Before entering the Marching Band, many peoples have several questions on their minds, and one of the most popular questions that people ask is whether Marching Bands performs in the rain or not.
After researching this topic in detail here, I will explain to you whether they play in the rain or not, what difficulties they face in the rain and some other related topics. So, keep exploring with me all the facts.
Topic Discussed
So, Do Marching Band Plays in Rain?
Rain creates lots of interference in practicing or performing the Marching Band activities. Still, the Marching Band plays & does practices in the rain because they are committed to their work and they are entirely dedicated to playing their individual role in Marching Band.
Although Marching Band members face lots of difficulties during rainy seasons and their instruments and Uniforms get wet, they still find ways to do their work. Below, it is explained in detail what challenges they encounter and how they recover from those difficult situations.
Difficulties For Marching Bands in Rain
Although most Marching Bands play in the rain, these bands have to face a lot of difficulties while playing in the rain, and here we will look at all those difficulties that every Marching Band member faces during rainy seasons. So, let’s explore the difficulties in depth-
# The Field Get Wet
During rainy seasons the field gets wet, and it becomes challenging for the Marching Band members to practice in the wet field. The field gets slippery, and those Band members who carry heavy instruments face a lot of difficulties to do march by carrying heavy instruments.
Moreover, if the field is covered with grass, then it becomes more difficult for the musicians to walk in the grass by carrying the instruments.
# Uniforms Get Wet
As a Marching Band member, you have to wear heavy instruments, and most of the uniforms come with complete sets such as Marching shirts, pants, jackets, gloves, hats, socks, etc.
These Marching Band uniforms are pretty expensive and are as costly as the Marching Band instruments. If the uniforms get wet due to heavy rain, then it’s become challenging to wash these of uniforms. That’s why heavy rain gives Marching Band members a headache.
# Injury Possibilities
The Marching Band members face various problems during the rainy seasons, and the possibility of injury also increases during the rainy seasons. The majority of the Band members wear those shoes that are slippery.
In such a situation, if rain wets the grass, the shoes become very slippery, enhancing the injury probability. Therefore, during rainy seasons Marching Band members march so consciously.
# Instruments Get Wet
Protecting their instruments has become one of the significant challenges for the Marching Band members during rainy seasons, and Band members are most worried about this factor.
Several types of instruments are used in Marching bands, like the Woodwind instrument, Brass instruments, etc. The brass instruments are not affected too much in the rain, but experts don’t recommend using woodwind instruments in the rain.
So, these are some difficulties that every Marching Band member faces during the rainy seasons know some other key things about Marching Band, and below it was thoroughly explained what type of instruments you can use in the rain and what you cant use. So, stick to the end of this article.
What Marching Band Instruments Can You Play in Rain?
Different types of instruments are used in Marching Band, and some of these instruments get damaged if you play this in the rain, while others don’t impact too much during rain. Let’s dive deeper into this of what instruments you play in the rain & what you cant play.
# Woodwinds Instruments
Various types of woodwind instruments have been used in Marching Band over the years, and some of those instruments are- flutes, piccolo, oboe, Clarinets, Bassoon, etc. These instruments are not suitable to play in the rain, and these instruments can easily be damaged by the rain & moisture.
If you play woodwind instruments in the rain, the instrument’s pads can bloat and swell, the reeds can crack, the springs can get rusty, and the screws could also get rusty.
So, once rain enters your woodwind instruments, your instruments get impacted, and it will be costly to repair them. That’s why the experts recommend using take the protection of your woodwind instruments in heavy rain.
# Percussion Instruments
The Marching Band members play various percussion instruments such as drum instruments, cymbals, triangles, tambourines, castanets, etc. As a Marching Band member, you can use the instruments like cymbals and triangles in the rain because these instruments don’t impact too much in the rain, drying off very quickly.
But, this does not apply to all percussion instruments because the percussion drum instruments are made of wood and metal, and these instruments could be negatively affected due to rain.
# Brass Instruments
Various brass instruments like the trumpets, French horn, Trombone, and Tuba are often used in the Marching Band, and you can even use these instruments in the rain.
The brass instruments don’t impact too much in the rain as the woodwind instruments and some percussion instruments do. But, it is crucial to clean and dry the brass instruments once the Marching is over. It will also be impacted if you don’t clean it properly.
So, overall you can clearly notice that the rain more or less impacts the Marching Band instruments, and that’s why it is vital to protect the instrument in the rain; below it is thoroughly explained of how you should take care of your instruments in the rain.
How To Protect Your Instrument in Rain?
We can’t control natural calamities like rain, but we can control what is in our hands. We can make some preparations so that our instruments don’t get impacted too much by rain. Let’s explore what practices we can take-
Before going to the Marching Band, we can research a couple of things like whether there is rain possibility, whether there is any safe place to stand for a bit of time, and what things we need to carry before going to practice perform in the rain, etc.
Below, I have explained what things we need to carry before going to attend the Marching Band during rainy seasons. So, let’s explore this-
- Drum Covers: As we have already known that in the rain, the woodwind instruments were impacted the most, and therefore as a drummer, you have to carry drum covers with you. These drum covers would help you to protect your drum instruments from rain and severe damage.
- Towels: Besides the drum covers, you also have to have to carry towels with you during rain times because it would be required to clean & dry your musical instruments.
- Rain Ponchos: If you don’t bring drum covers with you, then you can get rain ponchos with you because these ponchos cover a large area which is suitable for protecting your Uniform as well as the Band instruments.
These are some of the preventions and preparations you must take before practicing in the Marching Band during rainy days or seasons.
What To Do If Band Instruments Get Wet?
We can take some preparations to protect our Band instruments & uniforms from rain, but if it is necessary to march in heavy rain, the instruments will wet.
In such a situation, we can go to a safe place, and we have to take our towels, and then we need to clean the instruments as much as possible. The other thing we can do is try to dry our instrument.
If you don’t dry your instruments, they will be damaged quickly. So, these are some things we can do if our Band instruments get wet.
Can You Wear Raincoats While Playing In Marching Band?
Yes! You can wear raincoats in the rain while playing in the Marching Band to protect your expensive Uniforms, but besides the raincoats, you also have to protect your instruments in the rain, and raincoats are not able to cover your instruments.
Many Marching Band senior members recommend wearing ponchos instead of normal raincoats. The ponchos provide more coverage than raincoats as they are designed to come down to the mid-thigh or sometimes even the knees of the wearer.
Moreover, wearing ponchos also gives you some security to protect your instrument from rain.
So, here I have mentioned some of the most sold-out Rain Ponchos for Marching Band members on Amazon. You can buy these ponchos from here to prepare yourself for the rainy season.
Final Verdict
At the end of this article, I want to summarize everything for you that rain creates lots of interruptions for Marching Band members. Still, the members are dedicated & passionate about their work, and therefore they find ways to do their work even in heavy rain.
Most of the Marching Band groups prepared themselves for these rainy seasons by purchasing non-slippery shoes and rain ponchos.
I hope this article gives you an idea about whether you can play Marching Band & instruments in the rain or not. Keep following this blog regularly to learn more about Marching Bands, Band instruments, and other types of bands.
