The perpetual clicking of a metronome and music playing on the marching field are the sounds of band students at the visual camps.

As this year comes to an end, the marching band prepares its incoming freshmen for the marching band season with visual camps starting Monday and running for the next two weeks as leadership team members work to teach incoming band freshmen how to march and introduce them to their section. 

“I think visual camps are probably the most important part of marching season because before eighth graders even join the band or high school, they get a taste of what it’s going to look like [and] see if they actually might like doing it later on,” junior Chaitanya Rudra said. “Even though we want people to come, it just helps us understand the dynamic between the incoming class and the band that’s already existing and adjust to that, adjust to their needs and learn from them and they learn from us. It just creates an overall welcoming environment where we can learn from each other.”

With 59 incoming freshmen, these visual camps can help students make new connections with people and learn to manage their time according to junior drum major Kimaya Joshi.

“Just participate in your section and you’ll find that making friends in general is super easy in the band environment because we’re always with each other,” Joshi said. ”In regards to band-school balance, it’s super important to manage your time wisely, and if anyone is worried about having low grades, a lot of people actually find that they have better grades during marching season.”

At times, some believe that transitioning to high school marching band can be difficult and stressful; but the right guidance from others can help along the way.

“[My initial reaction to marching band] was definitely really stressful [and] there [were] a lot of different things to remember while marching,” freshman Emma George said. “But all the band leadership team members helped me get through it.”