Talk:Marching band/Archive 1

Corps vs. Marching Bands
Some of the material in this article seems to be about drum corps instead of marching band.

Also, some of the material seems to be personal opinion of the author.

I am marking the article as disputed. I will attempt to fix/move the problematic information.

Dave 01:43, Aug 26, 2004 (UTC)

I think I fixed it
But my brain is fried. Feel free to edit - but drum corps/DCI stuff should go in the proper articles.

66.253.188.161 07:52, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)

old school
Actually, a lot of this stuff seems to be about non-modern marching band....

Bring on the corner turns. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.162.46.244 (talk) 03:37, 1 January 2005‎

Old School?
FYI, I did the last major re-write of this article. It was a disaster before.

If you feel there's more that should be here, then I encourage you to add. Because I marched in a very traditional H.S. band, and because my experience with bands at the college level was in the Big Ten (which generally has a very traditional approach), I don't know what is considered "cutting edge" in marching band.

Honestly, I've never heard of a "corner turn" - but it could just be a regionally-popular version of another term, like "roll" vs. "glide" step and "scramble" vs. "scatter" band. I've also not included specific marching maneuvers in this article, though that could probably go in a new section (or even a new article!).

My suggestions would be:
 * If you've had any marching band experiences that are different from what is described in this article, add the information in the appropriate sections. Just be careful that you present it objectively, as in "since 19xx, another popular method has been ...", or "alternately, some marching bands ...".  One of the big problems we've had with marching band and drum corps articles is that people tend to include their opinions on which style is "best" - which is not appropriate on Wikipedia.
 * If you want to explore specific marching band terms or individual marching maneuvers, start a new section. The more information we can give, the better (as long as it's well organized!)

Anyway, that's just my $0.02.

(Oh, and please include your username next time when you post here - you can do it by making the last line of your post four tilde '~' characters in a row.)

Dave 19:05, Jan 15, 2005 (UTC)

Minor Rewrite
The following:

"However, a band's ability or inability to do this successfully may result in the changing of the next year's uniforms, adding stripes to pantlegs which results in a mesmerizing shimmer as the band marches in step (especially in long lines) or removing stripes to make it less obvious the band is out of step."

Is already covered under "uniforms" and has been removed.

Dave 17:42, Feb 7, 2005 (UTC)

"Watching the conductor" and phasing
Because of the large difference between the speeds of light and sound, watching the conductor causes phasing, it doesn't prevent it. Most good bands listen back to the drumline. – flamuraiTM 19:31, Feb 7, 2005 (UTC)

That's not right, the band is supposed to watch the drum major, not listen to the battery. If they don't watch him, what's the point of haviong him conduct? The only people who are supposed to ignore the drum major are the pit, because if they used the drum major they would be ahead of the band, due to the fact that they're much closer to the stands than the rest of the band. Besides, the band can't use the battery as reference, they are probably even farther away than the drum major is, which would cause huge phasing issues. Wonder what "good" bands you've been watching. Marky1991 (talk) 03:42, 26 November 2007 (UTC)


 * If the battery is in the back, then paying attention to the battery works. Additionally, the percussive sound of the battery is often a much more accurate sound to work off of than other instruments. If the pit listens to the battery, the judges (who are in front) will hear the same thing they do. — BQZip01 —  talk 04:50, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

Question
"all the members can move together without deforming the picture – this is called floating" in the marching band I'm in, 'floating' refers to moving and deforming the picture. A 'push' is moving without deforming the picture. Is this just different, or does this need to be changed? Also, can the speed of sound vs. light really affect phasing?

In the bands that I am familiar with, the language you use is contrary, in some cases even the exact opposite of what's used in yours. It's just a difference from band to band, and area of the country (and countries). With regards to phasing, the light and sound variation does indeed cause it. Assuming that the entire band is in perfect synchronization with the drum major, they will all see the downbeat at the same time, and will all play the downbeat at the same time, but the speed of sound from their horns will vary by distance. Simply, the band sees the drum major at the same time (light is instantaneous) but the drum major hears from the band members at different times (sound is not instantaneous, simply somewhat slow).

