Project 1

 

 

Draft 2-1000 words

       The movie “Drumline” depicts Devon, a young male student (Nick Cannon), that is hand-picked to attend Atlanta A&T University based on his musical inclination. This causes him to have a large ego and disrespect those of a higher ranking. However, he finds himself under the authority of a tough band director and a jealous section leader. These two men pressure him to blend with the rest of the band and encourage him to groom his talent, to shape his craft. However, this is not as flashy as Devon’s tastes. This in turn causes the director and section leader to resent Devon and he is eventually removed from his placement within the musical group. By the end of the movie Devon has a homecoming moment where he redeems himself and earns a spot on the field for next year. In another scene, a bandmate challenges another one for their spot on the field. The performer in the show lost his spot to the one who challenged him. This is discouraging yet, the performer challenged the bandmate a few weeks later and regained his spot. That is how the process is supposed to work. I was put in a similar position except I was not offered a chance to regain my full position.

This text helps to support the notion of elite measurement within a musical group. In other words, what you play depends on your skill level. What makes this controversial is that it is rather subjective. Not an exact science. This unofficial skill ranking system can cause issues between performers because of ego and section placement. For instance, someone may be placed in a position which requires a skill level below their own, causing them to resent those that put them there. They may feel as though they deserve a spot that is more difficult but most likely more entertaining to perform.

I was on the drumline at my high school. There was a student that was very hard headed. He thought he was the best drummer in all categories, no matter the context. Essentially, he thought that he could play any percussive instrument better than any other member. This was far from the truth. This also created some rather awkward experiences. He would volunteer to play things that were well above his skill level, embarrassing himself when he had to step down from the role. He was assigned within the line to an instrument that corresponded to his skill level and physical abilities (size, height, strength). His placement was to one of the less desirable positions. Unfortunately, his skills did not improve throughout his high school career. This caused him to remain on that same instrument for three years straight. When he was placed for the third and final time he lost it. He believed so strongly that he deserved better, so he began to whine and complain each and every day. Circumstances had arisen such that we were given a new band director. She was young, inexperienced, and afraid to hurt anyone’s feelings. My fellow unskilled drummer’s complaints penetrated her resolve. It is her and only her that chooses who is placed where within the show, specifically on the drumline. She felt bad for him and even though any other director would not have done so, she decided to hold a callback audition. Not on the entire line. Just between this student and me. It was obvious he wanted my spot.

            Initially I was appalled that these events were transpiring. I had earned my placement. None of the other players had to audition a second time. And this was the first year I was achieving my goal of performing in the most elite of positions, so I wanted my instrumentation placement just as badly as he did. However, the audition was held, and I was satisfied with the terms of the audition, initially. It would be a blind test. The director would sit in her office and listen to him and I play a previously announced audition piece without knowing who was playing and then she would make a judgment call based solely off what she heard.

            After playing we entered her office and she asked who went first and I was confused. All she needed to say was whether she wanted the first or second performer to have the position. But before I could say anything the other drummer said that he went first, which was true. This information basically ruled the entire blind part of the blind audition obsolete. She ended up having us share the part, which if you ask anybody who has ever auditioned for a prestigious position will tell you, is utter bullshit. However, this is how she decided it would be. Half the time I would play my original part and he would play his. The other times he would play my part and I had the option to either play his initial part or sit out. I chose to sit out.

            I recorded the audition just in case the director decided to pull some stunt like this. I took that recording and let several people listen to it, not telling them who was playing and asked them who they thought played better. Every person I let listen to it chose my audition. I then let the band directors of eight surrounding schools hear the recording and then explained the situation to them. I also asked them to make a judgment call, in writing, about who they thought played better. Five of the directors chose my audition, the other three refused to decide because they said they would have never allowed a callback audition in the first place. They expressed that any decision they make is final. I presented all this information to my director and she had nothing to say about the matter.

