Personal Narrative-Marching Band At Lucas's Oil Stadium

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.

Most schools offer a variety of activities, classes, and clubs. I personally was never interested in school or anything to do with it. Then I came across band and was instantly hooked. Band has concerts, marching band, and you get to meet new people. Band is my favorite class and here are some reasons why.

“Roll those feet! Keep those toes high! Square your shoulders! Keep the tempo moving!” This can be heard by directors, in most marching band rehearsals, as the band is racing around the field while playing mentally demanding music. Competitive marching band, the highlight of some high schoolers’ fall season, is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a group of musicians who play instruments while marching together at a parade or sports event” (“Marching Band”). In comparison a sport is defined as “a contest or game in which people do certain physical activities according to a specific set of rules and compete against each other” (“Sports”). High school competition band is where a band practices from July to November to prepare one show to be

The Evergreen Marching Band and Colorguard (EMBC) has stewed in accomplishment, success, and hard work, for more than two decades. People don’t know, that we 're not just a normal halftime marching band--we are a competitive marching band. Like any football, drill, or soccer team, EMBC strives to compete amongst the greats. For a couple decades, EMBC has marched to success and we don 't want to stop now; however, the competitive program was close to being slashed this year, due to lack of funds. Students and parents raged at the thought of no competitive season. Competing is the best part for everyone in this program. If we lost that it wouldn’t be as much fun. We were so far in debt that if we couldn 't raise enough money, it would 've been game over.

In eighth grade I was first chair trumpet player for the J.A.M.S. band. I led the band in most songs and the band teacher made me feel like I was the best trumpet player ever. In eighth grade I was again accepted into a junior high honor band just as I had been in seventh grade. In eighth grade however I was not concerned about chair placements at the honor band as I had been in seventh grade. When I went to honor band in seventh grade I received a second chair placement. An eighth grader received first chair. Therefore, I thought I was almost guaranteed first chair as I was an eighth grader now so in my mind no one would beat me.

This is going to be a story about me performing the last “Seen/Unseen” show of my freshmen marching season. This is being told to you to explain all the hard work and effort I put into making this dream of mine come true, my dream ever since 6th grade has been to perform for James Logan Band. Performing this show has honestly been one of the biggest achievements I have had throughout my life, and this event is something that I will truly never forget.

Whether I play the jazz, classical, or the melodious ruckus of the marching band, the alto saxophone is how I reimbursed myself of my stress and anxiety with an indescribable feeling nobody but a musician can understand. This feeling is comprised of two parts: the playing and the team. While the playing produces a euphony that leaves you anticipating every breath you huff into your horn and dances out the bell, the team is my favorite part. Never have I anticipated or desired to be first chair, because I had always known that the second chair is the best. Despite the first chair getting all the glory, without the warm, complementary tones of the second part, the first, and even the band, could never achieve the beautiful potential it has. Together,

I hope everything is going well. Last week our Principal, Mrs. Arce informed my classmates and I that it would be possible to receive a weighted GPA for the rigor of work we do. After school, I really contemplated on this idea and realized that we have many rigorous projects and classwork. As well as me being a part of Vista Verde’s marching band. With everything I have on my plate plus after school activities, we should have some sort of incentive such as the weighted GPA.

The summer was approaching its end and it was time to go back school shopping. I was excited to go back to school to see my friends and get back to Marching Band. So on the last week of summer I went shopping on tax-free weekend with my Dad. First we went shopping for school supplies at Walmart. I got all of the necessities like pencils, paper, and binders. Then we went to the mall to look at some clothes. We were going to go to Lenox but it was getting late so we went to Stonecrest. When we got there I went straight to Foot Locker to see if they had the shoes that I had been wanting. As I approached the shoes, my jaws dropped because I could not believe that they were on sale! I thought that the shoes would be more money than that. I immediately

It was a sweltering day on August 17, 2017. The sun penetrated the sparse clouds, leaving limited space for shade and relaxation. Marching band camp was well underway, and an army of two hundred musicians invaded the football field for warm ups, despite the less than ideal summer heat. At the count of “5, 6, 7, 8”, all of our strides were perfectly synchronized; the unity in our actions much akin to a thousand drones controlled by a single remote.

School I was having my first concert as a part of the Dallas Ranch Middle School beginning band.

The summer of 2016 I traveled to Muncie, Indiana to attend the Drum Major Institution (DMI). One of the scheduled workshops was Leadership Three, instructed by a counselor, Taylor Watts. Leadership Threes’ lesson was revolved around time management. However, this workshop was not about solving procrastination, it was pertaining to how you affect others with your time. We participated in an activity where the objective was to balance a binder on your head and cross the finish line. If the binder fell you had to start over. The majority of other students and I quickly passed the finish line and then waited for the others. At that point I was not able to go back and help the others who were struggling, I then realized I put my objective over the team objective. The

For the Spring Concert this year, the Concert Band played three very different and technically demanding pieces, which includes “Endless Rainbows,” “Semper Fidelis,” and “Courtly Airs and Dances.” Though these three pieces were different in mood, each piece still required proper tone, intonation, balance, and full-effort from every musician in the band. Personally, to make sure that I was putting my best effort in rehearsing the pieces in class, I would make sure that I played with a warm, open, dark, round tone by taking in dark air and relaxing the muscles in the back of my throat and mouth and making sure that my tongue was not interfering with my relaxed muscles of my throat. Furthermore, I would make sure that when holding a note for a couple of beats, I would make sure that I would be listening to the people around me and the bass line for any frequencies or just obvious signs telling me if I was flat or sharp. I would do the same at home, too to make sure that I had as open of a tone as possible and most of my notes are in tune. All in all, I can say being in Concert Band for just one year has already broadened my knowledge of what it is like to be a

Sophomore year of marching came. This year was a surprise for everyone. With our show being named ‘Masterminder.’ The band members marching were under control by the color guard soloist; the puppeteer. This show was pretty exciting, too. The judges also thought that. We made it past regionals AND semi-state. What? Yeah, we all thought the same thing. We had made it. We had FINALLY made it after so many years of just trying to get past regionals for once. It was a bitter-sweet feeling waiting for placement awards at Lucas Oil Stadium. The instructors went around to each band student one by one. The congratulated us on an amazing season. I started tearing up, but that isn’t surprising. As we marched our way out of Lucas Oil Stadium that night, I knew that this was only the beginning of a new generation for the Marching Marksmen.

In the week coming up to the drum circle event, I started putting together a care station that will be paired with the drum circle. I started to create handbooks that include journal prompts, coloring pages, and puzzles. The goal of the handbooks is to provide a way for people do take their mind off of stress. Coloring pages, especially mandalas, has shown to reduce anxiety in people (Serice & Vennet, 2012). The next step was to gather supplies for scent packets. The plan was to get dried lavender, lavender oil, and other scented plants that people could put into a bag. Lavender has been shown to help women college student who suffer from insomnia fall asleep faster, help the severity of their insomnia, and feel better about their sleep. It also showed to help improve depression in the same sample (Lee & Lee, 2006). There was also a station for people to make little origami stars and create touch stones. Touch stones are clear rocks that have an image or a word glue to them like confidence, love, or hope. I also needed to get bubbles and tea that will be given out at the drum circle event. The actual drumming was led by Jamie Jones who works at the UCI counseling center and she has lead many drumming events for UCI CARE before. The drum circle