In the future, please add comments at the bottom of the page, though. Mr Bound 23:10, May 12, 2005 (UTC)

Merge band camp to here?
Actually, I think all of the content there is already on this page. If nobody screams loudly in the next couple days I'll probably replace the band camp page with a redirect. Fsiler 09:13, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

band camp isn't just for marching bands though. i volunteer at an orchestra camp that runs in conjunction with a band camp, both of which teach beginners (think elementary school) basic skills. 66.41.59.162 01:40, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

Band camp should definetely not be merged into this article. Most band camps have little or nothing to do with marching band. Ultimate77 19 January 2007

Sudler Trophy
Should the Sudler Trophy stuff be split into a separate article? The main content seems to be the list of winning schools, which are all excellent bands, so it doesn't seem all that inappropriate to leave it here. Fsiler 09:19, 30 October 2005 (UTC)
 * I say that it should be left in the current article. It's more of a subheading of the "competition" part of the article. AStudent.
 * Should the links of receipent schools go to the page for that school or for that school's band's page, if one exists? MSU's link goes to the Spartan band page but PSU's link doesn't go to the Blue Band page, for example. PSUMark2006 17:08, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
 * I updated the list of Awardees to go to their band page (or the subsection in their school page in some cases) recently. It's more intuitive (in my opinion) as the award is for the band, not the entire institution.  The remaining question is if the visible portion of the list should contain the band's public name (eg, "University of Michigan Marching Band", "University of Illinois Marching Illini", "Penn State Blue Band", etc) or remain as it is with just the institution name.  Upholder 21:27, August 18, 2006 (UTC)
 * Also, the subsection at John Philip Sousa Foundation is identical to the one at Marching Band. Should the latter be elimiated and simply point to the foundation's entry?  Upholder 22:16, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Either merging or splitting would be appropriate. The article has been tagged as lengthy. Also, Sudler Trophy should redirect to the appropriate site, and not to Marching band Group29 19:08, 22 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Split to separate article. AU Tiger ʃ talk /work 20:28, 22 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Delete this section, since it duplicates the material on the Sousa Foundation article. Replace it with a short summary and link it to the other article. PhilosopherBruce 00:28, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Classification
It is incorrect that most states classify bands by the number of musicians. Many states now classify by the school population. And of the few states that do classify by number of musicians, there is no standardized format.

I couldn't say for the general trend, but at least at my high school, (which like most public high schools in the area falls into the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association for judging) we're classified by size of the band. Also, as long as I'm commenting, and again I can't speak for the community at large, but around the band room, we refer to pointing the bell as doing a body pitch.Tobias087 01:30, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

Rehersal Diagrams
I think it would be nice to include a rehersal diagram. Unfortunately, I don't have any from my marching days. I'll see if I can get on from my brother. Prome theus  -X303-  23:05, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

"In some states within the United States, such as Texas, there are actually laws that prohibit high school bands from practicing too much, in order to avoid injuring or overworking students. Texas has something called the 'Eight Hour Rule' which states that no marching band can spend more than 8 hours per week, including full band rehearsals, sectionals, and time before competitions, rehearsing. The things that do not count towards the 8 hours are competitions, parades, and football games." Wow - is this true?! I don't think you could get much done...our band only reherses about 14 hours a week and it is difficult to learn all the new drill in time. TCR

Yes it is true in Texas, however actual class time is not considered part of the 8 hours, so many block schedules have 2 classes of band spread out on alternating days.BQZip01 06:49, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Lead Picture
Hello, I think the article can benefit from a lead picture, so I added one. If another picture would be better, please suggest it or make the switch. Thanks! Johntex\talk 20:40, 28 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Yes, it seems reasonable to have an image at the top of the page. The one you picked is Ok. Force10 18:05, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

