Theta Zeta’s Instrument Maintenance Program
While reflecting on our very hectic band season and thinking about which programs we wanted to share with our brothers and sisters of the SED, we remembered a conversation that we shared with our band director before the start of the season. Dr. Kenneth G. Ruff, Director of Bands at North Carolina A&T State University, expressed his dismay at the cost of instrumental repairs for the past school year. The sisters of Theta Zeta, wanting to make a difference in the excessive amount of money spent each year on repairs, came to the realization that the best way to avoid costly expenditures on instrument repairs was to prevent our colleagues from destroying them in the first place!
During the second week of the Blue and Gold Marching Machine Summer Band Camp, the Theta Zeta Chapter of Tau Beta Sigma hosted an Instrument Maintenance Program for all band members. We divided the band into three sections: wind players, auxiliary, and percussion. We invited a guest speaker from Moore’s Music Store in Greensboro, NC to the band room to teach the wind players how to clean and maintain their instruments. After our guest’s presentation, we further divided the group into woodwinds, high brass and low brass. For each of the sections, there were three sisters who demonstrated how to clean the horns for our visual learners in the band. As they demonstrated, the audience was allowed to ask questions in order to clear up any myths and questions about keeping their instruments in good condition.
In the percussion segment, two sisters initiated a round-table discussion with the drumline about the “DOs and DON’Ts” of caring for their drums and cymbals. Some of the topics we discussed were never placing the drum on rocky areas, washing their straps, using sticks not compromised by cracks and splinters, and polishing their cymbals. The percussion section enthusiastically engaged in this topic, making our job easy, fun, and a great way to bond with our bandmates.
At first, we thought about excluding the auxiliary section from the program because they do not use musical instruments, but we realized their body IS their instrument. For this reason, we used the time to teach the dancers stretching, relaxation, and appropriate body mechanics to maintain their health and prevent injuries throughout the marching season. We also gave them a tour of where all the flags and props were located. The auxiliary portion of our program ended with a hands-on demonstration of how to properly change and secure different flags so our dancers could do it on their own throughout the season.
At the conclusion of the program, each member of the band received a handout that included a list of tips on how to take care of his or her respective instrument and a healthy snack. The program was a huge success and we look forward to see a significant decrease in this year’s total instrument repair cost.
Sheneka Jones
Theta Zeta
Eighth Note 