<p>So I'm in band at my HS. I'm also a freshman.
I'm contemplating whether I should quit or stay (for at least one more year, if not more).
Our school only gives honors credit for being in the top band.
I'm the first chair in my section of 7, but the upper-class bands are REALLY good, so I don't know if I'll make the top band next year.</p>
<p>Pros for staying:
I've already invested a lot into getting better.
I've already been taking lessons, but only for about a year (they're pretty expensive too).
Our school gets a "free" pass to send everyone to State (a.k.a. I get to go to State for music without competing in sections)
My friends would be mad if I quit (peer pressure!)
My director would be REALLY mad if I quit.</p>
<p>Cons:
The amount of time I'll need to invest in the future will be much more than I've already invested.
THE TIME!!! (Between playing at games, band camp, lessons, trips, etc.). I could spend that same time doing other, more productive things.
The fact that I won't play my instrument in a performing group after HS.
Class rank, if I don't make it into the top band next year. Our school's weighting system means that being in a non-honors class can be REALLY bad for class rank. This year of band will have a negative impact on my rank, but I didn't realize that before signing up.</p>
<p>What should I do?</p>
<p>You should quit. Why? All that how-will-this-affect-my-gpa-and-college-admission analysis. But you never said you enjoy it.</p>
<p>It’s true, I don’t really enjoy that much… Some of the marching band stuff seems fun, but as a whole, I don’t really like band.
I just feel compelled to continue because I’ve invested a lot of time into it and I don’t see the reward. (I know this is setting it up for someone to say “you have to cut your losses short and deal with the fact that you can’t be successful in everything.” But I feel like I could actually be decent if I continue playing…)</p>
<p>If you’re being all cost-benefit about it, it’ll look good on college apps that you invested that much dedication in your ECs ;)</p>
<p>@bodangles that’s what I keep hearing, but I look at it from another angle: that same time could be used to reach other goals, such as making USAMO by junior year… (Which would also look much better IMHO)</p>
<p>-shrug- It’s not just academic things that count. But ultimately, whatever makes you happy</p>
<p>Maybe you should quit the lessons, and still try to get into the top band. But if you truly don’t enjoy it, then why haven’t you thought about quitting earlier?</p>
<p>Well I kept hearing that my HS has such a good band that I thought I’d give it a try. I thought I’d give lessons a shot over the summer to be first chair… And it worked. But I’m not really enjoying band that much. I feel like it would be wrong to quit, but if I’m going to quit, it should be as early as possible. </p>
<p>(I’m typing this on the way back from my lesson)</p>
<p>Well, ~1/3 of the top band will be graduating, so there is no reason to think you cannot get one of those spots. It’s certainly more attainable than USAMO.</p>
<p>I feel like it would be wrong to spend another 3 years doing something like that when you don’t really enjoy it and have already decided that you won’t pursue it in college.</p>
<p>Our family has faced this same issue. My younger daughter had 2 years of band in elementary school. She was extremely good. We could tell because she was playing the same instrument as her older sister, who by then had successfully auditioned for the top high school ensemble, and she was able to do things which had taken her sister 4 years to master. But I knew that she never practiced a single minute over what was required. Yet she would sing on her own, just for fun. (Not extremely well). So, we had the following conversation: Do you actually enjoy band? It’s ok I guess. Well, you know how wonderful the high school band is (they are one of the best in the state) and you know how amazing the band director is (her sister loves him and is always talking about him), and you’ve been dragged to all kinds of band concerts and band events, so you have a pretty good idea what it’s all about. Is this something you want to invest the next 7 year of your life into? No. And that was it. Dropped out of band. She’s super-busy with many other things she enjoys more, and we never looked back. Two years invested and possibly all-state talent but just not worth it if she doesn’t love it.</p>
<p>Yep, if you like it, stay in. If you don’t like it, get out. </p>
<p>Only thought I would add is what about friends. Are all your friends in band? Will it be hard to find a new group?</p>
<p>@skieurope There will be 2 spots open next year, of which 1 is essentially guaranteed to a sophomore in the middle band (he’s really good, but there isn’t a spot for him this year).
@mathyone One of my good friends played for a year in middle school and quit because he knew he wouldn’t enjoy it. He doesn’t regret it at all now. My parents weren’t raised in the American public schooling system, so they had no idea that it would be such a serious investment. They told me that music was something everyone does and that I should at least play though middle school. I wish I had realized early that it wasn’t something I wanted to invest 7 years into, like your daughter did.
@Lizardly I wouldn’t say ALL of my friends are in band. It wouldn’t really affect my social life (seeing as about half of my good friends don’t even go to the HS I go to due to school boundaries and whatnot).</p>
<p>“I wish I had realized early that it wasn’t something I wanted to invest 7 years into” How are you going to feel after another 3 years? You’ve already decided you’re going to quit then. So…you’re going to look back on it all and feel like you wasted 7 years? </p>
<p>Sometimes you don’t know if you’ll like things until you try them. You haven’t completely wasted your time. You’ve learned something about music, and you’ve also learned that band isn’t something that you personally want to pursue. Hopefully you’ve had some fun with the other kids in band or made some new friends there. But it is time consuming and I just don’t see any reason to continue. Look at what other electives are available. Is there something you’re excited about?</p>
<p>Actually, my current scheduling plan leaves me with two unscheduled hours in senior year that I will have to fill with more electives (probably college classes, as by then I will have exhausted the school’s AP curriculum). If I have three more unscheduled hours, I really don’t know what I would take. Maybe Business or even Ceramics!
My current schedule does have me taking some classes online that would be extremely rigorous; being able to take them in school and/or work on them in school would be beneficial.</p>
<p>Side note: I use band as my “study hall”; since I sit towards the back, I can get a good 20 minutes of hw in while our director talks to the other sections…</p>