Instruments
Some band types talk about what instruments they use, and some don't. Should we have a section just on instruments used? Force10 18:09, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

Lists of Bands in the article
Let's not get carried away with listing every band that matches a certain category (in the March step and HBCU areas for example). One to three representative bands should be sufficient for the purposes of the article. Upholder 05:29, 8 September 2006 (UTC)
 * I've pruned the article a bit so that no list was longer than three bands and tried to choose examples from different conferences and traditions. Upholder 05:02, 18 October 2006 (UTC)

Class Question
I am aware that classes (A,AA,AAA,AAAA,) are correct, but isn't there a number/rule for (AAAAA,AAAAAA)? I may be wrong. Bfissa 18:41, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure if this is the proper place for this, but why is there so much about Texas high school bands under Local Competitions? I don't feel comfortable deleting someone's work, but it seems overly specific in an article titled "Marching band."


 * Agree. That really needs to go, but I'm not sure where. Hate to delete something like that, but I can't think of anywhere appropriate. Any ideas (or votes), anyone else? Kith 19:55, 23 September 2006 (UTC)


 * Agree - There are other subpages for various competitions, This should be a seperate page along those lines. I'll make that change now. -- Upholder 20:16, 24 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Turns out there was a page already existing for the University Interscholastic League. The text here didn't easily fit into that article (although that is the appropriate place, IMHO) so I put it on the talk page for that article so that it could be integrated by someone closer to the subject. - Upholder 20:33, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

Throwing metal stick?
How to you spell that throwing metal stick that Marching bands have where that person stands in front of everybody throwing it in the air???

You mean a baton?johnpseudo 17:01, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, i think s/he means Military Baton/Mace. . . They're not allways metal. Matter afact, most are fiberglass. I know peakocks marching world (sp?) sells a flexi metal Military Baton. He or she may also mean the baton soloist. --70.38.103.150 22:54, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Discussion of 'Firsts'
I added two citations to the claim that was added about the Marching Illini being the first to perform a halftime field show in 1907, but they are not first class references. I do know that the origin of that claim is in a relatively rare book published in the 1940-50s: "Hail to the Orange" that chronicles the history of University of Illinois bands -- I had borrowed it at one point but don't currently have easy access to a copy. More to the point, I don't know that such claims are appropriate for the overall Marching Band article. They may be more appropriate on individual band pages. Please discuss below. -- Upholder 22:40, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

A bit misleading. I know the Texas A&M band performed at football games in 1894, but they did nothing more than stand and play. They did march out onto the field, though. Either way, this needs to be substantiated, deleted, or moved to the article about the IlliniBQZip01 06:52, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Variations of Roll Steps
I feel that there should be a section devoted to the numerous variations upon the roll step, as there is one for the high step. With the majority of bands using roll steps, catering to the minority may not be acceptable. Aang-kai 04:15, 20 January 2007 (UTC)
 * If you can provide greater specificity regarding variations on the roll step, by all means add them. They may get trimmed at some point if the article gets gone through for citations, but better in than out, I say. Mr Bound 04:18, 20 January 2007 (UTC)
 * One type of roll step is which the leg is kept perfect straight, with no bend in the knee whatsoever (or at least what you would call a bend) such as the style used by the Boston Crusaders. Another style is the polar opposite, in which there is a greater extent of bend, such as the style usedby the Caveliers of Rosemont. The middle ground is the style of the Crossmen, in which noticable bend is present, however, not to the extent of the Caveliers. I am unsure of how to exactly describe such movements, but I know there is a difference Aang-kai 22:14, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

Biased Article
Referring to User Dave Fried, this article not only contains irrelevant information (e.g. reference to drum corps in the marching band section)and contains biaed opinion and info too.