            In closing, I was robbed of a position within a musical group for which I had worked hard for, I had put in the work it takes to truly earn my placement. But then a student complained enough to sway the director into conducting a redundant audition, just so she could somehow make everything “fair.” I tried to get her to let me challenge him for my full position back. I was denied my request. I found it interesting that suddenly, she was confident in her decisions.

​

​

Final Polished Draft

Nicolas Blanton

Mat Wenzel

ENC 2135-15

February 2018

           I was on the drumline at my high school. There was a student that was very hard headed. He thought he was the best drummer in all categories, no matter the context. Essentially, he thought that he could play any percussive instrument better than any other member. This was far from the truth and universally agreed upon. This also created some rather awkward experiences. He would volunteer to play things that were well above his skill level, embarrassing himself when he had to step down from the role. He was assigned within the line to an instrument that corresponded to his skill level and physical abilities (size, height, strength). His placement was to one of the worst positions. Not just the second best, or somewhere in the middle, but almost the worst position. Unfortunately, his skills did not improve throughout his high school career. This caused him to remain on that same instrument for three years straight. When he was placed for the third and final time, he lost his mind. He believed so strongly that he deserved better, so he began to whine and complain each and every day. Unfortunately, our previous band director had left the school during the prior year, due to getting a better job offer, so we were left with a new one, fresh out of college. She was young, inexperienced, and afraid to hurt anyone’s feelings. My fellow unskilled drummer’s complaints wore her down. It is her and only her that chooses who is placed where within the show, specifically on the drumline. She felt bad for him and even though any other director would not have done so, she decided to hold a callback audition. Not on the entire line. Just between this student and me. It was obvious he wanted my spot.

            Initially I was appalled that these events were happening. I had earned my placement. None of the other players had to audition a second time. And this was the first year I was achieving my goal of performing in the most elite of positions, so I wanted to hold on to my top spot just as badly as he wanted to take it from me. However, the audition was held, and I was satisfied with the terms of the audition, initially. It would be a blind test. The director would sit in her office and listen to him and I play a previously announced audition piece without knowing who was playing and then she would make a judgment call based solely off what she heard.

            After playing we entered her office and she asked who went first. I was confused. All she needed to say was whether she wanted the first or second performer to have the position. But before I could say anything the other drummer said that he went first, which was true. This information basically ruled the entire “blind” part of the blind audition obsolete. She ended up having us share the part, which if you ask anybody who has ever auditioned for a prestigious position will tell you, is utter bullshit. However, this is how she decided it would be. Half the time I would play my original part and he would play his. The other times he would play my part and I had the option to either play his initial part or sit out. I chose to sit out.

            The movie “Drumline” depicts Devon, a young male student (Nick Cannon), that is hand-picked to attend Atlanta A&T University based on his musical inclination. Devon is not very humble and likes to show-boat quite a lot, however, he cannot read music. This causes many issues resulting in Devon being removed from the band. By the end of the movie Devon is given a chance to prove himself once more, earning him a spot in next year’s show. There is also a scene where a character named Jayson is challenged by a bandmate for his spot on the field. After losing his position through this challenge, Jayson decides a few weeks later to challenge his bandmate to earn his spot back. He is allowed to do so and is able to redeem himself. This movie supports the notion of elite measurement within a musical group. In other words, what you play depends on your skill level, and the difficulty of an instrument usually directly corresponds to the enjoyment one gets while playing. The film also illustrates what should have happened to me. I asked, after a few weeks of painful practices, painful because of this student’s poor skills, for a chance to challenge for my full position back. I was denied my request. My director said that her decision was final. I find it interesting that suddenly she was confident in her judgements.

            I recorded the “blind” audition just in case my director decided to pull some stunt like this. I took that recording and let several people listen to it, not telling them who was playing and asked them who they thought played better. Every person I let listen to it chose my audition. I then let the band directors of eight surrounding schools hear the recording and then explained the situation to them. I also asked them to make a judgment call, in writing, about who they thought played better. Five of the directors chose my audition, the other three refused to decide because they said they would have never allowed a callback audition in the first place. They expressed that any decision they make is final. I presented all this information to my director and she had nothing to say on the matter.

​

​