I've been in band for school throughout my entire life. I am involved in the band here at East Stroudsburg, but ever since I joined there have always been first world problems that every band kid has which I am going to share with you.
1. We don't get too much credit.
Band kids are always playing music for different events or concerts, yet schools do not recognize the band for their hard work. Us band kids are dedicated to playing music for others to listen to, but most people just do not care or don't give us credit for what we do.
2. The band room is usually a mess, (Thanks to the marching band).
If you can find your way through the band room, god bless you. The band room is usually always a mess ESPECIALLY on a marching band game day or competition day. In high school, my band room was always a complete mess every time we had a game or competition. You would just see stands and chairs all over the room and it was total chaos. Concert band kids don't see this too much but marching band kids always seem to somehow trash the band room.
3. Being jealous of the first chair's part.
If you're in concert band, you may understand this. Throughout middle and high school, I was usually always Trombone 2 or 3 and the Trombone 1 part usually had a cool solo or higher notes. I would sometimes get jealous of their part because I wanted to be the star. I mean, come on, I can't be the only one here who's gotten jealous of the first chair right? First chair parts are awesome! Whenever I got that golden ticket to play the first chair I was in love with the part and made sure no one else took advantage of it. 2nd and 3rd chairs need more solos! #2nd3rdChairProblems
4. Things every band kid has shouted that drive you insane.
"What measure are we on?", "Oh there's a repeat there my fault.", "Oh, crap I missed the Coda!" "Trumpet players have the biggest ego." (Whispers to the player next to you) "Hey, what measure are we on?" "I miss the band alumni!" "The band sucks now that he/she left." "Once I graduate, this band will just go downhill." "Can I play your instrument?" There are plenty more sayings only band people will understand, I know for sure our band has plenty of sayings that only our band would understand.
5. You can't be late.
Marching band was crazy. Ask any marching band kid about being late and they will probably say this, "To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late is to be running." I remember when my band director first told me that I didn't really believe her until freshman year band camp I was late one day and I had to run a lap because I was late. In my opinion, it's a time waster. If you're late, why make the person run a lap and miss what's happening? That mean's they will have to catch up even more to make sure that they know what's going on. I remember when my more recent band director told me that and I couldn't agree with him more.
6. Leaving your band director.
Your band director is more than just someone sitting in an office or waving his hands in front of a band, they are like your second parents. When my first high school band director left, I cried for a long time because she was like a second mom to me. We talked almost every day about my house life and what's going on in my life and she would always give me advise on what to do. Even leaving my most recent band director was hard too. He gave me a lot of advice and made sure everyone was on top of everything. He was very organized and knew what he was doing. So one day, thank your band director for all their hard work and also dealing with you.
7. The band room is like a safe haven.
Sometimes if you want to skip class or need a break you can head to the band room until your teacher or someone kicks you out because you aren't allowed to be in there alone. When I was in high school you were not allowed to be in the band room if you weren't a band student which sucked because I could hardly bring my friends in to hang out with me. If a teacher saw you (usually the choir director) they would tell you to go back to class because it's a rule, and its very, very, very, annoying.
It's the life of being a band kid.
