A History of Music and I, Part Three

My clarinet, circa 2008

As promised, the third part of this History of Music and I series will focus on my days of band in middle school. Turns out I wasn't the only new person on the block in middle school as so was the band/orchestra director Ms. Nash. Some middle schools in my county have separate band and orchestra teachers while other middle schools like mine had to make do with one teacher for both ensembles. My middle school did not have to worry as Ms. Nash's primary instruments covered both the band (alto sax) and the orchestra (the violin). So, despite me being merely a sixth grader who had only one year of clarinet under his belt, I managed to score a high ranking in terms of chair. I don't think I was quite first chair clarinet, but I managed to land me the first clarinet part, which meant I was more likely to get some melody, the high notes, and quicker note values. My 6th grade middle school band days had us students using a different method book than in elementary school, but it seemed to be around the same level of band pedagogy as the book I used in elementary school. It wasn't a problem as we tended to focus more on longer works rather than the short practice passages. Considering how long ago 6th grade is for me, it feels like a blur now, but the 6th graders performed separate from the 7th and 8th graders at my school, with 6th grade being called invariably the concert band while the 7th and 8th grade band tended to either be called the symphonic band or also the concert band (I guess the distinctions weren't as important in middle school?). The 6th graders were in awe at the talent of the 7th and 8th graders at the winter concert so we told ourselves we would strive to be as talented once we reached 7th grade, more pieces to play, and a few more concerts to perform and 6th grade band was a wrap. Things will get more exciting from here on out as I proceeded to greater things in 7th and 8th grade band. I'll probably end up deviating from my original plan so I can put 7th grade band as its own post and likewise with 8th grade and beyond. This may likely drag on the blog series as I kept on being in the band until sophomore year of college, but I like to try to keep these posts manageable.