Reflecting

What do I hope to accomplish this year in band? I know this sounds plain and thoughtless, but I really just want to get better. I know that in the prompt, you said for us to be specific, and "getting better" is an unspecific phrase, but it's true. I have never really been the best musician, and something I hope to get better at is how long can I play without breathing. I've always had a problem with that, so I want to work on it as much as possible. Another thing I hope to get better at is playing faster. During a lot of pieces, there are flute runs and fast melodies, and my mind knows and registers what note I see and how to play it, but my fingers can't always keep up so they freeze up and I miss notes. So that's something I need to work on.

A measurable goal I could set for myself would be actually practicing more often. As you know, I don't really practice too much, and it would help me a lot to actually take my flute home once in a while to practice and not just leave in in the kitchen.When June (finally) rolls around, I'm not entirely sure what will have made this year in band a success other than completing my goals. Even if I don't complete all of my goals, I hope this year will be a success anyway.

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That was a terrible reflection, but I do think I have met the goals I set for this year. I definitely believe I have gotten much better, and I'm very excited to be moving up to Wind Ensemble next year. Along with getting better, I can hold notes for longer and breathe less often while playing, so I completed that goal as well.

Fast playing and runs can still be a challenge, but I find myself unable to play them much less often. Near the beginning of the year, I had a much harder time, but later on fast melodies became much easier. For example, I learned to play the melody of Cajun Folk Songs II very quickly and rarely ever struggled with it.

One goal I didn't quite complete to the best of my abilities was to take my flute home and practice more often. I thought I would, but unfortunately my flute spent nights more often then not alone at school. I know next year, though, I will certainly be practicing far more than I have in the past because the Wind Ensemble music is very challenging and I will need to practice hard in order to keep up.

Looking back on the year in its entirety, I can truthfully say that I am proud of my accomplishments in band and my promotion to Wind Ensemble. Concert Band has been a success, and your idea of dividing the band program in to Concert Band and Wind Ensemble turned out to be a good one.