Band Essay

On March 6, 2013, in the Pewaukee High School Auditorium, the Asa Clark Middle School, 7^th and 8^th grade bands, along with the Jazz Band, performed their spring concert. The 7^th and 8^th grade bands each performed five pieces, while the Jazz Band performed two.  Many varieties of music were played, including upbeat, up tempo style music, to relaxing, calming music. I think overall that these bands had a good concert, maybe an eight out of ten.

The seventh grade band played well, they had good intonation and pretty good articulation. On some pieces the dynamics were there, but on a few others, the dynamics were OK at best.  For almost all of the songs, blend and balance could have been improved. Although, I think that the performers really engaged the audience and make the concert enjoyable. The highlight of the performance was probably the piece “Zoom”, as the band displayed great dynamic range, and the ability to play many different time signatures. The worst part though, was that the band did not look very professional, especially the percussion. One guy had a Mohawk and another guy looked like he was wearing a jumpsuit. Overall the seventh grade band probably deserves and 8.5 out of ten.

The eighth grade band did not perform as expected as they lacked in sound quality and articulations. They did do a good job blending and balancing their sound, as well as doing a pretty good job with dynamics. The performers engaged the audience very well, almost in a mesmerizing way. Unlike the seventh grade band though, the eighth grade band looked very professional. Overall the eighth grade band deserves a 7.5 or eight out of ten.

In conclusion, the seventh grade band did a pretty good job, they could just work on being more professional and varying dynamics better, along with blend and balance. The eighth grade band could definitely work on articulations and sound quality. Overall I think the Asa Clark Middle School Bands did a good job in their concert.