Glossary of Band Terms for Parents

Some of these are truer than others, but all are good points of reference. A few came from the mind of the Web master (as inspired by our students), but most from trolling the Internet.

A - G    H - N    O - U    V - Z

A

Adjudicator Eagle-eyed, golden-eared, infinitely demanding person who can spot un-raised 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.   a.k.a. Judge
All-State Band Elite band made up of the top players from many schools selected by audition.
Alternates Band members who are held in ready reserve (behind Shadows) to replace band members who must leave a show due to illness, injury or ineligibility.  See Shadows.
Alto An upper middle pitched instrument between Soprano and Tenor, such as Alto Sax, French Horn, etc. 
Arranger A person who scores music originally written for another genre, by rewriting it for use by a marching band.
Audition Nerve racking solo performance before judges in attempt to qualify for an All-Something Band, to determine one's chair, placement, or to get a scholarship.
Auxiliaries See Color Guard.

B

Baldric  The often-sequined sash that adorns some bands' uniforms.
Band Booster Club Works closely with the Head Band Director, formed to assist with logistical and financial support for the band.
Band Director, Assistant  The instruction staff employed by the AISD other than the Head Band Director. 
Band Director, Head Underpaid, yet fanatically dedicated, Commander-in-Chief of the band (whose wisdom and authority in the band hall can only be compared to Mr. Adams).
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.
Band, Concert Made up of younger or less advanced musicians than the top two ensembles.
Band, Symphonic Composed of many excellent performers.  Second only to Wind Symphony.
Band, Varsity Made up of students who for what ever reason need more individualized instruction on their instruments.
Baritone, Concert See Euphonium.
Baritone, Marching A marching euphonium.  Imagine a trumpet on steroids.
Battery   See 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.
Berets Hats for Sousaphone players.
Bibbers Marching pants with suspenders.
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, roomy but expensive hired bus sometimes used for band trips.  See also Yellow Dog.

C

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.
Call-time The appointed time (usually 20 - 30 after arrival) for students to be in the band hall ready to go (in uniform, with music, etc.). 
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 200 people in the same room and see what you get.
Chaperones Volunteers who travel with the band, acting as surrogate moms and dads.
Chips See Drill Markers. 
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) 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.  Always worth valuable extra points at marching contests.   See Winter Guard.
Concert Attire Uniform or other formal attire worn by band members when giving a concert.
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 has to pay in order to use/copy the copyrighted material. Copyright normally lasts 75 years after the death of the composer, so unless you have an original piece written for you, 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.

D

Double Reed Serves the same function as the mouthpiece-reed combination on a single-reed instrument.
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 Markers Small, metal, colorful discs that help the students learn new formations.
Drill Writer/Designer The person who creates the field choreography as in "The band paid a drill designer to write drill for the fall show.”
Drum Draggers Volunteers who move band equipment on and off the field.
Drum Line The marching percussion staged on the field, usually snare drums, tenor drums, bass drums and cymbals.
Drum Majors Student conductors who lead the band in parades – also conducting rehearsals and at home football games.
Duct Tape Material used to hold together things that fall apart.  Can also be used to construct snazzy jackets worn at band banquet.

E

Eligibility The condition of being able under the rules of academic eligibility to participate in a band activity.
Euphonium Concert horn that looks like a small tuba.  Much confusion exists on whether a particular horn is a euphonium or a baritone. For our use, either name will do.

F

Fair Share Voluntary time and monetary contributions that help sustain the band program.  Without outside support, the band would not exist in the present form.  See Band Booster Club.
Football Games Events scheduled to provide opportunities for marching contest show dress rehearsals before competitions.  A game using an oddly-shaped ball is also played.

G

General Effect/Showmanship A category judged with reference to the general impressions of the performance.
Gig Musicians' term for any paid playing job.

H

Half-time The only interesting part of a football game.
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.

I

Invitational Band contest only open to bands invited to participate by the sponsoring organization.

J

K

L

Long Ranger A wireless public address system used to communicate to students during outdoor rehearsals and performances.

M

March Short piece of music in double time intended to be played while marching in a parade.
Marching Band The marching band is composed of Color Guard members, Drum Majors and musicians from all AHS bands.  Used to perform at parades, football games and field band competitions.
Marching Season August through November, the band’s busiest time of year.
Mellophone A marching French horn.
Mouthpiece Puller Screw or lever action device used to safely pull stuck mouthpieces out of brass instruments.
Mouthpiece, Brass A cup shaped object often misplaced or left behind.  Can be narrow or large bore.
Mouthpiece, Woodwind The part of the single-reed instrument to which the reed is attached.  See also Double Reed.
Mutes Device inserted into the bells of brass instruments that alters the sound. 

N

O

P

Parades Festive street processionals usually held as part of a holiday or civic celebration, i.e., Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Groundhog Day, etc.
Pit See Front Ensemble.
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.
Practice Field The large rehearsal space south of E Hall.  Also known as the faculty parking lot.
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.

Q

R

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 Stokowski replied – the next rehearsal!!”
Reviewing Stand A stand, usually seating judges, from which a parade can be reviewed.
Rifles Faux wooden rifles used as props by the Color Guard.

S

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.
Sectional Intensive rehearsal for single sections of the band usually held after school and sometimes conducted by a clinician.
Shadows Band members who share a marching position while waiting for someone to succumb to illness, injury or academic eligibility rules.
Shako A tall cylindrical hat with visor adorned with a plume, used as part of a band uniform.   Think Buckingham Palace Guards.

T

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.
Tower, The Tall metal tower that the Band Director stands on to both conduct and to deliver inspirational speeches.

U

V

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.
Valve, Piston  Direct action cylindrical valve developed in France and widely used on brass instruments.
Valve, Rotary  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.
Valve, Spit  The valve(s) found on a brass-wind instrument that are opened to release condensation accumulated while playing (and, yes, there's probably a little actual spit in it, too). Failure to do so can cause a bubbling sound in the tone.

W

Wah wah A wavering sound produced by alternately covering and uncovering the bell of a trumpet or trombone with a mute.  Also a similar sound produced by means of an electronic attachment, as on an electric guitar, operated by a foot pedal.
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. Also used at heat relief and other activities.  
Water Bottle Bingo A fun way of having students keep up with their water bottles at football games.
Web site, Band Fascinating Web page featuring updated information about your band program.

X

Y

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.
Yard Markers Free-standing markers placed at ten-yard intervals on field sidelines used to orient performers during the show.
Yellow Dog A yellow school bus.

Z