Okay, so today was my first day of marching band, and we practice from 6pm to 9pm every weekday and will do so untill the Rodeo parade on the 30th. It's a highschool band, but there are three 8th graders playing. Well, my question is, how long does it ussually take for the pain to stop? We only played for two hours today and didn't even march, and my shoulder hurts and is red and swollen. I didn't use any pads, but hopefully I'll get used to it....

my other question is jow much do marching bands usually practice? Because three hours a day seems pretty extreme.

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Also, the instrument I was playing has a loose section in the lead pipe, and it's loose. It fell out in the middle of a piece and at first I thought I'd broken it;)

How do I tighten it up so it doesn't fall out repeatedly? Same with the mouthpiece- the removable bit of pipe has a bend in it that doesn't let the mouthpiece in all the way. My band director said something about peanut butter.....

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AARg. ... REAMOVABLE section in the pipe which is loose.

Thank you very much. It turned out that I switched from the King I was playing to a Conn, because it had lots of other problems. It's much easier to play and march now, but it makes me sad because Conn sousas have really suckish tone, though that may be because they have a smaller bore/bell.

wow, three hours seems ridiculous. Unless your band is EXTREMELY competive, as in bugle corps and drumline competitive. Not trying to discourage you, but I would have quit when I first heard it. That is way the fu@k obnoxious for a high school band!

It's really fun! But then I'm a totally devoted band geek...
One reason practice is so long is that pep band is mandatory, and we use some of the same repoitoire(spelling?). Also, I think the length also had something to do with discouraging the nondevoted/those who don't bother practicing

Just wondering...are there any good workouts/physical exercises that would specially benefit sousaphone players? One of the sousaphone guys said that we should have our own special workouts to get in shape for sousaphoning. lol. Any my left shoulder hurts.

There should be special sousaphone workouts! Sure, it might not sell as well as "Yoga Balance Remedies", but I'm sure there'd be a few desperate buyers...

I'm right there with you- though you do get used to it pretty quickly. If anyone knows of anything, please speak up.

three hours a day isn't crazy...my marching band does it...but I practice for an hour before that to. The pain usually goes away after the first couple practices.

three hours a day isn't crazy...my marching band does it...but I practice for an hour before that to. The pain usually goes away after the first couple practices.

That seems WAY overdone, lol

marching band rox my sox

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