prestige within the school. The prevalence of band is growing as the number of band directors and sales of sheet music grows. The author states that the prevalence of band is growing, too. Many students are involved in multiple activities while also participating in marching band. The music the band

Marching band is a social and collaborative effort at its core. As fun as it would be, a one-person marching band would consist of an exhausted player trying to trapeze across a football field carrying a bass drum, trumpet, tuba, snare drum, flute, bells, and cymbals in a contraption reminiscent of the life-draining machine in The Princess Bride. Every time I walk onto the grass in front of a crowd of semi-apathetic high school students and devoted band parents, pushing an array of wooden blocks and twine sticks, I realize how much of band is a group effort. I have no ability to march or play a brass instrument, which is where marching band started. I cannot throw a flag and guarantee that it won't hit A: myself, B: someone else, or C:

I have been asked many times by my friends that aren’t in band “why are you in band?” “Get out of band so we can be in the stands together during the game.” “band is lame,” They do not understand what band is really about. Band is not just about playing an instrument and marching.

There are hours upon hours of hard work, sweat, and tears (and maybe the occasional swear word). Getting up before you can see the sun, and staying for practices after it went down. As much as I hate the early mornings, I can’t wait for marching band season. Wearing this heavy