Why Band is Awesome #1

Obviously, since I chose to become a band director, I think playing music and being in band are great. But did you know that there are many people out there who did NOT choose music as a career and still LOVE playing their instruments? Public school students usually meet more professional music educators than amature musicians who just love to play their horns, but believe me - they are out there.

One of the most common reasons cited for not continuing in a junior high band program is, "I know I'm not going to major in music in college, and I know I will not be pursuing a career in music." My response to that is: SO WHAT?! Playing music in band is very rewarding and a lot of fun, and you don't have to be considering a career in music to enjoy playing your instrument in junior high, high school, college, and beyond!

Case in point: here is a picture of me and some of my friends at our alumni marching band reunion from September 7, 2013.

All of us started beginner band in 5th or 6th grade, and continued playing through junior high, high school, and college. The assumption for most junior high kids is that we must all have majored in music since we played in our college band, and that is just not the case.

Dave majored in civil engineering. He designs safe bridges.
Ali is an elementary music teacher (okay okay, I was friends with a lot of music majors, too).
Megan majored in pre-med and then went to medical school. Now she is a chiropractor.
Tim majored in telecommunications. He is one of the "tech guys" for a company right now, but is working on getting his pilot's license.
Arun majored in mechanical engineering. He is working on improving cars for Ford.
Brian majored in secondary education/social studies. He is a high school history teacher.
And I, obviously, majored in music education and am a band director.

When we graduated from college, life took us our separate ways. Now, once a year we have the opportunity to play together again. This year there were over 250 alumni musicians marching in our alumni band, ranging in age from 22-85, and less than 20% of us have music careers. There are doctors, lawyers, teachers, business people, financial planners, engineers, stay at home moms -- you name it, it's in the band.

My point is, you can enjoy music and play your instrument throughout your entire life, regardless of what profession you choose.

Enjoying making music together with lifelong friends -- it's just one of the reasons why

BAND. IS. AWESOME!!