Posted by Sean Chisham on June 18, 2003 at 12:55:45:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Musician's life in the Military posted by Chuck Jackson on June 17, 2003 at 23:27:41:
Not exactly. When the horn meets the face, most everyone out there is doing their best to give a good product. So the comment about playing a months worth of perfect funeral music is nullified. People don't generally go out there to play badly. Doesn't mean I am going to take the funeral book home and practice God of Our Fathers, but I would like to think that I always try to play to a high standard.
Happily following along playing the same 15 pages of music for 30 years is not challenging. I can guarantee that most would have never continued past a couple of years of High School band if your band only played the same 15 pages of music over and over and over. The reason I quit choir in high school was because the top choir only did 1950's pop tunes in cheesy outfits while dancing on stage in formations. I wanted to sing with the best singers in the school, but unfortunatelly the best singers were never given an opportunity to sing the best music together.
How many high school kids would have continued to play in band if the band had extended marching season to be yearround while cancelling all stage concerts for all 4 years of high school? Should the kids just be happy to be able to play in the marching band? Perhaps some would say yes. But I am sure there are at least a few, if not the majority, who were looking forward to the end of football season so they could sit down and play a concert.