Apart from this, the EMPHASIS is stongly on the marching band scene over in the United states, featuring American-style bands (e.g Uni & College bands) which are essentially "Percussion and Brass marching bands".

In addition, the types of bands was badly categorized in a way that they "overlap" (repetition) and enter an irrelevant region- e.g. mentioning of drum corps, modern comedy bands and carnival bands which are essentially, types that barely satisfy the criteria of a "marching band".

There is MINIMAL reference to the history and nature of the widely popular, comparatively old and authentic form- European-style marching bands ; to be exact only one vague reference to Pipe bands and another of UK-style Carnival bands as well as indirect hints in the Militrary bands section. The Scottish Pipe bands were, de facto, the oldest and earliest form of marching/military formation, and clearly deserves a larger coverage than this.

The influences and effects of the Marching band culture on the society should be explained with detail and evidence.

Apart from this, there should be Sections dedicated to the:


 * Marching formations, marching and stepping styles etc
 * Particular instrument-sections: Percussion- Snarl, Tenor, Bass...etc, Brass, Woodwinds, Pipes.
 * Summary of the diffeence between the traditional European Marching bands and their more liberal American derivatives.

WiKID Daryl (non user)


 * WiKID, please get an online name (VERY easy to do) so we can discuss your objections better. If you feel the article is

lacking, please add to it. That's what wikipedia is all about. BQZip01 14:40, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

Article Quality
This is potentially a good article, but it encompasses all enxembles of sound making things that move. There needs to be a MARCHING BAND and an ALTERNATIVE MARCHING BAND article. Sorry I can't work on it

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Bassoonist123 (talk • contribs) 09:04, 23 March 2007 (UTC).

Pic under "History"
BQZip01--I apologize if you interpreted my edit as boosterism. The section talked about marching bands maintaining military traditions so it made sense to me to include at least one example such as having the ROTC on campus conduct uniform inspections. Would you feel it reasonable to include a caption about the OSUMB being an example of a band with military roots and tradition? Or throw in Texas A&M or someone else with a strong military tradition like VT's Highty Tighties. Also, I don't think the article should list three common fight songs played by high schools without finding and citing something like the three MOST commonly played fight songs. The way it is now seems pretty subjective--I can think of other very common fight songs, like On Wisconsin!, that are played as much or more than Anchors Aweigh. Gbms86 17:40, 18 April 2007 (UTC)


 * The placement of the text was the problem. It shows the band marching into a stadium, not doing inspections. If you wish to add that text, that is fine, but please add it under the proper heading, not the picture's caption.
 * Would you feel it reasonable to include a caption about the OSUMB being an example of a band with military roots and tradition?
 * No. IMHO "military roots and tradition" are inherent in almost every band. By definition, every school that was established under the Morrill Act of 1862 (basically most schools whose names ends with "A&M," "A&I," "State," or "Tech") have military roots as do the service academies. All of them have traditions. Just put in a description of the image, not a short history of the school.
 * I don't think the article should list three common fight songs played by high schools without finding and citing something like the three MOST commonly played fight songs. The way it is now seems pretty subjective--I can think of other very common fight songs, like On Wisconsin!, that are played as much or more than Anchors Aweigh.
 * Agreed. In addition, the article cites almost nothing as evidence for its claims. I've been meaning to work on it, but haven't made the time to do so. — BQZip01 —  talk 17:54, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Illini.jpg
Image:Illini.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 05:09, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Improvement
This article seems to be:

a) overwhelmingly about the US, and

b) way too long

The problems are linked, since there is sooo much stuff about the US that the info from other countries gets swamped. I'm not entirely sure how to fix this, but one way might be to seperate out 'performance elements' - perhaps a page called Marching band technique or just Marching band performance elements? Another would be to have a page specifically on US high school and college marching bands, which seem to dominate the page at the moment. This would be especially appropriate if they have a lot of features not shared by other kinds of marching band. Basically this page is trying to include every possible thing about marching bands, and is only succeeding in including a massive amount of info on American high school and college bands, with some info on other aspects of marching bands in general. Considering we're not talking about a country or a war or anything complex like that, we should be able to edit this down to a managable length. --Helenalex 15:38, 28 September 2007 (UTC)


