Everyone Needs a Bit of Pep!

Although Pep Bands vary in purpose, style and size, they’re usually found when a full windband is not practical for the space and they consist of a selection of wind and percussion instruments. Typical instruments include: Cornet, Trumpet, Tuba (pictured right), Clarinet, Flute, Saxophone (pictured right) and Drum Kit. Their purpose is generally to create enthusiasm and encourage team spirit at matches. This is when step two began – joining. Being a first study flautist, it was relatively easy to begin the process of joining the Pep Band. I emailed the director, Allison Betsold, to explain that I played the flute, was at Northeastern University for the semester and was very interested in being involved. Allison replied with a list of the matches throughout the semester and all I had to do was respond with any match dates for which I was unavailable. She got back to me quickly and had added me to the roster for eight games – eight is the minimum number of games for anyone’s first semester in the Pep Band. You can do more, but can only do less if you have already completed at least a semester with the band. If you couldn’t make it to one of the games you were assigned, you had to organise someone to fill your spot – this was relatively easy to do as there was a flute section Facebook page that we could all post in. Allison then gave me the rehearsal time and location – Monday night’s at 8.35-10pm in the Fenway Centre.

 

 

 

 

Allison replied with a list of the matches throughout the semester and all I had to do was respond with any match dates for which I was unavailable. She got back to me quickly and had added me to the roster for eight games – eight is the minimum number of games for anyone’s first semester in the Pep Band. You can do more, but can only do less if you have already completed at least a semester with the band. If you couldn’t make it to one of the games you were assigned, you had to organise someone to fill your spot – this was relatively easy to do as there was a flute section Facebook page that we could all post in. Allison then gave me the rehearsal time and location – Monday night’s at 8.35-10pm in the Fenway Centre.

 

Step three – Rehearsal. I arrived at the Fenway centre at 8.30pm on the following Monday with no idea what to expect. When I entered, there must have been around 100 people already there bustling about, chatting, setting instruments up and getting music books sorted out. I walked over to a group of people holding flutes and explained that I was new and asked them what to do. They told me to set up my flute, put my coat and bags to the side of the room and come and stand with them. I realised after a while that all of theinstrument sections were standing roughly in the place that their instrument would sit in a Windband. If you were looking directly at the band, I was standing to the right of the conductor with saxophones behind me. Clarinets were on the left of the conductor; the brass instruments were behind them and the brass stretched right around the ensemble and behind the saxophones. Finally, drum kit and electric guitars were in the centre, at the back of the hall. Each player shared a stand and music book between two. One of the other flute players motioned for me to share a stand with her, I later found out that her name was Sarah and we became frequent ‘stand sharing buddies’ at both rehearsals and games. The rehearsal commenced with ‘All Hail Northeastern!,’ as it is the most frequently played song. They play it at the start and end of each match and also every time there is a goal scored by the Huskies in an ice hockey game. Allison conducted us through a few repeats of this for anyone that was new this semester and then a member of the council taught us the lyrics for a section that everyone sings in. I eventually realised that all of the songs are in alphabetical order in the little A5 sized flip folders. We went over sections of songs that were played over the past weekend and needed work, as well as some other frequently played songs for example, ‘The Impression That I Get,’ ‘Bang Bang’ and ‘Star Wars.’ The council members introduced themselves and made announcements to finish the rehearsal. We had to pay dues to the treasurer of $10 if you were in another Northeastern ensemble and $15 if not. If you had just joined, we then went with the president, after rehearsal, to pick up a cap and polo shirt from the Pep Band office – this was my first glimpse into the amount of work that goes in to organising everything.

Finally, it was the last step. On the 18^th January it was time for my first game. It was a Friday, the call time for us was 6.20pm and I had a flute lesson until 6pm… it was a tight one but I made it on time. It was a women’s basketball game against Drexel University in the Cabot Centre. I arrived in the uniform that Allison had instructed us to wear in the weekly email that we get outlining each game – my red Northeastern cap, the new polo I was given, blue jeans and black shoes. I left my case under the bleachers, grabbed a stand and flute book and made my way towards the front row of the band, where the other flutes were standing. The basketball team were already warming up and some supporters had arrived. There were maybe 30-40 players in the Pep Band – way fewer than the rehearsal but that was expected with the roster system in place. Allison had a larger folder with the names of each song on different pages in very large font. When she wanted us to get a song ready she’d hold up the title and we’d all find it in our books. Allison had a headset on so that she could hear everything that was going on in the room, for example, the commentators and the DJ, and direct the Pep Band accordingly through the microphone, which was connected to a speaker behind us. Obviously we can’t play after the whistle blows and so we were always ready for time outs and goals. Allison generally puts the songs that she wants us to ply in alphabetical order so that there are only a few pages to flip between songs. Between one of the quarters we played as the cheerleaders performed on the court, the dance team had their own music when they performed in the centre but at lots of the basketball games I’ve played at, the dance team tend to dance along with us on the side-line as we play. I had such a great time at my first game and left feeling very hyped up. A short video focused on one rehearsal and one game can be found here.

 

I was just beginning to scratch the surface of the level of organisation that this group requires and the dedication that the members, and especially the council, have. I asked Victoria more about the council and she explained that Allison appoints her, the student director, and the web master and then the Pep Band members vote the rest of the council on. There’s a president, a secretary and a librarian who has the huge organisational task of looking after all of the music books, which, in Victoria’s words are, ‘literally tiny little books with plastic covering on them that we cut, we literally print out pages and pages of small sheets of music and put them inside of these folders.’ There is also a treasurer, an events coordinator and a further two managers – there’s clearly a lot to do!

Some of the main things that Victoria seemed to get from Pep Band, in my opinion, were leadership skills/confidence, self-discipline, friends and so many amazing memories. Victoria said, ‘some of my closest friends are in the band… when you’re so different, you’re studying different majors, the fact that the music can bring you together in that way is really special and obviously people are nerdy, it’s relaxed, and it’s just open.’ I mentioned previously that Victoria sometimes conducted the Pep Band. Conducting isn’t as easy as it looks and she mastered the basics throughout High School, with her band director as a mentor. Through doing this, she believes that the skills she has obtained through conducting and being a part of the Pep Band, have also helped her in other aspects of life at University. Learning how to advocate for and present herself, control fear and be around/communicate with many people she doesn’t know, for example, in business classes. Some of the song arrangements are actually done by members of the band – giving them valuable knowledge and experience that they can take with them after college.

My life so far has been shaped extraordinarily by involvement in music groups. First it was the choir and windband in primary school (or elementary school in America), and then on to the equivalents in high school. I also joined Belfast’s Youth Orchestra and finally the University ensembles in Cardiff. I’ve made so many friends, learnt a lot as a person and grown so much as a musician through them. This Pep Band, and the people involved, is a highlight from my one semester at Northeastern and it has really enhanced my time at college in America. I love the windband in Cardiff but I only wish there was a Pep Band for me to go back to also. Who knows, maybe I’ll start one! I would encourage anyone who can play an instrument at college and has access to a Pep Band or another form of band or music group to get involved. Victoria pretty much summed it up when she said, ‘you don’t have to be a conservatory trained musician to have a good time,’ and this is so true, especially for Pep Band. Although it is a lot less musically challenging than other types of ensembles, you can still benefit remarkably from it in other ways that you would never expect. To finish I can now tell you with first hand experience that if you join, you won’t regret it.

I’d like to acknowledge the contribution that Victoria Dominguez provided to this research and also thank the NU Pep Band members and Allison Betsold for their support throughout.