I am a high school freshman, but I am looking ahead to the rest of high school. We have already submitted our course selections for next year (sophomore year), but it won’t be finalized until the summer.
I signed up to continue in band next year, but I am rather hesitant about my decision. I am in the third highest out of 4 bands (which is a good band for a freshman) on oboe, which would mean I would most likely move up to the next highest band. I have been playing oboe for 4 years, and I like the instrument, although I wouldn’t describe myself as very good at it. It would be helpful to have a wood oboe, which is better quality and sounds much better, but if I quit band, my parents do not want to invest in this expensive upgrade.
All that to say, I don’t enjoy band at all. The music we play is rather basic, especially on the oboe part, although it would be significantly more difficult if I continued even one more year. Of the two band directors, one of them does not know how to interact with me or the other students, and he makes the ensemble time not very enjoyable. He is rather pushy, insisting that “oboe players don’t play other instruments” and that everyone should continue in band for the entirety of high school. Most of my friends in band are quitting next year, although since I am the only oboist in my band, I did not have much social interaction during class anyway. Many of the marching band students find band to be a wonderful experience, and if you aren’t in marching band, you’re sometimes overlooked. I am not in marching band; however, I am in jazz band and pit orchestra, which I find more enjoyable than concert band class. One of my big concerns is that I have extremely sensitive ears, and each day in class, a “warm-up” that we do is a free-for-all time where we can practice whatever we want all at the same time. It is horrendously loud and uncontrolled, and my ears do not tolerate it very well. I have expressed my concern with one of the directors, who did not seem to understand the problem.
Also, if I drop band, it opens up my schedule for other classes that I have wanted to take, such as the peer tutoring/special needs, biochemistry, painting, or AP computer science principles classes. My workload is rigorous, but compared to some of my peers’ workloads, it doesn’t seem so rigorous that I couldn’t add another academic class.
Despite all these downsides of band, I’m not sure that I should quit. I know that I would severely disappoint my band directors, who love oboe as it is one of the rarest instruments in band, and this could make it awkward around them for the rest of high school. My parents enjoy the idea of me being in band, and they were pleasantly surprised to see that I put it as one of my sophomore course selections. If I quit now, or anytime before the end of high school, they don’t want to invest in a wood oboe, as it would be very expensive and we don’t want to waste money. Also, I don’t like the idea of quitting oboe; I don’t enjoy band, but if oboe could be enjoyable, I’d like to continue playing oboe outside of school. This brings up the question of what I should do if I want to continue playing the instrument. It doesn’t seem very likely that I’d be allowed to play in college if I quit after my freshman year of high school. Would it even be possible to play in a community band or at college if I quit band (but not my instrument)?
I’d appreciate your thoughts. For those of you who were in band, are you glad that you did (or didn’t) quit, and how did that affect your social interactions or collegiate opportunities?
Lol, biochem
Do you recommend against biochem?
Is a very timing consuming class.
I think if you love music, you should continue with music in some capacity – but it sounds like you play in a jazz band and another group as well, so you’re still doing music. Is oboe your only instrument (I’ve never heard of jazz oboe)? Your options as I see them:
- Stay in band, be unhappy about it.
- Quit band, but stay in the other groups you’re already in (jazz/pit).
- Quit the school band, but join a local one. Many instrumentalists at my kids’ school play in our city band, and say they find it a great experience.
As long as you’re in band (the remainder of this year?), I’d recommend investing in some good musician’s earplugs, which will at least make warmups more tolerable. My kids use Earpeace but there’s tons of options out there in the $20ish range, so it’s not a super-expensive thing.
Personally, I feel like life is too short to put yourself through years of something unpleasant. When I was in high school (back when dinosaurs roamed the earth…), I wanted to participate in plays and musicals but our drama teacher was… persnickety… and played favorites… so I just never did anything as part of the school program, opting for community theater and such, instead. I’m certain there are music options for you outside of the high school, and it sounds like it’s time to investigate them.
I agree with the above. In my experience band was great, but I had to give it up for other opportunities. Since leaving band, I’ve played in different ensembles outside of school so you might want to consider that. Also you might want to look into private lessons. I don’t know what you and your parents can afford, but there are probably some good, cost-effective music lessons in your area. You could also do some music camps during your breaks. I know a lot of college near me have summer band camps and stuff like that so it might be worth the investment.
In terms of social interactions and collegiate opportunities, not being in band doesn’t hurt them too much. I’m still friends with people who are in the band, I just don’t see them as often (mostly because I go to a different school). You can also still do band in college without being in a band class. I would check out your state’s Band Directors Association, or whoever is in charge of the district/state honor band auditions if you have them, and check out the audition materials for your level. It should tell you musical terms you should know, scales, and etudes you should be able to play. It could be a good way to stay on track with your instrument and prepare you for college band auditions, if needed.
@yankeeinGA @QMusic Pardon my late response, but thank you both for responding!
I actually do play oboe in jazz band, because it is a school “jazz lab” which allows for unconventional instrumentation, including oboe. Unfortunately this means if I dropped band, I’d have to drop jazz band as well. Still deliberating though.