The Band Parent's Dictionary
(Useful Terms for Band Parents)
 
Adjudicator  -  Eagle-eyed, golden-eared, infinitely demanding persons who can spot unraised band member toes at a distance of 200 yards, at night, through fog while detecting one slightly out of tune clarinet during a brass fortissimo. Widely believed by band parents to take fiendish pleasure in giving out lower scores at marching and concert contests.
 
All-Southern, All-State Band  -  Elite regional bands made up of the top players from many schools selected by audition.
 
Altos  -  An upper middle pitched instrument between Soprano and Tenor as in Alto Sax, French Horn
 
Arranger  -  A person who scores music originally written for another genre by rewriting it for use by a marching band, as in "The band parents paid an arranger to arrange 'Nixon in China' as a marching contest piece."
 
Audition  -  Nerve racking solo performance before contest judges in attempt to qualify for an All-Something Band, to determine one's chair, placement, or to get a scholarship.
 
Auxiliaries  -  Non-instrumentalists who march and dance with the band carrying flags, props, etc. Always worth valuable extra points at marching contests, see Dance Team.
 
Band Director  -  Underpaid yet fanatically dedicated Commander-in-Chief of the band (whose wisdom and authority in the band hall can only be compared to that of a major deity.
 
Band Office  -  Small cramped sanctuary located in the Band Hall containing telephone and directors' desks, etc. The nerve-center of the whole operation.
 
Band Officers  -  Elected or appointed student leaders in the band. For specific information on job responsibilities, see the Leader Manual.
 
Band Review  -  A parade of bands – nothing else, just bands. Bands compete in divisions based on previous competitive success.
 
Battery  -  The marching percussion staged on the field, usually snare drums, tenor drums, bass drums and cymbals, same as Drum Line.
 
Beats  -  Wavering sound produced when two players try to play the same note in tune but don’t completely succeed. All students should own an electronic tuner to assist with tuning.
 
Bell Front  -  Instruments redesigned to face forward, used in marching band to direct more sound to the audience.
 
Bits  -  Easily lost short but incredibly important sections of curved brass tubing, used along with the gooseneck, to adjust the position of the mouthpiece on a Sousaphone.
 
Bus, Charter  -  Comfortable and roomy but expensive hired bus sometimes used for band overnight trips.
 
Cadence  -  Played by the percussion section – used to move the band from one place to another. Usually a flashy display of technical ability and hip grooves.
 
Chair  -  Ranking of band members in the same section according to ability as determined by audition.
 
Chaos  -  State of order in Band Hall, except when band members are actually in rehearsal (and sometimes even then). Put over 140 people in the same room and see what you get.
 
Chamber Groups  -  Small independent music ensembles designed to play chamber music.
 
Chaperones  -  Volunteers who travel with the band, acting as surrogate moms and dads.
 
Clinic  -  Oddly named rehearsal that focuses on one aspect of playing, a single instrument, etc. See Sectional.
 
Clinician/Coach  -  Outside expert paid big bucks (those big bucks are a miserable pittance from the clinician's point of view) by band parents to work with a section of the band.
 
Coffee  -  A liquid stimulant (active ingredient C8H10N4O2) frequently taken by Band Directors to achieve a high level of mental clarity after long hours of rehearsal.
 
Color Guard  -  The visual component of the marching band using flags, rifles and sabers to enhance the visual impact of the show. Also competitive independent of the band in the spring.
 
Concert Attire  -  Uniform or other formal attire worn by band members when giving a concert. Typically tuxedos and gowns
 
Concert Pitch  -  The actual note sounded by a transposing instrument (trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, horn, etc) as opposed to the note read by the player. A time-saver used in rehearsal to identify note names.
 
Conductor  -  Usually highly trained arm-waving personage who leads band during a performance or rehearsal. It may look easy, but it’s not.
 
Copyright  -  Right of ownership of a piece of music or a recorded performance, which means that band parents have to pay in order to use/copy the copyrighted material. Copyright normally lasts 75 years after the death of the composer, so you probably have to pay.
 
