Do you want to form close relationships and bond with people who share your interests all whilst doing what you’re passionate about? If that sounds like something you would be interested in, band is a great elective for you.
Here at Madison, students have the opportunity to join a beginning band and progress into a symphonic band. Beginning band counts as an elective, while bands like mixed ensemble are after-school activities. Band is an especially good class to take as a freshman since you usually don’t know anyone as a first-year student. In beginning, intermediate, concert, and symphonic band, students can choose between playing percussion or wind instruments like the trumpet and trombone. There are annual winter and spring concerts that bring together teachers and parents to celebrate the hard work their children put in over two semesters. These concerts also count as finals for the class.
Each band class consists of time before the warm-up to tune your instrument, the actual warm-up that the class does together, and the remainder of the class which focuses on the repertoire for the concert. Warm-ups usually involve playing the scale (in E major), and the songs practiced and played for the concerts are typically upbeat.
Speaking from experience, taking part in band class helped me enjoy being in the limelight on stage because I had a support system around me with reliable and talented conductors. It also taught me how to drum and compelled me to tap into my sense of rhythm.