(no subject)
If you're on my friend's list and not in the Cape band, don't worry about this. Scroll over it, even.
This is going to be lengthy and I'd really appreciate it if you guys took the time to read and consider this. I'm not asking to stand up and preach to you for twenty minutes during class, I'm just asking you to read this like the mature high school-er you're supposed to be.
We all know it; today was a wreck. We should not have to be called to attention over ten times. We should not be called more than once - end of story. William, junior or not, is your drum major, and there's a reason he's drum major for the second year in a row. He obviously wants to help you guys and Mr. Barbarita can see that he's good at conducting. If you guys would actually listen, we'd get so much stuff done, and we'd be able to put together really kick awesome field shows and songs. You can't blame the drum majors and your director for the lack of it - it falls back on what we, as a band, can accomplish. We can accomplish HUGE things if you put your minds to it and get the work done.
Having a new teacher, in any subject, takes time to adjust to. Mr. Barbarita is still in the process of adjusting and settling in, as are we. Are we supposed to sit back, trash the band room, play at our worst and blame other people? Hell no is your answer. We're supposed to help Mr. Barbarita, NOT talk back and act out, and help each other. The drum majors can only control so much if you don't pitch in as well. If you really don't want to be in band, just leave. You're really going to bring us down, and you already are. This isn't directed at one person; it's directed at the entire band. I'm not saying I or my friends are better, either.
The talking is atrocious. Holy. Crap. You do not need to comment on every flipping thing that happens. Just keep quiet so we can get more work done in less time, and save us all a headache. Today, my back was ready to snap in half, and the kid in front of me couldn't even stand on both legs anymore because one hurt so bad. I know someone in drum line has arthritis in his knees and he probably didn't want to be standing up for 40 minutes, either. If somebody's doing something wrong, do not yell at them across the room. Tell a drum major and they'll help that person. That's why we have three of them, so more stuff can get done when Mr. Barbarita is busy.
It's not enough to walk around and yell about how much you hate band anymore or how much you hate people. Yeah, I say it too, but I'm addressing it to certain people as well, to their faces. How do you think that makes your drum majors, director and even section leaders feel? If Christina said that to me, I'd be hugely offended. During band camp I tried my best to make sure my section had everything down, and you know what they did? They listened. I was lucky enough to have a small section so they understood me when I said "I can't make you march perfectly. You just need to watch other people and if you don't know something, you need to ask, otherwise it's going to fall apart." Everybody needs to understand that the only person responsible for your actions, is you.
If you guys want to be respected, and earn top placements in competitions, and be the best we can be, you need to start that with yourself. I don't care if you have to listen to "Man In The Mirror" on repeat for 2 weeks - it needs to be done, and it needs to be done quick. I don't want a crappy Winter concert, and I'm only one instrument. If you don't want a crappy Winter concert, then stop complaining and start doing. Start practicing your parts, start being quiet during rehearsal, and start treating your peers, drum majors and director with respect and be polite.
Also, a lot of you guys are disgusting. Do you know we had rats in the band room last year? Why? Because of food. If you're going to bring food into the band room, clean up. During the homecoming parade, I cleaned up all the trash from that floor. There was pizza by the drum kit, along with the box, bags of picked apart food, pieces of food on the floor, things to be recycled in the trash can, and that trash can was a quarter of the way full of bright pink juice. I picked up all that food and trash, and then threw away all the plastics into the recycling bin (which - HEY, IT'S RIGHT OUTSIDE THE BAND ROOM) and then cleaned out the trash can. I had to dump the juice and pick out soggy pizza crust and apples with my bare hands. You guys were going to leave it for the janitors to get to, or to get moldy and gross. If you all picked up your own trash, put away your own instrument, put your own chair back where you found it, then the band room would look great. Yes, it is ungodly small this year, that's how it was designed, now shut up and deal with it. It will be so much easier to deal with if you guys respected the school. A lot of money went into it. Let's save some money by taking care of it as long as we can.
I can name names and point out groups of who makes the most noise, but I won't. We all run this band, not just one person. It's only going to be good if you get in the right mindset and get your act together. A lot of you have attitude problems, and if you don't get them fixed, then do us all a favor and leave it at the door before you come in. None of us want to hear it, especially when we're trying. Also, audition music isn't something to laugh at, especially when you're too much of a sissy to go audition yourself. Just keep quiet and do what your drum major tells you to do. It really isn't hard.
If you want the honest truth, I almost dropped out of band this year. In addition to my medical problems, I was stressed out with the amount of disrespect and arrogance going around the band. I heard from flags before that, "If you guys didn't have us, you wouldn't have a field show." That mindset needs to go too. It's all of us that put time and effort into this and all of us need to be recognized for what we do. This can't be blamed on one person, or the old director and drum helpers leaving, or good musicians graduating. What's done is done and can't be undone. What we have is what we need to work with. That's the end of it.
