mm.. i come from a band in singapore, and as such, my post will be the band structure that most singaporean schools take. should there be a need for clarification, just post here, or drop me a PM. 'nuff said, on to the story.
Recently, two very.. un-disciplined students had joined my section. they had joined when they first registered with my school, but they were shifted to other sections. after that, i do not know what happened to them, but they sorta dissappeared from our band practices ever since.
as forementioned, they joined our section. one thing that really pisses me off about them is that they show no respect for our band major (or band leader, from the student population). every time rehersal is on, they're always chattering. even when our band major looks at them, they're plain rude to her.
another thing is that as i'm the assistant section leader (ASL), i'm actually supposed to teach new students how to play. as our band is divided into 2, the main band and students who have just joined band (the recruits). the main band has at least 1 year of experience playing their instruments, and are pretty proficient. because our band teacher-in-charge recommended them to be in the main band. they cant even play properly, let alone read notes. as a result, my section's playing is going down.
my band director is pretty insistent on very good discipline. these two students.. no matter how much we tell them to keep quiet, they simply ignore, and continue making noise. as such.. i'm feeling very pressurised as an ASL, keeping the two quiet and all.
i just feel like, percussion is a section where you must be relatively okay at keeping a constant tempo and stuff. however, all students who cant play an instrument like the cornet or tuba come to. even the band director makes it seem this way. he wants to place people who cant play their instruments properly into percussion. that's extremely morale-reducing for me.
yup.. that's my section's story. anyone has similar experiences? any advice on how to motivate them and myself? i'd be very very very grateful. =)