Marching Band as Tough as Sports, According to Reuters

[Matt G]

No.

[tubaguy9]

I guess after my experiences in band and corps, some ways I agree, some ways I don't...
I mean, I guess that as far as being sore, fatigue, and injuries...I saw people injured in my corps, not to the point that marching bands have, because of them being out of shape, but still happening...I was sore a lot during corps...and fatigue would set in after a while...
I guess that if it comes to corps, then the more I agree with it, but the lower the level of the marching, the less this seems to apply...
but then again, the lower the level of sports, it's the same way

[Tubaryan12]

The 9 inch scar on my knee from surgery and I agree.

And come on, comparing 15 minutes on a field for halftime and maybe 10 minutes for pregame for the duration of a football game (3-4+ at my college), is nothing compared to the actual sport going on - people getting hit, running, sprinting, all that stuff compared to soccer, baseball, football, hell even track, its just not even in the same league as sports.

But you must also look at the numbers. On a football team, only limited number of players actually play. If the team suits 80 players, less than half of them actually get any playing time. All 80 persons in the band get to perform on the field. Back up quarterbacks only get to hold the clipboard.

[Arkietuba]

I actually played football/baseball in high school and have done marching band for the past 8 years. I can say that I have never been more tired than I have from marching band. Yes, there were a few football practices/games that were horrible but those were few and far between...

Also, it depends on how intense your director is. The first 2 years of college we were a Division II athletic program and our director took it fairly easy on us but we still were one of the best bands in the state/region in Division II. We moved up to Division I-AA (or Div. I FBS as it is now known) and we hired a new athletic band director. He was from the Big XII and he made us work very hard but with great results. We keep our horns on the entire 2-3 hour rehearsal and we keep our horns on the entire football game which if include pre-game, first-half, half-time, second-half and 5th-Quarter show...that's about 5 hours or so. We don't get 3rd quarter off or anything. In football you only do physical activity for 10-15 seconds at a time and you get plenty of breaks. They are different but I feel that I am more tired and sore after a game when I was marching. I come home from every game with bruises on my shoulder too. If you aren't sore, you've either got to be the most in shape person ever or you aren't working hard enough...We had 5-6 clarinet players get involved in a collision on the practice field and a couple of them ended up breaking their arms...lol We have people get heat exhaustion all the time. I'm not sure what it's like where Kiltie Tuba is, but it's hot as hell down here and you can easily get injured/pass out from heat exhaustion or something else. This past year I almost stopped breathing from it. I literally couldn't breathe for about a minute. Maybe we're more intense than most schools...I don't know for sure but we always get compliments from other school's fans when we show up to play and we never quit playing. We play literally every down of the game. I have never met a football player that played every down of a game.

[THE TUBA]

It is tough to generalize "marching band" because there are so many variations across the country. On the lowest levels, some marching bands are not physically taxing at all. On the other hand, today's top competitive marching ensembles are extremely physically strenuous. (This is a segment from DCI's 2005 Finals production for ESPN2)

[iiipopes]

When I was in high school, occasionally a couple members of the football team would tease us about band not being physical. They were put in their place by the football players who played in concert band and functioned as "managers" to help set up the practice field, equipment, etc., during field rehearsals during football marching season.

I'd like to see one of them carry 25-35 lbs for 2 miles straight for a street parade, and in step, and in tune and tone. I was in such good shape that when we did school physical fitness evaluations, because I carried a souzy, I could leg press more than most of the football players, had greater lung capacity, and the one year I was in track I could outrun most of them over distance.

[MartyNeilan]

And come on, comparing 15 minutes on a field for halftime and maybe 10 minutes for pregame for the duration of a football game (3-4+ at my college), is nothing compared to the actual sport going on - people getting hit, running, sprinting, all that stuff compared to soccer, baseball, football, hell even track, its just not even in the same league as sports.

True,

But what about multiple hour practices several (or virtually every) day of the week (all day during the summer) with 35 pounds of brass on one shoulder, and no shade in sight?

It is the practices, not the performances.

Marching tuba / sousaphone is not for the weak...

