The end of the school year means that most students put away their band instruments until next fall.
At least, that’s the way it used to be when I went to school.
Now, there are band camps, music festivals and small town parades that take place during the summer.
It got me to thinking about playing cornet in our middle school and high school bands for six years.
While I enjoyed playing sports and being in band, I had totally different outlooks on both. That’s because sports came easily to me and band didn’t come to me at all.
I loved being part of the band. I think I’m fairly musical. But you’d never know it from listening to me play trumpet during those six years.
Band was humbling. Band made me work harder. Band scared me like no other extra-curricular activity – especially the days when we had “challenges” to win a new chair.
When you sat first chair, you were the best. My two sisters both sat first chair when they played the flute. My brother sat first chair when he played the baritone. I was on Cloud Nine the one time in my life I won a challenge to be part of the second section, which was about chair No. 5.
So imagine my interest a couple months ago when I went to a middle school band concert and happened to ask our young friend afterward what “chair” he was.
I thought band students were ranked by chair the way we used to be. Maybe some of them still are. But not at the school I was at.
The student told me they didn’t have chairs. Apparently, the prevailing philosophy at this school is that “human beings don’t always appreciate being told that they aren’t performing as well as others… many students tend to feel less valuable if they aren’t first chair.”
It appears to be part of a notion that to build a child’s self-confidence, you offer a “good job” pat on the head for whatever they do, even if it was not a good job. And now this school had no chairs in the band to help students avoid feeling bad about not being very good on their instruments.
But the truth is, the world is based on “chairs.” The sooner you learn to work hard and earn a promotion or a new “chair,” the sooner you learn about life in the real world.
Failing is part of life. I remember losing many band challenges. It didn’t destroy my self confidence. It made me want to work harder and get better.
I never did get much better in band. But I learned from my mistakes. And I also learned that nothing is given to you without working for it.
Somehow, those of us who grew up learning the lesson of the “chair” system got along just fine in life.
In fact, it’s one of the best lessons I’ve ever learned.
Nick, I stumbled on to your remark here quite by accident. I was doing a little research on 1st chair Trumpet and Cornet to see if after all these years the “chair” system had changed. It saddened me to here your experience of the “no chair” band. It just goes to show you what our society has become. Everyone gets the trophy. To add insult to injury if you will, the true winners trophy is the same size as the one who finished last.
What motivates the achievers to even continue to do his or her best under those circumstances? It can be quite devastating if your not able to overlook the situation.
You remind me of myself back in the day. Even at 65 I remember vividly my band days. I played the Cornet from the 5th grade to the 12th. Unlike you, I was not a sports person. Band was my salvation. I was never particularly good at it but it was fun and I learned many life lessons. You cannot have success without failure.
I, also like you, have got along just fine in life with the “chair system,” it served me well indeed. That “chair” followed me through my Air Force days during Vietnam and my 35 year carrier at BellSouth, now AT&T, in Atlanta. I never made 1st chair in band but that was OK. I knew my limits. After all, stressing over it would have taken the fun out of it!
I particularly remember the 11th grade I was struggling academically and thought if I quit band it would help. I went to Mr. Barr my band director and told him I was thinking about quitting. I gave him my reasons and I also mentioned I wasn’t all that good anyway. He told me something I would never forget. He said “whether you think your good enough or not, your good enough to be in my band and I need you to complete my band.” Before I could say anything, he told me not to forget our extra practice on Sunday for our upcoming concert. At that concert he pointed his baton at me to lead us on our first piece. That was better than any first chair could have ever been.
From that day I have never quite anything. Mr Barr taught me something and it had nothing to do with band but in the end, it had everything to do with band.
Tom Dees
Tom, What a great story. You are 100% right on with the benefits of being in band and other extra-curricular activities. Thank you for taking the time to share your story. Nick