Personal Narrative: A Career As A Drum Major

I held each beat in my hands as I drove the band forward. Every uniformed member dashed in time to reach the coordinates. As the harmonic build of anticipation clouded the stadium and the chord reached its climax, every member is entirely focused as I elongated the last four beats into silence. Just after the final chord of this crucial, coruscating performance of imagery and music, my eyes scanned the band in a moment of silent intimacy. We had succeeded.
At the end of my sophomore year, I sat down in the auditorium as any other saxophonist yet, in a few short minutes I stood as the Drum Major. As the Drum Major it was my responsibility to care for the band and the quality of performance. However, our diminutive size and menial funding caused the band to be …show more content…
When keeping the band's goals in mind, it was simple to remind them of their drive for musical and visual prowess,which helped to invigorate even the least motivated students. Yet, there are equal parts leading and letting go when searching for achievement. Every time I would teach, it was important to let students try on their own, to release all control and let their let their effort dictate their performance. In letting go and giving the students a chance to succeed individually, my trust in them translated to profound confidence in the face of adversity. In this leadership format, the power lies not with the leader but within the cohesive teamwork of the band.
More personally, I realized that I was a role model to many underclassmen in my time as Drum Major. This pressure of inspective observance inspired me to further my integrity in the hopes that those who looked up to me would do the same. Most importantly, however, being Drum Major let me view failure as unrefined success. When failure is utilized rather than admonished, what used to be a nuisance becomes an opportunity for