Here's another fun benefit of school band going more into depth...

District band auditions were held recently, and we had 45 people from WJCC schools make the two high school bands(Symphonic, concert), and 25 people make the middle school band.  That's a lot of good musicians!  4 people from WYWE made districts as well, but I'm not a WYWE blog... oh wait...

Okay, I have an avid (rabid?) interest (obsession?) with WYWE, but there's no hiding, in parentheses or otherwise, my rabid obsession for band class.   So when I was asked to make a list of the best things about band, I was all set to make a list of a billion things!  Until I remembered I'd have to PROOFREAD that, which involves reading, and who wants to read a billion things about band?  Besides me?

10. Marching Band
This is where I'm supposed to talk about my fun marching band experiences?  Well, I physically cannot be in marching band, and if you ask me to march, I'll end up on the highway, so that may be a good thing I'm not there.  However, I put this on the list because I cheered on the band at many football games and halftime shows, even when it was freezing, and love seeing my friends out there.  It's always a spectacular performance, and sometimes I get to see fireworks afterwards (It's below freezing on the field!)

9. Band Directors
I always have had the funniest band directors.  In middle school, our band director would always make us laugh during class.  After receiving a bad festival rating in sixth grade, I remember he started comparing us to... soup.  Yep, chicken dumpling soup.  I don't remember much else about that festival, just that it reminded him of "cold chicken dumpling soup."  Even my band director now will come up with funny things that start with letters for our scale.  For example, one day a fly was flying around our band room when we were about to play Concert "F".  "Concert F.  Fly.  Fruit Fly.  Fruit Fly Friday..."

8. Jazz Band
I'm not in high school jazz band this year, but middle school jazz band is one of the best things ever.  I have many fond memories of piling on a bus with twenty-five others, going to festivals, and coming back with excellent ratings.  We all played such large instruments (the smallest instrument was a trumpet, and there is nothing small about that case), and tried to squeeze in on the bus, which was always an adventure.  If I didn't sit at a certain angle, my sax case would go right against my eye, and my friend's trumpet case would go into my face.  My friend always called them airbags, flying into action when the brakes were activated.

7. Trips
Bands go on trips a lot!  Not only to local festivals, band members have been to festivals in Washington DC, Myrtle Beach, New York, Disney World, and many more.  There are also lots of "Music in the Parks" festivals, including one to Kings Dominion and one to Busch Gardens.  I went to the festival in Kings Dominion in sixth grade, and remember buying matching souvenirs with my friend.  And I still have it, even many years later.

6. Festivals
I decided these were different than the fun festivals out-of-state and gave them their own category.  I remember going to these a lot as well.  There was one where I got to play my contra-bass clarinet, and I remember trying to carry the instrument up two stairs onto the stage.  The instrument was twice my height and weight, but that didn't stop me from getting it up there (ten minutes later).

5. Concert Music
While I love listening to regular music, I also love to play concert music as well.  There have been many pieces I have loved, such as an arrangement of "Nessun Dorma" and a song called "Drive."  There are also pieces I have loved to hate though; last year we played a march my friend and I nicknamed "March of the Mimes," because it sounded so much like mime music, but was so much fun to play!

4. Harmony Instruments
Okay, according to Google, this is what instruments such as the bass clarinet, baritone trombone, soprano sax, and others are called.  I have been able to play a bunch of harmony instruments because my band directors have been nice enough to let me go through the band cabinets and choose what to play for a particular rehearsal.  Without the school band, I would never have discovered my love for my alto clarinet, since it is such an exotic instrument.  That, and the help of my director of course (Both with the instrument and the assistance in helping me find a ladder).

3. District Band
District Band is one of the coolest things on the planet, besides normal band, of course.  The idea is, you audition to be in an elite group of musicians.  In this group, you rehearse for two hours on a Thursday night, rehearse all day on a Friday (No school!), and perform the next morning and never meet again.   One year, a snowstorm came through suddenly and they pushed the concert to Friday afternoon instead of Saturday morning.  So we had to rehearse like crazy and perform in jeans and t-shirts.  Yep, the most elite band.

2. Performances
A musician has to love to perform, otherwise they are just some idiot blowing into a pipe made of wood.  Concerts have always been lots of fun, and have surprises in every note and pitch.  I remember my friend and I were trying to find the most civilized way to put together our clarinets while wearing long dresses and not look like fools.  The answer?  We look like idiots in the band room every day, why look different for tonight?

1. Friends
Throughout this whole list, I have mentioned the many funny things my friends and I have done.  They truly are the best part of band.  Lets see, I have my best clarinet buddy, who has been beside me when I looked like a moron in front of the school, there's my best trumpet buddy, who came to find me when I was alone, there's my best sax buddy, who is wiith me in WYWE as well... and that's just the beginning.  There are so many others who I am lucky to call my friends, but trying to describe them all would be like the proofreading thing again.

So what are you doing?  Get out there and...

Play On!

