Step In high school, many people praise athleticism and make idols of the star athletes. I am surprised by how little of that praise is directed toward marching bands, though. It’s actually much more difficult and tasking than people think! As a general statement, each member of the band has to remember every single movement, every single piece of music to be played, and how these two items are to be played or marched. Not only is it tasking mentally, but physically as well.
For example, every marching player carries their own, usually heavy, metal instrument by only the strength of their shoulders for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. On top of holding the instruments up, marchers need to actually move their legs in time and march with very precise, grueling technique that requires balance, coordination, and simple muscle power. One band that should always come to mind when thinking of marching is Moon Area High School Marching band. Through hours of hard work and excellent leadership, the group has mastered all techniques of marching, balance, form, and musical ability.
Every Tuesday and Friday evening from five to seven in the evenings, the Moon Area High School Marching Band is led through practice by Mr. James Davis, the school’s respected Band Director. The band has won a couple awards, including 12th Place at West Allegheny’s Cavalcade of bands! In fact, Moon has only rightfully won two awards in the last 30 years of performing. Recently, I was given the prestigious opportunity to sit in on one of Moon’s practices and observe the structure of the band from the inside.
Bullying in the Schools
Bullying and intimidation are a major social problem in many cultures. Since it is widely considered immature and mean to perpetrate violent or threatening acts, it is not surprising that incidents of bullying are usually found among young people where they gather to socialize. Schools are a hotbed of bullying activity, and many children are victimized. Bullying has two key components: repeated ...
What I saw while sitting in the upper stands of the rehearsal stadium wasn’t shocking in the slightest; hard work, disciplined instructors, and even more adamant musical members of the band. “Alright guys,” Mr. Davis said with a smirk on his face, “Now we’re gonna work on bent knees during the half-time marching. ” The apathetic groan that came from their heads pleased him enough. The teens continued as a block of exhausted bodies, still determined to improve with every repetition. Davis seemed to always have an excuse for them to go back and try the exercise again and again and again. Noah’s horn angle was too high! Negative 10 degrees is the rule, kids! Oh, and make sure you’re still not in line with the person to your right, people. Come on, we’ve been doing this for days now! ” Regardless of how well they did, he always found something to improve upon. I personally can’t blame Davis; he is only doing his job, and his job is to make the band the best that it can be. The band’s exquisite display of unparallel lines, and jagged curves in its drill made it very difficult to see the forms that they were creating and weaving on the field.
I believe that this is an artful approach; it is deliberate. The performers march with bent knees and toes scuffling across the ground, causing the uneven horn angles to bounce around like a fumbled football. The band’s tempo was magnificent, as it couldn’t be controlled! The woodwinds of the band slowed musically to a crawl, while the drum line and brass raced to the finish! It was one of the greatest displays of marching I’ve ever seen, yet Mr. Davis assured me that it was only a practice, and that the band wasn’t performing as well as usual on this specific night.
I was flabbergasted. After the end of the last song (when both halves of the band had finished, I must add. ) I applauded like a little girl waiting in line for a ride at Disneyworld. I hooped and hollered, while the band gracefully walked off the field at a different tempo than that of the drum cadence. Afterward, I pelted James Davis with questions. How do you encourage your band members? Do they practice on their own outside of rehearsal? What are your beliefs on the traditional roll step technique of marching? Mr. Davis calmly replied, “Wait, what is a roll step? ”
The Term Paper on Influences of Miles Davis and Conflicts
Introduction Miles Davis’s musical legacy is one of the canonical figures in jazz because of his vital development of innovation and style in Jazz after the Second World War. Davis was one of the most outstanding musicians due to his uniqueness and quality of his music pieces, as well as his great potential in improvisation. Davis’s erratic approach to improve the jazz by constant exploration for ...
