I’ve always been fascinated with music. Every note planted a seed of happiness inside me every time I listened to it. I remember when I was in elementary school the concert band from Saint Charles Middle School – now called Marion Middle – would come to my school, West Marion Elementary, and perform. I always enjoyed listening to their music. It made me feel excited. Despite the feeling it gave me, I said to myself that I would never become a band kid. I thought it was too nerdy for me, until I was in the fifth grade.
I remember a man coming to my school to try and persuade kids to join band in middle school. He talked about all the instruments that are included in a middle school band: trumpets, clarinets, drums, flutes, French horns, etc. He handed out a paper with all the details that he had spoken about for the kids to take home to their parents. At this moment, I had started to really consider joining band in middle school. I went home with the paper and told my mother that I would be joining band and there was nothing she could do to stop me, as if she wanted to stop me. She was actually happy that I wanted to do this. I showed her the paper and on that paper was a date for kids to come to the middle school and try out different instruments to see which one suited them the best. I was dead set on playing the trumpet at first. It was my dream instrument. I could just imagine myself playing it loud and proud. That did not happen.
When the day came, my mother took me to Saint Charles to test out different instruments. I tried different mouthpieces for the trumpet, clarinet, flute, and saxophone – I successfully got a sound out of each except for the flute. One of the men working this event started talking to me and my mom about the clarinet. He convinced me that it would be much easier to play than a trumpet. After playing the clarinet for 11 years, I’m pretty sure he was lying, but I was dumb enough to believe him then.
On the first day of school during band class, my first band director, Joni Farmer, passed around a clarinet mouthpiece with a reed to see if each of the aspiring clarinet players could get a sound out of it. (Yes, it was sanitized after each use.) For several days, I could not get a sound out of it, but I eventually did. I learned how to play several different notes and songs. One of the very first songs I learned was a song called “Sawmill Creek” by Bryce Pearson. One of my most memorable concerts was in seventh grade when my concert band went on tour and performed songs by The Beatles at elementary schools around the community. That’s how I became obsessed with The Beatles.
Playing in a concert band isn’t only fun, but it’s educational. Children who go through musical training will have better verbal memory, better second language pronunciation accuracy, better reading ability and better executive functions. According to PubMed Central, “Learning to play an instrument as a child may even predict academic performance and IQ in young adulthood.” I remember my high school band director, Daniel Beams, saying that band kids are some of the most advanced and smartest kids in the school.
When I entered eighth grade, I joined the marching band at Marion County High School. To be a part of the marching band, I had to go through band camp along with my friends and everyone else in the marching band. It was hot and excruciating. I absolutely hated it, but if my friends stuck through it, I would too. One of my friends ended up quitting, making me feel sad and like I should quit too. Thankfully, my parents convinced me not to, and I kept going. If it weren’t for my mom and dad telling me to stay in band, I wouldn’t have gotten a marching band scholarship.
In band camp, I learned how to march, memorize music, do visuals and not pass out in the heat while playingmy clarinet. I did band camp every year up until the fall semester of my senior year at Campbellsville University. I did it for eight years. (It would have been nine if COVID-19 didn’t become a thing in 2020.)
Marching is not the same as walking. Walking is just placing your foot flat on the surface in front of you; marching is rolling your feet from heel to toe. When marching, you always start out on your left foot. The toes on your left foot must start out pointing up with your heel down. Once you step out, your left foot will roll, and your right heel will lift. This action will be repeated while you march.
Memorizing music can help improve memory. I know it has definitely improved mine. Participating in marching band helps students to grow essential life skills and can contribute to their success. The Cobb County school district website, cobbk12.org, says “Marching band engages both mental and physical skills by combining precise body movements [called visuals].” Marching band activates multiple parts of the brain, and it can grow student’s skills in subjects like Math and Science. The multitasking (marching, counting, and playing music) improves cognitive abilities, and it supports the student’s overall brain development.
