It's a good idea to watch the water intake before long bus rides.
At really cold games, BEWARE OF FALLING WATER! If you play a brass instrument, tons of condensation will form inside your instrument and when you put your horn up to your mouth to play (especially if you snap it up really fast), all the water will fly out through your mouthpiece and spray your face and the front of your uniform (and quite possibly the row of people behind you) -- Drain constantly.
You'll still get sprayed with water -- you just can't drain often enough.
All brass players can expect to have chapped lips throughout football season, and there's nothing you can do about it -- no brand of chapstick is strong enough for marching band.
Allure magazines are a lifesaver on long bus rides.
It really is possible to wear two pairs of jeans under your band uniform.
Mellophones are indestructable.
If you have to do hornswings, make sure your mouthpiece stays on your insrument -- nothing worse (or more embarrassing) than having to search for your mouthpiece in the grass after it flies off your instrument while people march all around you.
Don't go to the wrong 20 yard line when you're lining up for the halftime show.
Make sure someone in the band always carries an emergency role of duct, just in case someone splits his pants.
During scatter drills, play tag!
It's fun to grab people's ankles under the bleachers, especially when you have the anonymity that comes from being in a band uniform.
Don't lock your knees (I've actually tried locking my knees a couple times because I figured I'd rather faint than stand still for one more minute in 100 degree heat holding an eighty pound mellophone, and nothing happened.)
Watch for pixie stix wrappers in your hat.
(To everybody who goes to Chardon) The 'C' on your raincoat will always be covered up by the hood -- it's unavoidable.
At cold, rainy games, your gloves will become soaked, and then your fingers get numb and swollen, and it gets really hard to play.
No matter how many pairs of socks you have on, your feet will always be cold.
No matter how cold your ears get, they never actually fall off.
No matter how heavy your arms get, they never actually fall off.
Your arms will get soooooooooo sore.
It's impossible to do lip slurs when your lips are frozen.
You can never tell what's going on in those mysterious abandoned buildings by the football field.
The field gets really slippery when it rains.
No matter how dirty your dinkles get, once you hose them off, they're good as new.
To anyone who's ever wondered if anybody actually watches the halftime shows, the answer is yes -- but it's only the band moms.
You never realize how cold snow actually is until you've been in marching band.
The snow that falls at football games is at least twice as cold as regular snow.
Rain is colder than snow.
Never ride the same bus as the auxilliary -- they'll always sing on the bus ride home, and they never get tired.
The instrumentalists make fun of the auxiliary members.
The auxiliary members make fun of the instrumentalists.
Everyone makes fun of the percussionists.
No matter how good you've gotten at playing and marching at the same time, you'll have completely lost the skill by the Memorial Day parade.
You never realize just how out of shape you are until you march in a parade.
No matter what the auxiliary members tell you, it is way more exhausting to march and play at the same time than it is to wave a flag and smile.
Repeat the following line: "I am never, ever going to do marching band again for as long as I live, there's no chance of it, I'm done with marching band, this is officially my last year, I won't be back next year"
You will see some really ugly band uniforms.
It's amazing how heavy your instrument gets when you have to hold it up for half an hour.
You get some very toned arms during marching band.
Rubber bands can be shot up the bell of a trumpet and just vanish.
Sometimes it's a better idea to just not shoot rubber bands up the bell of a trumpet.
Candy can be thrown into the bell of a sousaphone and just vanish.
This can be very entertaining.
After a little while, you completely cease to notice your teeth chattering.
Dinkles really don't provide the traction you'd expect from a marching shoe, but they suffice.
There are a billion places to store grass on a mellophone.
The sun purposely moves around just so that it can always be in your eyes.
No matter which direction you're marching on a football field, it will always be uphill.
At ease isn't really at ease at all.
Things to bring to every marching band performance:
Marching band really sucks sometimes.
But it can also be a lot of fun.
(and one from Harry S. Dinkle)
One extra t-shirt.
At least five rubber bands.
Deodorant.
Chapstick.
Water.
Pencil.
**Hand warmers**
**Candy**