_ I remember my first day in sixth grade band.  I was coming from a school band with only eighteen students, while here there were probably 18 clarinets alone.  So of course I was beyond scared.  But if I could go back in time, I’d tell the eleven-year-old with a death grip on her clarinet that the redhead was really nice, the girl with long brown hair would be her best clarinet buddy, and that everybody in here would turn into her friend at one point in time.  So after playing the concert b flat scale, I went over and began talking to these people.  Close to four years later, I'm sitting in my high school band room with my friends, wondering what happened, and why time had flown so fast.

Band had received the reputation of being a tougher class.  I'd heard that from everybody as I gathered advice to survive middle school.  I decided to give it a chance anyway though.  And it was the best thing I ever did.  I learned to play instruments I'd never heard of, such as the bass clarinet, which I soon learned is not pronounced like the type of fish.  I went to many festivals and played my heart out.  One festival even took place at King's Dominion, so I got to spend the day in the park with two of my friends.  I figured it could only get better from here.

Coming in my seventh grade year, I noticed the band had shrunk.  But that didn't matter; it would give me an opportunity to begin new challenges.  I was able to make jazz band on my clarinet, and remember learning the music the day before our first performance.  I got thrown on another clarinet, called a contra-bass.  It was seven feet tall and felt like a hundred pounds because I was barely 4' 10".  Yet I was able to stun the audience, playing the huge instrument.  I could hear everybody gasping as I carried the instrument on stage (with three people helping me, of course!).  I also played the alto clarinet for district band, which is an elite band for the best musicians in District 8 Virginia, including Williamsburg, Newport News, Gloucester, Yorktown, and other adjacent cities.  I was happy to be on a smaller instrument (an alto clarinet is about three feet long) and be known as the only alto clarinetist there.  But after district, I went back to the soprano, the normal type of clarinet.  I was fifth chair overall for the school, and second chair for the seventh grade.  Considering I had been on so many instruments, that was amazing!

My eighth grade year brought even more opportunities.  While all instruments I'd played had been clarinets, a sudden change in instrumentation required me to play alto sax for the jazz band.  Our band shrunk for the third time, due to the redistricting at the middle school level.  Because of the size of our class, I was able to form a strong bond with my class.  One incident was when the clarinets were due to play a talent show, and three out of seven of us showed up.  At first there were only two of us, and I had to convince the other clarinetist that we would be awesome even if it was just us.  After a quick run-through and stage test, we found the other clarinetist and proceded to play an amazing renedition of "To a Wild Rose."  This experience showed me that we are all here for each other, and how close we had gotten over scales and broken reeds.

During my eighth grade year, I got another amazing opportunity to play.  My mom, my music teacher, and I founded the Williamsburg Youth Wind Ensemble (WYWE).  We created it to be a supplement to band programs, as it is hard to replicate the experiences found in school band.  Playing contemporary and pop charts, we started up with 15 members, and I was able to find even more friends to play with.  A year later, we now have 28 members, nearly double from last year, and constantly growing.  Over 90% of our members are in the school band program, and always leave with a smile on their face.

While WYWE is mostly targeted at the 11-14 demographic, I stayed with the ensemble as I progressed to high school.  All of a sudden, I was faced with lots of upperclassmen, more difficult music, and separation from most of my friends from middle school.  Though once I came to support the marching band at a football game, as I physically cannot be in the marching band, I felt a lot better.  Everybody welcomed me with open arms into the band, as I cheered all of my new friends, among old ones, at the halftime show. Add a stellar winter concert to the mix as well, and I can see that high school band is more fun than I thought!  We are all like a giant family, just like every other band I’ve been in.  Here’s evidence- I remember being out of school for an extended period of time, and, upon my return, I had to promise to never leave the band ever again.  Even if I got eaten by an elephant, I’d still have to go to band class.  The strange part was, I think the person who made me promise that was serious.

 I have heard people say they didn't want to play in band anymore, and they see the loyal band geek side of me, which can be interpreted as creepy if they are not warned beforehand.  If you think band is boring, then you are looking in the wrong places.  There is always excitement; you just have to look a little hard sometimes.  People say they think the music is boring, and that is another myth.  Sometimes there are songs that make me want to scream because they are so boring (A version of "Frosty the Snowman" comes to mind...), but there are certain pieces I still play riffs from, they were so much fun.  WYWE also helps because we try to choose music that musicians really enjoy, such as 80s songs and Michael Jackson charts.  And the number one excuse for dropping out I hear?  It's that people have no motivation.  In the case of middle school musicians in particular, they can find fun songbooks to play on their instrument, and they can rock out and play the fun songs for their friends.  A 80s songbook I got in sixth grade had me playing "Livin' on a Prayer" for warm-up until... Well, I still do.  Musicians of any age can join a community wind ensemble (which also uses percussion) such as WYWE, in addition to their school band.

As I finish reflecting on my band years, I am amazed.  I had no idea how special my band years have been.  So many fun memories, inside jokes (If you were in my band class, you remember the "When Christmas Comes" incident.), just so much...  fun!  I highly recommend school band for the experiences, and also recommend WYWE for fun music, new friends, and cool stories.  I close this out with only one thing to say...

Play On!

Hello!  Thanks for clicking around the website and finding this.  Basically, this is "Confessions of a Band Geek," all about the fun of being in both WYWE and school band programs.  Check out hilarious essays, lists, and whatever else comes to mind. 

Play On!