Exhibit:          Solo & Ensemble

Benchmark:   Teamwork/Communication

Skill:               TC104: Listen to different group members and ask relevant questions.

Solo & Ensemble is the students’ chance to show their musical prowess either alone or in a group. I took part in two brass quintets.  We were on our own to figure out how our song was to go and how we were to play it. We all had to listen to each other both when playing and when we were discussing to make sure that our piece was the best it could be.

 

Andrew Parkinson, Andrew Zieler, Michael Zieler, Zach Mudge and I were all in a brass quintet when I was a sophomore. We played the Liberty Bell March by John Philip Sousa. We would meet after school one day a week and practice together. Throughout the whole thing we would listen to what each other had to say at certain parts throughout the song. Being that was only my second year playing valve trombone and my first year doing Solo & Ensemble, I had a lot of questions.  When I tried to figure out parts I was not afraid to ask questions because I knew that we would have more success if I asked the questions and fixed what I needed to. I (TC104) Listened to different group members and asked relevant questions. Not only did I listen to what they had to say but I also had to listen during the music. When we played it was very important to listen to every part and mingle my part perfectly in with theirs, and if something did not fit we would have to stop and I would ask them how this certain part was supposed to sound with everyone else. It was a lot of team work and communication to receive an excellent rating at state Solo & Ensemble.

 

When working in a group one of the most important things is to listen to one another, because without that communication things become chaotic and you lose the great work that you could have done. In a career as an Art Director this kind of communication is important to make sure you get the perfect product for the client, but it is also important so that your team can get their work done in an efficient matter.  When you listen to your team members you tend to find that the solutions to your problems seem to show themselves. When we work in groups now if we do not listen to one another our grades could suffer along with relationships.  Together my group and I could accomplish much more than we could on our own.