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How being in a marching band is beneficial
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Marching Band Should Be a Sport in All Schools It’s a Friday night. The lights gleam onto the field. A roar can be heard from the crowd sitting in the stands. It’s halftime. Snares roll off cadence and the lines of uniforms fill the field. The band performs, reflecting upon the many long hours of hard work. What makes this setting so divergent from other game nights? Truthfully, it isn’t that different from any other sport. Many students, maybe even yourself, know what it is like to pour your personal time and effort into a group to make it as great as it is. Being a trumpet player for the FCHS band, I too know the hard work and dedication put into performing for an audience. Our band practices for many hours a day to make sure that our performance …show more content…
There, they are judged by professionals, professors, and sometimes even other high school directors. To the students of the band, placement in a competition determines how successful the season was. The winnings may be nothing more than just bragging rights and a couple trophies, but to the band, that’s everything (Stein). Many people base what makes a sport in whether or not a group competes. By definition a sport is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” (Sport). So in turn, marching band is a sport in the aspect of competition. It may not be the same as scoring touchdowns or hitting a homerun to win but the feeling is no different. When a group wins at something, it is the product of hard work. This goes along with any sport whether it be football, soccer, baseball, and yes, even marching band. Band competitions are not entirely of sport, but the combination of sport and art. Now that it’s known that marching band is in fact competitive, it is still a popular opinion that band practices aren’t hard and don’t last as long as other sports. As a matter of fact, marching band practices are highly difficult and sometimes don’t end until it’s dark
Band is family. When your student walks onto campus, he or she is instantly adopted into the strongest society on campus. They will be spending their school days among the top achievers on campus, with fellow students who look out for one another and steer each other away from trouble instead of towards it. Teachers, staff, parents, and volunteers watch over all the kids as if they were their own.
People only have passion for something they enjoy. Marching band needs to become more enjoyable for students. When you watch other bands perform, you can really tell which bands are enjoying themselves because the majority of the time they are better than the ones that just meander around playing their instrument with no real emotion. Now know that I am not saying we should just goof off more and not really do marching band, but we should make the marching show more interactive instead of just marching from one place to another. We should do more stuff like the poses at the beginning of the Batman show or how in the 80’s Show we did that lung thing during Don’t Stop Believing. Students enjoy
A sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which athletes use this to compete against other teams. According to American Association of Cheerleading Coaches
I would like to point out that many non-nerds are involved with marching band, such as myself. I have been involved in track, football, soccer, and powerlifting throughout my high school career, all while excelling in the band. Some of the best athletes I’ve personally known were at one time in the band and were quite talented as well. One of my good friends, Kaleb Gilbert is a prime example of this. Kaleb was undoubtedly the best snare drummer in the Nettleton High School Band from the time he was in 8th grade to the time he graduated. Kaleb was one of the best basketball players at Nettleton High School as well--talented enough to earn a basketball scholarship to East Mississippi Community College, a school widely known for its athletics. He also earned a free ride to Itawamba Community College via a band scholarship. This proves without a shadow of a doubt that band students are not subjected to a certain type of people, contrary to stereotypes. On the point of running and contact, golf powerlifting are sports that require neither or these, and they have never not been referred to under the classification of a “sport”. This negates the argument that any type of running and contact are necessary to be deemed a
Since the early twentieth century, the role of music contests and festivals has been integral to the growth and development of school band programs, and parallel to this role has been the discussion of the function of competition in these events. In a study of the first national band tournament Holz (1960) asserted that “[The contest] provided the occasion and the reason for the merging of musical, educational, and commercial efforts in a common cause – the simultaneous democratization and artistic improvement of instrumental music in schools”. Joseph E. Maddy, the first full time Supervisor of Music in Rochester, New York, spoke favorably of the early band contests; “The radical changes in instrument manufacturing, band publications, and improved performance standards which occurred would have taken one hundred years had it not been for the contest movement” (Fonder, 1983). Despite the positive responses from Holz and Maddy, Birge (1966) reported, “ Early in the contest movement educators felt that the intensely competitive factor lessened the educational value of the events”. Music educators of this period were also critical of the (1) contest format, (2) eligibility requirements, (3) adjudication procedures, and (4) the emphasis on “winning” (Payne, 1997). The positive and negative traits of these early band contests have been reported by many (Burdett, 1985; Moore. 1972; Hansen, 2004; Holz, 1960; Humphreys, 1981; Whitehill, 1969; Yarberry, 1979), but the role of competition and contests continues to divide the music profession philosophically and serve as a catalyst for debate when discussing their place in music education.
