Soft notes, harsh booms and deeply melodious sounds blend together when the marching band plays. Like the contrasting sounds that their instruments make, each section in the band has its own way of interacting.
Classified as woodwind, percussion or brass, the musicians in each section are organized in a way that is cultivated to match the needs of their instrument. Woodwinds are seated in the first three rows of the ensemble, followed by brass instruments and percussion instruments which are placed in the back. The placement of each student based on their instrument also influences who they build relationships with throughout their time in the band.
“You’ll get to know [the people you sit with] better and get more used to them. The people [who sit] way farther in the section [you] won’t get to know much details [about] or talk [to] too much,” quartermaster trumpeter senior Rylan Yip said.
Because of the time that they spend together, each section has developed its own culture, unique to the students who are a part of it. Many of the leaders of the woodwind section are extroverted. Their personalities encourage the underclassmen in the section to take on the same outgoing demeanors that their leaders have.
“It’s the leaders who show confidence and people who look up to those leaders who want to be like them [that] represent our program. It creates a sense of responsibility, where even you, as just a band member, can also contribute to that,” flutist freshman Giada Rose Hechanova said. “If we imitate our leaders with their confidence, we can create fun moments together.”
Being a smaller group, the students in the percussion section are more isolated from the rest of the band. Many of them are also more introverted than those in the woodwind section. Despite being introverted, their relationships with each other are just as strong as the relationships between the other sections. Their closeness is also reflected through their bonding outside of band when they host gatherings like Thanksgiving and Christmas potlucks.
“Since the group is pretty small, even though we’re introverted, it’s easier for us to socialize with each other,” marimba player sophomore Bethany Yu said. “It makes us feel more united, and it doesn’t just feel like a practice that I’m going to. It feels like I’m going to see my friends.”
The brass section is a combination of the introverted and extroverted personalities of the woodwind and percussion sections.
“[The personalities of the brass players] are a mix. I know some people that are very loud and expressive and some that aren’t as expressive as others,” trumpeter freshman Akiles Barajas-Flores said.
Even though the woodwind, percussion and brass sections have distinctive cultures, they all work together so that the band is one unit. At each practice they hold and game that they perform at, it’s required that musicians in each section communicate with each other.
“[All the instruments] are in accompaniment and they help each other out,” Hechanova said. “[For example] if you are in woodwinds you can also hear a counter medley [from across the band] that can help you out with your own part.”
