WHY CAN'T WE DO THAT?

For those of you who read the "There and Back Again" post you know that I attended a drum corps camp over the past week-end. The camp, in a lot of ways, was an eye opener for me. But I guess the thing that got me the most was how 100 brass players who had never played together before could show up on one week-end and sound like a well-rehearsed ensemble by the end of the week-end. The answer, of course, is the fact that they wanted to be there! That's right - 100 horns sounding like they had been playing together forever becuase they had the desire. Do the math folks! We've got well over 100 kids in our band, we rehearse every day, and yet our sound doesn't come close to matching the sound I heard on Sunday afternoon. The sad part is, it could! Yes, the average age is higher than our by maybe 2 years, yes, it's all brass, no woodwinds. But still, if we could get the kind of effort I saw over the week-end from all members, at worst, we would be better! Too much "dead wood" - too many "rotten apples" and, on the other hand, too many kids who want to make the Patriot Band the best in the state! Kids come into band with many different levels of commitment, but never-the-less, it is a class with a curriculum and standards, just like math, science, etc. The biggest difference is that every member of the band affects the outcome. If half of your algebra class gets As and the rest of the class gets Fs, the failures in no way affect those who get As. But if half the band class plays right notes while the other half plays wrong notes, the entire group is harmed!Thanks Mr. Smeltzer, for holding the students accountable for playing their part. I'm in total agreement and believe it should be taken even further. What do you think? Talk to me....I'm Daddy V.