Persuasive essay

I am sick and tired of band kids getting picked on and getting the bad rap. Marching band can be just as strenuous as some sports, especially when you take it to the extreme like we do at Croatan. Just think about all the physical stress that you put on your body during a soccer game. Now imagine all of that crammed into a mere eight minutes of performing. Then, try doing that multiple times a day. Most of the time, I go home from practice so tired I can barely stay awake long enough to walk in the house. On top of that, I sometimes have three or more hours of homework to do, so you can imagine the stress that soon starts to overwhelm me. And it’s not just me; many kids in band are enrolled in higher level classes that bring hours of homework a night. The last thing I need is some know-it-all saying, “Band is so easy; anyone can do it.” Well, I would love to see you try marching band; you might find it harder than you think.

Marching band is also mentally draining. During the course of a marching band show, you have to think about many things: Are you in tune with the ensemble? Are you blending with the band? Are you on your “dot (spot)?” Are you dressing the form (shape)? Are you in time with the drum major? Are you using the correct technique? Are you “placing” your foot at the end of every set (movement between shapes)? Are you using the correct posture?  Are you controlling your breathing? You have to be asking yourself all of these questions at lightning speed, making yourself be as perfect of a performer as possible. It actually gets to the point where if you do it correctly, you can’t remember the actual performance. Trust me, it can happen, it’s happened to me plenty of times.

Hopefully, you’re starting to get my point: band kids work as hard as the sports teams. So, please for the sake of our sanity, just lay off the jokes. We are almost insane anyway, having to listen to the Doctor Beat (metronome) for hours on end, and being stupid enough to put ourselves through such torture, but it usually pays off. But not when all we hear is people complaining about the Doctor Beat, the band taking up so much space, and the band being a waste of funding. Well, I’m sorry if you feel that way; we, “band geeks,” love music, and want to pursue out dreams and talent.