F.E. Blog #2 -- High School Pep Band

What an adventure observing the Bozeman High School Pep Band turned out to be! The call time I was given to be at the High School was 3:15, and so I had made plans for my brother to watch my children. As 2:55 rolled around, he was no where in sight, and I soon learned that he had forgotten his duty as babysitter. I hurriedly got my two little ones ready to leave the house and was in the process of telling them how to behave at the school when a knock startled me: my brother had been awakened by our mother, and despite being sick with a cold, was here to watch the children. By this time I had already promised my daughter that she would get to see a real basketball game, and given that her school had been given the privilege of having a Harlem Globetrotter come and entertain the student body, my promise to her was one that I could not easily break without much wailing and gnashing of teeth. So my children, my brother, and I headed out in the cold, gray afternoon to Bozeman High.

We parked behind the band room, only to find upon entering the building that it was deserted. Lights were blackened, gates sectioned off the corridors of the school, and note a life was to be found, save for that of my family and the family of Adam, who we ran in to when searching for answers. We all walked as a group to the South Gym where we knew the game would took place, and being still at a loss for where the Pep Band could be, decided to wait to learn more information. In the meantime, I fed my kids junk-food and sports drinks while we looked toward the back parking lot from the warmth of the BHS weight-room ramp.

Nearly an hour passed by before we saw any sign life stirring with instrument cases in hand, and when we did my family and I decided to wait until a larger crowd had assembled. I informed Adam that some band members were showing up, as he was in the gym watching the pregame with his lovely wife and daughter, and returned to watch for Mr. Berdahl, the instructor. When a substantial enough crowd had formed, we made our way out to wait for the director. The air was extremely cold while we waiting for him to come and unlock the door (which had apparently locked since we had all been in there before), and my children were soon anxious to get inside. Once Mr. Berdahl showed up, I introduced myself, as did Adam (who had also made his way down from the gym), and we began waiting for any further instruction. When no instruction was given we followed the band out the door, back in to the cold, and back to the gym where the game was about to begin.

I wish that I could say what I remember most about that day was the quality of the Pep Band. While I did find the Pep Band to be quite skilled -- I was amazed that all Mr. Berdahl had to do was conduct the first few measures before the band could carry itself through the rest of the piece -- I must admit that what struck me the most about the day was the difficulties in its beginnings. However, given the unnecessary and lengthy prose above, I will note what I did observe about the High School Pep Band:

1. The students were so comfortable playing with one another that, as I mentioned above, they could continue playing a piece without direct cuing from the conductor. What struck me most about this wasn't the idea that they could count, but more the idea that they could listen so well for being in High School. Granted, I base my assumptions on my younger brother who, although extremely bright and very talented musically, tends to not want to spare a free second to really listen to anyone other than himself. My beliefs are biased, and I am happy to say now, have been completely annihilated. Students can learn to be great listeners, as this band has proven, if they are taught by a gifted instructor.

2. Watching Mr. Berdahl, I was amazed how little attention he paid to his students, and how much he focused on the game. It was awe-inspiring to me, the way he knew the exact moments to begin the band, not to distract from the game, but to enhance it. He had a book of, what I could only assume were, plays of the home team, and was referencing that more than his musical scores. This was an aspect of directing a Pep Band that I had not considered before this experience.

3. There was no dynamic cuing -- just the carefully honed skills of the players. The students worked as one, despite having little visual reminders, to incorporate dynamic contrasts and phrasing in to their pieces. This was fascinating to me: how a group of so many students could make minute adjustments so succinctly, in order to play the music at their best. Again, I can only attribute this to having a highly skilled director in Mr. Berdahl.

I wish that I could remember more about the band, but I was quite distracted by my children once the game began, as both of them had now grown tired of remaining in one place for longer than 5 minutes. However, as has worked in the past, I'm sure I will remember further details about what I heard upon classroom discussions.