 * It is certainly ripe for splitting into sub-articles. I could see a number of sections being reduced as the Sudler Trophy section already has.  Even within Performance elements, Marching Band styles could be fleshed out into its own article fairly easily.  There might also be enough material for US College Marching Bands and US High School Marching Bands to get child articles. -- Upholder 16:25, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Jazz Runs?
I don't know if this is being added, but I don't believe that there is anything about jazz runs in this article!

Ertemplin (talk) 03:35, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

Fundamental Commands
i am thinking of adding definition of commands such as "left face", "about face", "marking time", "attention" and such. also, the drilldown would be a nice addition to the article since it is a form of competition among high school bands. Let me know any thought on the matter and if there are no objection, ill begin writting soon. --Anhfire (talk) 04:30, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

To-do list
I put up this list, because someone recently mentioned this on Portal:Marching band, I think. I haven't had a chance to read through the article yet, but I will find things that need fixing.--Mynameisnotpj (talk) 02:36, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Reason for Local Competition/Sudler Trophy Removal
The list of local competitions and circuits is much too long to include in an encyclopedia article. This list would go on forever if we actually tried to make it accurate. Furthermore, it is not Wikipedia's intention to become a series of "link lists" for things related to every article. The same thing applies to the Sudler Trophy award. Although it is a high caliber award, there are dozens of awards of (arguably) similar caliber throughout the world for marching bands. So unless we intend to list all of these awards (which we shouldn't) there should be no reason to include just one of them. Hypomyxolydian (talk) 13:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree with the removal of the list of the local competitions. It doesn't add anything to the article. What other awards are of the same caliber as the Sudler? The Sudler Trophy is held in very high regard. For instance, the University of Arkansas refers to it as, "the nation's highest and most coveted award for college and university marching bands". I'm not familiar with a Wikipedia policy that indicates all-or-nothing in regard to inclusion. In other words, we don't have to include every award in order to be able to include the most prominent award(s). I don't think the Sudler needs to be excluded so much as top non-U.S. awards need to be added. →Wordbuilder (talk) 14:48, 29 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree with wordbuilder. I'd rather see one award from several countries discussed/listed as opposed to a huge listing of regional awards from the US.  --Rocksanddirt (talk) 00:35, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Concur with both of the above assertions. — BQZip01 —  talk 03:17, 30 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Ok, that seems fair. I will work on getting similar awards. Hypomyxolydian (talk) 01:39, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Enough cleaning to remove 'cleanup' notice?
Does anyone think we can remove the cleanup notice at this point? I think that the article's organization makes sense. It still needs some work, but I think it complies with the MoS. Hypomyxolydian (talk) 01:45, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Street Marching
Is this unique to Wisconsin/Michigan? hornplayer2 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 04:47, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I suppose it depends on what you mean, but marching in the streets? No. — BQZip01 —  talk 04:51, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

The Spirit of Troy's style
Anyone who is in the University of Southern California's band (The Spirit of Troy) can tell you that our marching style is absolutely unique - That we are the only band in the world to use that particular style. It is described like this in the article: "-An older high step involves the lifting of the knee with legs directly in front, thighs parallel to the ground, and toes pointed downward. When the leg is elevated, it should give the appearance of a 90-degree angle with the thigh and leg, and the body and thigh. The leg is then lowered, and this is repeated with the other leg. This is informally referred to as the "chair."" Is it really unique? Are we really the ONLY band in the world to use the style, or do we just say that? - MatrixFrog

I have seen something similar to this in some southern high school marching bands, but nothing as high as "thighs parallel to the ground". - TCR