[Arkietuba]

Also, it depends on how intense your director is. The first 2 years of college we were a Division II athletic program and our director took it fairly easy on us but we still were one of the best bands in the state/region in Division II.

Maybe we're more intense than most schools...

I'd have to agree with most of your post, but...


G"refusing to grow up"C

HAHAHA! I will not make a comment about said "other" university...they are good at what they do and are a fantastic Div. II band...we however do not compete anymore since we're Div I FCS now.

I'm not saying we're the most intense program out there but we definitely are the most intense in the Southland Conference and have been told by the other team's fans that too. We literally stand up with our instruments and play the entire game...we also cheer the entire game. We play a song every down of the game unless there's another band and we let them play some. There was a huge message board debate on another team's board about how much better they liked our band when we went down to their school. We don't kid around. Our practices are just as intense (to an extent). We play all the time and march with instruments all the time...on asphault...in Arkansas. They measured the temp on the practice field (parking lot) one day and it was 160 degrees 1 foot off the ground and 140 degrees 6 feet off the ground...lol Thanks to that wonderful sun and Gulf humidity! We have some great bands in our conference but most are modeled after Div. II bands or really good high schools and there's nothing wrong with that...they do that well. We're modeled after what our director is used to, which is Big XII bands but we add our own little twist to it (i.e. we play more popular music and we have more fun in the stands and on the field).

[Matt G]

True,

But what about multiple hour practices several (or virtually every) day of the week (all day during the summer) with 35 pounds of brass on one shoulder, and no shade in sight?

It is the practices, not the performances.

Marching tuba / sousaphone is not for the weak...

Football: Two-a-days

I participated in wrestling in high school. Much harder than any band stuff I had done. Of course wrestling was generally harder than football anyway. We were told that it took as much effort to complete a 6 minute wrestling match as it did a 60 minute football game. I'd believe that.

In regards to DCI used as a benchmark: You now need to compare to the absolute top in sports. The comparisons are probably fairly similar. However, most corps aren't going to have you in the weight room bench pressing your weight 25+ times, and squatting double. You won't need to run a 5.0 40yd as an offensive lineman. In other words, DCI takes all those who come (to a degree, similar to the armed forces), where sports becomes more and more elite. This "eliteness" also leads to some troubles in drawing accurate comparisons.

I have gotten to NFL level numbers in the weight room, and gotten to NCAA numbers in terms of offensive lineman speed.* This is physically more taxing than playing in an NCAA marching band in every regard.

DCI is a very strenuous activity. Marching band members expend about as many calories as a football player during the same game. However, when using the word "tough", marching band is not as physically demanding in terms of physical capabilities and risk of overall injury as most professional sports.

*I still spend two hours a day in the gym doing cardio and weight training to maintain something close.

[Biggs]

Did anyone else catch Jim Rome's rant about this very study? It occurred during the "Final Burn" - the last c. 2 minutes of the show that is a essentially an angry monologue about a topic outside of typical sports coverage. If I find the video online I'll post it.

For the record, Rome disagreed vehemently with the findings. I too would disagree, but with less vehemence.

[LoyalTubist]

To be honest, I'm not really buying it. You know, Wade and I are veterans of the U.S. Army band program and, if this were true, that marching band is as strenuous as sports, they wouldn't have us run two miles after playing for a Christmas parade on the coldest day of the year.

[TUBAD83]

Well lets see: For a really good band, marching season starts 2 weeks before school (some bands start earlier--in the "bad old days", it would start several weeks before school), 8-10 hour days(morning/afternoon sessions) 5 days a week, in blazing summer heat. If the school has a decent football team (which is usually the case), the band is going to be doing 12 or more halftime shows--throw in 2-3 marching contests (which usually means doing early morning practices as well as practicing after school until sundown the week of contest), a couple of parades (minimum), maybe a "band day" or 2. When I was in HS, the football team and coaches respected the band alot--they allowed us to use their field for morning rehearsals (our practice field was next door to a hi-rise condo--the residents didn't quite appreciate be awakened at 7am by our contest opener). Being the best means putting the WORK...LOTS OF IT.

JJ