So I was looking at my profile, and I saw the blog and noticed something I found to be wonderful in the Obama picture of him dropping off the girls on Monday.
Here it is:
Look at Malia's right hand, that's a flute case. I remember hearing that the girls were taking piano, but I didn't know that Malia was also taking flute lessons (assuming that's her instrument).
I grew up singing in church, but in 4th grade I started playing the violin, and I hated it. I never wanted to practice, and I faked my way through concerts. The case was large and cumbersome to me (seeing as how I was only in 4th grade), but I wanted to plan an instrument and that was all we could play. Once I got to 5th grade I could pick what I called a "real" instrument (i.e., wind instrument) and I settled on the flute.
I remember when I first got it, sitting in my room trying to figure out how to get it to make a sound (it's not an easy feat when you have no idea what you are doing), but I loved it. I loved it so much that I continued with band in Middle School, there I had a great teacher and I blossomed. I even got my Industrial Arts (or "woodshop") teacher to let me skip his class and do a second period of band on some days. I actually still have some sheet music from my middle school days when we used to have concerts centered around themes (usually Disney movies). My favorite songs to play were "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" and "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" from "The Lion King." I even remember how proud I was when my teacher had me play solos, and when I was in eighth grade, she had me play accompaniment for the choir at the elementary school she taught at.
Well, my love for band followed me into High School. I actually had 3 separate band directors in High School over the 4 years I was there. One had been there for years, but the last two were fresh out of college. Anywhoo, I kept up with my love for band though all of that, I was even made the section leader and started playing the piccolo. Marching band was fun, but as a woodwind, I always loved concert season best (because that's when we get to shine). I loved band so much, that I wanted to keep playing in college, and I found out I could get a band scholarship. A friend and I were planning on going to the same school, so we recorded our auditions on opposite sides of the same tape and mailed them in. We both got scholarship offers (although I bet he got more than me since he was planning on being a music major), I ended up getting $3,000 a year to play a woodwind instrument at a school that only cost $14,000 for the year (it cost a lot more now. . . but that can be said for most schools).
In college, I really grew into my own. I went out of state, so I was away from my parents and had time to find out who I was without them. I made lots of friends from all over the country. In fact, I even brought a friend home with me that first Thanksgiving because she couldn't get back up to Detroit for the holiday. That friend later became my line sister when we joined Tau Beta Sigma, National Honorary Band Sorority, Inc. I did end up going through more band directors thanks to money and collegiate politics. But those chances forced us to step up and be leaders as members of the Band Sorority. We were literally running the program, we did everything but direct during my senior year (which I admit, did piss me off for a couple of reasons). You'd be amazed at how much planning goes into making band trips, even if you only go on one or two. Also, in college band became my extended family, the director I had for my first 3 years was literally like a father away from home, we even went over his house for Easter after Church :o)
Here's a video from my senior year, it's just the dance routine (no drill/Dance feature)
Here's a vid from one of our best years while I was there, the song is "7 Day Weekend" and we were at Tuskegee, this is from the 5th Quarter (a.k.a. when the bands battle after the band that's why you see people walking around the field)
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So anyway, why am I walking you through my memory lane? Because, seeing that instrument case in Malia's hand, made me think about how much music, and specifically band, has influenced my life and who I am. It's given me lots of opportunities and friends all over the country. I can go to just about any state with little notice and have somewhere to stay. It also motivated me to stay in school and succeed (I mean beyond what my parents did), it was something fun and positive to do. Also, I've heard that music helps people out with other skills they'll need in certain classes. I admit, I still hate Math, but sight-reading music is no picnic, especially when you see some of the melodies I've had to deal with over the years. I never thought I'd be able to play some of the stuff I did.
But think about all of the kids who won't have that opportunity because of budget cuts. Music programs are one of the first to be cut when the budget comes around. Kids that may have been at band practice won't have anywhere to go.
Vh1 is doing a great effort with it's Save the Music program:
The VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in American public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of each child's complete education. Since 1997, the VH1 Save the Music Foundation has provided $43 million worth of new musical instruments to more than 1,600 public schools in more than 100 cities around the country, impacting the lives of more than 1.2 million public school students.
I think a lot of focus when it comes to extracurricular activities is on sports, and I think sports does have its pluses (I also played Softball in High School), but I'd like to see more attention being paid to things like Music. My brother was in the choir, and his story is much like mine, just sub "Choir" for "Band", oh, and he's not in a music Frat.
I loved that President-Elect Obama always said he wants kids to be able to learn more than the traditional classes, and he always specifically mentioned music. I hope he is able to reform education so every child will have the same opportunities I had just in the late 90s/early 2000s.
One day I think I'll do a diary on HBCU bands :o)
Thanks for reading!