For those who think Marching Band is lame:
Marching Band is an extra-curricular activity, or a profession in some cases. We strive to do our best as people, and as musicians. In case marching band comes off to you as odd, it might as well be as "odd" as field hockey and football. Marching band is a sport. We use physical activity, we write out things to make us better, we have mental breakdowns, and we compete and have fun just like everybody else.
Typically, there are instruments , a color guard, and a drum major. To elaborate, there are a wide variety of instruments that are used; trumpets, trombones, clarinets, flutes, oboes, piccolos, a drum line, etc. Color guard members spin flags with practice and practice, just like soccer players do suicides to make their agility and endurance better. The drum-line carries instruments that are heavier than your average school backpacks. The drum majors job is hard. They have to direct and cue the whole show, which once again, takes commitment. While sports players' games end before 10, marching band members don't get home until sometimes after midnight. Do you still think marching band is lame?
We dress in hot uniforms, and then have to walk and run in them. We have to roll-step while marching rather than running and jogging. We have to look professional in all aspects. Sports can run and jog and it looks fine. We get points taken off for being a quarter of a second behind on foot movement.
We don't have games, we don't have bottles we have to share from, but instead, we compete and get critiqued for what we do. Some bands lose by a tenth of a point. While typical sports teams only go head-to-head with one team, we face many. Some are better, some are not. Does it still seem lame?
People in band get good grades. Maybe we're "outsiders" to you, but we make a family within the band so that we can make "us" stronger.
Marching band isn't all about playing the right notes and looking pretty, its about making sure your breathe marks are properly executed, adjusting sound and volume every couple of measures, not running in to anyone while moving in formation, playing accurately and precisely, taking self criticism, being yelled at for doing the same thing over and over, and being a family. It's harder than you thought wasn't it?
Being lame isn't bad. There are people just like me and you. You just might find them in some place that you wouldn't think of entering.
Did I change your perspective ?
You can't forget the instructors who take time out of their lives to make the show as seamless as possible. They go home and stress, and some cry. They constantly check for errors. For basketball, if you hold it 2 centimeters from where you're supposed to hold it , it won't affect where the ball goes. If your finger is an inch off of the note that you have to play, you'll hear it. We may look sharp, and our hair may look flat, but we march to the beat of our own drum.
