Many of us have categorized band kids as that strange and eclectic bunch who would voluntarily exhaust every ounce of free time to dedicate themselves to the band. It's almost like a cult. No, it is a cult. But what comes out of it may be the most hardworking fun that will ever occur, and here's why.
1. You meet some of the most wonderfully strange people and foster some of the best friendships. And those people become your family.
The band is an inevitable place to make friends, and to find someone who will appreciate and encourage your quirks as much as you do. You're literally spending thousands of hours a year with each other just in band alone. From rehearsals to performances to fundraisers to dinner banquets, it seems like you're always together.
2. You really learn how to manage your time.
You learn how to manage your time when you actually have no time left to manage. Your planner is probably a mess of scratched-up pen marks while you prioritize your band practice over dinner and sleep. But you eventually find that balance. It's such a satisfying feeling when you get your 15 page research paper in after staying at a rehearsal until midnight the previous night.
3. All the trips.
It's kind of a package deal for all that voluntary hard work you put in. You get to go on (most of the time free or discounted) trips to perform at performance halls, sporting events, music festivals or other schools. Your school can take you anywhere from 2 miles to 2000 miles away from home! And who wouldn't want to spend even more time with your band family?
4. The first note of a halftime show. Enough said.
5. Piggybacking off number four, the adrenaline rush is amazing.
"You had to be there." "We annihilated through that." Whether it's anticipating up to measure 164 and then nailing it solo, or hearing the audience roar after bows for a musical (when the spotlight gives way to the pit orchestra), or the final blaring, grandiose measures played through a fermata at the conclusion of a halftime show performance — the adrenaline keeps on pumping and pumping, from the second you warm-up till the end of each breathtaking performance.
6. You are basically a elitist of society. Basically. (Sarcasm intended.)
You can crash a "highbrow" cocktail party with middle-aged philosophers and discuss how the third movement of Gustav Holst's Suite in E Flat is actually an inversion of the first movement; or how the French Horn solo in measure 35 is actually representative of the melancholy childhood of Holst and his relationship with his best friend's eldest sister. (The second part is probably 100 percent not accurate, but you get my drift).
If band doesn't follow you everywhere — and I really do mean everywhere (humming tunes in your shower, humming tunes in A flat major while walking your dog, getting overly excited when your stand tune comes on in the Applebee's restroom) — then you're probably not doing band enough. I mean, you voluntarily listen to concert repertoire that's as old as your great grandparents, right? Right.
7. It is both an intrinsically and extrinsically satisfying activity.
Practicing hours and hours and challenging yourself to novel concert repertoire until you've perfected a piece gives you a feeling of satisfaction. Additionally, your practicing means that you're helping your team, your fellow peers and yourself. When you put everything together, you can create something mind-boggling and amazing.
8. You know the feeling of borderline hypothermia.
Marching Band games in November just coincidentally land on the coldest nights of the entire year! And the cold pelts right through those uniforms, because they aren't built for the winter. Nor are they built for summer. Marching Band games in September? Forget it. You're sweating buckets before you even walk out the door. Your fingers are about to fall off, but its OK, because you've probably lost touch with a majority of your body parts by the middle of the night. Your parents and non-band friends can't quite wrap around their heads why you would do this to yourself, but you certainly do.
9. Variations of "from the top" and "let's run it again" are used words — yet they make some pretty laughable and priceless memories.
It's kind of like drying yourself off after a dip in the pool and then being pushed in again by a friend. But kind of worse.
10. You understand some really strange humor; it's kind of like secret code in a secret cult of other band geeks.
Also, all the memes are 100 percent accurate.
11. The coordination is actually insane(ly fun).
Marching band alone encompasses so many aspects of your brain. In just a three to five minute field show tune, you're required to: read your music (if not memorize it); watch the drum major; keep time with your music and the rest of your peers; observe dynamics within the music; pay attention to changing time signatures, key signatures and style; march in time with the right foot; travel to the right location with an allotted one or four or eight or sixteen measures per distance between yard lines; not bump into someone else or their instrument; roll-step; keep your head up; walk backward and forward-diagonal and backward-diagonal; snap to attention in unity at the beginning and the end of each song; make sure your tone harmonizes; be in tune with everyone else; and occasional dancing.
Putting that all together, a field show is typically 10 to 15 minutes. Imagine repeating that several times without a break. Whew! I need a breather.
Check out Ohio State's Marching Band:
12. You will always get emotional when you reminisce over old times.
Joining band was the best decision I made from middle school to college. I've made lifetime friends who I love like no other.
Whether it's looking at old pictures, old videos or conversing about old band tunes that come on while I'm shopping for lightbulbs in Target, band will always hold a special place in my heart. The laughs and the tears were what made it so worthwhile. I mean, I liked it enough to dedicate so much time and hard work to it for so many years, right?
Additionally, going back to visit my old teachers — whether it be middle school, high school or college — and then staying to play a performance and relive my time of glory is a priceless experience that can only be cultivated through years of being a part your favorite band family.