Covering Down  -  A technique used by band members to keep their lines straight (or at least sort of straight) when marching.
 
Double French Horn  -  Traditional French Horn with two air paths and two sets of valve tubing so that it can be switched between the keys of F to Bb offering alternate fingerings and increased range. Preferred by high school players.
 
Drill  -  Highly elaborate visual design performed by marching bands. Students receive drill charts that break down the drill into count phrases.The drill is usually composed using a computer program to assist the Drill Writer.
 
Drill Writer/Designer  -  The person who creates the field choreography as in "The band parents paid a drill designer to write drill for the fall show.”
 
Drum Majors  -  Student conductors who lead bands in parades – also conducting rehearsals and at home football games
 
Eligibility  -  The condition of being able under the rules of academic eligibility to participate in a band activity.
 
Fair Share/Band Commitment  -  Contributions that help sustain the band program. Without outside support, the band would not exist in the present form.
 
Field Band  -  The marching band used to perform at home football games and field band competitions. Usually larger than the Parade Band.
 
Flute, Closed-hole  -  A flute designed with all of the keypads completely covered so that when closed, even if the flautist’s fingers are slightly misplaced, the pad will seal. Popular with younger students for that reason.
 
Flute, Open Hole  -  A flute designed with some of the keypads open in the middle. Open holes must be covered using the fingertip. Popular with mature students as a status symbol.
 
Football Games  -  Events scheduled to provide opportunities for marching contest show dress rehearsals before competitions. A game using an odd-shaped ball is also played.
 
Front Ensemble  -  Often referred to as “the pit” as in the orchestra pit in a theater. Instruments located in the Front Ensemble would be all keyboard instruments, large concert percussion and timpani.
 
General Effect/Showmanship  -  A category judged with reference to the general impressions of the performance.
 
Gig  -  Musicians' term for any paid playing job. Playing jazz at Steamer’s would be a gig – so would an appearance before the President. Band members can sometimes pick up $50+ playing gigs for church services, weddings, etc.
 
Gig Bag  -  Padded cloth bag for carrying brass instruments, music and equipment. Very fashionable.
 
Harness  -  Elaborate device used to carry percussion instruments while marching, distributing the weight of the instrument over a larger part of the body. Harnesses can and should be adjusted to fit the size of the student.
 
Hat Boxes  -  Carrying cases for uniform hats which are often left behind in uniform room at start of band trip or on band buses at end of band trip.
 
Half-time  -  The only interesting part of a football game.
 
Invitational  -  Snobby band contest only open to bands invited to participate by the sponsoring organization.
 
Ladder, The  -  Tall metal tower that the Band Director stands on to both conduct and to deliver inspirational speeches.
 
Long Ranger  -  A wireless public address system used to communicate to students during outdoor rehearsals.
 
March  -  Short piece of music in double time intended to be played while marching in a parade.
 
Marching Season  -  August through November, the band’s busiest time of year.
 
Mouthpiece Puller  -  Screw or lever action device used to safely pull stuck mouthpieces out of brass instruments.
 
Mutes  -  Device inserted into the bells of brass instruments that alters the sound. All brass players should own a variety of mutes.
 
Parades  -  Festive street processionals usually held as part of a holiday or civic celebration, i.e., Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Groundhog Day, etc.
 
Parade Band  -  A marching block featuring a complete instrumentation used to entertain on the street at parades and band reviews. See Band Review.
 
Petroleum Jelly  -  Inexpensive yet effective lubricant for brass tuning slides.
 
Piston Valve  -  Direct action cylindrical valve developed in France and widely used on brass instruments.
 
Pitch  -  The vibration frequency of a note usually expressed in Hertz (cycles per second), see Concert Pitch.
 
Pizza  -  All-purpose band member food.
 
Plumes  -  Fragile feather-like adornments worn (in fine weather) on uniform hats.
 
Practice  -  Repetitive preparation of music from the root word meaning “to rake.” Students should practice a minimum of forty-five minutes a day five days a week.
 
Press Box  -  A small building that sits on top of stadium bleachers located on the home-team side of the field. The place where marching contest judges sit when judging.
 
