Learning something new can be incredibly difficult and stressful for anybody trying to learn anything. In my case learning music was something that took a lot of time and effort but in the end was worth it.
I first started music in 6th grade at St. Martha’s Catholic School and I played basic snare drum parts that even little kids could understand and mimic. My pursuit in music then stopped in 7th grade as the band program at St. Martha’s wasn’t offered anymore, and to top it off COVID made music even harder.
I forgot about my passion for music throughout the rest of middle school, but when deciding my classes for my freshman year I decided I wanted to do band and try playing music again. I had no idea what I was in for.
The first day of high school band I ever experienced was the full summer band camp my freshman year. When I walked into the band hall I was scared and nervous. Everyone there knew exactly what instrument they had and what they were going to play. I, on the other hand, did not know what I was supposed to do or where I was supposed to be. I asked my band director, Robbie Sitka, what I was supposed to do. I didn’t even know what instrument I was playing.
Mr. Sitka thought about it for a moment and then decided to put me in front ensemble. As Mr. Sitka was walking me to where the front ensemble was meeting up, I was beyond confused and nervous. I wasn’t even sure what a front ensemble was before that day.
However as soon as I walked into the front ensemble room, I knew this is where I was supposed to be. All of the marimbas, vibraphones, and xylophones looked and sounded beautiful. I wanted to play them so badly, but I didn’t know how to read music or keep time, which are skills necessary for playing even the simplest tune.
That year I was placed on accessories for the marching show and I had fun doing them somewhat. However, I realized that I wanted to try and make it to at least a keyboard one day and play it during a show.
During the summer before my sophomore year, I finally figured out how to read music successfully. I was hopeful that I might be put onto a keyboard that year, but that didn’t come to fruition as I got placed on accessories again.
That year, Mr. Sitka left and our new director, Brenna Osbourn was put in charge of the band. The music was tough and I was struggling with a few of the accessories, despite it being an easy part. In the end, I was able to succeed and I got through the marching season with more knowledge than before.
In the winter part of my sophomore year, Ms. Osbourn decided to do something different that hadn’t been done in a while in percussion. We decided to bring back KPIPE (Kingwood Park Indoor Percussion Ensemble), and to my surprise I was given the opportunity to play xylophone in the show. This made me unbelievably happy and proud of myself.
The show was so much fun and had one of the most unique and well put together concepts I’ve ever seen, we even were able to make it to state. When I played xylophone, a hope that I didn’t really have came back. I dreamt of playing keyboard in the next marching show we had.
The end of my sophomore year came and it was time for the tryouts to determine who played what in the next marching show. I was nervous during the tryout. I thought I was doing horribly. I believed that I had no chance at all playing even the smallest part. It made me disappointed in myself for not doing the best I could have done.
When the results came out, I was nothing but surprised at the fact that not only did I get to play a keyboard but I got to play a marimba, which is the instrument I had wanted to play for the longest time.
This year I finally got to play the marimba in the marching show and it went well. I finally got a new feeling of satisfaction that I finally felt like I wasn’t the worst at music, struggling every day in order to do something not even good.
Learning something new is hard and one of the most stressful things in the world. However, it is worth it every step of the way for the feeling and emotions you feel in the end when you finally are able to succeed.