Sweat dripping down my face and butterflies fluttering around my stomach as if it was the Garden of Eden, I took in a deep breathe and asked myself: "Why am I so nervous? After all, it is just the most exciting day of my life." When the judges announced for the Parsippany Hills High School Marching Band to commence its show, my mind blanked out and I was on the verge of losing sanity. Giant's Stadium engulfed me, and as I pointed my instrument up to the judges' stand, I gathered my thoughts and placed my mouth into the ice-cold mouthpiece of the contrabass. "Ready or not," I beamed, "here comes the best show you will ever behold." There is no word to describe the feeling I obtain through music. However, there is no word to describe the pain I suffer through in order to be the best in the band either. When I switched my instrument to tuba from flute in seventh grade, little did I know the difference it would make in the four years of high school I was soon to experience. I joined marching band in ninth grade as my ongoing love for music waxed. When my instructor placed the 30 lb. sousaphone on my shoulder on the first day, I lost my balance and would have fallen had my friends not made the effort to catch me. During practices, I always attempted to ease the discomfort as the sousaphone cut through my collar bone, but eventually my shoulder started to agonize and bleed under the pressure. My endurance and my effort to play the best show without complaining about the weight paid off when I received the award for "Rookie of the Year." For the next three seasons of band practice, the ache and toil continued. Whenever the band had practice, followed by a football game and then a competition, my brain would blur from fatigue and my body would scream in agony. Nevertheless, I pointed my toes high in the air as I marched on, passionate about the activity. As a result, my band instructor saw my drive toward music and I was named Quartermaster for my junior year, being trusted with organizing, distributing, and collecting uniforms for all seventy-five members of the band. The responsibility was tremendous. It took a bulk of my time, but the sentiment of knowing that I was an important part of band made it all worthwhile.
During practices in the summer you’re out there for as short as three hours and as long as eleven hours running and marching around in scorching heat. Not only are we doing that, but we are holding or wearing heavy instruments. In the summer, we have what is called band camp and this camp usually last for two full weeks and about eleven hours a day depending on the school. I’m not here to discriminate against other sports, but if golf and bowling should be considered sports than so should marching band. Personally going into my first season of marching band I weighed over two hundred pounds and by the end of my second season I weighed only a hundred and twenty-five pounds. Meaning I lost over seventy-five pounds just by being in marching band. This clearly demonstrates how physically intense marching band can
Marching band is a very broad field to participate in. High school and college band both have specific criteria they have to meet during marching season. But what are the differences and likenesses between high school and college band? In high school band, there is one show to perform and there are many long, grueling hours spent perfecting and fine tuning it. The show is not only for halftime spectating at football games, but also band festival and regional contests. High school band has a more stern outlook because the entire season is spent working for placement, whether it be superior or not. Some bands have a more difficult time working considering obstacles such as size. Bands can range anywhere from only thirty to two hundred. With upperclassmen
While the definition of a sport may vary by the person, the dictionary definition for a sport can be best described as, “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment” (Oxford Dictionary). Cheerleading has been a topic of an ongoing controversial debate as to whether or not it should be recognized as a sport. Players that engage in sports, such as, football, basketball, and baseball all display a genuine liking for their sport, which generally emphasizes why they take part in the activity. Similarly, cheerleaders have this same mindset, but society tends to overlook their passion through the generation of the argument that cheerleading does not require