I believe the North Hills High School "Fighting Indian" Marching Band in Pittsburgh uses this marching style. However, we (I am a proud member) do not lift our legs to "parallel to the ground," but we get pretty darn close. - Bobman123 03:32, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Respectfully, you aren't that unique. Many other bands do it too (really works those thigh muscles, don't it?!). — BQZip01 — talk 04:52, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Pictures of your favorite marching band
I realize that everyone wants pictures of their favorite marching on this article but please refrain. Lately alot of bias has been creeping onto the page such as "the premier college band" and posting pictures of high school bands when not needed. If you want to create a page for your favorite band please do so and keep the bias off this page. AStudent
 * Just please make the pictures relevant to the subject at hand. — BQZip01 —  talk 04:53, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Trail?
Does anyone know where the term trail originated from? S'daoh Lokadish 07:12, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
 * If you are still around, to what are you referring? — BQZip01 —  talk 04:53, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Too Americentric
Reading this page, one would think that marching bands are very much an American concept. marching bands are common the world over. Zimmer79 (talk) 19:02, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

New Question, AKA Question II
What does the song F.B.G. stand for? Its a song that is often played in marching bands, and i would like to know what it means/stands for and mabye the origin. Thanks everyone! Go Huskies!--Gephart 21:47, 25 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Honestly, I'd call their band director and ask. Their webpage — BQZip01 —  talk 05:01, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Competition info?
It's not clear of the "classes" you describe apply only to U.S. high school competitions or to all bands everywhere. Remember that your readership here will be international, and what may be true in English-speaking North America might not be true even in other English-speaking areas, (England, Australia, India, etc). Well you are Right there are alot of different classes in marching band competition, there is one called and " =Exhibition" and thats where all band competes, and there is no 1st place ratings. Everyone takes something home for paticipating.(Shinea-sha (talk) 18:59, 12 November 2009 (UTC))

Pictures
It almost seems to me as if there are too many pictures on the article now. This was discussed previously, saying that we do not need a picture for every single section. Also, there are several instances where random bands are mentioned for no real reason at all, so I will be deleting those as well. Mynameisnotpj (talk) 11:24, 13 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree that sometimes articles can have too many pictures and sometimes pictures can be positioned incorrectly. However, I think we need to agree on which images should be removed, rather than having one person making a unilateral effort. There is a lot of text in this article so it can support many images.
 * We need to consider several things:
 * Is the image free?
 * Does its placement conform to Manual of Style?
 * Does it tie in with the section where it is being placed?
 * →Wordbuilder (talk) 13:55, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

External links cleanup
I am considering deleting all links from the EL section that are merely community sites or forums for specific states or circuits. To me, these have no relevance to an encyclopedic article. Examples include txbands.com, worldofpageantry, etc. Hypomyxolydian (talk) 01:32, 14 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I would say delete them unless their scope is greater than just promoting their organization. Say if it's a site put up by a regional org but gives a good guide on a certain aspect of marching bands. That should probably stay. →Wordbuilder (talk) 01:42, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Modern popular band proliferation?
I don't know what these styles of marching band are called, but there are a large number of informal marching bands. Examples include March Fourth (Portland, OR), Minor Mishap (Austin, TX), Hungry March Band (NYC), and the Seed & Feed Marching Abominable (Atlanta, GA). This style of band is not at all described in the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.90.147.48 (talk) 16:08, 15 October 2010 (UTC)

Worldwide marching bands
Prehaps this article should be focused more on worldwide Marching Bands rather than focusing specifically on the US Marching Bands during sports tournaments etc. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Alssa1 (talk • contribs) 20:34, 19 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Wow, the to-do suggestions don't do justice to this mess of an article. Clearly, we need more of a historical and international approach. Many of the sections of this article could be dumped into a glossary. I can't imagine that anyone would look up "marching band" and be satisfied with a definition of "band camp". Yes, we all fell in love at band camp, but geez, that's not an encyclopedic entry.GaryGo (talk) 21:00, 5 March 2011 (UTC)

