Thoughts About Marching Band

*This is a true-but-dramatized-sometimes collection of my experiences in marching band my junior year. This started after the first contest and I just finished after the last one, so enjoy. And if you want to comment on this and share your own experiences, please do! I would love to hear other stories*

I grab my tuba (the weight always surprises me, every day), head out to the field. We assemble the lines, warm up. Literally, because it's about forty degrees outside and it will only get colder as the season goes on. Gloves and hoodies are quickly put on. The drum majors count off. Here we go...

The first casualty is in the beginning move. Trumpet/flute collision. Tragic. But we go on as if nothing happened, leaving the two to catch up with us once they pick themselves up off the ground. I carefully sidestep the bass drum behind me, as we are both backing up to each other and neither of us can see, so the responsibility is up to me to avoid disaster by hearing his thumping. But when he is off-oh man, you don't want to know. I hit him, other tubas hit me, other drums hit us. Domino effect with about a hundred students? Not pretty.

Today held another tragic accident. You wouldn't think a half-step (which actually equals something like 11.25 inches in the ideal world) would make much difference, because in everyday life, it doesn't. But when that half step leads to a slight direction change, which leads to a little different position in the next move, danger is afoot. I step forward to make the shape and...hit a clarinet that was in my blind spot, trip a trumpet, and, in falling on my face, dent the bell of my tuba. Really makes you think of the cliche "butterfly effect", doesn't it?

But good things happen, too. When you finish just perfectly, no falling or even a wrong note, there's just this...euphoria. Honestly, it can't be described in simple English. Just...pride, and happiness, and joy. Wow. That happened today. It was only a run-through, but I didn't mess up on a single beat. Only other band geeks know what I'm talking about, and it is amazing. I feel bad, honestly, for those of you who have never experienced this great happiness.

Everything connected to band in my life is exciting to me. In class today we got a news article to read about marching bands, and I immediately got excited. I haven't even looked at a word of it and I got in a good mood as soon as I read the topic!

On Saturday, our band won a contest. And the kicker...we haven't won a contest before. We've been improving for the past 3 years-since my freshman year, actually. You know, we're just plain awesome. But, seriously, something happened on that field. We just did it right. I don't know, it just kinda worked that way. Something clicked and...wow. Best show I've done, or seen for that matter!

We came back after that contest and we were all happy and in this completely ecstatic, "Oh my God, we actually won, all those other bands wish they were as good as us...".Although this quote was never actually spoken (I hope), that was the general attitude. But then one of the students spoke up, and made us realize something. "You know," he said, "now we have to keep getting better, or we'll just look like jerks." And we thought about it, and realized it's true. I'm sure it's the same in many activities, but especially in competitive marching band. You do awesome, think you're the best band on earth (and maybe you are) but then it's like a little voice in everyone's ear- 'Good. But can you beat it?' You know, like the commercial for that one kid's game. And, well...beat it we do. We practice for another week, iron out the little issues, and go to another contest. Then come home, practice more, and beat it again.

But one of the best things ever happened at one of the past contests. Our band always gives every other band a standing ovation. Yes, it's a required thing we do, but after a few times we really start to get into it, and it really isn't forced (except for a few people). But we cheered our hearts out, and when we went back to school that week, one band had sent us an email. Apparently they hadn't been to a contest in years. When they went onto the field and our school cheered, they got excited. When they left the field to a standing ovation, it touched all of them. They wanted to go to more contests. That's a pretty cheesy paraphrasing, but you get the gist of it. It's just amazing to think that our little band...okay, so we have almost 140 members-could do this much. It just makes you think of the power we hold to influence someone else's life.

This weekend was the end of the season, and this is honestly the first one I really will be sad to see end. I don't know if it's the good show this year, the fact that we kicked butt, or the people...or something else. But state contest yesterday was absolutely amazing. We got a 1 in every possible caption. We've gotten an overall 1 since my freshman year, but I'm not sure if we've ever gotten a 1 in everything before. And today the final parade of the year...didn't happen. Pouring rain. And, even though yesterday I was praying for rain to get out of marching, I realized I didn't really want to miss it. Today I was looking out the window wondering how hard it would be to march in two inches of rain, and deciding I could handle it. I really wanted this to happen, but it was a great end to the season anyway. Like I said a while ago, we just had to keep getting better. And, I'd have to say, we did. This hereby marks the end of the 2007 competitive marching band season.