This will be a very short article considering there is not much to say about these parades that we go through. The basic concepts of parades are…keep in line, play a few times for crowd, let the drum line do their rhythmic beatings, and stop when the convoy ahead stops.
Ok, there is more to it then that. In fact, we take a lot of preparation for a parade....ok, which is false as well. The truth is that we really only have one or two parade rehearsals and barely practice the music. One or two practices may seem easy but they are probably the most tedious and boring part of marching band that I have experienced (other then playing at the homecoming halftime show at the football game). Whether it is the Christmas parade at Disney, winter park or homecoming, they are basically all the same. Stand at attention when stopping, keep the line together, keep your feet in step, and play when you hear the signal (or whistle in most cases).
The Process
The first process of marching in a parade is first to receive the music about two or three weeks ahead of time of the parade date. So the musicians in the band may practice and memorize the music for the upcoming parade. Then usually on the day or the day before a parade, we will have an outside rehearsal. This is the second process where we enter the realm of tedium. I will admit that any marching rehearsal is repetitive but when it comes to rehearsing for parades, not many people feel like doing it but it is exposure to our band; which is always good. The rehearsal will be held at the track around the football field and then the first thing we do is line up in our sections. When we line up, we place the upper classmen students on the outside and lower classmen in the middle. Why do we do this? Because the upper classmen are more experienced in parades and their feet will more then likely look better and also because they can probably keep the line from going haywire. Then after we sort out everyone, the drum major signals the drum line to tap off to begin the music we are playing. Then we march.
After we begin to march we are taken around and go into a continuous loop around the track. These rehearsals are usually held at night after school and because of that, there is really no traffic on the school’s street at the time. So then we might go off the track and into the road. Kind of funny then because I believe it’s illegal to do such activity but what are the cops going to do, arrest 120 band students? Anyway, after a couple of times it becomes easy and the freshman start to get the hang of marching in a straight line. We also play a couple of times and rehearse like we are performing at the actual parade. Mind you, we keep marching for about an hour straight…
My Tribulations
The hardest part about being apart of a parade is the time of the parade. With the exception of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parade at Disney, which we usually attend yearly, the most civil parades are held in the afternoon during the summer days. As most know, the afternoon in the summer is quite hell in Florida. Especially when there is not a cloud in the sky to block the sky. The sun sometimes is always in my face; sweat reaches my eyes and they begin to burn. The problem with that is that since we are performing, I can’t reach up suddenly and wipe the sweat out of my eyes. Its pure torture, especially when the parade is agonizingly long and it effects my playing since it would be bothering me the entire time. But after its over, we load the bus and drink some nice cold water. A refreshing end to a long, hot day.
The Parades
Our first parade at school is the Homecoming Parade. It is a very simple parade with a 15 to 20 minute route. The music is not all that exciting…considering it’s really a pep rally in motion. We play our school fight song and the drum line show off their cadences. People watch off from the side of the street…sometimes there isn’t anyone to show off too. Then we reach the school again, its over and then we go home to eat something or run through the show before the big game that day.
Our usual next parade is at the Magic Kingdom in Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Parade. Obviously, we play Christmas music while we march on the parade route that Disney events always run on…which is from frontier land to main street or vice versa. Also as I recall it’s when the marching uniforms come in handy because we usually go on cold nights and we wear Santa hats (they are quite dreadful when it is not cold). The time our parade is usually at 9-10pm. We go back stage of the theme park and see where all the warehouses and where the magic begins. We warm up and the director tells us to have fun but stay sharp. Then we go prepare to line up, the announcer says to welcome to the band (and other bands), and some applause and we march. The duration of the parade is quite small…about 10-15 minutes, sometimes more. Despite the late hour, we get two free Disney tickets! (I sell them; don’t use them).
There are not many other parades that we attend except maybe the Puerto Rican Day Parade. But I am not to sure my director will plan for us to attend it again since it was just horribly planned on the event’s managers parts. We also attended a Winter Park Parade on a not so cold day but not sure of that being planned again. As I say, parades are great exposure for the band so people can take notice of us and look us up. Yes, believe it or not, there are people who actually follow marching bands and are fans of it. But usually fans are more leaning towards DCI Corps (organizations the march and perform at competitions, impressive and disciplined corps) since they are grand performers.
That’s all I can really say about my parade experience…to sum it up it is just great exposure for the band but sometimes it’s too small to care about. If we don’t dedicate ourselves to any band-related activity that is vital for the band then we won’t gain much from it either.
