Comfort Zones

 Where are you naturally drawn in your placement?

I am naturally drawn to some of the students who are more outgoing in my placement, as they kind of balance out the fact that I am somewhat introverted. During some prep times or when I am working on stuff in my office (Yes, I get an office!), some students will come in and talk to me. I really do love when they come in because it helps me get to know students better. I am also more drawn to the woodwind sections while assisting with rehearsals because that is what I know more about. I know exactly what to do when a student is having problems with something on their instrument.

Where will you need to be more purposeful?

I feel like I need to be more purposeful with my sections that I know the least about, which would be color guard and percussion. One thing I am doing to help learn more about them is spending time with the instructors of the respective sections. During our evening rehearsals, I will "float" around to make sure I observe all parts of the band. For example, on Tuesday night, I started by being in the winds rehearsal for about an hour, then went over to where color guard was rehearsing for about half an hour. After I was done there, I returned to the winds for about 15 or so minutes, then went over to sit in on the percussion's rehearsal.

I have been talking quite a bit with Liz, who is Washington's color guard instructor and Nick, who is Washington's drumline instructor, on how they run their rehearsals and what is different in how they teach their sections versus how they rehearse with the full band. It was interesting to see these sections at work on their own, and I am definitely going to keep going around to each section for my rehearsals. I am having a great time at my placement so far and I'm excited for these kids to keep performing!