There are many positions that high school students can occupy that are considered
student leadership positions. They can be teachers’ assistants, football captains, cheerleading
captains, or student body presidents. All of these require students to be of good character and
strong mind. However, none of these can compare to the demands on the drum major. The
drum major is the student leader of the band, and he is, at the same time, a role model, a
teacher, a friend to all, an excellent musician, a performer, a liaison between the band and the
director, the director’s chief “gopher,” and the chief morale officer. The drum major leads the
marching band in the halftime show and during rehearsals, but as the above list demonstrates,
his job is much more inclusive.
I joined the West Monroe High School Rebel Band in August of 2007. Although I had
been in band for three years in middle school, high school band was a whole new world full of
many changes. One of the biggest changes was the addition of marching; suddenly, it was like I
was learning how to play all over again. Some other more enjoyable changes included Friday
night football games, bus rides, and the close knit family of which freshmen become a part. I
enjoyed every bit of my freshman year, but I watched three people very carefully, Daniel
Zeagler, Valerie Wade, and Angela Rutledge, the drum majors. I knew that their position was
one I wanted to have some day.
During my sophomore year, I decided to try out for drum major. I wanted to hear my
name called out and get recognition, sure, but even more than that, I yearned to test my ability
to lead. I craved for an opportunity to really make a difference in the band program that meant
so much to me. So, I pract...
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...ommand. After
muttering a few things under my breath, I cut off the drums, gave the “Present Horns,” and
restarted the piece. I recovered well, but I felt like a scorned puppy marching off of the field. I’ve
since gotten over the shame in mistake. I accept it fully, but I also realized my own fallibility,
something I have always had a problem coming to terms with. That mistake taught me more
than any other in my life the meaning of humility, and it taught me how important humility is for a
good leader.
A drum major is the quintessential student leadership position. Few high school students
are expected to speak to groups of two hundred; only drum majors actually lead them. I learned
many, many lessons during the fall of my junior year, more than I could ever write. I learned a
little about conducting, much about being a leader, and even more about myself.
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.
...a life lesson. The military style of drum line is what has helped me improve in my schoolwork, my family life, and my friendships; I was trained to never give up even if success seems impossible.
Looking around and seeing bright lights and feeling all eyes on you. Hearing both sides of the stadium cheer and shout for their teams and getting nervous during the last few seconds of the second quarter and at the same time being very proud of what the band has accomplished in the brief amount of time it took to learn the pretty intense and complex drill. Then suddenly you get the adrenaline rush that pushes you to perform. Many people would agree that being a drum major is one of the most eminent positions that is held by students who are Being the Drum Major of any band shows that you have the respect and trust of the members of the band and it’s directors. It also shows that you are passionate about what you do, responsible and that
George Helmholtz, as the head of the music department at Lincoln High School, is very determined with his regular students and the gifted musicians of the band. Each semester and year at school he dreams of “leading as fine a band as there was on the face of the earth. And each year it came true”. His certainty that it was true was because he believed there was no greater dream than his. His students were just as confident and in response, they played their hearts out for them. Even the students with “no talent played on guts alone” for Helmholtz.
When our director collected our finals on, the last week of school of my junior year, it dawned on my class that we were the new seniors. As the new leaders, we had to learn how to handle new situations with difficult underclassmen and how to encourage the band in the best of the difficult times to have them improve their skills to progress the band further and set the bar higher on excellence. In a band, it’s important to lead by example and to have the enthusiasm to bring in the games.
"It's a lot of dedication, which is hard, but I think everyone needs to have something that they're dedicated to, something they enjoy doing, and [marching band is] the thing I like doing," states Jordan Kauffman, probably the most dedicated member of the band. "For me, I just love music.…it's just something that I love. People who like doing math, do math. I like doing music." Jordan has participated in marching band all four years of his high school career. Starting in the beginning of his second year of high school, he began to take leadership positions in the band. As a sophomore, he applied for and was nominated as the section leader of his instrument, the saxophone. His junior year, the talented young man was elected by his peers to serve as an assistant drum major. In marching band, there is no more important role than that of a drum major. The drum majors act as student assistants to the directors, directing and often running many of the rehearsals. This year, however, Jordan sacrificed his drum major position to march on the field to fill a gap in the French horn section. Jordan's sacrifice for the group has placed him at the level of a demi-god in the eyes of the other band members.
In band, you learn so much more about how to read music, understand it, and apply that knowledge
One thing that has shaped me into a better leader and has helped me change my
This year alone I have had to learn a lot about health finance, I recently got married and with my husband in the Air Force, I had to learn a lot about Tricare, most of which my mom could not help me with. I searched many of my questions or called the company in my district, which to me knew nothing and couldn’t answer my questions, so learning this material in class gave me a glimpse of the future and the many problems I know I will have.
One of the biggest thing that was a big change was going away, and not living at home. I have never been on an extended stay away from home, and I’m enjoying it to an extent. It is nice not having
As you live your life, and time passes. As society changes, and opportunities come and go. One thing never changes… A drummer’s passion for music. Coming from a musically gifted family obviously fueled my passion for drumming. The first step was to join the band, and being in band was what gave me a true appreciation for music. The passion for drums came first and then an appreciation for all the hard work musicians do. Unfortunately the marching band, in high school, was not affordable for me. So I wondered how i could continue my drumming career, and eventually came to a decision. I decided to take up playing a full drum-set, and it was the best choice of my life. Playing the full set, has given so many more opportunities than the band ever
Mr. Compston saw a spark in me and suggested that I join band and introduced me to Miss Linard. My first few years in the band program here at UL it was confusing, I didn’t know what I was doing or what I was looking at on a daily basis. For those first few years though, on an almost weekly basis during the school year, Miss L was teaching me new things, showing me what different words and markings on the paper meant. She gave me lessons and slowly everything started to fall into place. Fast forward to today, I’m one of the most successful students the band program has ever seen. From Solo & Ensemble contest to marching in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I’ve seen and done so much, all because of band, all because of one decision in the middle of my 6th grade year. A decision that has forever changed my life. It’s because of that impact on my is why I want to become a music teacher. I want to change someone’s life, give them the same opportunities that I was given and see them soar beyond what they are. I have a great love for music and education, so this is the career for
Starting at the end of this year two obstacles will be placed upon the Heritage Band. The opening of the new Frisco ISD campus, Memorial High School, and the large number of seniors graduating; this will impact us greatly due to the drastic portion of our band leaving us next marching season. This not only means the band will be smaller but the atmosphere will be different. The current HHS culture is very welcoming and friendly. These values filled up a part of me that felt absent as well as alleviating my fear of emerging as a first year student having to worry about losing classmates. While also knowing that I will be meeting people from other walks of life. Not only has the Heritage band taught me the values of family and unity, it also taught me to be accountable for my actions.This
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader—John Quincy Adams. Effective school leaders possess a complex set of knowledge, skills, and standards. Education is about determining how to learn and helping those around you to discover their own visions and potential. It is the responsibility of an effective leader to be a catalyst of change and a source of inspiration and encouragement.
First of all, there are roughly only 800 students in my entire school, from kindergarten up to upperclassmen and women, and my graduating class of a mere 67 was the biggest in my school's history. So you were forever running into everyone you knew, and who you had known for your whole life. At times this was comforting, at others, slightly claustrophobic. After a while it was easy to feel that you knew practically everyone's middle name or favorite movie, and it was impossible to...