Band

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Large urban school districts in the '60s and '70s offered several choices of music ensembles. They might have one band for concert music, another for football games and parades. They might even boast a "wind ensemble" leaning towards classical music, and too dignified to include my instrument, the saxophone. Only a small number of schools went so far as to have an orchestra program, and even fewer (until later) had a jazz program.

Saugatuck, however, was a small village with about 60 kids per grade (in the generation before mine some classes had fewer than a dozen). Besides a little general music, that afforded us basically just "band" and "chorus". In fifth grade the kids interested in band were briefly interviewed and outfitted with instruments. I was deemed a saxophonist and was soon the owner of a used alto that was my companion for the next eight years, excluding summers. During that time the same band director was in charge of the whole program.

What I would say about band was what I would say about public school generally, which is the probably trite observation that it provided an education but was also limiting (which is probably the point of it). I didn't for the most part enjoy the camaraderie that others thrive in. Professional standards were spotty. Yet making music in a peer group is a relief from making music alone and develops a different set of skills. At its best, you're part of the larger whole, hearing the parts that others are playing, and interacting with them. I'm sure that my band experience helped me as a piano "accompanist" later.

Johnny played trombone in the band for several years, though we didn't really share a lot musically. He played me the Stones' "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" on a 45 rpm record, and I didn't much like it. He would listen intently to a rock song paying close attention to the drum beat, the bass line, and whatever. Years later I would learn to appreciate everything that goes on in a studio recording, but at the time I didn’t see it as my music. 

On another occasion my sister Evie arranged for a couple of our classmates armed with guitars and drums to rehearse a few rock songs in Grandma's garage (which I highly doubt was well set-up as a rehearsal space). She may or may not have had an eye to getting me interested in joining them. I'm guessing that she did, but in any case, that didn't take, either.

Well, a few years earlier I hadn't been able to get anyone else interested in our "easy listening" records, either. To each his own.

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