Posted by Joe Baker on June 23, 2000 at 15:32:43:
... about life I learned in in band. (wouldn't all fit in subject line)
The thoughts expressed below in the "how long will band music survive?" thread prompt me to realize all I learned in band:
1) How to sit with and work with people who are quite different from me, and achieve a goal together,
2) To be play the song all the way to the end, even if I didn't want to do it in the first place,
3) That even the piccolo has an important part to play,
4) That the leader ain't always right, but he's always the leader,
5) That if you keep yourself in line, you will be regarded as excellent,
6) That there is no substitute for preparation,
7) That the whole can be much more than the sum of the parts,
8) Never to give up,
9) That doing something the fastest does NOT mean doing it the best,
and 10) That a bologna sandwich left in a sousaphone for two months smells REALLY bad! (couldn't stay TOTALLY serious!!)
Everyone will notice that I have mentioned nothing about developing musical skills, because as much as I love music I don't believe it is the greatest value of school band programs. I think that band may have been the most valuable part of my education, whether I had ever picked up a horn after high school or not!!
I'd be interested in similar life lessons others would attribute to band or orchestra, in or out of school.
Joe B.