Band Kids Opinion on Online Class

The+AHS+band+marches+around+the+track+before+they+play+the+Star+Spangled+Banner+at+the+Stilly+Cup+on+September+14%2C+2018.

Debbie Levesque

The AHS band marches around the track before they play the Star Spangled Banner at the Stilly Cup on September 14, 2018.

Online band has been a pretty big struggle, especially when it’s a class involving a large group of people. Last year in March before the Coronavirus hit, the band was preparing for a concert in Spring that had new and challenging music. Sadly, everything had to change when Covid-19 came and classes had to be online. Ever since then band days have been filled with practice logs and written assignments as it is hard to play over a zoom meeting.

Performing was proven to be something that wasn’t going to happen anytime sooner. Without any concerts or in person playing band didn’t feel quite the same. Playing over zoom calls was something that nobody had even thought about doing due to the tumultuous amount of lag and internet issues. The Internet wasn’t the only problem some students faced, “I don’t even have an instrument.” Zachariah Christoffersen says. There were struggles of getting people instruments and it took a lot of time and planning for students to be able to actually play and practice at home.

Band is a very sociable class that requires people to be in a group, but with covid it it’s simply not possible. “It’s weird to be only playing alone.” Haley Morlock says. A lot of students would agree with this statement and simply yearn to go back in person and play as a group to really get that band feeling. Of course, teachers have done a lot and tried to get the most out of it and with time it’ll hopefully not be as weird to play alone.  

Online classes have proven to be very difficult for many students and don’t do good with the zoom meetings and drastic changes. Even when assignments are given some students still don’t feel that motivation to play and the feeling they’d get when they would be in the classroom. Students or teachers can do much and band kids are very connected and social so it is not a surprise to know students can keep up by talking on the zoom chat, but things do stray a bit at times. “Band overall is a sucky class because all we do is say how we’re doing then we go over the weekly agenda over and over again. After we talk about the weekly agenda there’s a lot of time to goof off and when we do assignments it just doesn’t feel like a band anymore.” A student says.

Although not all students felt that online class was a nightmare. Some students enjoyed the fact that they could play at their own pace and make a lot of improvements when playing alone. The class is very calm unlike the lively band room that you’d walk into when in-person school was still ongoing, but overall these changes have been very easy for some students and might even be better for those who enjoy playing alone and improving. “Online band is pretty chill in my opinion.” Lauren Statia says. 

Apart from the positives, there was a majority of students that disliked distance learning and thought that it took out the meaning of playing with others. Performing was a big motivation for students and gave them something to prepare for, but now all there is are due dates for assignments which feel like they’ll never end. Some feel sluggish and very unmotivated, leading to procrastination and missing assignments.  “I don’t really know what to say except that I hate it with every cell in my body. And I feel like it could be better.” A student says. Many aren’t afraid to express their distaste on having to play at home and the way the class is going during remote learning. A couple students even wanted to quit since they thought there was no point in being in that class when they signed up to play as a group and perform for others, but instead had to face a screen and play alone. 

Furthermore, students have had a tough time adapting to remote learning. The loss of performances has impacted this class greatly and hopefully in the future students are able to return to in-person classes and once again practice for a grand performance.