Beat the Band Discussion Question #2

Explain how Cooper's friends Matt and Sean have changed throughout the story so far.

A Great Quote That Goes Along Well With This Book.

    In the book Beat the Band by Don Calame, Cooper's friends, Matt and Sean, have grown and changed greatly. Cooper has been buddies with Matt and Sean since the beginning of time and each has their own perks, Matt is smart and hardworking while Sean is more "Class Clown" like, but during their sophomore year of high school is when change really begins to happen. Towards the beginning of the book, Matt and Sean are very lazy and do not want to work to improving the band. Matt even tells Cooper, "Two whole songs? You have got to be kidding me! Coop, there is no way, no how we are going to ever be half as good as Prudence's band. I've got to go mow my lawn or something. Later Coopee"(130). Even Matt, the hard worker, knows that they suck and won't get any better. He even makes up an excuse for leaving practice early. Towards the middle of the book, however, is when we start to see a real change come on. After being forced to practice, Arnold Murphy's Bologna Dare, Cooper's band's name, has really picked up steam and is definitely getting a lot better. With this, the whole band's confidence rises. Matt and Sean even start to have fun with the band and were telling each other how much more enjoyable it is when Cooper says, "'Guys, we have been rocking out for 5 hours straight. It's 10 o'clock.' Sean quickly shoots me a look of surprise, 'Oh man, I was supposed to be home an hour ago. I guess I didn't realize how much fun playing an instrument could be!'"(227). Sean's change from the beginning of the book is evident here, as he even says that he changed his mind about playing an instrument. The change is definitely visible by the end of the book, after the competition when Matt asks Cooper, "Could we do this again sometime? You know, the Arnold Murphy's Bologna Date? I could see about getting my uncle to letting us play at his restaurant... I just had a lot of fun playing with you guys and would hate to see it end with this competition"(388). Matt and Sean have not just enjoyed themselves in the few months of band practice: they have had a blast. They both want to continue to play even if there is no upcoming competition. Throughout the story, Matt and Sean have gone from hating the band, to wanting to spend more time and money to keep it going. This is clear evidence of their change. Not only do Matt and Sean learn from this experience, but the reader does as well. This book has a lovely take-away message of not giving up, even if you want to, you just might change your mind.

Matt and Sean Show Great Persistence Throughout the Book.