John Gardner

July

This is Band Camp Season

One director started his band camp number (upper 30’s), but talked about it being “Day 1” for many members. The start of Band Camp is challenging because, in some ways, it is the hardest part of the season. At Band Camp, when the weather can be bright sunny and super hot, bandsters spend uncomfortable amounts of time learning how to stand up, stand still, hold a horn (the difference between playing position and “to the box”, for example), or when and how to do horns up/down. The questions are; When do you want to have your fun? Pay now or pay later?

Because they are in hot heat so much, marching ensembles must always have water with them.

One challenge at the beginning of Band Camp is to prevent “newbies” from quitting after the first hard, hot, long day of rehearsals.

I tried to have the following conversation with the band on the first rehearsal. On at least one year when I did not, someone quit after rehearsal #1 — so the conversation happened during rehearsal #2.

Veterans, some of you share with us what you think is one of the better parts of marching band? Why do you do this?

Answers might include:

• bus rides to/from competitions (the longer the better)
• competitions, watching other groups, the down time together, performing
• football games
• the reaction of the crowd – the thrill of the performance
• friendships – band is family

Newbies, I want YOU to notice some things. Every veteran here has been through what you are about to begin. And they all came back. But also, note that all those things mentioned as the best parts of the band happen, mostly, in the Fall….long after Band Camp. And….did you notice that none of the veterans mentioned that camp is their favorite part of marching band? Do you know why?

Because band is hard. Band Camp is hard. Marching Band is hard work. The fun will come, but before the fun you have to pay the price. There is no shortcut. There is no cheap way.

We want to give you some fun times, even during band camp and the summer….but make no mistake, you can either have all your fun now (laugh, talk, put in minimum effort) and pay the price later (bad experiences / results in competition) … or you can pay the price now (hard work) and enjoy the results of your work when you hear the crowds and what the judges have to say.

The fun will come, but only after you pay the price. You’re going to hear from Seniors, Section Leaders, Drum Majors, Staff Members and Directors that you are not doing something right. Listen to them because they know what it is going to take.

For those of you coming from Middle School where you’ve been on the top of the heap, you’re now the Newbie. You need to learn and that can be hard and frustrating.

Do it anyway.

You’ll experience the best parts of marching band, but only after you get through band camp and the summer rehearsals. One day of camp is worth a week’s rehearsals… and by the time you go home at the end of the day you’re going to be exhausted, sweaty, stinky and sore.

Do it anyway.

Don’t go home after your first day and tell your parentals that you can’t do this. There are very few people who really cannot do this, and we can find a job for them too.

You CAN memorize drill, and music, and marching in step because you’re going to march and play every set and phrase hundreds, if not thousands, of times. That is the price.

I’m going to ask you to stay — and pay.

Stay — and play.

Stay — and work hard, and pay day will come.

And now….let’s go to work and get better than you were yesterday.

Freshman and Newbie Survival Guide

All first-year participants in Marching Band are Newbies. Consider the terms rookie, freshman, and newbie to be interchangeable. The following is an abbreviated marching band Freshman and Newbie Survival Guide.

The biggest challenge is for newbies to grasp the concept. Some come to us after being big, bossy 8^th graders in Middle School…and now they are….rookies, with little to no marching band experience and at the bottom of the chain-of-command.

In some cases, there may be a freshman who is musically more proficient than an upperclassman, but the one thing freshmen and newbies don’t have is experience. You need to listen and learn and experience Marching Band.

Some advice for newbies to enhance their rookie year experience:

1. Be quiet and learn. Do not talk in rehearsals. Other than asking a question or asking for help, speaking should come from directors, staff, drum majors, seniors or section leaders. The upperclassmen with experience know what we expect and know what it takes. Newbies do not…yet. You will become experienced, but you are not there yet.
2. Respect your elders, including your upperclassmen. Marching Band does have a chain of command type of hierarchy and newbies are not at the top – yet.
3. Come to a drum major or director if you ever think someone is harassing or mistreating you, because that is absolutely forbidden. It just doesn’t happen here….and it won’t.
4. Never, EVER confront a director in rehearsal. We will make mistakes and perhaps even falsely accuse you of an error in rehearsal. The best thing you can do is cooperate at the moment and come talk to us during a break – or privately. If we are wrong, we will admit it and apologize to you publicly, if appropriate. Remember, though, that in a rehearsal, a director cannot lose an authority-questioning or disrespecting battle.
5. Don’t take it personally. We do a pretty good job, I think, of showing all band members that they are important to us and that we care about them individually. We want to hear about what is happening in their lives, including outside of band. It is okay to come to talk to us about boy/girlfriend issues, job situations, and even something where you want a sounding board in addition to or outside of home. BUT WHEN WE ARE IN REHEARSAL, think of yourself more like an important part of a big machine. The machine only functions properly if each and every part is working. If you are out of line, out of step, out of interval, out of horn position, are playing something incorrectly or not playing…..we WILL point that out to you because you affect the machine. A judge’s eye is always looking for something different, so the best thing is NOT to draw attention to yourself. If you ever think that we are ‘picking’ on you, please come say something. That is never the intent.