Proficiency  -  Mastery level of music or instrument. “The student demonstrated a high level of proficiency when playing this part.”
 
Rain  -  Inclement weather that interferes with marching practice.
 
Reeds  -  Easily damaged devices made from cane that when blown across create the vibration that makes a woodwind instrument sound. Players should always have boxes of reeds on hand.
 
Rehearsal  -  Organized group practice, not to be confused with home practice on the instrument. “When asked on his 95th birthday what he still looked forward to, conductor Leopold replied – the next rehearsal!!”
 
Sectional  -  Intensive rehearsal for single sections of the band usually held after school and sometimes conducted by a clinician.
 
Rifles  -  Wooden props used by the Color Guard – faux rifles.
 
Rotary Valve  -  A disc type valve operated by a lever system today mostly used on brass instruments of central and eastern European manufacture and almost universally used on French Horns.
 
Sabres  -  Faux swords used by the Color Guard.
 
Section  -  A grouping of like instruments within the larger ensemble. These groups compete for Section of the Week.
 
Semi, The  -  The large semi-truck that hauls all of the band’s equipment to and from away events.
 
Shako  -  A tall cylindrical hat with visor adorned with a plume, used as part of a band uniform.
 
Slide  -  U-shaped section of brass tubing which fits inside two slightly larger diameter tubes which can be pushed in or pulled out to shorten or lengthen the air path of an instrument. Extreme example is the slide on a slide trombone.
 
Soloists  -  Band members who play a featured part by themselves in a performance, half of the band wishes that they were a soloist, the other half of the band are glad that they are not soloists. All trumpet players wish they were soloists.
 
Sopranos  -  Higher pitched instruments sounding above the Alto line. The top of the pyramid of sound.
 
Sousaphone  -  Marching tuba that wraps around player's body and is made visually conspicuous by a large flaring bell, an idea attributed to Golden Age bandmaster and march composer John Philip Sousa.
 
Staff  -  The instruction staff other than the Band Director. Typically walk-on type district employees.
 
Step Size Mats  -  Rubber mats with small dowels taped to them in measured lengths. Used for marching practice.
 
Tenors  -  A lower middle pitched instrument between Alto and Bass as in Tenor Sax, Trombone, Baritone, etc.
 
'The Music Man'  -  Meredith Wilson's 1957 landmark musical play (and parable for our time) in which the residents of a typical American city save their young people from the temptations of a pool hall by forming a band. A shining jewel of American musical theater and a must see for all band parents.
 
Time, In  -  One of the four components of the multidimensional model of space-time in the physics of relativity. It is used to define the temporal relationships among notes in music.
 
Tone, In  -  A musical note or sound. Also the quality of a played musical note as in, good tone, bad tone, full or focused tone, etc.
 
Touch, In  -  Representative of effective playing technique.
 
Trigger  -  Lever on brass instrument (usually trumpets/cornets and trombones) used either to move a slide quickly in or out to correct intonation, or to extend the length of the instrument.
 
Tune, In  -  An optimistic attempt to adjust instruments to the same concert pitch, 2) the state of being in the correct pitch, as, "The clarinets are in tune.", 3) the lead part or melody or theme in a piece of music.
 
Valve  -  Thing-a-ma-bob on brass instruments pushed with the fingers to help change pitch, see Piston Valve and Rotary Valve. In standard design the 1st valve lowers pitch one whole tone, the 2nd valve lowers pitch one-half tone, the 3rd valve lowers pitch one and one-half tones.
 
Valve Oil  -  A lubricant for valves to keep them working smoothly and effortlessly.
 
Warm-up  -  Studied playing on instruments before a performance to ready lip muscles and (literally) warm the horns.
 
Water  -  Common but heavy liquid lugged by band parents and used to refresh band members after performance of marching show.
 
Website, Band  -  Fascinating web page featuring updated information about your band program.
 
Yard Lines  -  Vertical lines on a football field at a five-yard interval.  Used by Drill Writers as a grid to orient performers to spatial relationships.
 
 
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