Drum Corps

Just like I said in my last blog about the different types of bands, Drum Corps is a really hard thing to get into, but there are so many good things that come out of it.  It helps you become a better player and you meet so many new people. I have never personally been in drum corps but I have friends that are and they love it.

“Don’t forget about Drum Corps. This is a big deal, you have to audition and you are gone most of the summer to practice, these are the best of the best. They are marching bands with only brass, drumline, and color guard. They don’t take any winds, so if you are a wind player and want to be in drum corps you have to learn to play a brass instrument.”

Maybe you can’t be in it if you aren’t brass, but what’s stopping you from becoming a brass player? The answer is probably you. So why don’t you try stepping outside of your comfort zone once in a while and try learning a new instrument, who knows you might like playing that one better than your normal one.

Many high school musicians only know how to play one instrument because many people don’t care to learn a new one. And many band directors don’t push the idea of learning a new one unless they need a different instrument then they try to find someone they think would be good on that instrument they need and talk to them. But other than that they leave the idea alone.

If you want to learn an new instrument find a friend that plays that instrument and talk to them or even talk to a band director, anyone is willing to help, you just have to step up and be the one to ask because they don’t take hints and they won’t come to you.

Different bands

There are several different types of bands. There is the actual pop star bands, then there is marching band, concert band, jazz band, combo, honor bands, and then of course drum corps. Each of them have very different opportunities to go different directions with music. You just have to find what you like and what you want to do and go for it.

The first one is a pop star band. They are very hard to get into and not very many instruments, because many times the lead singer or another member of the group itself plays a guitar or something so that really limits the choices and the needs for many bands. And you have to be a perfect player and able to play without music flawlessly. Also don’t forget, no stage fright. You can’t be afraid to play in front of people cause there will always be eyes on you at a performance.

The next type of band is marching band. This is a group effort, and I know I talk about marching band a lot and that’s only because of how much it means to me. There is so much time and effort put into it but it really pays off. There no way to explain the feeling you get after marching off the field when you know you had a great performance.

Then there is concert band; concert band is not all it’s cracked up to be. Now I’m not saying it’s not fun. But everyday it’s the same thing. Go to the band room, get your instrument out, sit in your seat and play. Many times it’s the same piece for weeks at a time. So it can get kinda boring at some points, but it’s still band so its cool.

There is also jazz band. You get to choose if you want to be in jazz band or not. This year is my second year doing it and I love it. You are in a smaller band which gives you more opportunities to get solos, and who doesn’t love solos. You get the chance to show off your musically ability in front of many other musicians and families at concerts. For combo it is the show choir band, and in order to get into it you have to be in jazz band and willing to give up a lot of your time for it. You also have to audition with either Mrs. Fleer or Mr. Wacker.

Don’t forget about Drum Corps. This is a big deal, you have to audition and you are gone most of the summer to practice, these are the best of the best. They are marching bands with only brass, drumline, and color guard. They don’t take any winds, so if you are a wind player and want to be in drum corps you have to learn to play a brass instrument.

Music therapy

Music therapy has become a bigger thing in the last couple years. (http://www.musictherapy.org/about/musictherapy/) It is a type of therapy that uses music, such as creating their own music, singing, dancing to, and listening to music to help the patients in other ways than typically what you would think of a therapist. It is extremely helpful to “address: physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs for children.”

This type of therapy also helps to provide an outlet for communication for people who find it hard to express who they are in words. The result of music therapy is effective in so many ways; it can help with “overall physical rehabilitation and facilitating movement, increasing the motivation in people to become engaged in their own treatment, provides emotional support for patients and families during this therapy, and also provides an outlet for the patients to express their feelings” instead of keeping them all inside.

Music therapy also helps with children with autism. Many children with autism have speech problems or just problems talking in general if they can talk at all, so music is very good for them. Since many people and children with autism cannot speak as well as others it is a very difficult task for them to express their feelings and emotions. “Music became the shorthand of William’s emotions. It gave him the opportunities for speech, emotional contact and mental focus” said by Leo Tolstoy, about Williams experience with music therapy.

So many people who have had music therapy either in the past or even now, have gotten so much help or are slowly working on getting help. Music therapy has become such a great branch of therapy. It targets certain people who it will help and it is more focused on that one patient it isn’t as generalized as most types of therapy, whether it be physical therapy or a therapist you just talk to.

Thank You

Music therapy teaches

 Social skills.

 It's about communication.

 It's about what William's taught,

 In nurturing situations.

 He's learned patience

 And tolerance,

 Growing in many ways.

 His social skills developed,

 Made him what he is today.

 So, thank you for your guidance,

 As only music can touch.

 Thank you for reaching our William,

 Because it means so much.

Parent testimonial, written by Tamera Norris

This was a letter written by William’s mother, who was talked about above, and how much music therapy has helped him and his family.

(http://www.musictherapy.org/about/personal_stories/)

Today's music

Music today has changed a lot in recent years. For example the audience for music has changed dramatically and also don’t forget how much the topic of the songs have changed. There are so many songs in today’s society have become more and more about sex and drugs and partying. They don’t care about who hears it. For example they play these songs on the radio without caring who hears or listens to that radio station.

Music today has become a lot more sexist. (http://cupoequality.blogspot.com/2015/11/obsessive-themes-in-jealous-nick-jonas.html) This blog post by Rachel Maly about the song Jealous by Nick Jonas is a great example of this. Today when people write songs it isn’t to express feelings as much anymore it’s just to get their song on the top charts to get more people to listen to it to get more money.