There is something that generally is very noticeable in every band: the gender imbalance. The gender imbalance is can be described by looking at a band and noticing the people in each section. Some have all males or at least a great majority of them, like percussion (which is drums) or low brass (tubas, baritones or trombones). While others such as high woodwinds (flutes or clarinets) have a majority female population. There are a few sections you may be able to look at and see this, such as trumpets or saxophones, but even this depends on the marching band. This is a huge problem in the marching band world and it needs to be fixed so that more people will join or continue on in their music. The reason this is a huge problem is because when someone breaks that gender imbalance, for example a guy plays the flute, then people start to target that person. He could be teased or bullied which could make him quit band. Not a lot of girls try out for low brass or percussion because they guys in the group will most likely see them as inferior and give them all kinds of crap every day. Marching band is supposed to be a community that is like a family and people should feel comfortable with whatever that choose to play. With the current gender problem, that is not happening and therefore the community as a whole is
RAH! RAH! GO TEAM! This is what most people think of when they hear the word cheerleading. Movies usually give people the impression that cheerleaders are just stuck up blondes that rule the school and cheer at football and basketball games. Although there are still stereotypical cheerleaders just like the ones in movies, cheerleaders are not just on the sidelines anymore. There are now competitive teams who only compete and do not cheer for anything. This is called competitive cheerleading. This type of cheerleading is very different from the cheerleading on the sidelines and is much more athletic. Competitive cheerleading is often underrated because cheerleaders make it look easier than it is. Society should consider competitive cheerleading a sport because it fits the definition, requires incredible strength and endurance, and considering it a sport would help prevent injuries.
Every sport has a strategy to win. On a competitive cheerleading team there is indeed is a way to keep score, therefore a way to win. There are many different score categories that make up a total score such as difficulty, style, tumbling, stunting, dancing, and sharpness of motions. When a squad messes up or makes mistakes, judges can deduct points from the overall score to make it known that a mistake occurred. This is similar to a foul or a flag on a play. There is a maximum amount of points that you can receive, but earning a perfect score is very hard to do. In the cheerleading world, the point system that can be so close and differ so little from other teams. Scores can differ as little as a tenth of a point to one hundred points or more. There is a winner and a loser just like sports that are classified as a sport or the ones that are competed on in the Olympics. Colleges are very biased when it comes to giving out scholarships and classifying cheerleading as a sport. It is very hard to attend college on a cheerleading scholarship. Most colleges make cheerleaders pay out of pocket for being on a cheerleading team. The college squads still compete for national titles and high school cheerleading teams still compete for state titles just like any other sports team would. It is all political when it comes to college sports due to the statistics of colleges and how the athletic department divides their money. Sports that are recognized as
Because some cheerleading squads don’t compete, society thinks of it merely as a physical activity. Even though cheerleaders’ main purpose is to support other athletic activities, cheer squads whom compete, follow all physical criteria to be considered a sport. Cheerleaders put forth an incredible amount of determination. They practice tirelessly to show off their skills, with little or no recognition for their efforts. Cheerleading is a sport because it requires physical fitness, skill, dedication, and stamina. Cheerleading should be considered a sport globally.
I have been a member of marching band ever since I was in eighth grade. Marching, and music itself, was almost part of my DNA, with my entire family having been involved in musical organizations before me. My journey into the world of marching band began as a timid, reserved, and anxiety-filled girl who did not know anybody else involved in the organization. I was convinced that I was going to hate it, and came home from most of our summer rehearsals in tears. That was when older members started reaching out to me; they invited me to lunches and dinners during band camp, and sat with me during breaks so that I did not have to be alone. Eventually I made other friends my age, and I did not need to cling to them as much, but I still considered
My older sister loved the marching band, so I always got dragged to their performances. I could not tell what was so appealing about it all; it consisted of walking on a field while playing instruments and flags being swung in the air. Participating in a marching band was never what I intended nor wanted to do. The idea bored me, but my mom insisted.