Marching bands are certainly a staple of American culture. Though, I can’t comment much on how “regular” people view marching bands since I’ve been affected by the band kid plague.
Bands which march can be found all around the world, but they are engrained in today’s American culture as a vestigial niche of our colonial times. Most notably, America has high school marching bands, which are quite widespread across the country compared to the few community or town bands of other countries.
If you couldn’t tell, I’m in our school’s marching band—and American High School is the only school in this district to have a band which marches football game half-time type shows in competitions. These shows are what make marching band so worth it.
But I’m no good at band. And I’m horribly coordinated. Being someone who is musically inept, how could I ever perform within such a daunting program? If you’ve ever seen a marching band show, it’s a bit crazy how all those people can move in such coordination to create a kaleidoscope of dashing shapes while producing crazy loud, musical sounds. This stuff blows people away and even moves judges to tears (I deeply implore you to watch my favorite show: The Beat My Heart Skipped (BD 2011)). Though I don’t watch higher class marching band shows often, this one brought a flame to a snuffed candle in my heart.
At AHS, we don’t have shows as elaborate as world class ones—and we definitely don’t have that budget. But, like in any marching band out there, you will find an unwavering community: the people of the band. These folks see you every other day in the hot, sweltering sun as you all rehearse for the four shows you’ll put on in the fall; you’ll all be dehydrated, exhausted, sweaty, and shivering on the field alongside one another in the end. It is important to cherish these moments—the time you have together.
Since I’m horrible at rhythms and memorization, I fall a bit short to the expectations of band members as we’re all working together to form a coherent show—the success of the group relies on the effort of every single person. But I don’t mind working a bit harder to chase success, the exasperating feeling of nailing something just right. I play bass drum (the big, sideways drum) and it’s definitely heavy, and bass drum music is like the joint effort of five minds put together to play one competent musical phrase. It’s mentally and physically taxing, every day of rehearsal. But it is truly so worth it. The season drones by incredibly fast and with it, you’ve already made dozens of memories on the field to remember as you might find yourself crying on senior night—which is a special night for the seniors of the band on our last competition day. Then, you’ll realize the bonds, wounds, endless swathes of tireless days, words of encouragement, and the weight of every person around you—most importantly the ones who won’t be there next season.
I truly love marching band, despite everything. And it’s for good reason that marching bands have developed their own band kid culture, collectively continuing on throughout America to put on our next hard-polished shows year after year. I’ll miss it for sure next year, and I know I’ll be inconsolable on my senior night. Through the reflection that comes by the end of each season, I realize that these four years of high school grants just enough time to both enjoy and miss band.
One of my day-one friends in band & me.
We are both pretty bad at playing music, but we love each other and work hard nonetheless.
P.S. happy last blog of this cohort!!!
As another member of the American Eagles Marching Band, I feel compelled to comment on this post. Ever since I first stepped foot onto that goose poop-ridden softball field and held a six-foot flag for the first time, band has been an integral part of my life. The elated joy derived from struggling while practicing for the longest time before finally nailing it perfectly is a sentiment I’ve experienced SO many times over the past five seasons, and I can attest to the fact that it is the best feeling in the world.
ReplyDeleteBeing in marching band has overall changed me as a person in many ways, but one stands out the most—during eighth grade, I often felt like I was just floating through my life. I had friends, and there were a lot of happy moments, but I honestly didn’t have a sense of belonging anywhere. I was just a person who drifted between people and classes and somehow made her life pass by.
However, when I joined the band, that instantly changed. Band kids (stereotypically) like to stick together, and I began making a lot of friends. I found a friend group that I could always talk to, and that never made me feel untethered. In a really sentimental way, band gave me a home away from home.
Things always change; my original friends graduated, and I made new ones. I branched out and made more friends, and I felt a swelling sense of pride in the fact that I was part of something greater, something better. That, for me, has been the best part of being in marching band. This is a beautiful tribute!
Emily, I love this. Although I am not a part of band, I've always felt drawn to music, and appreciated (and envied) my friends who either sing or play an instrument. I am yet to skip the clips on TikTok or Instagram of collegiate bands performing halftime shows; it truly is amazing watching them perform an almost live action story. I vividly remember watching a video of a band performing a birds-eye view moonwalk; ever since seeing that, I think I've had a deeper respect for all band members. I'm happy you mentioned the fact that our school is the "only school in this district to have a band which marches football game half-time type shows in competitions" because it allows me to appreciate American more, as I truly believe that we don't give our school as much credit as it deserves. I also love the fact you mentioned community. I am SUCH a firm believer in community and the value of it, and I adore all the aspects of it. Whenever an underclassmen, or really any younger kid, asks me for advice regarding high school, I urge them to find their community. I think AHS offers so many. In the last two years, I grown to learn about the theatre community and although I am not a part of it, it has fascinated me and I just love the fact that there are people supporting and loving each other; not to mention all the traditions each community the campus has. I genuinely feel like I could keep this comment going on and on and on, but I will try to wrap it up now. I want to address your sharing of senior right and the reflection you have on that day. Personally, I've never been a super outwardly emotional guy, but the one time I got super emotional at school was when I read the "Goodbye 24" poster during my Freshman year, as I had bonded with numerous upperclassmen, and it truly felt like older brothers and sisters were going to be leaving me. Before I end this, I want to say, once again, Emily, your voice and writing style is extremely unique; I truly believe that at this point, I'd be able to recognize your blog regardless of your name being present at the top. Keep up the great blogs, and have a great Winter Break Waterbottles.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily, I was so excited when I saw your topic for this week's blog post because I love watching marching bands perform (honestly the best part of any football game in my opinion). I think you put it best when you compared the performance to a kaleidoscope because like the patterns you become mesmerised by the seemingly effortless and fluid movements of everyone on the field. I can relate to the feeling of community you have found with marching band as it is the same feeling I have on the school soccer team. That is one of the reasons I think it is so important to be a part of any school program, whether its sports, marching band, or any of the clubs, because it creates a place where we can all succeed, struggle, laugh, cry, and lift each other up together which are all an important part of being a member of society. Anyways, I hope you have a great winter break and I can’t wait to see you perform next year!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I was rather shocked reading your first opening line! It might just be that I’ve never had such a thought cross my mind and my brain mush is confused by the new item that entered its vicinity. And I’ll admit, as I was reading through, when you recommended The Beat My Heart Skipped, I was a little skeptical--but I’m happy to report that your description of it bringing “a flame to a snuffed candle” in your heart has thoroughly convinced me (now I just have to wait for finals to finish). I have quite a few friends that are a part of marching band, but I’ve only really heard them struggling to memorize routines and complaining about something related to their music (likely forgetting to read over it), but this was a really compelling perspective to the activity! I’d also like to counter your statement about being “horrible at rhythms and memorization," as I recall your performance during the Gatsby Party being the bee’s knees (heh). In general, I remember saying (in comments and in discussions with friends) a lot about the importance of community, either about the Anti-Prejudice texts or about the library and more. I’m glad that you’ve found your people and your community in this activity!
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