Christmas Parade

Every town I have ever lived in has had their annual Christmas parade on a Saturday. Some do it in the morning, others in the afternoon. This town has their Christmas Parade on a Tuesday night. Tuesday. Night. I've never seen such a thing. Usually, by the time the end of the parade gets through, it's full dark.

Last night was the parade. It was a rather short parade this year. Not that many entries, which is fine because most of the entries are just cars with handmade "Eat at Joe's" signs duct taped to the side of it. Some of the more creative ones will dress their little kids up and set them on the hood.

The highlight of the parade is usually the school bands. This year it was no different. I should note that the local private school no longer has a band. Therefore the only bands marching were the public school bands.

I have posted before about my first impressions of the Grenada Bands. However, I've gained a few new readers since then, so I will re post a part of what I said.

I'd heard about the band and how good it was and all, so I was looking forward to hearing them for the first time. I was watching the parade, and the band marched by playing, and I thought they were pretty good, but didn't see what all the fuss was about. They weren't any better than my old high school band....Then my cousin leaned over and said, "That's the jr high band." I was floored. "That's the JUNIOR HIGH band!?!?!"

You can read the entire post here, and get a pretty good recipe to boot.

Back to the topic at hand--last night was Cody's first time marching in the parade as a band member. I can't even tell you how proud I was when I saw those kids come marching down the street. (Cody is the third sousaphone player--right next to the really tall kid.)



Unfortunately, the sound kind of fades out once they get past where I was standing, but you can still get the idea of how they play. I am continuously amazed at how well they play. When I was in Jr High, I remember having to go to band concerts. The beginner band was nothing more than a cacophony of noises. The 7th and 8th grade band would play snatches of recognizable tunes, but nothing like this.

And the High School band...You know, the attitude those kids have amazes me. When I was in high school, the band was for those not good enough for the athletic program. Oh, most people didn't say anything, but being in the band did carry just a hint of a stigma.

Not here. Those kids are proud of being in the band. They'd rather be in the band than play football. (Maybe if the football team won as much as the band does, it would be different.) The dedication they have, and the discipline they display is just inspiring to watch. There was no goofing off in the parade last night--not even in the Jr High band. Heck, they march better than the JROTC. Ok, well maybe not the Jr High band, but they are just learning to play, and to march, and it's twice as hard to learn to do both at the same time.




I only wish I could afford had the high dollar tech equipment to show you the way they really sounded. This is only a pale comparison to what it was really like standing beside that street with the music---man, I'm at a loss for words. I'll be you never expected that to happen.


Maybe some of you are wondering, "What makes this band so good?" Well, it is the way the band program is set up. When I was in school, a student decided whether he wanted to be in the band, picked and bought an instrument, and signed up for band. When he started 6th grade, he went to band class with about 75 other students in one big room with one teacher trying to teach everyone how to play their varied instruments. If the student made it through Jr High, he then went on to high school band where he was in one big room with some 200 other students and one teacher trying to teach everyone their varied parts. Plus, you had to deal with the "second class citizen" syndrome that goes along with not being an athlete.

It's not that way here. You see, not everyone can get into the band. All 5th graders are given a music aptitude test, and only those who score above a certain mark are invited to be in the band. I like that. It elevates band students from being "second class citizens" to being someone special. They didn't join the band. They made it into the band.

After Cody took his test, the 6th grade band director called me at home because he was so impressed with Cody's score. He scored the third highest out of all the 5th graders in the school district--108 points out of a possible 112. He was even further impressed when I told him Cody had had no musical training whatsoever. "He doesn't even sing in the kid's choir at church."

When the students start 6th grade, none of them have an instrument yet. They spend the first 6 weeks or so learning musical theory. Only after that are they allowed to try out various instruments. The directors score each student on each instrument, and after they've tried out all the major groups, they are given a recommendation as to which instrument they would be best playing. They are usually given a choice of two or three instruments, and the student and his parents decide which one he will play.

Once the student has his instrument, he begins learning to play. Unlike many schools, however, there are not 200 students competing for one director's attention. Grenada Bands has 7 directors. Brass, woodwinds, low brass, percussion etc, all have a practice room and a director. Since the Jr High and the High School are close, they share the same band hall, and the same band directors. Mr Joe Presley is the low bass director, and unless he leaves, Cody will have him until he graduates.

There is a lot of time and effort that goes into making a successful band program. In a larger city, in wealthier areas of the country, this is easily accomplished. Here, it is a different story. The Grenada Band directors work hard at making this band the champions they are.

My hat's off to them.
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