Band marches to its own tune

By Trinity Humphrey

General Reporter

To many freshmen, marching band is more than just playing an instrument; it’s a place to make new friends, try new things, and feel what it’s like to be part of something.

This year, the Warriors' marching band has gained approximately 20 new freshman recruits from the Crete-Monee Middle School over the summer. They also have a summer camp that is two sessions long, so students can practice before the school year. Marching band is a requirement to join concert band or other bands, but despite being a requirement, it's a fun space where students can be themselves.

According to Audrey Barclay, the marching band is “Fun because I have friends there and we're learning a lot and it's interesting.”

Marching Band is also a place where freshmen can get familiar with their surroundings at CMHS. They can also make friends with upperclassmen, which is statistically important for freshmen. According to the Faculty/Student Mentor Program, students who develop mentoring relationships with upperclassmen have been shown to earn higher GPAs (2.45 vs. 2.29) and have significantly lower dropout rates (14.5% vs. 26.3%)

“Majority of the time, it's just like us hanging out with upperclassmen and helping; they're just helping us march; they're helping us with the music, they're helping us with other music that we really don't get to practice. But it's really fun because most of the time you're just hanging out with your friends,” Seth Butler said.

The marching band is also competitive. They recently placed fourth place in the Red and Black Fall Classic and have another coming up in April.

Colyer Bland would describe this as his favorite memory from marching band so far. “I would probably have to say [my favorite moment was] the last competition, when we went to the qualifier, we had placed fourth.“

Marching bands are a significant part of college culture. Even as a freshman, it is important to think about college, and many schools offer scholarships for marching band students.

“Yeah, I would, because there's a lot of scholarships for band. So I think, yeah,” Colyer Bland said.

Upcoming freshmen should think about whether they want to join the marching band or not. If students have a passion for music, joining the marching band could be great for them. Students could improve their technical ability, and they could learn musical interpretation. Freshmen who signed up this year are already recommending the experience with certainty.

When discussing marching band, Colyer Bland reflects on what he believes is the best part of a band, which is seeing all their hard work pay off during performances.

“Probably being with my friends [is my favorite]. It’s a part like we’re finally here,” Bland said.