Freshman’s Experience in Drumline
Jon smiles for the camera before rehearsing his drum exercises.
October 25, 2018
I attended band camp during this past summer and was very nervous. I was afraid I wouldn’t know what to do. When I met the people in my section they made me feel very comfortable. I felt like I belonged. As summer went on, I noticed that everyone in the section respected each other and me. I was nervous around them still and it took me a few weeks to be able to talk to them without being nervous, but by the end of the summer I was able to talk to everyone and joke around with them.
Throughout the summer, I started learning stand tunes and cadences on the snare drum, for football games and drum-line performances. I continue to practice those and learn new ones this year. We have band practice after school from 3:30-6:30, every Tuesday-Thursday, and I practice from 2-3 hours a day at home on a drum pad. Being in drum-line is a commitment because you must attend every practice. You must practice at home and show up to all performances and competitions. With band practice being after school till 6:30, weekend practices/performances, and competitions that last all day, drum-line takes up a lot of your time making it a big commitment.
Although it may get tiring, it can still be fun when it comes to performances. We attend many fun events such as the Candy Cane Parade, St. Patrick’s Day Parade, football games, competitions (Falcon Sound, Park Vista, MPA), and drum-line performances at different places. My favorite part about being in drum-line is attending all of these events because they are fun and we get to show off all of our hard work and show what our long days of practice was for.
I plan on staying in drum-line for my 4 years in high school because I really enjoy it. I still have many more performances coming up to experience. Throughout my years in high school I will continue to practice and improve. I will continue to learn more instruments and be able to play all the instruments for every song.
I really enjoy being in drum-line because everyone is very nice to me, and each other. We are like our own family within the band. I enjoy performing and practicing. I am dedicated and put all my time into band and will continue to for a while.
