Marching BandMusic

[BubbleBelly542]

Anyone in marching band and/or winter drum lines? If so, tell us a bit about it. I will start.

I go to a school with very few band members, we have maybe 50 people... It's pathetic but I enjoy it. My freshman year I marched 3rd bass (out of 3) in a 5 person drum line. We had 2 snares and 3 basses. For the rest of the band, we had 2 flutes, three tubas, 2 drum majors, and I didn't pay attention to the rest.

Our band is a member of an organization of bands in Michigan whose name escapes me at the moment, but bands are divided into four flights. We are flight two. The flights are divided by school, not band, enrollment which is unfair and backwards in my opinion. The band who got first at states last year had over 3X the people we did. I believe their guard was bigger than our whole band, I really do.

For finals we marched at Ford Field in Detroit. We got last in our flight, but beat out 1 band getting in to finals. We sucked but weren't the worst apparently.

So what about you?

 

[astrosdude91]

I was in high school. The summers were hot, and it was tough. But it was a lot of fun. It's always a rewarding feeling when we would do the whole run through of the drill for the first time. I played french horn.

Have you ever heard of Drum Corps International? It's basically the major leagues for marching bands. Most of the members are in high school. Three of my high school band directors marched for the Madison Scouts. And one of my good friends in band marched for the Cadets during his junior year of high school.

 

[BubbleBelly542]

I was in high school. The summers were hot, and it was tough. But it was a lot of fun. It's always a rewarding feeling when we would do the whole run through of the drill for the first time. I played french horn.

Have you ever heard of Drum Corps International? It's basically the major leagues for marching bands. Most of the members are in high school. Three of my high school band directors marched for the Madison Scouts. And one of my good friends in band marched for the Cadets during his junior year of high school.

Yes I have heard of that. Haven't seen much. One of our Brass instructors was in the Cavaliers.

 

[astrosdude91]

Yes I have heard of that. Haven't seen much. One of our Brass instructors was in the Cavaliers.

They used to show the finals on ESPN2, and I would usually watch it if I caught it. But I haven't seen it on tv in a few years. I know DCI usually shows one of the champion rounds in certain theaters. Haven't been to one of those though.

Our band in high school had I think 120 members. But the marching bands from the other high schools in our school district were several times larger. Though the other schools were well established, and our high school was only a few years old at the time.

Here's a video I found on Youtube of our drill from 2008. I'm trying to follow myself based on what little I still remember from that year. I'm having a hard time.

 

[Jar31Lar]

Drumline.

 

[NISM0_SKYLINE]

I was in drumline and winter drumline. I played cymbals for a while, then moved to bass 4 our of 4. I played the same stuff in winter drumline that I played in normal drumline. We did decent at State festival, but only a few people really cared. It was just fun being with friends.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

When I was a freshmen, my band was the largest in the county. This year, I graduated with one of our smallest bands in years. My freshmen year was spent by playing a junky marching baritone. Every other year, I played a bell-propped baritone. The band itself was called the "Shooting Star Marching Band" (Shooting Stars for short). My highlight of Senior year was the debut of our summer uniform. Marching in the summer uniform was a far more enjoyable experience than our general uniform- and that's a fact.

 

[BubbleBelly542]

Today (well techinically yesterday) we had our first real practice. 3 mother******* hours of basics block. I'm in drum line and we don't even march the same style as the rest of the band, so I'm really not sure why I was forced to do this. Regardless, I kept my patience. Maybe because we got a new visual director and he's really nice and explains things instead of yelling.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

Blocks were always "fun" to preactice. We had Monday practices during football season, and at least a half hour was spent in the block. Generally speaking, Drumline, woodwinds, and the trumpets were the ones who get yelled at in my band.

 

[BubbleBelly542]

Blocks were always "fun" to preactice. We had Monday practices during football season, and at least a half hour was spent in the block. Generally speaking, Drumline, woodwinds, and the trumpets were the ones who get yelled at in my band.

Last year drum line had it's own style so we had our own, much more relaxed basics block. It was much better. We never had to be at set we just had to march which was basically walking.

 

[braunracing88]

My brother was in our old high school's marching band. From the fall of 2003 to the fall of 2005, he played trumpet. I might've been in the band if I didn't have cross country at the same time of year.

 

[BubbleBelly542]

My brother was in our old high school's marching band. From the fall of 2003 to the fall of 2005, he played trumpet. I might've been in the band if I didn't have cross country at the same time of year.

What would you have played?

 

[braunracing88]

What would you have played?

Well I did play the alto saxophone in school, so most likely, that's what I would've played.

 

[Driving Park]

I played in my high school marching band all four years. I marched baritone. I'd classify it as the third hardest instrument in the band to march with, after sousaphone and bass drum. Both of those destroy your shoulders/back; the marching baritone destroys your arms.

Summer band camp was awful, after school rehearsals were awful, and basically everything about it was awful until the point where you performed your show for a crowd. Then it was awesome.

Speaking of DCI (Drum Corps International): if you ever have a chance to go to a DCI show, do it. And listen to Phantom Regiment in the warm up lot. You won't forget it. That being said, everyone who is or was even remotely interested in marching band should watch this, the best DCI (and thus, any form of marching) show of all time (speaking of the Madison Scouts).

 

[BubbleBelly542]

I played in my high school marching band all four years. I marched baritone. I'd classify it as the third hardest instrument in the band to march with, after sousaphone and bass drum. Both of those destroy your shoulders/back; the marching baritone destroys your arms.

Summer band camp was awful, after school rehearsals were awful, and basically everything about it was awful until the point where you performed your show for a crowd. Then it was awesome.

Speaking of DCI (Drum Corps International): if you ever have a chance to go to a DCI show, do it. And listen to Phantom Regiment in the warm up lot. You won't forget it. That being said, everyone who is or was even remotely interested in marching band should watch this, the best DCI (and thus, any form of marching) show of all time (speaking of the Madison Scouts).

Bass drum is not too bad to carry if you are like bass 1-3, but 4 and 5 are terrible. Tenors are probably the heaviest though.

As for DCI, I think my instructor played in Madison Scouts but I'm not sure.