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 Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:16 pm
Hello all.
I just started band camp//pre-marching season at school and our section has hit a bit of a problem.
His name is Justin.....
Justin is tall, uncoordinated [[hes tripped and fallen twice so far..just while WALKING not even on the field]], doesnt have a basic grasp of concepts [[the third day of marching he didnt know what being in step meant]], doesnt roll step or stay in time or keep his intervals, he doesnt even march with his instrument in carriage position [[he plays the clarinet and he just holds it down at his side until someone corrects him]], he stares at the ground, doesnt make straight paths, doesnt back wards march at ALL, and cant play [[were talking just tuning notes, he cant seem to get ANYTHING out]].
The middle movement in our show has its fastest tempo at 100, the rest is 90 and 60. Its pretty much all whole notes or very easy rhythms because its supposed to be the slow pretty part...he didnt know wth was going on.
*deep breath*
Okay, now that i have completed my rant, I plead for your help. Something I can tell him? Any quick fixes?? Or share your stories of horrible freshman...
DISCLAIMER: freshman, we love you. just not the ones who fail and dont try.
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Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 10:33 pm
Your not alone. We have several freshman like that this year, and it is 5 days into our band camp.
One is a clarinet playr. she is an old friend of mine who was held back a year, and is special ed. She doesn't rollstep, doesn't do verbals, is never in time, has terrible step sizes, can't play very well, and can't slide or backward march for her life. No matter how much we help her, she just doesn't get it.
The other is another boy my age that was held back, who also goes to my church. he plays alto sax. He is never in step, doesn't rollstep, is always goofing off and is never the right interval, etc.
The other is a trumpet. he doesn't keep his horn up, doesn't march right or in time, has terrible posture, almost everything wrong with his marching
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Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 10:45 pm
Ohmy. 8O
Dear. We had one of those back in my day.
The girl was a clarinet as well.
And she freaking walked rather than marched.
Her feet just flopped around and it looked horrible.
She would only be corrected everyonce and awhile; but so rarely.
But she was just a hawt mess. talk2hand
I'd say just give it some time.
And keep on him about it, but try to stay patient.
Patience is key.
Since this is all new to him, such as riding a bike or driving, you should praise on what he does do right, and simply correct what is wrong.
Repetition will help.
Try to work with him after/before practice.
I know I did that with a lot of diffrent sections when I was a member.
I'll try to think of more advice.
Good luck.
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 1:19 pm
Don't feel too bad.
Most likely if he doesn't get his act together then he'll be taken out of the show. We had a guy who really chose not to march, he was the Band Rebel as we called him, and our BD took him out of the show for the rest of the year.
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 1:35 pm
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 1:54 pm
I Dont really know, But i bet most people here do.
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:35 pm
burn his instrument so he can't play! (jk)
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:37 pm
I'm also a freshie. (This is mah 2nd year, and I'm ******** awesome. ^^)
We have a freshman and a sophomore who are musically retarded.
So they're a baritone player and a bass clarinet player. (Apparently, they're also dating. Redneck+Sp.Ed kid=?)
So neither of them can play their instruments very well. That's all well and good (well, except the bass clarinetist. She's kind of expected to play.) but they have no internal beat. So they don't march in step, or on tempo, or hit their sets, or understand that when they're on the ******** 50, that we have to guide to them, so they have to get there, and they need to keep their horns up..... Anyway.
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:41 pm
xXHellsLostSoulXx the best you can do is see if you or someone else could get a hold of him and personally help him out. If he's only like this because he chooses to he should be taken out of the show, if he actually has a problem then try helping. I’m not sure if there's too much else you can do. give it time and see how it goes. granted i'm a freshman, school wise, but i'm a 3 year vet in MB =P Personally, I agree. That would be the best way to handle it.
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:45 pm
If you can't personally help him, maybe someone else in the band can. It may take time for that person to find him, and even more time to help him, but he should respect the help that he gets from everyone. Try to cheer him up, though; if he has some spark of inspiration or motivation, he can go a long way.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:09 pm
Take some advice from a veteran section leader (This is my 4th year, I've learned a lot about this...):
What this guy needs is for someone (you? a section leader? DM?) to slow down and show him, step by step, EXACTLY every little detail he needs to do.
If the first step in stepping off is, say, lifting your heel off the ground, show him what 'lift' is, and have him do it with you. Repeat several times more than you think is needed. Then add the next step, say, moving your foot forward to take a step.
There really is no "Quick Fix". People that are this far behind can't catch up quickly. Go as slow as possible until he gets it. Yes, this takes A LOT of time and attention, but it's the only surefire way for him to get it.
If he can't get his act together, then he'll be cut from the show. If he really cares about being there, he might just straighten up. If not, then he's cut from the show anyway so it doesn't really matter.
And keep things positive. He'll hear enough yelling from everybody else if he keeps making mistakes.
Good luck!
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Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 3:03 pm
wow and i thought my boyfriend was a bad marcher, he's almost exactly like the person you described. lol i vote kick him outta band lol
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