You’ve probably seen a pep band or marching band at a sports game before. They usually consist of a lot of wind instruments and percussion and play a lot of popular music and theme songs. However, from a technical standpoint, this kind of music ensemble is terrible if you’re trying to learn how to play an instrument.

Notice how most of what they play are show tunes or popular music. Not a lot of original compositions are made for these ensembles. This is because these ensembles are there for one purpose; to bring background noise to the event. They only need to play loud which doesn’t give a lot of room to get super creative. Composers add accents, dynamics, and other fun trinkets that can’t be achieved by playing loud all the time. At that point, you might as well have a rock band which can use amplification and also not care too much about dynamics. These ensembles have a wide range of instruments and music which doesn’t allow that much variation is insulting to their talents. When my old school’s band program decided to do pep band, you had the option to opt-out. I know a bunch of people, including dedicated musicians, who decided to not take a part in it because of how much they despised these tunes. Honestly, I can’t blame them. We hear enough pop music in our lifetime so why does it need to happen in the same environment where pop is almost guaranteed to not be played?

(elizabeth loyd / Flickr)

Insulting their talents is a big one for students. Younger musicians have a sense of superiority by thinking they’re above pop musicians in terms of talent. The thought of playing pop music is blasphemy to these people and would rather play something a lot more complex. The people that go to these events don’t care about carefully composed music. They’re there for a great time with tunes they know. Because most of the sound is a wall of brass and percussion, woodwinds (other than maybe saxophones) don’t get to cut through well and either overcompensate or just hide. They might as well not play since no one will notice them. Since these ensembles are loud, they just get seen as noise which isn’t wrong but also doesn’t help aspiring musicians when it comes to people understanding their passion. The only lesson they will get out of this is being mature enough to play simple music rather than thinking you always need to play something complicated. However, they do need something challenging to play and pep tunes do not provide them with anything valuable to learn.

Learning proper techniques is pretty valuable as a starting musician. Because of how loud you need to play these tunes, proper technique will go out the window. I once heard about someone who spent months in a drum and bugle corps and had to relearn their instrument once they started playing in more formal ensembles again. The amount of strain you put into playing loud after maxing out on air is pretty extreme and isn’t something a beginner should be going through. When it comes to marching, doing that while carrying a heavy instrument is not fun. Most of these instruments don’t have workarounds to make it comfortable to play unlike stuff like guitars and bass where comfort straps exist. You have to deal with the ergonomic nightmare that most of these instruments hold while marching around, which requires a lot more thought than just moving around on stage. I’ve known people who suffered from back issues from carrying drums with harnesses that are supposed to give support but end up not doing a great job. There was also someone I know who had to march with a baritone saxophone. The typical baritone saxophone weight is eleven pounds which is a nightmare on your back if you use a harness, or worse, your neck if you use a neckstrap instead. Also, imagine playing in the hot sun. Not fun isn’t it? The fact that you don’t get to breathe like a regular person should already be enough for people to get turned off from playing.

(Dirk DBQ / Flickr)

Some people also have to learn another instrument when playing in these ensembles. French horn players have to play the mellophone which while similar, has enough key differences that make it another beast. People that play double reed instruments such as oboe and bassoon are pretty much advised to play a different instrument due to some technicalities that make them instruments unsuitable for these kinds of ensembles. Besides, they’re going to get buried anyway with the wall of trumpets, trombones, and sousaphones.

You generally don’t get recognized for your talents in a pep band anyways, other than being known for being loud. When you see an orchestra, you recognize each musician for their musical talents in serious music. When you see a rock band, you recognize them for playing music while putting on a show. Pep bands and marching bands are just there for filler. No one is there to see the band.

(stephenrwalli / Flickr)

Marching and pep bands are just terrible for music education. They don’t provide that much educational value and they can also result in pain for musicians. Sure, they might be fun for some, but it’s not the type of music you would use to recognize musical capabilities. If that’s all you’re looking for, then go for it. But if you want to take something away from it, you might be better off playing in more formal ensembles. Formal ensembles will provide you with music with dynamics and interesting bits that aren’t possible with the wall of sound. You will get to play a wide range of music from ballads to technical show pieces, rather than the simple pop tunes pep and marching bands play. You will also get to play with proper technique and won’t hurt yourself. You won’t even have to play in the heat for the most part. Overall, formal ensembles are a lot better for your education than something like a pep or marching band.