I love pep band.
For those who don’t know me or what I do – pep band and supporting our wonderfully successful athletic department in Mankato through music is my passion. I grew up wanting to play sports, but was never gifted enough to make it to the next level – maybe I lacked the focus in this area? I did eventually find my sport – band. (Well drum corps) The competitive drive I had musically and love for sports combined and I was able to achieve athletically and musically, but then I got too old.
I still have a passion for sports and for music. Voila – pep band or as we call it in Mankato ‘athletic band!’ The thing that I don’t understand is why pep band is seen as a burden to many music educators? This can be a crucial part of your program for many different reasons, but many view it as a hassle. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard the following line – ‘at the end of a playoff run there are two happy people – the winning coach and the losing band director.’ Boo!
What can pep band bring your program?
1. Exposure – with a pep band your audience and reach can be larger than any other single event that you have. I know that we would all love to have a packed house for our concerts, but it doesn’t always happen. In one weekend the Maverick Machine can perform for more than 10,000 people without breaking a sweat, thats quite a few more than we can fit in the recital hall on a yearly basis. People pack the stands for sports and if we can connect with people that’s what it’s all about! Maybe you can use the sporting event to draw a few more people to your jazz or wind ensemble concert?
2. Community – I am a big believer in community and have been since I was young. I have my strong family to thank for that, but music supports your community. I had a conversation recently (thanks Erin) about teamwork and it stuck with me. We are all a part of a team and for me that team extends to our athletic program. In Mankato, I am fortunate to be supported by our coaches at an extremely high level. But it’s even bigger than us supporting the sports – it’s about the community of Mankato. What a great opportunity?
3. Diversity in music – but pep band music isn’t as ‘hard.’ You can use your pep band music to teach skills – there are many rhythmically diverse pieces of music that will teach syncopation at a different level than some concert music. Learning that ‘hip-hop’ tune that has a rap line in it will challenge your students. It can also expose them to different styles of music than they might hear on the radio each day. You can program a wide variety of music and not the same old tunes you did in college. That AND you can still teach musicality, breathing, intonation, dynamics, etc. It’s still music!
I understand that my viewpoint may be a little skewed because I am fully immersed in the athletic band world. This part of the curriculum takes time away from other things and I totally get it. I see some programs who thrive and they have a very well balanced pep band program, while others succeed and don’t have one. It’s all good – just my opinion. But, maybe we can flip the script and have students playing creatively in a pep band setting. Kudos to those of you who believe and for those who don’t maybe these thoughts will give you some thoughts to ponder. If you’re on the side that doesn’t like pep band – try some new music, engage your students and see what they want to play, think outside of the box and use electronics, get creative! For me it’s back to searching for Big Ideas and prepping for our 4 basketball games and 2 hockey games this weekend. The energy and passion our students bring is incredible and it’s amazing to be involved with this community/culture in Mankato. I’d love to share more with you in a discussion if you want to talk – be well and thank you for reading!
