Throughout my public school years, eight were devoted to band. I started playing the alto saxophone in fifth grade, joined marching band my freshman year and participated in concert band until my high school graduation. Band has taught me a lot more than how to read music and memorize field directions. The following list is a bunch of weird and amazing inside knowledge that comes with being a band kid.
1. Band camp is simultaneously the best and worst part of your summer
Whether you take a bus to a college an hour away and sleep in dorms for two weeks, or report to your high school's football field at 7 A.M. each day, band camp is the worst. Days spent performing the same drill over and over because That One Kid can't get it right can pretty much suck the life out of you. But spending that time perfecting a show can bring you closer to your section and make memories that last the entire season.
2. When you lose your place and have to pretend you're still playing
We've all been there. Mid-concert, you're counting the rests in your head while also kind of zoning out, and suddenly, the person next to you lifts their instrument and starts playing. Your eyes scan your sheet music furiously and you move your fingers randomly to make it seem like you know where you are. But really, you're two pages behind and nothing makes sense.
3. Spirit Week was a fight to the death
If your band had Spirit Week during band camp in order to keep everyone (moderately) excited, you know what I'm talking about. It starts off easy. "Tie-Dye Day" or "Pajama Day" is usually first. Things get progressively more competitive as sections actually have to come together and plot their strategies. "Dress Your Section Leader Day" is all fun and games, but the water balloon fight is when things get personal.
4. You find yourself walking heel-to-toe off the field
This is pretty much an epidemic. During marching band season, every Friday night and some Saturdays are spent performing drills on football fields everywhere. This means marching heel-to-toe is efficiently ingrained in your brain, and when you're at the mall or the grocery store, it becomes a reflex. A lot of the time, you also find yourself stepping with your left foot first. Weird, huh?
5. No one actually knows how to read music
OK, hear me out. Of course we all know how to read the basic stuff. We know notes and scales and rests and key changes, but is any of that actually remembered? When we're given a new song to learn, I can guarantee that no one except That One Kid can play it thoroughly in one or two attempts. Maybe I was just a mediocre player, but I remember asking my band director during my senior year some very basic questions that a newbie could probably answer. I guess we never fully master our crafts...
6. You know your part to "Sleigh Ride" better than you know yourself
Every single band I've ever come across has performed "Sleigh Ride" at one point or another. For my concert band, we did it nearly every year. At this point in my life, I'll find myself at holiday parties playing the alto sax part in my head as the song plays. Honestly, we're all this kid when that song comes on.
7. You go a little (a lot) insane over DCI
For all the non-band kids reading this, Drums Corps International is the NFL of marching band. At one point or another, it's every band geek's dream to perform with one of the more than 20 World Class corps. The days involved are long and grueling... that is, if you even make it through auditions. But even if you don't end up marching with them, you can't help but freak out a little over their shows. And forget the Super Bowl. The end of summer means DCI World Finals, and that's pretty much the same thing.
8. There's no drama like band drama
You say you hate drama and try to stay out of it as much as possible, but being in band prevents every effort to do so. By the time you graduate, you've heard and experienced every form of the word. There's problems when That One Kid doesn't make section leader, or when the trumpet player just broke up with the flute player and has already moved on to the clarinet player. Drama, drama and more drama.
9. Band trips are fun, but are also the bane of your existence
I remember going to Disney World with my band during my junior year, and it was by far one of the best trips I've ever experienced. That being said, it's hard to forget the 22-hour bus ride, running on five hours of sleep every day and being constantly dehydrated. Not to mention the large amount of money to go on the trip, plus souvenirs and food. But marching in front of Cinderella's Castle makes up for it, right?
10. You're immune to being grossed out
When people think it's nasty when someone spits on the sidewalk or burps way too loudly, I'm usually amused. When trombone players are constantly emptying their spit valves right next to your legs, and when boys think it's funny to have belching contests on the way home from a game, you're never phased by that stuff again. Mold in your mouth piece? I'm sure it's fine to wait until Monday to buy a new one.
11. You're undeniably sad when the season is over
That last Friday night is extremely bittersweet. On the one hand, you can finally use that time to hang out with your friends or chill at home after a long day at school. That's something you really take for granted during the season. On the other hand, your show is done; there's no more fun bus rides to away games, no more going out to eat at midnight and you'll see the rest of the band way less. This is especially depressing if it's truly your final game. In the end, though, you have hundreds of memories and experiences that will stay with you forever. Once a band kid, always a band kid.
