Band is Fun

In 6th grade, I had the opportunity to join the band program at my middle school. They brought all of the students that were interested into the auditorium and gave us some instructions. We were told to sit down at specific sections depending on which instrument we were hoping to play. If you wanted to play the tuba, you would sit at the northernmost section; if flute was your choice, you would sit at the southernmost section. What was most interesting to me, and where I ultimately decided to sit down, was in the middle. This is where the percussion hopefuls sheepishly walked over to. The teacher that was giving the instructions saw about ten kids enter the center, which for my school and it being only one grade of kids, was a lot. I remember a chuckle from him. I would end up being one of four students to actually be permitted into the percussion section. (For some reason, the deciding factor was if your grade in math was at least a B. I have no idea why that was the case; it does not have any effect on how good of a percussionist you are.)

Joining the musical trap was one of the best decisions my feeble 6th grade mind could have made. I participated in band, doing wind ensemble concerts and parade and field shows, all throughout middle and high school. I have even continued this into my college career by being part of the Pride of the Plains marching band. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and I hope more people consider being a part of an ensemble or band at some point.

There are two distinct reasons that makes being part of a band so great. One is the obvious camaraderie that is created. Being a part of something bigger than yourself breeds connections like nothing else. Secondly, it teaches you to dust yourself off when you fail. There have been so many times that I have had a huge cymbal crash during a piece where I have been just half a beat off, or hundreds of missed spots on a football field during a field show. However, each time I have failed I have come back just a bit better. Participating in band has helped me to spread that to other parts of my life too. I would not trade it for anything.