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Five-Minutes. Band, Cult or Kosher? |
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Is Marching Band a fun, normal after-school activity? Or, is a dangerous, cult, undermining parental authority. In the next five minutes, we're going to go inside the thoughts of a Marching Band participant to learn her thoughts. Come with us on our journey into the sounds of Marching.
You know that joke "That'll happen when Hael freezes over?"
Well, it does. Hael thy name is Marching Band.
Okay, atleast here in the midwest, it does. First, Hael is hot, where you sweat buckets, and get poked by imps (gaurd). Ping (the drill instructor), is Beelzebub, and God (the director) is Lucifer. You do NOT get very many water breaks, and running breaks at most.
Then, suddenly, Hael freezes over. Practice moves to after school, in the evenings. It's dark, and it starts getting cold. Your toes turn to rocks, and your lips stick to your instrument. You still do not get water breaks, and running lots of drill is a mercy. This is much worse than Hot Hael.
If you mess-up, you get verbally beaten and have to "celebrate", aka pushups. The band room is your home. God is your mother. Your section is your family. You eat together, you run laps together, you shiver together. Together you must survive Hael.
Sure, it's great fun. When your not dying. Band becomes your life. It's the bread you eat, the water you drink, the tears you cry, the thoughts you think. It even gets into your blood, the thing that makes you go on.
I'm sure that every Marching Band field has some old M.B ghosts. Lost souls, doomed to re-play old music, old shows, old drill. The ground remembers your sweat, your blood, your tears. In fact, the field knows your entire genetics life's story.
When a Bandie dies, they have the choice of going to Band Heaven, Normal Heaven (or whatever their religion's paradise afterlife is), be reincarnated into a new Bandie, or be born again as an instrument.
Band is my life. It's why I get up every morning. I belong there. Yeah, it teaches you lots of musical stuff, but it teaches you to feel, to play with heart and soul. To live a little. Sometimes, band is the only place we can live a little.
So. Is Marching band a fun, after-school activity? Yes, it teaches children about music, and about channeling emotions. Is it somewhat cult-esque? Yes, as well. For many, marching band is a constant life. They have friends there, they eat food there, the laugh, sleep and breathe there. For the most part, it is just a nice way to pass the time, in the wonder of performance. Can it be more sometimes? Yes, depending on the bond between the students, yes. Marching Band is a unique experience. It is impossible to explain, without going into the mind of a Bandie.
Thank You.
This has been another Five-Minutes. Tune in next time for another exciting look into the world of a teenager.
 nuit_douce · Sat Apr 12, 2008 @ 11:36pm · 0 Comments |
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