So if you don't play this instrument as well as you could, what proof is there to tell the BD that you would play your new instrument as well as you could? There isn't any. You have to prove you can give 100% before someone will actually believe you.

he wouldn't give me a chance to prove myslef on the new instrument, he has never seen me play, nor has he offered to se me play, so he won't know. I would, and could prove myself if he gave me the try-out materials, let me tryout, watch me play, and things of that nature, I can prove myself that way, but no, he is stubourn and doesn't even offer a chance.

I would at least give the person a chance to let me see them play, tell them what they can work on, and tell them to come back when the group size permits it, not just, "No! you would just be a distraction!"

Interesting that your story either evolves or changes with each post. Now you'll be a distraction?

I'll ask again, if you aren't giving 100% on trombone, why do you deserve a chance to switch instruments?

Yeah, I'm will drumcorpbc on this one. Chances aren't given, they are earned. If you aren't performing at 100% on your current instrument, you're showing the BD that you can say "I'm dedicated!" but you can't show your dedication. If you're not dedicated to your current instrument, there is no viable proof that you will be dedicated to your new one besides you saying "I will".

Oh... I went to percussion camp last week, and he told me I would be nothing but a distraction if I stayed.

If I wasn't so dedicated to percussion, why do I keep trying to get on it, and why have I been dedicated to it for the past 4-5 years?

If you were so dedicated to percussion, why did you switch to trombone?

Judging from similar threads, this sort of thing seems to be a contentious issue in general. I don't usually rant in person, let alone on a message board, but...

In Jacket's defense, how 'bout the detractors stop leaping on every statement and picking it apart like a prosecuting attorney? The story has been reasonably consistent. We must assume that, A. Jacket' isn't lying though his teeth and B. We are only getting one, biased, version of events. Has Jacket' made some foolish/counterproductive statemtents (e.g. the "not giving 100% thing")? Yup. Does this make him a poor musician (who *gasp!* doesn't want to play every available instument and doesn't like solos!), not dedicated, or in some way worthy only of scorn? No. It makes him a teenager (I seem to remember that those are flighty, immature creatures) who tried something different and is finished with it.

Basically it all boils down to: Jacket' tried trombone and he decided he didn't like it much but kept at it for a while "for the good of the band." Now many are comming down on him for wanting to go back to percussion against the band director's wishes. I *really* doubt the BD is going to tell any of the apparent glut of new percussion members at Jacket's school "you have to play <random wind instrument> for the good of the band!" No double standards, darn it! The *only* reason to continue playing trombone is because the BD wants him to do so: he's not getting paid, he's not doing it to fulfill scholarship commitments, it's not the middle of school year where it's going to screw the band over.

I'm not really on anyone's side (not enough solid info, sorry) but I think this whole "thou shalt not change instruments...well, really, just not from wind into percussion" thing is nuts. I have no idea why some are so against anyone who runs into difficulty in this.

If you have a purely extracurricular program (be it just marching program, or concert band also) that you have to try out for, then you take your chances and if what they'll let you play is trombone you either play trombone or don't participate; but, in a regular educational setting (i.e. your getting a grade for it) I see no point in forcing someone to play an instrument they don't want to play.


On a slightly different issue:

IMO, unless Jacket' is a persistent and disruptive troublemaker, if the BD's stated actions and comments are even remotely true, the BD has at least lost sight of the "education" part of music education (that's not what I *want* to say, but I'm not going to besmirch someone without first-hand knowledge.) It sounds like Jacket' has done some things that were a bit immature (surprise! teenager!) but the reported reactions just seem ridiculous. If what Jacket' posted was the actual text of a letter his parents wrote I'm frankly shocked that they haven't asked for a meeting with the BD and the principal about the BDs statements and actions, completely leaving aside the instrument switching issue. (If my BD had talked to me that way, I'm pretty sure my dad would've been at the school the next morning, at the latest, demanding his head on a platter.)

if i was so dedicated to percussion, why did I switch to trombone?
Long story, but here goes:
My mother played flute in the band as woodwind section leader, my uncle played trombone and tuba, but played set at home, thus after watching Drumline (it was 5th grade come on) I wanted to play drums in the band, and also carrying on my family's musical tradition. Then I went into begining band, I said I wanted to play percussion, he gave me a test, just keeping tempo and reapeting clapping paterns, which I "failed," so I said that my grandmother has an old trombone stuffed away in a closet, so, since my mother used to play certain songs on trombone, taught me the art of buzzing a mouthpeice; they gave me the test, and using that knowledge, won trombone. That same day, my parents told me that the tests the director gave me were ineffective, and that to do that, they would teach it. 2 days later, I came up to that Band director, and said, "I don't really like, nor do I want to play trombone." He flatly said, "To bad." So we put up a fight about it for awhile, much like this one. Meanwhile, with my new knowledge of reading music, I began learning rudiments. We eventually gave up on fighting because, that school had an indoor drumline (Brookwood High School, 18th place, Scholastic Open 2008) and that I had achance of trying ut for it.

Then I moved to my curren school halfway through 7th grade. Since they were on block schedule, not period schedule, so they didn't put me in ANY elective classes. 8th grade I signed up, and said that I could play trombone and percussion, so they put me in the group with about 20 other non-6th grade beginning band-ers. We all tried out, and I told them I had the knowledge of 1/4 of a semester of percussion, so they put me on it. I was able to play 4 scales at the time on mallets, and could barely read treble clef. I learned, and eventually, even though that I had vowed to never give up percussion, I decided to return to trombne for the good of the band, since we had 2 trombones and 11 percussion. I gave 100% the rest of the year, and all the way through band camp of my frechman year, then the itch to drum slowly was coming back, so I started re-learning rudiments, writing cadences, joining DLO, and learning 12 major scaled, and several minor scales on mallets. I started giveing less month by month. The turning point was when I was talking to a graduate the year before that played quads. He told me that I should have never left percussion, he had been saying that the whole time though. We had 3 bass 2 snare, and 1 cymbal. I agree; it was a semi-mistake to switch. I started giving less effort, with the exception of days leading up to concerts. So one day, a few month ago, I decided that I would ask him, which brings us to this point.

I didin't really want to switch to trombone, I just did it for the good of the band. The 11 percussion has been trimmed to 8, and only about 6 of those showed up to percussion camp. we would have 12-15 percussion next year but several are getting kicked out (cymbal, middle bass, quad player that showed up late in the year.

I most likely am leaving out A LOT, but I have to go to bed... school night.

Keep fighting, go play drums!

thank you