I’m not sure if every single “band geek” has a story similar to mine because bands are different all over the world, but the running stereotype about band kids is that we’re all weird. In elementary school I was a firm believer that only the strange kids joined band, but as I got older, I realized that this could not be further from reality. I come from a small town outside Flint, Michigan called Fenton and am a proud alumnus of the Lake Fenton High School Marching Band. The band makes up a quarter of the population of our school with its 160 members, and almost everyone in band is proud to be in it. Being in band shaped my life in so many ways, and narrowing it down to a few is nearly impossible, but I will try regardless.
I Learned to Handle Criticism
I’m decently shy and have never responded to criticism well, but when you are twelve and you have seniors in high school encouraging you and giving you advice, you tend to take it. My years in band helped me to take the criticism not as words against me, but as words to help me along. I can’t say that I never spent some time in the director’s office having a breakdown, because I did, but band taught me how to cope, which is something I can’t say I would have learned on my own.
I Have a Different Vocabulary
Any true band geek will tell you that we use words in every day life that have a different connotation elsewhere. “Pass the lube”, “What position is that in again?”, and, “Where is your fingering chart?” are all phrases you might hear while walking among us, and although they might seem confusing to you, they make perfect sense to us.
I Formed New Relationships
I realize this more now that I am in college, but I truly tend to surround myself with a different kind of people, namely, band people. My closest friends that I have met in college have been people who had also been in band at some point in their lives. These are the types of people I get along with best because we can relate on a different level, which is difficult to explain unless you have experienced it for yourself.
Spit Became Too Normal
This one is self-explanatory if you have ever been in band, but for those of you who haven’t, spit is everywhere, and as a trombonist, I am entirely guilty for emptying my spit-valve in places I shouldn’t. Sorry, mom.
I Am More Confident with Who I Am
Before band I worried constantly about what people thought of me – what I looked like, acted like, sounded like, everything. I still worry but not nearly to the same extent that I used to – I suppose spending a week in near ninety-degree heat forced me to give up on what I looked like and just accept myself as I was (sweaty, ornery, and sunburned).
I Go To Football Games For a Different Reason
I used to love going to football games, buying a hot chocolate, and cheering on my school’s team with hundreds of my peers. While that is still fun, that is no longer the part of football games I look forward to the most – I now go to football games and parades with one thing on my mind: the band. I truly listen and watch performances, analyze the formations, critique the pitch, and mentally yell, “Left! Left! Left!” when I see someone on the wrong foot. While everyone else is grabbing popcorn, I’m mesmerized by the performance.
I Am More Loyal
I never understood what true loyalty was until I watched other bands perform. I found myself cheering them on in hopes that they would succeed in delighting a crowd. However, my loyalty toward other bands cannot compare to my loyalty toward my section (Woo, trombones!). Whenever trombonists actually get to play the melody, I feel a rush of excitement for them, knowing that they feel bada**, as I did whenever I got to play a more difficult portion in the music.
I now understand what it’s truly like to be a “band geek” and, I must say, it’s pretty great.
Images Courtesy of: Bluray and Shelby Bader