I have had few passions more intense and longstanding than that of playing the snare drum in the marching band. If you asked me now why I love the snare drum, I would tell you that it is the driving force of a marching band, and how even though it is a seemingly easy instrument, it requires an immense amount of skill and technique in order to play perfectly articulated notes. Why I actually started to love the snare drum, however, was because it was loud.
My passion for the snare drum can be traced back to my town’s annual Memorial Day Parade, where every year, what I look forward to the most is watching the high school drumline. For the day of the parade, and weeks following it, all I think is one day being one of the snare drummers. This
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This was the first time in my life where I had to deal with the reality of failing at something I loved, but I was still young, and I knew that I had more opportunities. I spent countless hours working to be the best possible on my new instrument. I wanted to show my dedication by putting in as much time as necessary in order to get on the drumline by junior year. I would often stay after school and practice with my friends who were on the drumline, taking in every tidbit of information about technique and practicing that would get me closer to my goal of playing snare drum. As drumline auditions came closer, however, I became consumed by a fear of failure, knowing that everyone on the snare line was much better than me and that they would all stay on, so I assumed that I had no chance of making it. That being said, I put everything that I had in that audition, and felt that it was an accurate representation of the work that I had put in. I was full of anticipation, believing that I might finally fulfill my dream of being on the snare line. The look on the band director’s face as he walked towards me told a different story, though, and my enthusiasm was instantly overcome by remorse. To him I was of more use to the band in the front ensemble than in the