As I'm approaching my final year at JMU, I've been reflecting on some of the experiences that have had a heavy impact on my individual growth, my experience with the Marching Royal Dukes stands out. For those of you who have been lucky enough to march, you probably understand where I'm coming from and can relate. For those of you that haven't participated in marching band or another music program before, you might be wondering what about it is so profound, especially for people like me who do not plan to pursue music as a career.
These are just a few of the many important lessons I've learned from band that weren't about developing me as a musician, but developing me as a person, and preparing me for my future
Manage your time wisely
Have you ever struggled with procrastinating and/or getting your to-do list taken care of? Me too. Unfortunately, there is no time to waste when you have rehearsal from 5:45-7:30 five days a week. I struggled with it at first but ultimately, this strict schedule forced me to plan out my responsibilities and better manage my time. College is hard. Trust me when I say that it makes life way easier when you plan ahead and finish your obligations to a schedule.
Discipline yourself, and work hard
I didn’t even vaguely understand the concept of self-discipline before I joined marching band in high school. Our directors preach it to us like the gospel. It’s important in an ensemble because your actions and behaviors affect and contribute to the band as a whole. It’s taken me far now because forcing myself to get off Facebook while studying, or to put my phone away while in class is helpful in achieving better grades. Hard work and discipline go hand in hand, as we are taught to put 110% into everything we do. Hard work takes you farther in life than expecting what you want to be handed to you. It’s an important lesson for everyone to learn.
How to work as a team
Teamwork and collaboration is inevitable in college and in the workforce. In marching band, we are a collection of hundreds of players that have to work together in sync to produce a show as one. The ever so famous “One Band. One Sound” quote from Drumline comes to mind for us band geeks. Despite how much I despise that movie, it kind of hit the nail on the head with this concept. We’re humans. We’re not meant to work alone, we’re meant to come together and work towards a common goal. Whether that goal is performing a great show, or completing a big project, you’ll need to know how to work as a team to be successful.
Communication skills
This is a big one for me personally. I used to be shy and lacked confidence….then I basically had to get over it! Being in a leadership position with the MRD’s more specifically helped me with this. When you are working with so many people and are trying to make something great, it is absolutely imperative that communication between members, staff, and leadership is tight. I always make sure to speak up if I or my section needs something-you have to always advocate for yourself and others. It’s also really helpful to stay on top of your school work and professors. If you don’t communicate needs or concerns-who else will?
Owning your mistakes
I’ve been taught since I joined marching band when I was 14 to own my mistakes-if I play a wrong note, play it loud and proud, keep going, and don’t make the same mistake again. To this day that is a mentality I try to maintain in every aspect of my life, because I make mistakes, I’m human! If we let every mistake we make get us down and stop us from moving forward, imagine how miserable life would be. Marching band teaches us that it is okay to make mistakes, but that you can’t just drop out in the middle of a performance because of it, you have to keep marching. The same applies to life in general. Go ahead, make mistakes, but don’t let them stop you. Learn from them, and be proud of them because in the end, they make us stronger and wiser.
