One of the best experiences I have ever had was being in my middle school jazz band. I started doing jazz in 6th grade, and I have loved doing it every year. I went to a k-8 school, so the jazz band was small, but it was easier for us to bet better at playing as a whole because there weren’t as many kids to attend to. My band director was named Mr. Edwards, and he is probably one my favorite teachers I’ve ever had. He was funny, good at playing music (and teaching it), and he made music fun to play.
When I went into 7th grade, Mr. Edwards had our period of band play jazz the second half of the class. At first, I hated playing jazz. I didn’t like the songs we were playing, and I was bored constantly because he was always busy helping the trumpets with the music. We played the same songs and a few others over the course of the first semester. I was so tired of it, I would dread going to band; but in the second semester, we started to get really good. Mr. Edwards started passing out harder song that sounded better and even jazz classics “In the mood,” and “American Patrol.” By the end of that year, I loved jazz. I think that was because I was being more challenged, and the music was far better than the stuff we were playing before.
By my 8th grade year, I was ready to start jazz. To my surprise, we started off that year being pretty advanced, since a lot of the seventh graders were really good. By the end of the first semester, we had mastered a lot of songs that were fun and challenging. During the second semester, we started to learn some hard arrangements. We were learning hard arrangements of “Cottontail” by Duke Ellington, “Straight, no Chaser,” by Thellonius Monk, and “Blue rondo a la Turk.” One of my greatest achievements was made during my time in the jazz band. Mr. Edwards decided we were good enough to go to the Bellevue jazz festival. Mr. Edwards always chooses the festivals so that we can have fun, and learn something new. After we preformed, we went to third place books and hung out there for a while as a treat. That was when we received the news that we were accepted into the finals as the best middle school jazz band performing at the festival! So that night, we performed at Bellevue high school playing “Autumn Leaves.” Afterward, we came back with a trophy for third place in the A section! It wasn’t a high win, but we still got the first jazz trophy for Madrona K-8!
This group I was in was very special to me, and I am very thankful I am starting jazz at Edmonds-Woodway, and am excited to start playing harder songs that are more fun; and Mr. Edwards is teaching Jazz 3 at Edmonds-Woodway.
When I went into 7th grade, Mr. Edwards had our period of band play jazz the second half of the class. At first, I hated playing jazz. I didn’t like the songs we were playing, and I was bored constantly because he was always busy helping the trumpets with the music. We played the same songs and a few others over the course of the first semester. I was so tired of it, I would dread going to band; but in the second semester, we started to get really good. Mr. Edwards started passing out harder song that sounded better and even jazz classics “In the mood,” and “American Patrol.” By the end of that year, I loved jazz. I think that was because I was being more challenged, and the music was far better than the stuff we were playing before.
By my 8th grade year, I was ready to start jazz. To my surprise, we started off that year being pretty advanced, since a lot of the seventh graders were really good. By the end of the first semester, we had mastered a lot of songs that were fun and challenging. During the second semester, we started to learn some hard arrangements. We were learning hard arrangements of “Cottontail” by Duke Ellington, “Straight, no Chaser,” by Thellonius Monk, and “Blue rondo a la Turk.” One of my greatest achievements was made during my time in the jazz band. Mr. Edwards decided we were good enough to go to the Bellevue jazz festival. Mr. Edwards always chooses the festivals so that we can have fun, and learn something new. After we preformed, we went to third place books and hung out there for a while as a treat. That was when we received the news that we were accepted into the finals as the best middle school jazz band performing at the festival! So that night, we performed at Bellevue high school playing “Autumn Leaves.” Afterward, we came back with a trophy for third place in the A section! It wasn’t a high win, but we still got the first jazz trophy for Madrona K-8!
This group I was in was very special to me, and I am very thankful I am starting jazz at Edmonds-Woodway, and am excited to start playing harder songs that are more fun; and Mr. Edwards is teaching Jazz 3 at Edmonds-Woodway.