If some singers and song writers actually thought about who and why they are writing the song or singing it songs today might be a little different. If there is no reason or story behind the song then there is no reason to really sing it, is there? It just becomes a waste of time.

Maybe if they took time to think about what they are writing or even just what the words mean today's songs would be more appropriate and okay for little children who listen to the radio with their parents. Even little children who can’t yet understand what the words or songs mean still isn’t a good idea to have them hear it. 

Writing music

Writing music is a lot more difficult than people think. People think, “oh you just have to write down a couple notes on a staff” but there is so much more to it than that. You have to have a time and key signature, also there is a bunch of sharps and flats plus there are also accidentals that make the music more interesting.

Dynamics are a very important part of music, it adds character to it and can make it more dramatic if written and played correctly. Dynamics are almost as important as writing is the melody and rhythm, without rhythm notes are just random and make no sense which completely ruins the sole purpose of writing music. If you just have notes scattered on the page that makes no sense at all it takes away the appeal of the music. As a fellow musician, and instrumentalist of 6 years when you see music already right away in your head you can see and hear what the music will sound like.

“SILENCE MEANS JUST AS MUCH AS THE NOTES THEMSELVES” rests in music might seem extremely pointless but they actually create just as much impact as playing notes. Also musicians need time to rest their mouths. Some need it more than others, for example trumpets need rest more than a flute or saxophone. Without rest in music and all the instruments playing at the same time the whole song can make the music sound messy and hard to hear the separate parts and instruments, because of the different pitches and tones of all the instruments. For example the tension between lows and highs.

Another important thing in writing or composing music is you have to know who to give the different parts, like melody, harmony, counter melody etc. to. In many pieces it more often goes to the highs instead of the lows. For example giving it to the flutes, clarinets, or trumpets instead of giving it to the tuba or euphoniums. There are some cases where lows get the melody but it doesn't happen all that often like highs do.

What about how do you know where to put an accidental? Well you don't, there is no specific spot to put it. Reason why it’s called an accidental. Any musician will know how much of a pain in the rear end accidentals are. Plus they carry through a measure so you can't forget about them as quickly you want to. Accidentals go completely against the key signature. For example putting a B natural in when Bb is in the key. That is why you really have to pay attention with music so you don't miss them. They are put in the for a reason, whether it be trying to make the music sound better or creating dissonance between parts. Or even just to create suspense.

There are so many moving parts in music that no one takes the time to pay attention to. So next time you sit down and listen to music, listen to the separate parts. And listen how they work together to create the sound they make. The words of a song doesn't matter, it’s the music and rhythm that make it work.

Love Songs in the 21st century

Love songs are constantly changing some of them are slow and meaningful, such as “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston or “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri. Then there are songs like “Wanted” by Hunter Hayes that are about love in a different sort of way. What about the songs about love at first sight as well? And with every song about love there is also those songs about heartbreak that you can’t forget about.

There are just as many, if not more, songs about heartbreak; as there are about loving someone in the moment and not in the past. Songs such as “Stitches” by Sean Mendes, or “Whiskey Lullaby” by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss almost any song by Taylor Swift. Some songs such “We are Never Getting Back Together”, “Mean”, “Back to December”, etc. There is too many songs about heart break or a bad break up written by her to name. But she also has songs that just about love in general.

Songs such as “Our Song” or “Love Story” or even “Mine”. I have absolutely nothing against Taylor Swift, I admire her for what she does, she sings about things most people wouldn’t even think about singing about, or just things that people don’t want to realize is going on.

There are even country songs about love, but in a different way. They aren’t all about the lovey dovey part of love, they sing about the down to earth part of it, where they can connect to people on a heart to heart level. There are even songs about break ups in country music as well. But not as many as other types of music.

So no matter what kind of music you like to listen to, next time you turn on the radio don’t just listen to the words, actually think about what the words are trying to say. Sometimes what they are trying to say in the world is more important than the words or rhythm themselves.

The split in bands

As concert band season is getting ready to begin, we have to make a couple changes, such as we have to make more than one group, because we can’t have all 140 something of us in one band. So we go into three smaller groups. We have Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band and Concert Band. Most people who really care about band and want to be a good player strive to be in one of the top two bands, but there are some people who really don’t care about what band they are in and purposely fail their chair audition just to be in concert band.

The people in Wind Symphony work their butts off every day to make sure their music is perfect with little if any mistakes, the people in the next band down, is Symphonic band, and again in that band they work hard too, but not as hard at Wind Symphony, then there is Concert band. Most of them don’t care, some of them are there just for the easy A. So many of them don’t even try to play right. Some days they don’t play at all.

As much as it sucks to get split up from all your friends, the split is good. It puts people who have the same determination together to help the band as a whole. Like in Marching band there is some people who don’t care and don’t try and that hurts the band as a whole but there isn’t much anyone can do about it. So in concert band season the split puts those people who don’t care and don’t want to try together and it also puts those who work their butt off and those who want to be there to play and who don’t care about the grade together to create an even stronger band.

Even though it is based on music ability people think it’s more about someone being better than another person, and that’s not always the case. Although many times people in Wind Symphony act like they are better, they really aren’t. They are just better at playing their instrument and have more experience with playing in band. Because a majority of the time it is upper class men, not many freshmen and sophomores make it in.