A/N: I'm sorry this has taken to long to post. I'll try to get them up
more frequently in the future, but at the moment, all I have are the school
computers, and they won't let you post. Also, I really don't mean to
offend anyone in the next essay, and don't mean it to sound as if I am,
either.
This is just a representation of the views of different instruments in my band, and I have met many
many people elsewhere that have acted completely different.
______________________________ I'm tired of being thought of as a deformed flute. As the only oboe, you're not part of the band. Flutes
think of you as being a deformed clarinet, and everyone else (including band composers) thinks of you as a
deformed flute. Band directors think of you as a novelty, and will go to the extremes t force you into band.
That's what happened to me this year. When they cut the orchestra, I decided that I was not going to go back
to the band. I lasted for two whole weeks before I couldn't stand the band director's constant nagging and
guilt trips. Now that I'm there, however, the novelty of having an oboe has worn off, and I've been
forgotten. I'm nothing more than bragging rights to her, and to everyone else, I don't exist. On the other
hand, I do get to be the oboe's section leader yet again!
Band for oboe stinks. The music always parallels the flutes'. I don't see why band directors love
us so much. We never actually get to do anything, and you never know what to do, either. When the flutes
are called on to play alone (and my part is the same as theirs), I almost always get into trouble. If I don't
play, I'm yelled at because my part is the same and I should have, yet if I do, I'm yelled at because she told
only the flutes to play, It doesn't make sense. Why can't band directors learn to call on oboes and flutes,
or just flutes? Its really not that hard.
And sectionals. What's the point of me having a sectional all by myself? Plus the same thing happens. If
I go in a practice room alone, I'm told to go with the flutes, and if I go with them, I'm told to go away because
I'm obviously not a flute.
That leads me to band trips. Sections generally stay close together. I'm my own section. Brass and
percussion don't want to talk to me because I'm a woodwind, clarinets won't take me because I play flute
parts, and flutes won't because I look too much like a clarinet (though I'd disagree vehemently with that
point) and saxophones won't take me because I'm not shiny enough. Who am I supposed to go on the
rides with at Disneyland?
I am not a novelty. I've worked just as hard as everyone else to become a good musician, and I am not a
deformed flute.
This is just a representation of the views of different instruments in my band, and I have met many
many people elsewhere that have acted completely different.
______________________________ I'm tired of being thought of as a deformed flute. As the only oboe, you're not part of the band. Flutes
think of you as being a deformed clarinet, and everyone else (including band composers) thinks of you as a
deformed flute. Band directors think of you as a novelty, and will go to the extremes t force you into band.
That's what happened to me this year. When they cut the orchestra, I decided that I was not going to go back
to the band. I lasted for two whole weeks before I couldn't stand the band director's constant nagging and
guilt trips. Now that I'm there, however, the novelty of having an oboe has worn off, and I've been
forgotten. I'm nothing more than bragging rights to her, and to everyone else, I don't exist. On the other
hand, I do get to be the oboe's section leader yet again!
Band for oboe stinks. The music always parallels the flutes'. I don't see why band directors love
us so much. We never actually get to do anything, and you never know what to do, either. When the flutes
are called on to play alone (and my part is the same as theirs), I almost always get into trouble. If I don't
play, I'm yelled at because my part is the same and I should have, yet if I do, I'm yelled at because she told
only the flutes to play, It doesn't make sense. Why can't band directors learn to call on oboes and flutes,
or just flutes? Its really not that hard.
And sectionals. What's the point of me having a sectional all by myself? Plus the same thing happens. If
I go in a practice room alone, I'm told to go with the flutes, and if I go with them, I'm told to go away because
I'm obviously not a flute.
That leads me to band trips. Sections generally stay close together. I'm my own section. Brass and
percussion don't want to talk to me because I'm a woodwind, clarinets won't take me because I play flute
parts, and flutes won't because I look too much like a clarinet (though I'd disagree vehemently with that
point) and saxophones won't take me because I'm not shiny enough. Who am I supposed to go on the
rides with at Disneyland?
I am not a novelty. I've worked just as hard as everyone else to become a good musician, and I am not a
deformed flute.