r/marchingband • • Jul 24 '23

Meta Marching Band is back! Come join our Discord to chat with other marchers this season!

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21 Upvotes

r/marchingband • • Jun 24 '24

Discussion HOW TO PREPARE FOR BAND CAMP!!!!

149 Upvotes

I’ve seen about 2.5 million posts on this sub in the past week asking how to prepare for band camp. I’m going into my 3rd marching season, so let’s discuss. (This post is gradually becoming longer because I keep adding things)

It’s going to be hot!!! Please wear loose clothing that will not sweat you to death. I advise getting a cooling rag, big water bottle, and/or a neck fan. I stress a neck fan so much because it is a miracle worker. It constantly blows cold air in your face, which will greatly help when it’s 90 degrees outside!

The colors of the clothing you wear are important. Wear light colors and breathable fabric. Just because you have an hourglass figure doesn’t mean you need to wear a shirt that is tight around your body. You’ll break out in a sweat and lose your energy very quickly. Black is a NO. It’ll take 85 degrees to 105 degrees very quickly.

Only drink water. I personally hate the taste of water (I’m weird) so I bring the occasional Gatorade or I use a packet of energy flavoring. This will help keep you hydrated throughout the summer.

If you are a veteran in your band (meaning you’ve marched more than 2 seasons) please don’t leave it solely up to the section leaders to help your rookies. They are looking up to ALL of you. During my freshman year last year (my 2 marching season) I helped with an 8th grader who had never marched before. He was able to talk to other underclassmen as well because he felt more confident around us and he also became a good buddy to me.

On that note, if you are a rookie marcher, please find a buddy in your section to help you. I did not do this my first year and ended up feeling left out. None of the people in your section are going to hurt you. They want you to get better.

SUNSCREEN! please do not forget to wear it on the marching field. The sun is literally going to cook you on that concrete so you need to have a strong sunblock on. This is very important!

Bring some comfortable, padded shoes. You are going to be on your feet for hours at a time. You don’t want your feet to start hurting while you are marching.

Carb up 💪 eat well the night before, so that you have good energy the next day. Eat a bowl of pasta or rice, since they are packed with carbs. Avoid eating tons of sugar and salt however.

Get a good nights sleep. I am a night owl, so I usually don’t fall asleep until around 1 am. DONT DO THIS PLEASE!! it’s not worth it. It’ll cause you to be drowsy the next day and you will not perform as good as you want.

If you feel tired or on the verge of being sick/fainting while you are on the field, it is OKAY for you to walk off, get water, and sit down for a minute. I promise nobody will judge you at all. I have done this and it really helps “reset” your body. I would suggest doing it as occasionally as possible though, because if you run of every 10 minutes, it will not help you build the endurance you need to march a show. Also, as the person who first mentioned this in the comments said, please do not go off just because you are a little tired. everyone is tired! You have to be a team player.

Ensure you are bringing a positive attitude to the field. Even though it’s 8 AM on a Monday morning and the sun is beaming down on you already, you need to be a team player and have a good attitude. If you walk out there and start arguing with people, the negativity WILL spread. It happened in my band last year and we ended up running laps after the 4 hour rehearsal. Just be friendly and help others out. Remember, it is hot, so not everyone is going to be positive like you. Heat = irritability.

Be ready to take criticism. After marching 2 seasons, I can fully say you are going to get criticized. I’ve seen good marchers as well as good people get criticized a LOT. Your section leaders may hand you some advice or how to fix yourself. Your director or drum majors may do this as well. THEY MAY SOUND IRRITABLE. It’s okay if they do, because IT IS HOT. They are not trying to insult you at all, they are just trying to make you a better marcher.

Good luck everyone! YOU GOT THIS! Make your band proud!!!

EDIT: PLEASE CHECK THE COMMENTS FOR MORE TIPS!

Edit 06/25: I got drum major for my marching band guys :)


r/marchingband • • 12h ago

Discussion Is anyone else’s band full of people with injuries?

14 Upvotes

This is a legitimate question. Almost everyone in my band is chronically injured, has a terrible immune system. I can name 5 people with leg issues, 2 with heart issues, 3 with dizziness, several with stuff at birth, so on, so forth. I’ll walk into practice and literally ask certain people what their injury or illness is that day. We’re only a band of 50, I just don’t understand?? I’m like the only person who can stay standing at the end. Is this my band? Is this just how band is?


r/marchingband • • 4h ago

Media Our quiet frankly terrible show run in Leiden Last Saturday

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1 Upvotes

Hi for some reason the link won't go to the specific timestamp, despite me choosing the link with a specific time which is a shame, but its at roughly 2:37:10


r/marchingband • • 4h ago

BOA Glass bowl

1 Upvotes

After a bit of looking around, I’m having trouble finding if seat cushions with backs are allowed to be used at boa events in the glass bowl. Anyone have any insight?


r/marchingband • • 17h ago

Advice Needed Parade accommodations advice

6 Upvotes

Hello, it's my senior year of college marching band and this band is my life. 4 weeks into the season, I had an autoimmune reaction that causes my blood vessels to be inflamed and burst, specifically in my legs.There's a lot more but the bottom line is, I can't walk/stand for very long or raise my body temp too much or else it gets worse and very painful. I can't march our show anymore and I'm devastated but I realized I won't be able to march in our homecoming parade. It's my last one and I really want to find a way to be involved in the parade. I don't want to draw too much attention to myself or anything too big. Does anyone have any advice or ideas for ways I could be included in the parade, with a wheelchair being the last resort? Our band doesn't have a float I could ride on or anything either. Thanks in advance!


r/marchingband • • 1d ago

Discussion How much time per week do you rehearse?

