Thomas 1

Kailyn Thomas
Dr. Guenzel
ENC 1101H
30 September 2016
Musical Literacy and Time Management
I have practice until 8 PM and then an essay to write for Human Geography that I need to
start since I have a football game Friday and a competition Saturday, my brother, Connor, listed
off his responsibilities as he headed out the door at 6:30 AM on a Thursday, drumsticks, duffle
bag and backpack in hand. Connor is a freshman in high school, and new to the idea of
extracurricular activities, especially one such as band that requires so much time but I remember
going through the same thing, for four years to be exact. As an outsider looking in, however, it is
daunting the amount of work and effort one has to put into band on top of schoolwork and for
some, a job.
My career as a musician began in middle school. I remember being a fifth grader, excited to
move on from elementary and become one of the big kids in middle school. They gave us
schedule sheets, allowing us to choose our electives and I couldnt wait to take PE and Art, just
like every other incoming sixth grader. But imagine my surprise when I was placed in Beginning
Band. I tried to fight it, tried to get switched out but the school refused, and so I stayed. Little did
I know the impact it would have on my life, especially my education.
When I was first enrolled, my director at the time, Mr. Kutylo, allowed us to sample all of the
instruments and make a list of a few we hoped to learn. My director, however, pushed me to play
the French horn. He claimed that the French horn required a strong ear and straight A student
such as myself who could take the time out of their school work to practice and become a

Thomas 1

proficient and dedicated player. Two weeks later, I was learning my first scales in the beginning
band and learning the ins and outs of an instrument I had never heard of nor been in contact with.
For the next two years, I continued to move up. My second director, Ms. Smith, showed more
faith in me, placing me into the highest middle school band, Symphonic. I met students older
than me that had been in band for longer and showed greater skill. My 8th grade year, and final
year in middle school, I was promoted to 1st chair. This meant that I had a harder piece of
literature, some solos and I began to practice for a solo and ensemble performance. Solo and
ensemble was a festival where students could prepare a piece and perform it in front of judges
for a score. Although I continued to breeze through school, I was still taking time out of my
homework to practice for band, something that would continue for many years. Throughout
middle school, I had learned a new form of literacy, and made a new family through music.
By the time I reached my freshman year of high school, I was invested and became more
involved in the high school band program. I joined the marching band and learned how to play
the mellophone, the marching equivalent of the French horn. The marching band began
practicing during the summer, and had band camp for three weeks, almost a month before the
rest of the school began. Most days, we practiced for 10+ hours, with short breaks for lunch and
dinner while I struggled to keep up with my online class, a requirement for graduation. When
school started, we cut our rehearsals back to 10 hours a week, with some weeks bordering on 20.
On Friday nights we had football games and half of our Saturdays were taken over by rehearsals
or competitions. Also, since I had finished a class online before school even started, I enrolled in
the jazz band to fill an empty period, learning trombone on my own, with no help from either of
my high school band directors, Mr. Steff or Mr. Brown. They placed me in the bottom concert
band, a low level band class focusing on strengthening the fundamentals and basics we had

Thomas 1

learned in middle school and applying them to easy musical literature. This put me with a total
of 3 instruments to practice and required after school attendance, on top of my schoolwork. In
addition, I was taking my first AP class. Although the class was the easiest AP class a student
would take, I was learning the art of responsibility and time-management as a freshman and
preparing for my future. If I wanted to keep up my straight A record, I needed to keep up with all
of my homework. So, I learned how to focus in noisy and distracting environments, doing
homework in the band room before rehearsals and on the busses on the way to shows. However,
I had no idea how becoming a part of leadership within the band program would change me.
Towards the end of my freshman year, my high school band director, Mr. Brown, approached
me about auditioning for drum major. Drum majors lead the band, conducting them on and off
the field. As a junior drum major, I would be in charge of the brass section and be placed on the
back sideline to serve as a human metronome when the band turned around. With 3 days to
prepare, I memorized my audition, a piece of music I had to conduct from memory in front of
judges, and learned how to conduct in different time signatures as well as prepared for a
leadership interview. A week after my audition, it was announced that I had received the position
and I began my training. The summer before my sophomore year, I met with the current drum
majors periodically, and an extra week and a half of band camp was added to my schedule,
putting me at school a month and a half before everyone else while also taking Spanish 2 online.
As a leader, I spent more time in the band program setting up, breaking down and solving
disputes between band members, sometimes even helping tutor them with their schoolwork.
As my sophomore year officially began and my marching band responsibilities continued, I
was enrolled in two AP classes, while placing into the highest concert band, the Wind Ensemble,
and continuing to play trombone in the jazz band. I also auditioned for the winter guard, learning

Thomas 1

to dance and spin flag in the spring with 12+ hours of rehearsal a week and competitions on
Saturdays. Not to mention, I was gearing up for a promotion from junior drum major to head
drum major. My band directors, Mr. Brown and Mr. Molina, whom had replaced Mr. Steff,
started pushing more responsibilities on me as the year went on. And junior year was only going
to get worse.
My first year as the head drum major as a junior in high school, uncommon in the marching
band world, was a whole new world. I was no longer in charge of just the brass section, but
rather the entire 200+ member marching band. My podium was on the 50, the front sideline, and
came with the keys to the entire kingdom. The show now relied on me, holding together all
sections of the band while still allowing the story to play out. This required more practice,
memorizing the show music and time signatures so that it ran smoothly, and learning to balance
my new responsibilities on top of my old. I was now in 3 AP classes, two concert bands, the top
jazz band, flag captain of the winter guard, head drum major of the marching band and playing in
the steel drum band, learning two new instruments in the process. Practicing was a must, on top
of the mounds of homework I now had and sleep was hard to come by. And yet, I still managed
to maintain my 4.7 GPA, also taking a veterinary assisting class to work towards my career
goals.
Senior year brought on a whole new definition of all work and no sleep. I began my first job
over the summer, a ranch hand position half an hour away from home that scheduled me during
the week and over the weekend, sometimes past midnight depending on the events we had going
on. I had also lost one of my band directors, Mr. Molina, and received a new one, Mr. Willis, that
I was growing accustomed to. My class schedule increased to 4 AP classes, two concert bands,
two steel drum bands, and a jazz band. I was still the flag captain of the winter guard and head

Thomas 1

drum major of the marching band, but I was burnt out, having developed anxiety my senior year.
As I finished high school and made plans for college, I left with a 4.7 GPA, a veterinary assistant
certification, and a full ride to UCF.
The concept of a band nerd has always been frowned upon, but in my experience, there is
much more truth to the phrase than many people realize. I found a family in the band program,
but more importantly I became a better student. I learned the art of time management and taking
care responsibilities, balancing all of my bands, instruments, school work and my job on a day to
day basis, as well as the ability to balance my education and hobbies. Although I am no longer
playing, I am thankful for these skills every day in my college career, especially being enrolled in
mostly honors classes and working two jobs. I hope one day that my brother will be just as
grateful for music and its benefits.