Band: Burden or Brilliant?

(PB)

Musical instruments have been around for as long as we can remember. I only know of the main musical instruments, not the ancient ones. But, one of the first musical instruments found was a bone flute which is over 40,000 years old. This goes to show that music has been around for quite some time, and will continue to be a huge part of our lives. 

Band in our school was introduced to us in fifth grade. This was back when the hardest decision I had to make was what instrument I would play. I chose the clarinet, and have stuck with it ever since, but I have added one more instrument recently and that is bass guitar. On our first day of band, everyone was eager to learn how to play. We didn't sound very good at first, but over the years, we have all developed into outstanding musicians. 

Band in high school is a lot more intense than it was in elementary and middle school. We go to contests, and we have solo and ensemble to attend, and countless rehearsals after school, and we even go on many trips. Sometimes, with all of this going on at once, band can truly be a burden. I have had my fair share of complaining about everything we have to do for band, and trust me, there is a lot that we have to do. But, now that I think about it, band is truly brilliant. Being able to express yourself through the music we play is something remarkable. And the feeling you get when you have an amazing performance, or you get a 1 at districts or state, is one that cannot ever be described.

Having a good band takes a lot of hard work and practice, and that's when the complaining comes in. We have multiple rehearsals after school, and many playing grades to ensure that we are the best that we can be. Despite how much I dislike doing all of this sometimes, and really makes us all better and it's great that we have a director that wants us to improve. 

There are many experiences that I have had in band that will always make band absolutely brilliant. Last year, our marching band show was titled "Man vs. Machine." This show signified a short sort of battle between man and machine with songs such as "Mr. Roboto", "Creep", "Rockit", "Soul Man", and "Fix You." Our favorite performance every year is at the Jackson Band Night in Massillon. The crowd there always has so much energy and it's wonderful. When we got there, we were all extremely excited to perform our new show. We all lined up on the field and got ready to go. As we stood in parade rest, the audience was quiet, and then we heard the whistle, and it was show time. We performed every song as best as we could, and it all paid off. In our last song of our show, "Fix You," we did a chainsaw which is when the whole band comes together in different lines making it look somewhat like a chainsaw. But once we came out of the chainsaw we were all standing in a line of blue and white mixed together to symbolize that man and machine could come together. (The man side of the band was wear white and the machine side was wearing blue) When we finished, our entire band was lined up across the football field and the colors were alternated. The second we finished the crowd stood up and broke out into applause and cheers. It gave our entire band a feeling that we will never be able to explain. It was in that moment that we knew all of our hard work paid off, and we had created something very special. That was something that only happens once in a life time. Even before that day I knew band was something special, but after that day, I knew it was brilliant.

Here is our Man vs. Machine show at Warren

Being in band gives every person a chance to have a surprising experience. Some of the music we play is incredible, and we are very fortunate to be able to go on many trips to places such as Chicago, New York City, and Orlando. Band gives everyone a break in their day to just express themselves though amazing music.  I think band can truly help with creativity and at times can be very relaxing. Band will continue to be brilliant as time goes on and it will never cease to amaze me. You may think you hate band at times, but just wait, you will be amazed at where it can take you. 

Genius and Drill

CRR

In class, we have been analyzing Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Education."  The essay talks about the way kids learn now, and how they should be learning. He discusses nature, and how it is patient. He talks about how we should let the children learn the way nature evolves. Nature takes the time it needs to grow, Emerson felt the same way about children learning. Emerson repeats in his essay "Respect the child" to indicate that we need to respect the way they learn, and let them evolve on their own time. 

One of Emerson's main focuses in this essay was Genius and Drill. When I first read about genius and drill, I had absolutely no clue what he was talking about. But, we discussed it in class and it was made very clear exactly what it was. Genius is the intelligence of an individual. A genius is looking for new ways to learn, they are enthusiastic genius is when you are willing to learn new things in order to better yourself. Drill is when you apply what you learned as a genius, and you seek answers. You practice what you know as a drill. 

I believe that genius and drill can apply to our everyday lives. For example, imagine you're in school sitting in math class and you find out you have a test tomorrow. You immediately get super nervous because you don't understand what you are doing in the class. Then you race home after school because you know that you need to study. You use your genius, and you look for new ways to learn. You apply yourself and you are willing to learn about math. You spend hours studying and you come into school the next day as confident as ever to take your math test. You get to your class and you use drill to apply everything that you learned. That math test ends up being the easiest test you have ever taken because you were willing to learn new things and apply them. 

In the essay, Emerson says "Alas for the cripple Practice when it seeks to come up with the bird Theory, which flies before it." This quote can mean that the theory of practice sounds great, and it should be easy. But in reality, sadly it is not always easy. This can also apply to genius and drill. The process of learning new things and then putting them to use and practicing them is definitely not easy all the time. Every single person is going to be different in what they do. Some people may find it easy while others find it to be the hardest thing in the world. Clearly, Emerson did not just think of all of this randomly one day as he was sitting in a chair reading. It would have taken a lot of time and effort and learning and thinking to even find the idea of genius and drill. So if you think about it, the man who thought of genius and drill, even had to go through the genius and drill process before it existed, in order to come up with the idea of genius and drill. He had to learn all of his life, he had to want to learn, and better himself in order to think of genius and drill. Then he had to apply what he learned throughout his life in order to fully come up with this idea.

When I first read this essay, I did not understand one bit of it. But then I read it again and we had a class discussion on it, and I found it to be very interesting. The whole concept of genius and drill is really clever and it really made me think. And what Emerson said about nature was very interesting too. I know that it would be very hard to do, but it would be extremely nice to have kids learn and grow at their own pace just like nature. It could be a very natural and relaxing process, but instead we are rushed through school and we get information thrown at us because there are so many topics that we are required to learn. But that's the way things need to be because it is a process that works. After reading his essay, I know that I will think more about genius and drill, and what they can do to help me improve my life. Do you think genius and drill can help you in your daily life? Do you agree with Emerson when he states that children should learn at their own pace?