Band Days, Band Daze

Band Days, Band Daze

Oh! To wake up in the morning to
The smell of polished brass,
This is the wake up call for a musician of the Senior Band Class.
We enter the band room organized, which we rehearsed,
It is common knowledge that the flute players go in first.

You might ask...
"Isn't that extra work? Why don't you just go in instead of making it into a big deal?"
And I would answer..
"It is only a big deal if you make it into one."

After we set up the room we take out our books and read,
Waiting, waiting for the moment that
All of us are freed.
The moment that we are allowed to take
Our instruments out to play,
This is only the beginning of a musical day.

You might ask...
"Why read books in band?"
And I would answer...
"You should not limit reading only to books."

Long tones, tuning, scales, more,
But before we start we must close the door,
And turn off the phone to make sure that
It won't ring,
So that we won't be distracted by anything.

You might ask...
"What would you be distracted from?"
And I would answer...
"Everything."

Start again from the beginning,
We didn't play loud
Stand still at attention,
Blinking isn't allowed!
Practice, memorize, listen, and pay
Close attention to what the director will say.

You might ask...
"That sounds boring. Why do you have to stand still?"
And I would answer...
"Why not?"

The music surrounds us,
Our instruments sing,
We are lost in the music, but that's not a bad thing.
For the final song we played together, strong and loud...
And we bowed,
For our
Invisible
Crowd.

You might ask...
"What is the worst part about the music you play in band?"
And I would answer...
"Only the annoying songs get stuck in your head."

After school, we will try again
To play again,
We will take out our music, a pencil, no pen.
For we are the band, we will play until we get it right
We'll try harder than our hardest 'til music joins light.

You might say...
"Band seems hard, so much work, every day. Do you like it? Is it worth the work?
And I would say...
"To answer this question, you must join band yourself.
Then, think of the
Gentle,
Golden,
Musical
Memories that bounce softly into your mind...
Only then, only then, might you ask yourself...
Was it worth it?