Younger kids that start taking band or orchestra in elementary, or middle school, are most likely going to come home one day and say, "This isn't cool, I don't want to keep practicing." I hope this video can turn a few heads to the endless possibilities that are out there for performers. Not everyone has to be an orchestral player, a classical player, or even a jazz artist.
I actually had a chance to meet Nat McIntosh, former member of the Dallas Brass, and he had some interesting words to say. When he was young and playing tuba he was bored because all the band music was too easy, so he didn't really have anything fun to practice. One day, when he was playing Mario Bros., he thought to himself, "Every time I die in a game I have to stop and learn the theme song on tuba." At the time he might've thought this was just something fun to do, but we can see where this kind of approach lead him.
As a horn player I respect him and can see where he came from. I taught a few kids in middle school that played that horn this last year. Since I had never a chance to play that kind of horn literature, I was shocked. If I had to just play that kind of stuff everyday, I wouldn't find it much fun at all and gotten so bored that I might've quit. So in lessons I always tried to find something "fun" to teach them before I we had to go into the music, even if it was just the theme from Mario Bros.
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