It can also help improve body posture. In marching band, students will learn four commands: the call to attention, horns up, horns down, and parade rest. The command for the call to attention is “band, attent. Hut.” Students must respond by yelling “hut” and will get into position. Feet must be together in a 43-degree angle, backs must be straight, stomachs must be in, chests must be out, chins must be parallel to the ground, eyes must be looking straight ahead and, based on whether the student is holding their instrument or not, they will be holding the instrument in front of them (or at their side depending on their instrument) or their arms will be to their sides with their elbows slightly bent and their fists at the hem of their pants. When this command is given, students must snap into position very quickly. It is the same for each command.
The horns up command is “band, horns up!” When this command is given, students will yell “hit” and snap their horns up to their mouths to play. When the command “band, horns down” is given, students will yell “hit” again and will return to attention.
When the command “band, parade rest” is given, students will once again say “hit.” Their legs will spread out to shoulder width, their instruments will be placed in the crook of their arm, and their left hand will be over their right hand. With each of these commands, the students’ posture must be maintained.
Marching band helps to strengthen your core muscles, back alignment, body control and helps improve lumbar support during long, intense practices. Students can imagine a string pulling them up from their heads to help them with their posture. I remember being told this throughout my whole marching band career by several band directors. It has really helped me a lot. Being in marching band for eight years has enabled me to walk with a more confident and comfortable stride and it can do the same for any other student. Yes, marching band is hard and yes, students will get very frustrated with it but it’s healthy for them both mentally and physically. I remember before I joined marching band, I would walk in a slouched position, and I would look down at my feet instead of in front of me. Ever since I joined marching band, I’ve noticed that I walk with a straight back and I hold my head up high.
Aside from concert band and marching band, there’s also pep band. Pep band is just the band term for basketball games. In my opinion, it is the most boring thing to ever exist for band, but I survived it. If a student is in concert band and marching band, they will be required to go to their school’s basketball games to support their basketball team by playing stand tunes. Stand tunes are short excerpts of music from different music scores provided by the band director. Students will play these tunes so much that the music will get stuck in their minds and keep them awake at night. I know it has happened to me several times. I’m not trying to discourage students from joining band just to avoid pep band; I just want students to know what they will have to do if they decide to join band. Now, if a student is a big fan of basketball, they will love pep band and will have a fun time. I hate basketball and even I had some good times in pep band. I remember when one of Campbellsville University’s concert band’s tuba player, Zachary Brady, yelled, “Are we married to that whistle?” when the referee kept stopping the game with his whistle. Every time I think about pep band, I will think back to that one funny moment and smile even though I don’t like pep band. This shows that even people who don’t like basketball will have some good times in pep band and might even miss it once it’s over. I know that in the future I’ll miss it as much as I’ll miss concert band and marching band. I’m also grateful that pep band gave me a reason to get out of my house and spend time with my friends while playing fun music.
This semester is halfway through, and I will be graduating in three months. I’ve already said goodbye to marching band and pep band for the final time, and I have yet to say goodbye to concert band forever. I can imagine that I will cry after my final concert band performance like I did on Senior Day last semester after I performed my last marching band performance. It took me three hours to stop crying that day. That just shows how much I have enjoyed my band journey, especially the marching band portion of it. Even though it’s over, I have all these wonderful memories to think back on and smile. I still tear up when I think about it from time to time, but I’m glad I did it. This reminds me of a shirt I got back in seventh grade. It had a Dr. Seuss quote that said, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because you did it.” I know that every passionate band student will resonate with this quote after their band journey is over for good just as I do now. They will find a second family; they will make wonderful memories with friends; they will perform beautiful music for an audience; they will have something amazing to look back on and think, “I’m so glad I did that.”
If I hadn’t joined band way back in sixth grade, my life wouldn’t be as wonderful as it is now.
I would like to thank my parents, Bill and Eugenia Proctor, for supporting me throughout my 11-year-long band journey and I would like to thank all my band directors and assistant band directors, Joni Farmer, Daniel Beams, Jerrod Fenwick, Sam Geralds, Corey Bonds, Ed Johnson, Clark Hunt, and Matt Wooten for teaching me every musical skill I have and for enabling me to take this journey. My life wouldn’t be the same without band … and neither would my posture.
