I lived for marching band

I lived for marching band from about 1979 – 2019. When I say that I lived for it, I mean it. I ate, slept and drank marching band. It took the combined efforts of a nasty separation (from a school) and a world-wide panic (Covid) to break this love.

The roots

The roots of this love run deep. The seed was planted when I was a child. One of my earliest memories involves hearing a marching band in a parade. I was in Hahntown, Pennsylvania with my parents. I could feel the drums in my chest. The seed was planted.

But, who brought me to the parade? My parents. My Dad had been a drum major of his marching band when he was in high school. So, maybe the seed was planted by Dad.

The seed grows

I had been playing the trumpet for a few years by the time I arrived in junior high school. Our junior high was comprised of 8th and 9th graders. The director had us march in a few parades. That meant we needed to have both summer and after school practices.

We were taught how to hold the instruments properly and how to move correctly. And, we needed to stay in step while we played our memorized music. We spent a lot of time in that parking lot parading around in large circles while our director barked instructions.

9th graders helped to instruct the 8th graders. So, when I was in 9th grade I had a small group of trumpet players that I worked with. Something about this resonated with me. I loved working on the details and precision of motion. (The guys that I was working with didn’t necessarily like it as much!). I’d slow the motion down and detail where the leg and foot should be in each part of the beat.

High School

Our junior high sat on a hill that overlooked the high school. We could see the high school band practicing. I was intrigued by the formations that they made while they performed. And, I yearned to be in that group.

…

I had never worked so hard in my entire life! High school band was intense. Our director and staff required the highest attention to detail. We repeated things mercilessly.

And I loved it!

I worked on skills at home. I even worked on skills in the pool! Yes, the pool! We had a swimming pool in the back yard. I would put a Maynard Ferguson cassette into my boom box, jump in the pool and mark time.

I’d mark time through the entire side of the cassette. When it ended, I’d flip the cassette and mark time through the back side. Afterwards, I’d mark time outside of the pool and my legs would fly! I was a marching band zealot!

Dreaming

Our band was going to the national championships. I put on music from the Rocky movies and envisioned our band winning. These dreams became a reality in 1982 when we took home the Marching Bands of America National Championship.

The flames of my love for the marching arts were raging. I began dreaming of being a director that would lead other kids into this same experience. But, that meant college and I wasn’t a great student. And, frankly I wasn’t a fantastic musician either.

Continued…

Next week I’ll share more about my college and directing experiences.