Most former band nerds, like myself, look back on our marching band experiences with fondness. We spent several years of our high school lives devoted to this cause. We made friends, grew as individuals, and shared a passion for a team sport that entertained thousands. It's really hard to not appreciate this time. However, that doesn't mean this seemingly perfect machine isn't without its glaring kinks. There were definitely some marching band pains that most members felt throughout the years.
1. "Only one more run-through of the show!"
Anyone who has been in marching band knows this feeling. It's almost the end of practice, your muscles are sore and your very being seems to ache. Everyone around you is dying of dehydration and you see those kids in your section check the time on their phones. Ten minutes left and you have just finished a full run of your show, each section seemingly longer than the last. Finally, you have reached the end and you look to your band director while sweat pours down your face like a broken faucet. Everyone smells like a rotten locker-room and is ready to go home. Then, a chill goes down your spine and a feeling of dread fills your entire being as your band director states those terrifying words.
"One more run through!"
2. "We will get water once the trumpets stop talking!"
As a trumpet player, I can tell you that this is one hundred percent true. The trumpets were considered to be the troublemakers of the marching band. Never give a trumpet section member, especially a rookie, a position of power, they will lose their minds. We were always the bane of any competition or practice. There were definitely times where our section received death glares for withholding water breaks.
3. "If you are on time to the band room, then you are considered late!"
The concept of being "early" never exists in the realm of marching band. On the day of a competition, you were in the band room before the rooster crowed. You had to be early to be early. In order to be ready for practice, you essentially had to camp out in the band room. In fact, I can remember several instances of people napping in the band room instead of going home during the break. The band room becomes your second home when you join a marching band.
4. "Make sure you wear sunscreen!"
Sunscreen becomes your second best friend right after water when you join marching band. Slather that stuff on like your about to take a field trip to the sun. The last thing you need trying to dart to your next spot formation with lobster red burning skin. I once got a sunburn on the backs of my legs that made me want to quit walking for the rest of my life. I hobbled around with my trumpet like a drunken pirate. The moral of the story is to always wear sunscreen to avoid the wrath of the sun.
5. That one section of your show that drives you insane.
Everyone has that one section of the show that drives them up a wall. It's different for everyone, but we all can relate. The band director says that it is time to run a certain section of the show and you just cringe. This segment of the show is the absolute bane of your existence. For some, they hate it cause it goes at sonic speeds. Others despise it because it crawls at a snail's path. No matter the reason, we all have that one part of the show that makes you want to quit every time you are forced to run it.
6. That incredible anxiety during award ceremonies
Oh, this is definitely a nerve wracking experience. Standing stock still like musical soldiers during the awards ceremonies, we all waited with bated breath as the placings were announced. The pauses between the results that the announcers added made us want to throw our instruments across the field in aggravation and anxiety. Only after it was over that you could finally breathe. During those minutes, everything seemed to pause, and it drove us completely insane due to anticipation.
7. Those people who took things a little too seriously.
Every band has a member like this. They can come from any section and you immediately roll your eyes when you see them in action. Everyone likes band and appreciates the fun aspects of it, but then there are those people. These people act like military commanders when you enter the practice field. They bark orders with the intensity of one who has experienced several wars and will deal with zero nonsense. I don't know what kind of world these people live in mentally, but I am too perterbued to ask.
8. WEARING YOUR UNIFORM PERIOD
Oh I can tell you so many things about these uniforms. Normally, you are wearing so many layers underneath these bad boys. During the summer, these monsters turned into mobile saunas and sweat machines. You would think that during the winter, that would be to your advantage.
That is where you are wrong.
They oddly left you freezing during the winter months so there was no comfortable in between. You were either freezing or chilling with Satan in his private sauna. Good luck with these abominations.
Overall, marching band was one of my favorite things about high school. It was a fun experience, despite these aspects, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It just drove me absolutely insane every once in a while.
