FOR Tim Croft and other members of the Swan Hill and District Band, the ability to come together to play music for the community is about more than just the music itself.
“The whole purpose of the band is to get together and play,” band leader Mr Croft said.
“You can practice until you are blue in the face, but it’s not really that enjoyable after a while when you are just playing by yourself all the time.”
Many have seen the Swan Hill and District Band playing around the community, travelling to Kerang for the ANZAC Day parade annually, playing at local markets, and sometimes just down the street to entertain shoppers on a Saturday.
But, as with many social community things, the band struggled to meet up over the past couple of years due to COVID restrictions, and while they are able to come back together now, it still isn’t all smooth sailing.
“At the moment we are back together, which is great, but then somebody might get COVID one week and then they are out for a couple of weeks,” Mr Croft said.
“That’s the challenge of trying to get a balance there to play and rehearse.”
With around 20 band members at the moment, Mr Croft said it can be difficult to have everyone available to play at once a lot of the time, so the trick is to try and find a way to still create a balanced sound.
“Sometime you will only have six or seven people available, so you’ve got to have the balance of having instruments which are the baseline and instruments which are the melody, and you just do your best to play,” Mr Croft said.
Beyond the musical side of it, Mr Croft said the band is a great sociable activity for people to participate in.
“It is an outlet, it’s a skill, and it’s a brain-expanding opportunity of learning,” Mr Croft said.
“As you get older, it helps you maintain your mental capacity of learning an instrument and learning how to read and do things like that.”
Anyone who might be interested in joining the Swan Hill and District Band is encouraged to come along to rehearsals, which are held on Monday nights at 7pm at the Swan Hill Scout Hall, or check out the Swan Hill and District Band Facebook page.
The band also has spare instruments, and offers tuition to anyone who may be interested.
