Woodwind and brass oh my, woodwind and brass oh my
So, I am a band dad. Am I qualified to be a band dad? Let's see. First I have to be a dad. Check. I have a daughter. Next my child has to be in the band. Check. She started playing in the band when she was in the 6th grade and is now a freshman member of the high school band. So I qualify to be a
band dad. Wow, that was easy. What did I do for such an honor? Nothing. It is all my daughter's doing. It was her decision to join the band. It is her hard work, her time spent practicing, and her dedication that makes me a band dad. I just wear the t-shirt.
I could never be in the band. I tried. In the 5th grade we took a "band test" to see if we should be in the band. I had high hopes. I wanted to play the drums and go straight from elementary school band to being a rock star. When the test started I was all business. The test consisted of counting beats and picking out the higher or lower pitches. There was 10 "questions" on the test. I listened and thought very hard about each question. The next week when we went back to music we got out test results. My score was 8 which sounded good to me. So good that I didn't pay attention to anything the teacher said except that if we wanted to be in the band to come see her while we were doing some busy work. I hardly waited for the teacher to return to her seat before I made my way to her desk. I was excited because I was about to become a rock musician.
I walked up to her desk and dropped my test on her desk without saying a word. I was kind of hoping she would start by bragging on me and telling how much she wanted me in the band. Boy, was I in for a surprise. She never looked up when she asked what I wanted. I started getting nervous then but was able to spit out I wanted to play the drums. Still not looking up she asked if I even took the test seriously. I got more nervous, swallowed the lump in my throat and told her I did. She then pointed to the 8 and told me that was how many I missed not how many I got right. She went over the test quickly with me. I missed every one of the beat counts and one of them was drums. I wasn't even close to getting any right. I did get two pitches right but I saw why she didn't think I took the test seriously. The choices were A or B and I had put A for all the answers. I tried to tell her I would have gotten more answers right if there was more answers that were A. She finally told me she wouldn't stop me from being in the band but my parents would have to pay for professional tutoring sessions and that I needed to have 2 or 3 sessions a week all summer long to get ready for next year. She would give me the test again just before school started and if I passed I could be in the band. I wasn't even sure my parents would buy me a drum much less professional tutoring sessions. So I didn't join the band.
When I was in the 7th grade our music teacher was going to teach us how to read music. That went over well. I learned that Every Good Boy Does Fine but never learned how to apply that to reading music. Then there was the fractions. I couldn't tell the difference between a full note, half note or a quarter note when I heard it so how was I even going to know what letter it was. The pitches were even worse. Apparently my music teacher and I didn't have the same sense of humor. On a pitch test I wrote fastball, curveball, knuckle and slider down as my answers. She didn't see the humor in it. She really didn't see anything funny when I retook the test using the terms she gave me and I had the same score as I did before.
So I am not musically gifted but my daughter is very gifted. She plays a bass clarinet in class and at concerts and she plays a baritone in the marching band. I have trouble picking up radio stations. She can read her music, play the proper notes using the proper pitch and enjoys doing it. So she is in the band and I get to wear a Band Dad shirt. She does all the work and I get to show up to watch her preform. She does all the practicing and I get to say, "We won" when place in competitions.
Her working hard and being in the band does nothing to make me musically talented. Just like you knowing somebody that knows and serves God doesn't make you a Christian. No matter how dedicated your parents are to God it doesn't make you a Christian. It is a personal thing between you and God. That is the way God wanted it to be. He loves each of us so much He wants to have a personal relationship with us. He wants us to talk to Him just like we talk to everybody else we love. I can talk to God all day but that doesn't help my daughter's relationship with Him. She has to talk to Him too. As much as I wanted her to become a Christian I couldn't do it for her. She had to come to the realization that she was lost and needed Him. When she did that I was more proud of her than I have ever been or will be. Even more proud than when I watched her walk in the McDonald's
Thanksgiving Parade in Chicago.
So how is your relationship with God? Don't tell me about how it used to be or how it will be. How is it right now? Have you invited Him to be your Lord and Savior? Have you given your whole life to Him? We tend to like to keep certain areas but He wants them all. It is alight to give Him all areas because He will cleanse them and bless them. If you are struggling with giving Him your life or giving Him all areas of your life let me know. I am not claiming to be perfect but I know the one that is, God. I can help introduce you to Him so that you can have a personal relationship with Him. Christians, sometimes we stay away from Him for so long we need to be reintroduced to Him. Is that you? Let me know. Receive the greatest Christmas gift ever, Jesus, this year.
