How to swallow up my pride and... (continued)?

Question

i'm in 8th grade, and for music, i'm in this class called Concert Band. I was new, so i had no idea that when i signed up for Concert Band, i would be playing with sixth graders and seventh graders that had only just started playing their instruments. There was another class called "Wind Ensemble" but i didnt sign up for that because it said "teacher recommendation required" and being new, of course i didnt have anything like that, so i didnt sign up.
but i've been playing clarinet for four yrs, and the others around me has just started.
our first christmas concert is today, and we're literally playing Hot Cross Buns and the major scales. It's just really embarassing and humiliating, because there are going to be friends and family watching..... and plus, the Wind Ensemble people (8th graders, my friends) are going to play in the concert too, and they are going to laugh at us.

how to swallow up my pride and play proudly?

Answer 1

Good for you for not trying to just get out of your dilema. You can be proud of yourself for that.

One aspect to focus on is the fact that, as the eldest and most experienced member of the band, all the other kids must be looking up to you. They'll be learning how to act during a concert, and you will be their #1 role model. If you don't give the performance respect, they won't either. So you can show them how to pay attention, keep one's composure and play with pride.

Another is the ability to overcome any obstacles that may arise. Playing out of time, losing track of one's place, crowd noise, distraction from audiance members, things like that, are issues they need to learn to deal with that you probably have already handled. You can give them tips beforehand, show them how it's done during, and help support their efforts afterwards.

These are the kinds of issues you will likely have to face throughout your life in one way or another. Except when you are the "rookie" there are always going to be people with less experience than you. Think of professional athletes and business people. Each group of "players" has at least one veteran who has been through this kind of situation before, and they can be the difference between the team winning or losing, especially at the most critical times. Think of your first few weeks at this new school. Wouldn't it have been nice to have some classmate who's been through the process of choosing classes to tell you that concert band was more for the new musicians?

Finally, the music. Sure, it might be pretty embarassing to play the scales in front of an audiance, but teachers do that every day. Opera singers that work with children start out by singing the scales with them. It's not so much the music you play, as long as you're playing music. Know what I mean?

So go out there and be the mentor, the role model, the veteran and play your heart out. Do it for the young kids, and you will feel the pride. Break a leg!

Answer 2

Maybe see if your Concert band teacher will give you a recommendation to switch over to Wind Ensemble. Or if you really can't switch classes then do what you can do to enjoy the experience.

Answer 3

Play the concert, and play it well. Nothing to be ashamed of. Then speak to your music teacher. Ask to be placed where you belong, given your talents and experience. Besides being embarrassing for you, it certainly isn't making you a better clarinet player. After all, isn't school about learning? No algebra student is going to learn anything or get any better by adding single digit numbers, and no musician of your caliber is going to learn anything or get any better by playing hot cross buns.
Good Luck!

Answer 4

It's March. Why do you have a Christmas concert? Ask the director if you can audition for WInd Ensemble.

Answer 5

do you enjoy doing it? if so dont worry right now about the other people. do what you love and love what you do and you will get better at it. this will be an experiance that will make you grow.