How To Prepare For Marching Band
- Apr 6, 2020
- 10 min read
There are a lot of things that go into preparing for summer band, so here are a few of our favorite tips and tricks when it comes to conditioning your body for band camp!
Fitness
Everyone can participate in marching band, regardless of how active you are. But, it is important to try and prepare in advance so your experience will be that much better!
One of the most effective ways of preparing for the rigor that comes with the marching season is becoming more physically active beforehand; whether its following workout routines on Youtube, stretching in front of the TV, or going on daily walks with your dog, building up stamina and preparing your muscles for the hours of marching that will come in the future is very important.
Although it may seem a bit intimidating at first, getting started when it comes to exercising is actually a lot easier than it seems! Below are some quick workout routines that you can fit into your daily schedule if you are looking for something short and effective. Feel free to do your own research as well to find methods of exercise that you personally enjoy and that will challenge your abilities!
One of the main things that you will want to focus on when working out over the summer is cardio and building stamina; marching band takes up a lot of your air supply since you will most likely be playing and marching for around 12 minutes! So, routinely doing cardio will really help!
Try to start small; run and walk in intervals or do some high-intensity-interval-training(HIIT) if you don’t like running. Both are beneficial and will help you build stamina! You can find workouts anywhere on instagram and youtube!
Some other methods of increasing stamina include swimming laps, or even dancing and following a zumba routine! In fact, at The Hebron Band, we do our very own zumba routine everyday of summer band; this helps condition the band members and also prepare them for marching a show in the future. Dancing with your peers is a very fun experience, but just in case you would like to see what that might look like, we have recreated videos of our zumba dances (click here)! During the summer, we will typically do four songs a day, with the third always being the arm circle routine! Try it out if you would like to, and if so, start small; you don’t have to do all of the songs at once! You can work your way up to doing four; you have all summer to get stronger and improve (so there is no rush)!
The biggest adjustment that almost all instruments face when going into marching band is that players will not be seated, and the instruments will be held up in some form or fashion. French horn players and euphonium players learn to march instruments that are held like trumpets, while tuba players learn to carry their instruments on their shoulders. With this in mind, it’s very important to start building arm strength and endurance.
So… what arm workouts should I be doing at home? The first thing that often comes to mind is push-ups. True, you will be doing your fair share of push-ups throughout the marching season and may want to become better at them over the summer, but they are not the most effective exercise when it comes to conditioning your arms for marching band. In fact, there is plenty of science behind why push-ups are not the most effective form of exercise when conditioning one’s body for marching band (for more information, click here). So, although you may want to include push-ups into your workout routine, do not solely rely on them to strengthen your arms enough to be prepared for the marching season.
Then what arm workouts should I focus on?
Down below are some of our favorite exercises to help you start your arm workout process!
Arm Workouts:
Group any four of these exercises together and repeat the set 3x:
Bicep curls x8
Front and lateral deltoid raises x8
Push ups x8
Chest press x8
Tricep dips x8
Overhead press x8
Bent over rows x8
Add weight to increase resistance and build strength! Use whatever you have around your house: soup cans, weights, a milk jug, anything!
Fitness Influencers on Instagram have some really great at-home workouts. Check out these accounts!
@madfit.ig
@whitneyysimmons
@mrandmrsmuscle
@gymshark
Another great way to build up endurance when it comes to horn holding is by… holding your horn! Although it may sound easy, it is important to practice being in the “horns up” position for a long time. One way to do this is to hold your horn up correctly (with the proper posture and all) for a certain period of time. Try holding your horn to your favorite song or your favorite marching show. Doing this routinely while continually increasing the time period that the horn will be held will help you to build up strength that you will need in the future.
It is important to keep in mind that although your arms may be the part of your body enduring the most pain when first introduced to marching, your legs, back, and core play an equally as important role. Thus, it is equally as important to strengthen these parts of your body over the summer! If you are interested in what specific workouts will target the muscles that you will be using to march, click here. Here are some of our personal favorite core, back, and leg workouts:
Core Workouts:
200 Abs - my personal trainer makes me do this after every session we have, it’s fast, easy, and a great way to build core strength! Do 25 reps of each exercise, and do 8 exercises for a total of 200 reps!
Russian twists
Crunches
Sit-ups
Mountain climbers
In and outs
Plank (30 seconds counts as 25 reps)
Jack knives
Any other ab exercise you like!
Leg Workouts:
Group any four of these exercises together and repeat the set 3x:
Squats x8
Reverse lunges x8 on each side
Curtsy lunges x8 on each side
Hip bridges x8
Side lunges x8 on each side
Single leg deadlifts x8 on each side
Add weight to increase resistance and build strength! Use whatever you have around your house: soup cans, weights, a milk jug, anything!
Diet
The phrase “going on a diet” may be a bit intimidating, however, marching band truly doesn’t require a super strict diet; although there are certain foods you should cut out leading up to/during the marching season, doing so is definitely doable and will leave you feeling healthy and motivated to work!
Some foods that we recommend only eating occasionally as the season approaches include overly sugary foods, fried foods, foods heavy in dairy, or fast food. Of course, if you're at a celebration or hanging with friends, it is perfectly fine to drink a soda and enjoy some food with your peers. However, we advise that you minimize your consumption of these foods on the day-to-day basis.