'A question of sport'
There has been a long term editing issue re if the topic can be classified as a 'sport'. There have not, so far, been any refs provided to justify such changes. Comments please. RashersTierney (talk) 23:12, 1 September 2012 (UTC)
 * As far as I know, it's not widely accepted as a sport. So, without some reliable, third-party sources, I don't think the claim should stand. →Wordbuilder (talk) 02:45, 2 September 2012 (UTC)
 * There are a number of medical articles out there, several of which are cited in the article here, that equate the competitive activity with a NCAA division 1 sport. The definition of sport that I've found is "an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature."  It certainly seems to fit this definition. City boy77 (talk) 18:56, 2 September 2012 (UTC)
 * If any reliable sources deal with this topic as a sport they can of coarse be cited, but we can't have original research. RashersTierney (talk) 23:11, 2 September 2012 (UTC)
 * I have to agree with City boy77, and as a former high school student and member of a marching band I can assure you that this activity is definitely a physical and mental sport requiring months and years of discipline and training to perfect VigilantLocutor (talk) 09:55, 25 August 2013 (UTC)
 * One anecdote is not reliable sourcing. I played in a high school marching band for four years, and if you had suggested to my peers at the time that it was a sport, they would have laughed you out of the room, or worse. It may be a physically and mentally demanding, even competitive, activity, but not all such activities may be credibly called sports. __ Just plain Bill (talk) 15:53, 25 August 2013 (UTC)

Article split
American college marching bands really need their own article rather than allowing the subject to dominate this one. They have little in common with bands found in the rest of the world and evolved from the unique history and educational system of the US. --Ef80 (talk) 13:25, 20 September 2013 (UTC)
 * Please provide an example for such a difference. You may be right, but I have no idea what you're talking about (a common theme in my life).--Paul McDonald (talk) 13:47, 20 September 2013 (UTC)
 * What exactly are you asking for? Where else in the world does this phenomenon exist on any scale? There are military marching bands in the US as in the rest of the world, but the bands you find in football stadia are unique to the US. Creating a dedicated article would also create a less confused and US centric article on marching bands generally. I'm surprised you find it difficult to understand this point. --Ef80 (talk) 12:31, 3 October 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Marching band. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20140422024119/http://www.yea.org/site/PageServer?pagename=aboutussba to http://www.yea.org/site/PageServer?pagename=aboutussba

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Cheers. —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 02:37, 28 August 2015 (UTC)
 * I found where the page moved on that website (thanks to it being listed at USBands) and updated the link. DMacks (talk) 03:20, 28 August 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 10 November 2017
Please change "Marching band is often considered a sport." to "Marching band is a sport." I am in marching band and I know how hard it is and the trials be go through. We train much harder than most practitioners of "traditional sports."

thank you Cw9806 (talk) 02:25, 10 November 2017 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: There are counter statement to that, and the paragraph is sourced with two sources. The scenario is that "You" considered it as a sport, others do not. Then on Wikipedia both views must be expressed. &thinsp;&mdash; Ammarpad (talk) 02:37, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 4 external links on Marching band. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140101141330/http://www.tsk.tr/ing/2_general_issues/2_1_military_museum/mehter/mehter_general_information.htm to http://www.tsk.tr/ing/2_general_issues/2_1_military_museum/mehter/mehter_general_information.htm
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=225455
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20160111191643/http://osseobandfestival.org/ to http://www.osseobandfestival.org/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20160111191643/http://osseobandfestival.org/ to http://www.osseobandfestival.org/

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Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 00:51, 3 December 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Marching band. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20060822025119/http://www.yea.org/site/PageServer?pagename=USSBA to http://www.yea.org/site/PageServer?pagename=USSBA

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Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 04:23, 12 January 2018 (UTC)