This is going to be lengthy and I'd really appreciate it if you guys took the time to read and consider this. I'm not asking to stand up and preach to you for twenty minutes during class, I'm just asking you to read this like the mature high school-er you're supposed to be.
We all know it; today was a wreck. We should not have to be called to attention over ten times. We should not be called more than once - end of story. William, junior or not, is your drum major, and there's a reason he's drum major for the second year in a row. He obviously wants to help you guys and Mr. Barbarita can see that he's good at conducting. If you guys would actually listen, we'd get so much stuff done, and we'd be able to put together really kick awesome field shows and songs. You can't blame the drum majors and your director for the lack of it - it falls back on what we, as a band, can accomplish. We can accomplish HUGE things if you put your minds to it and get the work done.
Having a new teacher, in any subject, takes time to adjust to. Mr. Barbarita is still in the process of adjusting and settling in, as are we. Are we supposed to sit back, trash the band room, play at our worst and blame other people? Hell no is your answer. We're supposed to help Mr. Barbarita, NOT talk back and act out, and help each other. The drum majors can only control so much if you don't pitch in as well. If you really don't want to be in band, just leave. You're really going to bring us down, and you already are. This isn't directed at one person; it's directed at the entire band. I'm not saying I or my friends are better, either.
The talking is atrocious. Holy. Crap. You do not need to comment on every flipping thing that happens. Just keep quiet so we can get more work done in less time, and save us all a headache. Today, my back was ready to snap in half, and the kid in front of me couldn't even stand on both legs anymore because one hurt so bad. I know someone in drum line has arthritis in his knees and he probably didn't want to be standing up for 40 minutes, either. If somebody's doing something wrong, do not yell at them across the room. Tell a drum major and they'll help that person. That's why we have three of them, so more stuff can get done when Mr. Barbarita is busy.
It's not enough to walk around and yell about how much you hate band anymore or how much you hate people. Yeah, I say it too, but I'm addressing it to certain people as well, to their faces. How do you think that makes your drum majors, director and even section leaders feel? If Christina said that to me, I'd be hugely offended. During band camp I tried my best to make sure my section had everything down, and you know what they did? They listened. I was lucky enough to have a small section so they understood me when I said "I can't make you march perfectly. You just need to watch other people and if you don't know something, you need to ask, otherwise it's going to fall apart." Everybody needs to understand that the only person responsible for your actions, is you.
If you guys want to be respected, and earn top placements in competitions, and be the best we can be, you need to start that with yourself. I don't care if you have to listen to "Man In The Mirror" on repeat for 2 weeks - it needs to be done, and it needs to be done quick. I don't want a crappy Winter concert, and I'm only one instrument. If you don't want a crappy Winter concert, then stop complaining and start doing. Start practicing your parts, start being quiet during rehearsal, and start treating your peers, drum majors and director with respect and be polite.
Also, a lot of you guys are disgusting. Do you know we had rats in the band room last year? Why? Because of food. If you're going to bring food into the band room, clean up. During the homecoming parade, I cleaned up all the trash from that floor. There was pizza by the drum kit, along with the box, bags of picked apart food, pieces of food on the floor, things to be recycled in the trash can, and that trash can was a quarter of the way full of bright pink juice. I picked up all that food and trash, and then threw away all the plastics into the recycling bin (which - HEY, IT'S RIGHT OUTSIDE THE BAND ROOM) and then cleaned out the trash can. I had to dump the juice and pick out soggy pizza crust and apples with my bare hands. You guys were going to leave it for the janitors to get to, or to get moldy and gross. If you all picked up your own trash, put away your own instrument, put your own chair back where you found it, then the band room would look great. Yes, it is ungodly small this year, that's how it was designed, now shut up and deal with it. It will be so much easier to deal with if you guys respected the school. A lot of money went into it. Let's save some money by taking care of it as long as we can.
I can name names and point out groups of who makes the most noise, but I won't. We all run this band, not just one person. It's only going to be good if you get in the right mindset and get your act together. A lot of you have attitude problems, and if you don't get them fixed, then do us all a favor and leave it at the door before you come in. None of us want to hear it, especially when we're trying. Also, audition music isn't something to laugh at, especially when you're too much of a sissy to go audition yourself. Just keep quiet and do what your drum major tells you to do. It really isn't hard.
If you want the honest truth, I almost dropped out of band this year. In addition to my medical problems, I was stressed out with the amount of disrespect and arrogance going around the band. I heard from flags before that, "If you guys didn't have us, you wouldn't have a field show." That mindset needs to go too. It's all of us that put time and effort into this and all of us need to be recognized for what we do. This can't be blamed on one person, or the old director and drum helpers leaving, or good musicians graduating. What's done is done and can't be undone. What we have is what we need to work with. That's the end of it.