Face-Off: The Diverse World of Band
BY: Jay Mok, Staff Reporter
When deciding on which musical instrument to play in high school, students usually consider the two major sets of instruments: those belonging to either the strings or the winds. So will it be the ancient and civil group of strings or the modern group of wind instruments? Here are the reasons why band trumps orchestra.
Band is special because of the vast variety of instruments available for students to play. One of the most enjoyable aspects of band is how students play as a unified group. Nearly four years of personal experience has taught me, a band veteran, that every instrument has its unique purpose. Fellow band member Vanessa Meng (9) agrees that it is a great opportunity “to hear the different parts that actually make up a piece [of music].” She also finds it “interesting how [the instrument variety] makes everything sound very nice.” Every instrument in band, ranging from the timpani to the triangle, plays a focused role in every piece of music. Another band student, Jarrett Shirouzu (9), who plays the saxophone, has chosen to do so in order to adhere to the long-held saxophone-playing tradition in his family (which boasts a remarkable total of fourteen saxophonists). Even if playing a band instrument isn’t in your bloodline, you needn’t be discouraged, as there are plenty of other merits to playing in the band.
Band member Daniel Zhu (9) "enjoys band because of all the different types of music played, [ranging from] marching band music [to] classical music [to] chorales." If you don’t have a particular liking for any type of music played, band class offers one the opportunity to create his/her type of music, as there are multiple composition sessions throughout the year to quench the thirst of every composer-in-the-making.
Technically, it is fairly easy to pick up a band instrument and play straight away. Unlike the string instruments in orchestra, band instruments especially woodwinds rely on placing your fingers at certain button combinations to make a certain note to sound. In addition, if you learnt the recorder before, the recorder has the exact fingering as the saxophone or clarinet! What a relief! In comparison, string instruments require players to place their fingers at certain spots on the strings and sometimes, it is a somewhat arduous task to even transition between each note! That’s why it is never too late to learn a band instrument due to the simplicity of beginning to play.
The band experience doesn’t stop at High School Concert Band. Jazz Band is a division of band that revolves solely around jazz music. The modern style of jazz offers even further diversity to the pre-existing melting pot of band instruments. Other groups one can audition for include APAC and AMIS, which give students the chance to perform with other schools in Asia.
Ultimately, students choose band for its instrument diversity, abundant genres from which pieces are chosen, easy learnability, personal enjoyment and the camaraderie of playing in a large group. Many people prefer band for this reason, and if these aspects sound attractive to you as well, choose band!