If you’re a university student, you’ve probably seen us. We’re walking by in identical uniforms, holding a variety of musical instruments and looking either ridiculously excited or horribly stressed. We’re kind of confusing when we talk, because we’re chatting about weird things like “roll step” or “drum major” or “45 toss.” When we’re not playing or performing to music, we’re wheezing for breath, complaining about the weather, or guzzling water like we’ve been living in the desert for six months. We are your university marching band. Unless you room with a fair amount of marching band members, you might have no idea what we’re really thinking – what we really wish everyone knew about our lives as slaves to the music marching band kids. What really goes on inside the mind of a college marching band member?
1. We work just as hard as the sports teams.
We arrive a week or more before school starts, spending at least eight hours a day learning where to move, practicing music, and trying not to die of heatstroke or dehydration. Most people will never see the many times we have to redo a move over and over and over, or the injuries we have to deal with after a performance on a particularly muddy and uneven field. We give up so many Saturdays, evening hours, and even parts of school breaks to do what we do. And we are proud of it.
2. There’s so much more to us than you would think.
We’re not just the snazzy drummers, the loud trumpet players, or the people on the stands moving their arms in strangely rhythmic motions (those would be the drum majors). We’re also the color guard and twirlers, smiling through the exhausting and nonstop choreography with our dance moves and equipment. We’re the hardworking but scarcely heard clarinet players. We’re the pit, carefully playing our music on instruments most people wouldn’t be able to name even if they googled it. Each band has so many sections, all of whom are working so hard in all their different areas.
3. We’re the only ones who get to complain about it.
Too loud? Too bad. Any band member will rant and rave about how hard and irritating band can be, but God forbid anybody outside band whine. You don’t like our show? You think the songs we’re performing are stupid? You think our visuals are dumb? That’s tough luck, hon, because we worked hard on making this performance look amazing, and we don’t want to hear about your hatred of that particular song we played. Sure, we’ve heard and played it so much that we probably hate it too by this point, but we don’t need to hear the negativity. Walk a mile in our shoes – or rather, a thousand miles in our stinky, soggy, mud-caked sneakers.
4. “That doesn’t look that hard. I could do that!”
Nope, you couldn’t. Not until you’ve put in the hours, blood, sweat, tears, self-doubts, mental breakdowns, repeats, and steps that it takes to make a show truly spectacular.
5. We’re a very diverse group, but we’re all hilarious.
Maybe not everyone outside band understands what’s so hilarious about the “How do you get two piccolo players to play in tune” joke, but there’s nothing boring about a band kid. The times we spend together are riddled with almost nonstop laughter. Our crazy humor is as much a part of the band as the music is. Ask any band kid to list some of the inside jokes in band, and they can go on for weeks.
6. The insane amount of school spirit is not an act.
Not everyone in the band knows exactly what’s happening in the game, but we will cheer wildly or boo fiercely pretty much on command. We’re proud of our athletes. We’re sometimes bitter that they get more recognition and support than we do, but we’re still proud of them. In the end, all of us love this school. All of us wear these colors. All of us represent the institution. Like Kid President said, “If life is a game, aren’t we all on the same team?”
7. Rivalries between bands aren’t too common.
Sure we compete, but we also love watching each other perform and are always willing to shower other bands in praise. A marching band competition isn’t really complete without the women’s bathroom being jam-packed with color guard ladies trading hairspray between rivals and chatting about how the other girls definitely have the best uniforms and flags. Even our worst rivals can be our best friends (a perfect example is when the bands of arch nemeses University of South Carolina and Clemson University performed together at one half time show to celebrate state pride following the Charleston shooting).
8. This isn't like high school.
The most likely scenario in any high school is that the marching band is overlooked and underfunded – or outright bullied, even by adults who really should know better (in case anyone was wondering, that’s why so many high school band kids were bitter). In most universities, the game has completely changed. Bands are given better funding and are far more respected. So if mocking or bullying the band was “cool” at your school… first of all, I feel sorry for your high school and its band. Second of all, don’t mess with us.
9. A simple compliment from you makes a huge difference.
You can’t make the work easier, you can’t adjust the weather, and you can’t increase our funding. But even “Hey, I liked your show!” can brighten up any band kid’s day. We’re performers. Praise makes us stand a little straighter and play a little louder. Your encouragement will not be disregarded or forgotten. We hope we’ve made you proud to be part of our school.
10. We know *insert name here* is attractive.
We’re not blind. We've seen him. Stop telling us. We know.
11. We are definitely a family.
It’s a clichéd expression, but nothing could be more truthful. Within a band, there’s always at least one person who drives us insane. We get on each others’ nerves, yell at each other, and sometimes can’t stand the sight of each other. We also are always there for each other, will drive to a party gone bad to pick up a scared freshman, defend one another to anybody giving them hate, give just the right pep talk or shoulder to cry on at just the right time, and… yeah, OK, we definitely band together. We won’t always admit it, but we love each other. We hope you love us too.
