Personal Narrative: Band Analysis

It was freshmen year and probably one of the most stressful weeks I’ve ever experienced. It was the week of solo and ensemble contest for band. I was in a saxophone trio with two other fellow saxophonists. Now we weren’t prepared for this at all. I was the only one that practiced the Sonata and could play it. The two other people could maybe play a small section but that was it. We told our band director earlier in the week we weren’t ready, therefore, he should just cut the trio. He said we would do fine and to keep practicing this week and all will be okay. We practiced and practiced but barely any progress was made. I started getting more nervous as the week went on, because I didn’t want to fail in front of all the people and embarrass

After they finished I felt my whole body start to tremble. We were next. A million things started running through my head. What if we mess up? What are they going to think of me? It was now our turn. We stood up and started moving our Sonata onto the stands and retrieved our music from the flutes. I began taking slow, deep breaths to try and calm my nerves. I was the one to speak to the judges. I explained who we were and what composition we were going to play. They nodded their heads and told us to begin when we were ready.

Now, if you have never heard a trio before, there are three very distinct parts. You have the lead, which was me, who plays the moving lines with the most notes and hardest rhythms. The third part is like the bass part. This part helps keep the piece moving at a steady pace. It may not be the most important, but without it you can definitely tell something significant is missing. The second part connects the lead and bass parts. Their part perfectly intertwines the two and makes the whole arrangement come together. Each part is reliant on the

I start the piece and then the two other parts come in behind me. I can’t believe it, but the first movement actually sounds pretty decent. One of the best times I’ve ever heard it played. Then came disaster. Our second part stopped playing completely. I tried to look over at her out of the corner of my eye to see what the heck was going on, but she just looked completely puzzled and lost. I knew I had to keep playing. The third part was still playing as well, so I knew I had to continue.

Not soon after she stopped playing, I noticed something was going extremely wrong. It just did not sound right anymore. I’m not just talking about the rhythm or missing a couple notes either. It was full-flooded awful. The parts were not mingling together at all. Then he stops too. There was no more sound coming from the two of them. It was just me and the piano now. Throughout the rest of the arrangemen I could hear the other two trying to find their way back in but each time just resulted in