Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Were you in the marching band?

When I was a kid they started you playing an instrument in 4th grade - if you wanted.  I believe it was the same year we started Spanish as well.  I was more successful in band than in Spanish.  After "hola" - I got nuthin'.

I'm not sure if I picked the saxophone or if they needed more woodwinds but that's what I ended up with.


Ah, the tenor sax.  No girly alto for me; I was all about the tenor.  
Well, it turns out it wasn't a tenor after all.  If I remember correctly, it was my band instructor, Larry Frank, that discovered my parents had, instead, purchased a C-melody saxophone.

Now what?  Well, Larry got music written for a C-melody and off we went.  Somewhere along the line, I got a real tenor.

  
He was an amazing teacher.  If you were having a problem with your part, he'd come over and whip the thing out of your mouth and play your part for you.  And then . . . give it back to you.  I don't remember being totally grossed out by the fact that I now had to play it but what choice did we have back then?  Handi-whipes hadn't been invented yet.

We started practicing for the fair parade (mid Sept.) in the heat of the summer.  He was relentless and we kicked ass.

I didn't play my sax all the way through school.  I think I made it through my sophomore year and then gave it up for cheerleading.  I think a choice had to be made because, at that time anyway, you couldn't cheer and perform with the band during half-time.  That part is a little hazy but the end result is that I didn't graduate with sax hanging from my neck.

What an education, though.  It gave me an appreciation for music, I learned how to read music and learned how to march in a straight line.  That's a skill that has come in handy on more than one occasion.  Don't ask. 
  

 

9 comments:

  1. Marching Band both High School and a couple years in college! My Mr Frank was Mr. Winters, he was amazing, 5th grade through high school, he had all of us and we were 120 strong! Oh and my instrument of choice was the clarinet, with a little bass clarinet from time to time when needed! Great memories I encourage young people to do it, a great group to hang with and automatic acceptance into the High School thing!!! All 3 of my kids did band!!!

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  2. Some of my best memories are associated with band - 4th - 12th, what a good time with a great group. All made possible by Mr. Frank.

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  3. I wanted to play the drums, but my sister & brother wanted to play something too (Paul had come along yet) Too much expense at the time, so, I didn't play an instrument, but, I did sing in Latin at the Sat.morning masses, while Nancy Henderson played the organ. I thought I was pretty good! tehe.
    We saw Larry & Mary Frank a couple of years ago. They live in Northport, MI. right on the bay. They were our neighbors & our back yard were separated by a fence. Oh my, what marvelous people. I have their address if you are even interested.

    Jan

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  4. Yep! I marched in the band in my Ohio high school. Our band director, recently graduated from Ohio State, was all about having 100 kids marching on the field. Some of us just carried instruments - mine was the bass clarinet. I had learned a bit of clarinet in 5th grade here in Allegan from Herman Priebe, but I never quite mastered marching and mouthing that bass one. I did, however, get to go to band camp and get a crush on the 23-year-old life guard. And I, too, learned to march in a straight line - which, yes, comes in handy a lot, if you say so. I gave up band to become a "sandwich girl" at football games - we hawked the hot dogs and won letters for our sweaters. Ah, the teen years - long gone!

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    1. Crushing on a lifeguard and hawking dogs at the games - you had a full life back in high school, didn't ya, Sal?

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  5. We went to see Kenny G on Sat at Miller Auditorium. He started playing the sax in 4th grade as well and still uses the same saxophone. His piano player had gone to HS with him. All five of his musicians had been with him 25 years. He made a point of saying that they were all products of public school music programs. I thought that was very nice. Anne

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    1. Public school music programs need all the hype they can get. That's great.

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  6. I really, really wish I would have stuck with an instrument. I got "fitted" for the flute in 7th grade but didn't join band. I took organ/keyboard lessons for a minute and then piano for another. Chelsea was in band from 5th grade on...played the French Horn but now, of course, doesn't do a thing with it. Dear Husband plays guitar. I am the only musically illiterate one in the family.

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