Parting Thought: We have to have Christmas to get to Easter. Our Savior had to be born so He could die. He had to die so He could arise. He had to arise so we could have the gift of eternal life.
I could never be in the band. I tried. In the 5th grade we took a "band test" to see if we should be in the band. I had high hopes. I wanted to play the drums and go straight from elementary school band to being a rock star. When the test started I was all business. The test consisted of counting beats and picking out the higher or lower pitches. There was 10 "questions" on the test. I listened and thought very hard about each question. The next week when we went back to music we got out test results. My score was 8 which sounded good to me. So good that I didn't pay attention to anything the teacher said except that if we wanted to be in the band to come see her while we were doing some busy work. I hardly waited for the teacher to return to her seat before I made my way to her desk. I was excited because I was about to become a rock musician.
I walked up to her desk and dropped my test on her desk without saying a word. I was kind of hoping she would start by bragging on me and telling how much she wanted me in the band. Boy, was I in for a surprise. She never looked up when she asked what I wanted. I started getting nervous then but was able to spit out I wanted to play the drums. Still not looking up she asked if I even took the test seriously. I got more nervous, swallowed the lump in my throat and told her I did. She then pointed to the 8 and told me that was how many I missed not how many I got right. She went over the test quickly with me. I missed every one of the beat counts and one of them was drums. I wasn't even close to getting any right. I did get two pitches right but I saw why she didn't think I took the test seriously. The choices were A or B and I had put A for all the answers. I tried to tell her I would have gotten more answers right if there was more answers that were A. She finally told me she wouldn't stop me from being in the band but my parents would have to pay for professional tutoring sessions and that I needed to have 2 or 3 sessions a week all summer long to get ready for next year. She would give me the test again just before school started and if I passed I could be in the band. I wasn't even sure my parents would buy me a drum much less professional tutoring sessions. So I didn't join the band.
When I was in the 7th grade our music teacher was going to teach us how to read music. That went over well. I learned that Every Good Boy Does Fine but never learned how to apply that to reading music. Then there was the fractions. I couldn't tell the difference between a full note, half note or a quarter note when I heard it so how was I even going to know what letter it was. The pitches were even worse. Apparently my music teacher and I didn't have the same sense of humor. On a pitch test I wrote fastball, curveball, knuckle and slider down as my answers. She didn't see the humor in it. She really didn't see anything funny when I retook the test using the terms she gave me and I had the same score as I did before.
So I am not musically gifted but my daughter is very gifted. She plays a bass clarinet in class and at concerts and she plays a baritone in the marching band. I have trouble picking up radio stations. She can read her music, play the proper notes using the proper pitch and enjoys doing it. So she is in the band and I get to wear a Band Dad shirt. She does all the work and I get to show up to watch her preform. She does all the practicing and I get to say, "We won" when place in competitions.
Her working hard and being in the band does nothing to make me musically talented. Just like you knowing somebody that knows and serves God doesn't make you a Christian. No matter how dedicated your parents are to God it doesn't make you a Christian. It is a personal thing between you and God. That is the way God wanted it to be. He loves each of us so much He wants to have a personal relationship with us. He wants us to talk to Him just like we talk to everybody else we love. I can talk to God all day but that doesn't help my daughter's relationship with Him. She has to talk to Him too. As much as I wanted her to become a Christian I couldn't do it for her. She had to come to the realization that she was lost and needed Him. When she did that I was more proud of her than I have ever been or will be. Even more proud than when I watched her walk in the McDonald's
So how is your relationship with God? Don't tell me about how it used to be or how it will be. How is it right now? Have you invited Him to be your Lord and Savior? Have you given your whole life to Him? We tend to like to keep certain areas but He wants them all. It is alight to give Him all areas because He will cleanse them and bless them. If you are struggling with giving Him your life or giving Him all areas of your life let me know. I am not claiming to be perfect but I know the one that is, God. I can help introduce you to Him so that you can have a personal relationship with Him. Christians, sometimes we stay away from Him for so long we need to be reintroduced to Him. Is that you? Let me know. Receive the greatest Christmas gift ever, Jesus, this year.
Parting Thought: We have to have Christmas to get to Easter. Our Savior had to be born so He could die. He had to die so He could arise. He had to arise so we could have the gift of eternal life.
I tried out for the chorus in school; I did not pass the test either. I liked the story. . .good analogy.
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