Band

You know what's most important in a band? it's not the size or how musically talented each musician. but the bond. and its effects.

The bond ensures that the band stays connected and united. It makes sure that the tuba's tempo is the same as the drumset's or the flutes' or the trumpets. It is the bond that I have with the bassoonist, that puts a smile on my face because when i play, i hear neither my sound nor my section's but that of the bassoon despite him sitting two rows in front of me and his instrument angled towards the front.

To me, this highlights one thing. We are bonded, not in its foundation stage but higher than that.

Insecurity happens to most people, especially musicians. We glance nervously at the conducter, our eyes roll from side to side, seeking security from those beside us.

But it should not. True, the conductor has his or her usefulness but I certainly don't think it's to be a metronome.

A band can thrive without a conductor or even without its members, as long as each section has one musician for each part. Why?

Because at the end of the day, it's not the size nor the commitment nor the strength but the bond itself that is important that cannot be judged in terms of monetary value or strength due to its lack of comparison that results from zilch classification values.

Which is why I love my TP Band. True, we may not be the best band in the nation, neither have we achieved any standards of excellence, but what we have is the bond. The knowledge that the bassline doesn't just play together, we breathe together, we feel the same pulse. The pulse that pulsates at the heart of each band. Whether it is to push the band forward, or to let it flow and provide foundational support, it moves together.

How do you measure a bond? In strength? If so, how do you measure strength? In numbers? What numbers? In length? Days or hours? Times laughed or length of interaction? How?

By love. By moving together as one without cue. By being in sync with a nod or the meet of the eyes. That cannot be trained. Not by words nor by nudges or pre-arranged signs and body languages.

Yet, the bond is as important as the unity within a section. For a section is no section if it is divided, just as how strong can a defence be if it is just made up of one brick? Rather, let it be joined together with other bricks and the defence would be superb.

So then, what makes a band strong? It is both the bond between musicians of all instruments and the bond within each section.

Is it hard to form and foundationalise this bond? Yes. But at the end of the day, the satisfaction that comes, and best of all, the marvelous tale told in music is the clincher for knowing you're not just a member but part of a team, a family.