Personal Narrative-Marching Band

Summer before junior year of high school, I was looking at a lot of standardized tests, essays, a heavier school workload, college applications, and getting a driver's license; my most immediate concern, however, was the soon to begin marching band season. Spring semester of sophomore year I had decided to audition for a leadership position in the band, and I suppose I was the best candidate because I managed to snag Section Leader for my instrument, clarinet. As the final days of July passed by, I anticipated the start of a season where I would be mentoring and teaching my fellow clarinet players the complex art of marching band. A few days before leadership camp I received a letter in the mail from the Head Band Director, Mr. Larry Brown, and immediately I knew things were not going to be what I expected.

In a marching band, the idea is to utilize copious amounts of micro-organisms and turn them into a singular macro-organism. However, our voices do not become lost in the cacophony of noise, simply strengthened and enforced by the foundation that each section provides to make the larger creation- a show. My understanding of myself became clearer as I learned to give myself to a larger cause without losing myself among the chaos.

My sophomore year I tried out just to go through the process and be prepared, but my junior year I tried out for real. I was trying out as a minority. I was the youngest junior on the line, now the only girl on the line, and I had been on snare the least amount of everyone else on snare. After a week had gone by, we had our band banquet. During the banquet they would announce all of the new section leaders. They took us into the hall and I was told I was the new section leader for the drumline. This role is held very high in the Northgate Marching Band, because if you hold this position, you are a leader of the band. Now that I had the title I needed to accomplish one more thing. In drumline we have a center snare. The center snare is the most advanced player on the line, they count off all the exercises and they are the person you listen to when playing. Our audition process was intense, because again I was the one with the least experience on snare. I absorbed every piece of criticism I received and I applied every fix to better myself as a

I spend so much of my time balancing my band and school life, I feel it would be impossible to ignore my legacy within my bands. My legacy would have to include what I’ve spent most of my time in, and what I loved doing. In my case, I’m lucky enough to have both of these be the same thing. I spend about nineteen hours a week working in marching band, and I have loved doing this the whole time. I am currently the senior drum major and if I was to look back at the legacy I have left behind, I would have to include this. Not only has it given me a chance to lead the band I love to be in, it has allowed me to teach and inspire passion within the younger members of my band to continue music.

Despite this, marching band forced me to practice more and perfect my skills, and I am increasingly better now for it. I even made an alternate for all-county, something I thought only “good players” could do. Turns out, I am

When I was in marching band finding my identity was one of the hardest things that I had to do. It took me to my senior year to fully understand what it meant to fully identify myself as a member of the Titan Regiment. What made me understand that I was a member because of recognition that I received in my last two years? Having the honor to lead my saxophone section in marching band and to be an inspirational figure to them recognized me. When this happened, it confirmed to me that I was really a member of the Titan regiment. This community defined me because it's built on top of my leadership skills that I currently had and it also help me to make more mature decisions as I got older. This experience did that by challenging me

Marching band is a place I can feel good about myself. I am a normally quiet, but I am okay with being loud for band.

1. Thirty pounds of metal resting on my left shoulder, I marched for hours in the blistering hot sun. The sousaphone was my greatest enemy. In 6th grade I was chosen to play tuba for our middle school band, I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me. Two years later, I had gotten pretty good. I made all state band, won some awards, and was 1st chair. I had no intention in joining the marching band my freshman year.

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.

You know when you have one of those friends you feel like you will have forever? Well, I have already found mine. This is the story. The first of seventh grade I stayed with the same small friend group and didn’t talk to people if it wasn’t required. Fast forward to eighth grade and I had made some band nerd friends because they had my sense of humor and the same love for band. Band was probably my favorite class and the class where I could be myself and not worry who was watching. I had made some friends with some fellow clarinet players and found out that they weren’t that bad once you got to know them. There was this one girl, her name was Nina Zeiler, she was the type of person that hanged out with the outcasts and was more of a rebel but was on the cheerleading team. I tried not to talk to her then which sounds ridiculous now that she is my best friend.

Marching band is sometimes the only place I can feel really good about myself. I'm a quiet guy, but I am okay with being loud for band.

Memories began to race through my mind as I started to look back at the time when I first joined the marching band. Coming into high school, I was not reluctant to try out new things, and marching band was an activity that would allow me to open myself up to others and develop a strong sense

I am auditioning for the positions of Sousaphone Section Leader and Drum Major. I have a slight woodwind background though I transitioned to playing tuba three years ago. I have marched for the Brigade for those three years while playing sousaphone. Before high school, I devoted most of my days after school in the fall to assisting the band in any way they needed. From Band-Aid to Assistant Section Leader, I have always done my best to make it to every practice and every competition. Granted, I have missed a couple marching rehearsals for medical or scholastic reasons, but all were excused. I have always been one to encourage others to participate to their best ability while at rehearsal in order to make the most of it. I have never gotten

When I first joined the band, I was a quiet, emotionless guy. I didn’t have any close friends in the band either, so honestly, I wasn’t having the best time. The people around me always seemed so happy to talk to others, and it confused me in a way. But then when band camp rolled around, people started to talk to me, so naturally, I began to respond to them, and eventually I began to start conversations for myself. I was a whole lot less awkward as days turned into months, my stuttering was reduced to almost none, I'm pretty loud, and I'm pretty friendly too.

Previously in the year, it was typical for me just write what is on my mind at the time and later go back and organize it. This paper is a stupendous presentation of that obsolete format. It was common for me to leap from one paragraph to another without soundly blending my ideas into the narrative. Despite this, however, many outstanding developments appeared in this essay. This was the essay that helped me further develop my ability to write sensory details, which immediately shows itself in the introduction: “Lights blare down from above. To my left, I can see the crowd cheering as the previous band charges off the field, and we prepare our grand entrance” ( 1). I also highlighted the negative aspects of the band, such as leadership problems: “Aside from inexperienced and uncaring managers, some people are just wholly opposed to taking orders from their peers. This causes an avalanche of tension between them and their section. Arguments will typically break out as to who is right and who is wrong-- especially during marching season ( 3).” Each paragraph, despite flowing strangely, outlined a specific aspect of the band in increasingly detailed methods. One section describes the methods band members use to communicate with one another while another tells of its hierarchy. Overall, this paper, despite its shortcomings, laid the base for which I would later improve upon in following essays.