When band camp finally arrives, eating breakfast is SUPER important; It’ll set up how much energy you have for the rest of the day! If you are not a big fan of eating breakfast, we’d recommend conditioning your body to consume that morning meal as band camp approaches so that by the time it finally arrives, you are accustomed to it. When deciding what foods to eat for breakfast, it is important to find something that will give you plenty of energy without weighing you down the entire morning. Like stated above, try to avoid any sugary foods and any foods that contain a lot of dairy (like yogurt, for instance)! Avoiding foods like these will prevent you from throwing up under the hot sun and help provide you with the energy you’ll need to last an entire day of rehearsal.
Above all, try to eat clean! It’ll improve your physical health, make you feel more energetic, and thus, make you feel better overall!
Here are some Go-to breakfast ideas:
Eggs and Whole Grain Toast
Healthy balance of complex carbs, proteins, and fats to give you energy and keep you full until lunchtime; add some bacon for extra protein if you’d like!
Oatmeal
Healthy carbs will give you lots of energy for the day; add some berries for flavor or nut butter for protein!
The final, and likely the most important, thing that must be discussed when it comes to dieting is hydration! A common phrase that band kids often say throughout the marching season is “hydrate or die!” Although it may seem a bit of an exaggeration, it truly is SUPER important that you are regularly drinking water throughout the summer. We recommend purchasing a water jug if you are able to; although the band program will provide you with one during the season, having an extra one will help when daily rehearsals begin; that way, you will have two water jugs to rotate between throughout the week. Whether you use a water jug or an ordinary water bottle over the summer, it is important to chug water everyday throughout the summer to ensure that you will be hydrated and ready to go when summer band rolls around.
Sun Exposure and Hygiene
It would be extremely beneficial for you to purchase a hat and some sunglasses! We spend more and more time outside as the season goes on, so having these items will help protect your skin and keep you cool! Having an extra pair of sunglasses or an extra hat stored in your locker may also come in handy in the case that you or a friend forgets to bring one!
Sunscreen is SO important; burning your skin will not only be painful, but it may even lead to severe skin cancer in the future. It is very important to have your own source of face and body sunscreen everyday; although there is usually sunscreen available at the beginning of the year, it typically runs out pretty quickly. So make sure to bring face and body sunscreen to apply throughout the day, and feel free to bring it outside with you so that during water breaks, you can reapply if you feel yourself burning.
Hygiene is another very important thing to keep in mind when it comes to preparing for the summer. For one, make sure to find a good deodorant brand that works for you; being outside in the sun while marching will pretty much guarantee that you will sweat. Thus, finding a deodorant brand that works well for you and that does not irritate your body is very important. We’d recommend that you bring it to camp with you so that you can reapply whenever you need to do so.
Although not necessary, we’d also recommend that you bring either a small towel, or face wipes to use after the hot marching blocks outside; getting to wipe your sweat off in a way that doesn’t involve getting the clothes you have on super dirty will not only keep you smelling nice, it will also feel very refreshing! This is definitely not required, but I have found this tip very useful, especially on the super hot days of summer band!
Music (pass off preparation):
Practicing your music before band camp starts is really important; the more work you put in during the summer before marching band, the easier your time will be! Try to develop a daily routine consisting of warm ups, fundamentals, and music. You will be expected to memorize both the show, and a couple specific tunes. Although doing so may seem intimidating at first, it is definitely possible if you are determined to do so!
First off, we’d recommend learning your music slowly and correctly; learning to play with proper phrasing and dynamic contrast from the very beginning will instill good habits in your playing, and will ultimately make the memorization process a lot easier (since you won’t find it nearly as unnatural to add dynamics and certain articulations that are written in the music).
Once you’ve got this part of it down and you are consistently hitting the correct notes, speed up the tempo in intervals of 2-3; although you could do larger intervals if you feel comfortable with the music, we find that doing smaller increments of increasing tempo will not only lead to better results in the ability of an individual to play the music well, but it will also force the musician to repeatedly play the segments of music which may also help the musician to memorize the music faster!
Once the music is at the desired tempo and includes correct notes, proper articulation, and the written style, the musician can finally focus more on the memorization side of things.
Here are some memorization tips that we have found useful throughout the years:
Memorize your music in small segments; trying to memorize the whole thing at once is not nearly as efficient and may lead to a lot of frustration. Instead, split your music up into chunks!
You don’t have to play your music to memorize it! Although playing your music is crucial to create good habits when it comes to learning the correct partial to play for each note, fingering your music is another great way to memorize your music! Whether you're on a plane, in the car, or your lips are in need of a little break, fingering your music is a great alternative that is very effective when it comes to memorizing music!
Be aware of the rests in your music! When you pass off your music, you must play it with the rests, meaning that you must know how long you rest for and what the time signature is during that resting period; sometimes, the time signature will change in the middle of the show. So, as you memorize your music, make sure that you are paying attention to the rests as well.
Look for patterns in your music; whether it's a repeating theme, an arpeggio, or a pattern that you find with your fingerings, identifying these patterns will make the memorization process much easier.
Lastly, do not be afraid to ask your upperclassmen/private lesson teachers for help if you are struggling with something; they are there to help you and may have additional tips when it comes to memorizing music!
Going to sectionals each week will also be super helpful; not only do you get to hangout and meet people in your section, but you also get to practice both music and marching with experienced upperclassmen! Your leaders may also be able to give you some individual time to work on things that you are struggling with; they may give you some specific constructive criticism, or additional tips that they found helpful when learning to march!
Above all, have fun with this learning process! Make the most of this opportunity by learning new things with your friends and other members of your section! If you take these steps to prepare for band camp, your experience will be 100% more enjoyable, so keep working hard at home, and I can’t wait to see you all at band camp!!
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