r/ConcertBand • u/Quirky_Relation12 • Sep 14 '26
High school band advice
Sorry if this isn't the right sub for this, but i figured this one would work.
So i played for 8th grade in concert band last year. I played piano for about 9 years up to now, so the best thing for me to do would be percussion. So the director was pleased with my performance and said i made the band great, most likely because our 7-8th grade band wasn't great.
I just recently joined ninth grade this year. Now, i feel like she thinks I dont know what im doing, and her speaking tone matches that. I'm supposed to sight read pep band songs for songs that I've never really heard, and whenever I mess up something she calls me out in a semi-yelling tone, and it makes me feel like i can't do anything right which really sucks. There's someone else who chronically messes up and she doesn't call her out. Im wondering if she just thinks I should be playing to a higher standard but I dont understand why it had to be so harsh. For instance, there was something with a measure long bass drum solo that I couldn't sight read fast enough. She then stops the band and tries to correct me on it, and i dont think me or anybody could understand what she was trying to tell me to do. So I mess it up again. She then comes over to me, tells me to move pretty rudely, then plays the cadenza herself. I then knew how to do it.
Also, kids from the concert band below us move things around pretty often, and i often cant find my mallets for the bass drum. The band teacher will then scavenge the whole room for it and then give it to me and looks at me like im stupid and like im some sort of inconvenience.
I dont know. Am I just overreacting? I'm just thinking about switching to saxophone which I've played for about 3 years or just not doing band for the second semester.
Could someone please give me some advice?
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u/Houndie2009 Sep 15 '26
There is no reason for a teacher to behave that way. Period. Some music teachers bend that rule because they are more focused on the performance than the student. As an adult she should know better.
Definitely go with the sax if you think you can blend in and have more fun.
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u/UpperLeftOriginal Sep 14 '26 edited Sep 14 '26
If you weren't having trouble with this teacher, which instrument would you enjoy playing more? I'd hate to see you move to sax if you really like percussion. I would also consider what the band needs more - would it leave the percussion section shorthanded, or are there not enough sax players and it would help to move to that section? Do you have a section leader who you could ask for tips?
It's hard to know if you're overreacting or not, since we are just hearing a little bit of your experience. But I do think you might see if you can have a few minutes of your teacher's time separate from class. You might tell her you know you aren't the fastest sight reader, and ask her if she has any pointers to help you improve. You could let her know what you're doing to be prepared for class. (Edit - in addition to maybe getting some tips, this could also help her warm up to you.) It's early in the school year so hopefully having a conversation now would help make the rest of the year better.