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Mallory Ogden

S. Conner

English 1101

27 March 2021

Band Room Madness

I have always seen band kids as a different kind of “breed” of people. If you ever think

that you are different or weird then walk in the band room for at least ten minutes and you will

re-think all life’s decisions. Though band kids share an extracurricular, there are differences

between them that can help categorize them into distinct groups. Those groups are, same

instrument couple, the know-it-all percussionists, the squeaky clarinets, and the blaring

trombones. Although these categories have different titles and meanings, they all clash together

as one unforgettable group.

Same Instrument Couple-

Many couples date each other because they have similar interests such as music taste or

favorite places to travel. But this kind of couple has a little too much in common which causes

controversy. The trumpets tend to have this repeating issue in band where they think that dating

someone that they see everyday in the weirdest class possible is “romantic”. It makes It harder

on them whenever trumpets are known for that and trying to be better than the other students in

their group in anyway possible. Usually trumpet couples last for about 2-3 months and then they

break-up and it causes a rumor that spreads like wildfire throughout the band room. Then they
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must go to class everyday and sit 10 feet away from each other and everyone in the room can just

feel how awkward it is.

Know-it-all Percussionists-

The percussionists are probably the snobbiest group in band. They think that just because

they slam wooden sticks on a drum or xylophone it makes them better than everyone else. Half

of them get lost in what measure of the song the rest of the band is in and they get called out for

it but get mad at everyone else for it. It is usually the percussionists that try to tell people what to

do when they cannot even figure it out for themselves. Plus, in marching band half of the

percussionist must stand in the back of the field and not move so I am confused on how that

makes them “oh so cool”.

Squeaky Clarinets-

In every band class, it is stereotypical for mostly girls to play the clarinet. Now this can

come with many pros and cons. The pros would be that be that because clarinets are such a small

instrument, they usually suit girls well. The cons would be that girls playing clarinet tend to “act”

shy. The problem with this is that whenever they play, they tend to play too softly or just squeak

their instrument. The band director tends to have a hard time getting onto them for this because

they are the most sensitive group. You can tell they are not sensitive from the deadly stares they

give you when try to say “Hi” to them.

Blaring Trombones-

I have learned that being a past alto saxophone player and sitting in front of the

trombones was not all sunshine and rainbows. They always had a huge problem of blaring their

instrument every other note. To make matters worse, they will not stop conversating and arguing
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with each other which would only slow the class down. For example, if one of them made a

better grade on a scale test than the other one, they would laugh and pick on each other. I don’t

think they realized it not only made the other person annoyed, but it makes the whole class

annoyed. What made it confusing was that the next day they would try and act all friendly with

each other like nothing ever happened. It is almost like they are in a constant toxic relationship

and everyone would have to play the guessing game with this section to determined if they were

going to act normal with each other or not.

Band can be defined as quirky, entertaining, interesting, and a way to learn a new

experience. It is a way to have sharable moments with a variety of kids around your age. You

make new friends, love/hate relationships, and learn to play instruments in this type of

environment. You grow to either really enjoy it or really get sick and tired of it in most cases.

Band kids help bring the “spice and flavor” into school just as theatre kids would. Without them,

you would not have the weird sense of humor in school. Well now you know where all the

Naruto runner’s and dabbing jokes come from.