Band Camp – Marching Band Camps
Every year band camp brings marching musicians together for a week or two of hard work in hot weather to hone skills and steps.
To prepare for performing at the start of football season, which usually occurs the first weekend of the school year, music directors arrange for their marching band members to participate in a pre-season band camp.
This provides an opportunity for both new and experienced band members to rehearse marching routines in the field, as well as learn new music for half-time performances.
A typical band camp program will take place at the school the band members attend. Depending on the size of the marching band, the music department may bring in a traveling band camp staff, which sets up at the school, work with the band for a week or two, then packs up and moves on to another school.
Smaller programs may be run on-site directly by the school's music director, and in some cases, schools may assist in sending the band members to a regional band camp where they both practice and compete with other bands.
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Band camp is notorious for a rugged practice schedule, usually packing in a full eight-hour day of instruction, often in July or August, and certainly before the football team starts its practice sessions. Dedication, concentration, synchronization and a whole lot of sweat go into creating a marching band that will look as if it practiced all summer long.
A typical day at band camp might start off with a full group warm-up, with marching techniques to follow. Often different sections will split up (winds, percussion, brass) to practice music and performance skills, followed by rehearsal of new routines. As the days progress, the camp staff may decide to spend more time on synchronized marching over music skills, or vice versa, depending on how the practices are shaping up.
Marching band and music department heads need to evaluate their program each year and determine:
- What type of camp is needed
- How many instructors should be on hand
- How many days the camp is to run
- What additional groups need to practice with the band (flag squad? Drum major?)
Once these questions are answered, a decision can be made as to how band camp will operate that summer – will it in the school's hometown? Or will the best practice method entail traveling to a regional camp. If there are several schools in a district that support marching bands, it may be financially beneficial and to arrange a multi-school hosted band camp, and share a traveling staff of instructors.
For building camaraderie, instilling school spirit, developing musicianship and working in concert, nothing beats band camp!
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