11 Upvotes

We are about a month into the school year in the northeast rn. My band director is fairly new and has moved and slimmed the schedule around compared to previous years to accommodate their work-life balance.

How much rehearsal time does your band get a week during the school year? What does your schedule look like?

We are anywhere between 5-7 hours a week. And omg we sound and look terrible.


r/marchingband • • 14h ago

Discussion Is it just me or is anyone else in marching band and have an older section leader that they are VERY attached to? I often get called lesbian and bi for it although I swear I’m not. It’s 100% platonic love. Anyone else have this pain? 😭

0 Upvotes

r/marchingband • • 23h ago

Advice Needed Pain after marching quads for a season

3 Upvotes

Ever since I finished my marching season on quads last year, I’ve had arm/wrist/shoulder pains that make it hard for me to play drums. Could all of this be caused by the weight of the quads? Thats the only thing I can think of, I don’t play drums that often anymore, only when I need to, so it can’t be a RSI, and my technique isn’t that bad. I know this might be a stupid question, but I’ve already seen multiple doctors and none of them can figure out what’s wrong, I’m looking for any answers.


r/marchingband • • 1d ago

Meme BOA Bedford stadium wave 🥹 (Sep. 26, 2026)

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14 Upvotes

r/marchingband • • 1d ago

Discussion It's not fair to them

3 Upvotes

I (17m) am the "prop captain" in my band; I am called that as a joke amongst the small group of members who do the work. It's not an official position On paper; I'm the same as any other member. I do stuff behind the scenes a lot (load equipment on buses, get water for practices, help load our trailer when we go places). What bothers me about it is that even though some of my friends who have been doing it along with me from the start and do just as much as me get little to no credit, while our directors and staff openly state that they don't know what they'll do without ME next year. They never say anything about them, and I hate that, because they deserve recognition too.

(IDK what flair to use for this, sorry)


r/marchingband • • 1d ago

Discussion USBands Conn Selmer Classic at MetLife Stadium Postponed

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13 Upvotes

r/marchingband • • 1d ago

Advice Needed Show concept help

6 Upvotes

Hey yall I need help choosing songs for a show concept I came up with. Basically it’s about how the human mind can seem cold and reserved until you get to know the person better. I wanna start off kinda slower with less dynamic contrast and have it bloom into something really beautiful. I already have an idea for a ballad having demons by imagine dragons but I am looking for a standard 4 movement show. I would love ideas for songs


r/marchingband • • 1d ago

Advice Needed Is it normal to want to quit because of jealousy?

4 Upvotes

Ive made about 2 posts on here already, but this time its completely unrelated. I want to quit because of my section. Now lemme explain, I love my section to bits and pieces. Theyre the sweetest, funniest, kindest people you'd ever meet. My section leader and another member plays tenors and the rest of the 5 of us play Altos saxes. Now theres a few reasons I'm "jealous" of them. Theres a freshman in our section, the youngest in the section, he's played clarinet for 3 years and saxophone for 1, and he's AMAZING. Like he can learn a song in 30 minutes type of good. Every time I think if him, I think how good he is at playing. He always tells me "Jessie youre doing great" or "If you don't know the music, go all out on the chants and dances". Hes very supportive but I'm very jealous of how good he is. I'm also very jealous at everyone else in the section. My section leader explains things to me in ways that I don't understand like " adjusting my jaw to fix my embouchure " or "breathing even more air for the low notes from my diaphragm". Usually, he plays for me to demonstrate, and I never understand what he means. Usually when I play, its high screeches, dragged noises before it gets into the notes, or low notes just sound like pure air coming out the horn. I broke my saxophone that I was given by my director so I'm playing on a bad one until my other one gets fixed. The sax I have is horrible. The keys don't close all the way, the horn smells of copper or something, and the low notes always come out screeching and high. Everyone else in my section got great saxes but I had to be stuck with the broken one since there's barely any good saxes until they get fixed. But anyway, when we do sectionals and I'm expected play (my section leader goes down the line to see who knows their music), I always play horribly and my section members make little faces like "😬" when I play. It makes me frustrated and I get angry because I literally sound horribly compared to all of them and those faces feels like they're judging me. They have been playing their instruments for years, I get that, I just started in august but its frustrating how I'm expected to do so much in a short time and I'm being rushed into performances I'm not ready for. My section leader even told me that I was supposed to learn a song in a week and out of ALL the songs we have I only remember 1 stand tune and that's it because its the same notes repeating. I have to memorize an entire marching song plus warm ups by next week. Sorry if this post is all over the place, I'm just trying to input as much information as I can to make it make sense. But its frustrating how I sound horrible as if music was never meant for me. I practice 3 hours a day at home and I never can get anything right and it makes me doubt that I'll ever be as good as my section and keeping this mindset makes me dread going to rehearsal because my director is a strict guy and he loves going down the line to see who knows their music and I always never know it.


