Being in marching band was definitely my favorite part of high school. Many memories were made in band. Some were fun. Others were learning experiences. A few seemed like pure torture. Overall, if I could do marching band all over again, I would. Here is a list of some of the most memorable parts of high school marching band.
1. Water Breaks
Few and far between were these water breaks, even in the blazing hot summer. When your band director tells you to bring a water bottle with a strap so you can carry it on the field with you, please take the advice. Save yourself a blackout.
2. One More Time
“One more time” never means one more time and you’re done. It means we’re doing this one time more than you thought. This phrase may be repeated 11 times per practice. Even though it feels like unbearable torture, it definitely pays off in the end. Even if you didn’t get the scores you wanted at competition, you have some killer calf muscles to show for your hard work.
3. Walking in Step
You don’t even have to be on the field for this one. If you’re at the store and you see two people walking side by side in step, you’re easily amused. Whenever they get off step you might even groan in aggravation before snapping out of the in-step trance that marching band has instilled in your mind.
4. Marching Band is a Sport
WE ARE A SPORT. We sweat just like other sports do. We load up on Gatorade like other sports do. We sometimes have to run across a field just like other sports. The difference is that instead of us carrying a ball across the field, we are carrying instruments while playing the music we had to memorize along with keeping our instruments leveled and staying in formation and in step. Just because we don’t have physical contact with other bands on the field does not make us any less of a sport. I mean do you really want us shooting reeds and mutes at the other bands?
5. It’s Always the Trumpets
For some reason, it’s always the trumpets. Playing too loud? Trumpets. Won’t stop talking while the director is talking? Trumpets are the ring leaders. Horns aren’t facing the press box? Trumpets. Life of the party? Trumpets. Gotta love the trumpets.
6. Dinkles, Bibbers and Plumes
No, these words aren’t from a Dr. Seuss book. Dinkles are those shoes that make it easier for us to roll step to sweet victory. Bibbers are the onesies/overalls that we wear at performances under our jackets. Without the jacket, they make us look like Oompa Loompas. Plumes are the feathers on the top of the hats. Some of us band students were fortunate enough to learn how easily they bend. “Where’s your plume?” is a common joke on the freshmen. I’m not sure why, but I guess the upperclassmen found it amusing to make the freshmen go into a frenzy because they thought that they lost their plume right before their performance.
7. Does this look like a curve to you?!
Don’t be fooled. Marching band can get a tad bit hostile, especially when it’s about 90 degrees and the band director says you can’t go in or get a water break until the curve looks right. For some reason, that’s always the time when it magically turns into a perfect line. When it’s time to make a straight line, that’s when you have the perfect curve. The feeling of finally getting the formation right is an indescribable relief.
8. Dr. Beat
After that first week of hearing the metronome at practice, all you hear is the ticking. You hear it in your sleep. You hear it when you hear nothing at all. It’s like a constant reminder to stay on beat. Just when you think you’re rid of that dreadful ticking sound, it’s time for another practice with the dreaded Dr. Beat. If an apple a day could keep Dr. Beat away, there would be orchards surrounding the practice field, as well as the band hall.
9. Discipline
In marching band, you definitely learn discipline. You learn to clean up behind yourself unless you want push-ups. You learn to be on time, unless you want push-ups. You learn to get to your spot before the director counts down to one, unless you want push-ups. You get the point. When it comes to practicing the actual show, if you don’t plan on doing it right, plan on doing it again. You learn teamwork. You learn how to respect other people. You also learn responsibility.
10. Alma what?
I never actually learned all of the lyrics to my high school alma mater. The only time it was ever sung was at pep rallies and football games. During those times, the band was playing it. So imagine my surprise when on graduation night I was standing by my classmates and didn’t know anything beyond “Hail to thee our alma mater.” After that I just sang my clarinet parts to the song. I may not have known the words, but at least I knew I wasn’t off key.
I was in marching band all four years of my high school career. Because there is no marching band program at the university that I attend, I was not able to continue my marching band career. I miss marching band dearly. These are only a few things that I miss about it. If you’re a marching band kid, hopefully you can relate to at least one of the points on this list.
