When I was in 6th grade, I had the opportunity to join the school band. They sat everyone that was interested in the auditorium and told us to go to certain areas depending on which instrument we wanted to play. Tubas were at the top; flutes were at the bottom. In the middle were the percussion hopefuls, and that is where I somewhat sheepishly plopped myself down at. The teacher who was organizing everyone looked at the ten or so students that had lined up to join percussion, and laughed quietly. Percussion was always a pretty popular section, and it showed.
Once everyone had decided where they wanted to be, it was time to tell them where they were going to be. Most people got the instrument they signed up for, but the ten person group that wanted to be percussion had to culled down to four people. The director pulled us aside, and asked who had at least a B grade in math class. I did, so I was accepted. I have no idea why the director used that as the deciding factor; it does not have any bearing on one’s ability to be a successful percussionist, but it worked out for me!
I am so glad that I signed up for band and have this story to tell. I participated in the school band through middle school and high school. I am actually still part of the marching band in college too! There have been so many positive experiences that have come from band, and I hope to see more people join and participate.
Personally, there are two major reasons joining band is beneficial. I truly believe that it betters those who participate by teaching discipline and camaraderie. Secondly, you are going to have a lot of stupid stories to tell. The stereotypical sentence “this one time, in band camp” is a stereotype for a reason. Everyone is a little crazy, and that makes everything just that touch more chaotic and fun. There is nothing like putting in effort to perfect your marching style only to fall face first because you tripped over a tuba or having a crash cymbal part in wind ensemble practice and crashing just a beat late. It teaches you to dust yourself off, have a laugh about, and come back and nail it a second time. I have learned a lot from being a part of school bands for nearly 12 years. I wouldn’t trade it for a thing!
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