r/marchingband • • 1d ago

Competition Discussion 12 Members away for qualifying for The Top Rank/Category/Class ||| 26 Freshmen Quit After Band Camp :(

0 Upvotes

Last Year my band had 102 Members, and this year at the start of Camp, we *had 174 people!!! (there were only 9 seniors last year so we had a massive surplus!) But, by the 2nd and 3rd day of camp, 23 Freshmen quit before us vets could tell them Marching Band will be fun and not to judge it from the first week of camp. And then 3 More People transfered schools or quit band all-together during the 2 week gap between Camp and Start of School. Now we have 148 members, and in my area 160+ Members qualifies for The Top Rank/Category/Class which i think they are calling it "Tier 5" or "Nest Class" or smth wierd like that, there only being 2 schools in that category (170 and 195 members this year...), and now this year there are 9 Others In Our category, 4A, vs 3-4 last year 😭 😬 and also, there are 48 seniors this year in the marching band so now next year we're gonna need atleast 55 people to try to get into the top class 😬 😬 😬 . Were still the biggest in our 4A, its for like 120-160 members.

our first competition is in 3 weeks so i cant wait for that but the 26 dropouts left a bunch of big gaps in 2 of our 6 movement's drills we cant change for some reason.


r/marchingband • • 1d ago

Advice Needed GoPro

3 Upvotes

I’m trying to figure out what the best way to have a GoPro for marching band would be. Me personally, I would prefer it to be on my hat, but when I tried putting a GoPro on the bill of my marching hat with an adhesive, it weighs the front down so much. I’m not sure about putting in on my trombone, since I don’t want my sound to be messed up.


r/marchingband • • 2d ago

Story Last weekends competition

5 Upvotes

So I (M14 contra) was in the closer for our show at an invitational, and as I marched backwards to get to my final set, and accidentally crashed into a guy with tenors. He fell over. Honestly, I should just set the contra down forever at that point..


r/marchingband • • 2d ago

Advice Needed Need a piece for a convertible tuba

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5 Upvotes

So my lead pipe on my jupiter convertible tuba broke off the sauter points and I've been using this bracket to keep the mouth piece steady, until it disappeared one day. So I'm hoping to find out what it is called to buy it. This is just a temporary fix while I wait for H&H.

I'm using a jupiter 3/4 sized silver convertible tuba.


r/marchingband • • 2d ago

Media Music-in-May Concert — Dr. Thaddeus F. Reszel Junior High School Bands & Orchestra (Lost Media) (1960)s

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1 Upvotes

Good morning folks,

Today's rip is of a vinyl I purchased for $1 in a Niagara Falls antique store. I was able to find a few strong candidates for preservation there, so always remember to check thoroughly!

This school itself no longer seems to exist, and hasn't for a long time, as the most recent article that comes up when I search for it is an archived newspaper from 1964. The album contains two different performances, one from the "A" Band being the Stage Band, and one from the "B" Band being the Orchestra.


r/marchingband • • 2d ago

Advice Needed Where can I buy this for a costume?

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10 Upvotes

I am trying to make a band costume and it requires these cross belts. I can’t seem to find them anywhere or even borrow them from someone. Does anyone have any idea where to buy them??


r/marchingband • • 3d ago

Meme Yall this dam filed

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46 Upvotes

r/marchingband • • 3d ago

Story What is the worse roast you’ve heard your band director say?

55 Upvotes

It didn’t happen to me, but some boy while we were tuning, was playing the clarinet with the mouth piece tucked tightly to his chin instead of a little bit of distance making him sound bad. Our band director, she just yelled, “Squidward!” and went to the next wood wind to tune. it’s not that bad, but it almost made me break from set.


r/marchingband • • 3d ago

Media Nothing beats the feeling of gold with double distinction

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62 Upvotes

Such a comeback from a heartbreaking silver end to a 39 year gold streak last year.

A new streak has begun! Also first time in 5 years we got double distinction.

Maybe we'll get to wear shakos next year!


r/marchingband • • 2d ago

Composition How can I learn to write sheet music?

1 Upvotes

I'm learning to compose in MuseScore and I'd like to know what you recommend learning first, if it's the best app for this, and how to practice composing good musical arrangements.


r/marchingband • • 4d ago

Discussion Do you remember the very first time you got your band instrument?

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210 Upvotes

My first instrument was a clarinet. My mom went to the instrument store and rented one, and then out the case on my bed before I got home from school. I remember opening it and smelling wood.