First year in the high school marching band, I get a new band director. Jason Jones was a former student here at Cleburne High School and decided to come back as the new band director. I didn’t know the band directors before him, so I was okay with the “newby.” The older kids said that “Jones isn’t as good as Mr. Trammel,” but I couldn’t compare. We were a handful with Mr. Jones and I’m kind of surprised he stayed after his first year. He is a pretty cool, laid back guy that likes to joke around at times but knows when to get serious. He has perfected his handle on things and the students respect him.

Being a band director, you teach differently then those in core classes. Mr. Jones keeps everyone’s attention and puts the students on the spot to give them hands on. If we get a new piece of music and there might be a difficult part to play, he’ll ask a section of students to count out loud to give them the experience. Also, he makes the seniors be an example towards the underclassmen, like helping set up the band hall, learning our music with precision, and acting as the adults we are because they actually look up to us.

We play at the football games either home or away. The band gets our side of the bleachers pumped up and cheering for our team. We put on good shows during halftime and everyone loves it. I’ve gotten plenty of comments on our performances and not just from my parents. I really appreciate those people because the performance is for those out in the stands respecting us and enjoying our hard work.

A lesson that has stuck with me from my freshman year was that I should set a bar for myself, be better than what I can be. That lesson came from Jason Jones and he probably doesn’t remember about it. I keep trying to place that bar higher and higher and then accomplishing better than I expected. You could go far in life if someone else taught you as Mr. Jones have taught me.

Even being a band director, you can help anybody. Jason Jones has put an impact on my life. He is pretty much like me, I’m serious at points when I need to but can joke around any other time. I have had him for four years and am glad to get a little closer with him each year. He probably thinks that I haven’t been paying attention to his little lessons, but I have and I’ve been learning through them.