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Army Band Mentors Eagle River Scouts
(March 12, 2011) |
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| EAGLE RIVER, Alaska (Mar. 7, 2011) - Members of U.S. Army
Alaska's 9th Army Band gave members of Boy Scout Troop 229 a
music lesson Feb. 24 in Eagle River. |
The soldiers present the scouts a brief history of
music appreciation and familiarized them with
instruments from the brass section. They also
demonstrated the different genres of music
throughout the ages, playing different period pieces
to demonstrate each.
In addition to
providing a music lesson, the information helped the
scouts gain the knowledge they needed to earn their
music merit badge.
Staff Sgt. Dale McSwain,
the bandleader, started the presentation with a
breakdown of the different instrumental groups. |
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Sgt. 1st Class L.C. Tolver, a tuba player with the 9th Army Band, shares with Eagle River Boy Scout Troop 229 the history of the tuba Feb. 24, 2011 in Eagle River. |
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“The five musical instrument groups are brass, electronic,
strings, woodwinds and percussion,” McSwain, a native of
Shelby, N.C., told the scouts.
“Of course we
represent the brass, which is the best musical group,” he
joked with his French horn in hand.
Each band member
gave them a brief history of the instrument they were
playing, and the band played music from a different era of
music. They played “Rondeau” from the classical period,
“Salvation is Created” from the romantic period, as well as
“Just a Closer Walk” from the Jazz and Dixieland era.
Staff Sgt. Alton Huckaby, a trumpet player, explained
it's hard work and takes a lot of practice.
“Can you
guess how long I've been playing this?” Huckaby, a Houston,
Texas, native, asked the crowd. “I'll have to do the math!”
he then closed eyes in deep concentration while silently
counting. He opened his eyes and smiled. “It's been 18 years
since I've been playing this, and I am still learning how to
do this.”
Some of the soldiers said they had been
scouts themselves.
Sgt. Jason Taylor, a trumpet
player with the 9th Army Band, was a Scout at age 12 when
his father was stationed in Italy.
“It was a great
way to meet new friends and learn to do new and interesting
things,” Taylor said.
“Our purpose is to perform and
hopefully educate these young Boy Scouts with music,”
Taylor, a Stafford, Va., native said. “We are going to go
through a brief history of different music styles and the
different instruments we have tonight. Hopefully that can
help them earn their music merit badge.”
Chief
Warrant Officer 2 Jeff Price, 9th Army Band commander, was
excited to have the opportunity to help the Boy Scout Troops
in a community function.
“We are soldiers serving
soldiers. On a daily basis throughout USARAK we have
opportunities to play for and make sure that soldiers know
they are important,” Price said. “In the same way, when we
go out into the community, it's a way to let them know what
the Army does.” |
Boy Scout Patrick O'Neal makes notes used that will be used to earn his Music Merit Badge. Members of the 9th Army Band gave the Eagle River Boy Scout Troop 229 a quick history of music appreciation and familiarized them with instruments from the brass section Feb. 24,
2011. |
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The Scouts were then given the opportunity to ask
questions. One scout asked if the soldiers play
other instruments.
“I like to play guitar
sometimes to do something different, because I've
been playing this for so long, and sometimes I like
to sing karaoke just to have some fun,” Taylor said.
The scouts were not the only ones interested
to hear what the Army band members had to say. The
parents also asked questions.
“Is a piano a
percussion or string instrument?” one parent asked.
Price let everyone guess before revealing, “It's
a percussion [instrument] because it's struck. The
hammer strikes.”
“Is every band member a
rifleman also?” the parent asked.
Without
hesitation, the band members answered in unison,
“Rifleman first!”
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Lucas Mahi, senior patrol leader for Troop 229 said
he enjoyed the interaction between the soldiers and
scouts. He has also played the trumpet for four
years.
“I liked how they talked about the
different genres of music. I also liked how they
showed us the brass instruments,” Mahi said. “The
Army helped everyone get into the scouting spirit.
Since they are the adulthood version of scouts, it
helps us become better scouts.”
Lahsen Mahi,
assistant scout masters, and also Lucas' father,
said there were many positives that come out of the
interaction: an appreciation of music, community
involvement, patriotism and perseverance.
“They've seen a lot of individuals here that have
been playing instruments for 15 years,” Mahi said,
“They are doing something that they actually like. I
think [the scouts] could be inspired music wise,
towards their country or [to] set new goals.”
“I noticed the scouts really appreciated it,”
Mahi said with a smile. “They were really quiet and
that's one of the few times that they [have] sat in
awe listening.” |
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Article and photos by Army SSgt. Jason Epperson
United States Army Alaska
Copyright 2011 | |
Provided
through DVIDS
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