Last First Competition

Our directors said that we accomplished a lot and improved a lot this week, although our performance and work ethic didn't match.  So many people sat out and watched or didn't come due to either real or imaginary ailments   That wouldn't have been accepted all my first year.  It just frustrates me how the band gets less and less disciplined every year. 

Yesterday's show was horrible.  One kid's reed flew off.  We couldn't hear the cue to start part 4: we all just stood there for a little while until someone went and then everyone followed suit. 

So,last year marching band members get awards and do a salute that requires synchronization and therefore a beat.  The percussionists all want to do a salute together, although I don't think that's a very good idea because it may be better to have a percussionist each time to keep time.  Well, the two percussionists I mentioned this to said in an haughty tone that we should be able to keep a beat.  I'm used to playing to a steady beat, not choosing the tempo and clapping the beat.  I'm used to matching a tempo to how fast I can go, not the other way.  I really must think and count carefully as I attempt to clap the beat as we warm up.  Whatever, I wouldn't be a very good drum major for this reason.

we got second of two: we have never gotten last at a competition. It surprised me because the band that beat us got 9th or 10th at championships last year, although they've competed twice this season.

With another band member and two guard members, I went down to salute and accept the award. We got high percussion and high guard. I accept the percussion award much to my dismay because a percussionist who earned the honor should have accepted the award instead of me. I felt so self conscious in the spot light, especially because we didn't have much time to prepare and therefore didn't exactly know what we were doing. It was cool to accept the award on behalf of our screaming, cheering band.

Our show went fairly well, I talked to two baritones about some new members who either don't understand marching band or don't care.  It frustrated me.

We've endured a lot this season: one trumpet quit after missing most of the season, an athlete quit because she couldn't manage her sport and band, a small new member couldn't manage the heavy tenor drums.  We have holes on the field where they would have been. 

When I got home, I sent a Facebook message to my marching band member who really helped me learn to march.  She wrote a book her last year specifically for drum majors, although she recommended that I look in to it because she talks about leadership too.  She told me that I've improved a lot in four years and that I'm the epitome of success in marching band.  I had such poor posture that I marched like a duck and didn't know how to process the music, the marching, the visuals.  I had better have improved since then.  With her advice, I guess I must remember that I can encourage and try to help, but one must ultimately make the decision to want to improve   It just frustrates me that some fellow leadership team members don't care either.