There’s more wackiness in the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band (LSJUMB) than just football field antics and death-defying Tree wannabes. Each band section — “sexion” in Band spelling — has a unique flair for the dramatic and competes for who can be the most crazy, the most spirited and, of course, the loudest within the already rowdy group.

The “mellz,” or mellophone, section takes that challenge seriously. They find themselves playing a uniquely niche instrument and so have created a particularly strong — and quirky — group identity.

The mellophone, the marching band’s mobile equivalent of the French horn, is an instrument rarely played in other settings, but proponents claim its virtues surpass those of its symphonic cousin.

“A French horn has the bell turned down and is hard to play standing up, and harder to play in general,” said Elaine Ballinger ‘12, this year’s section leader. “The two instruments also sound very different though they have similar ranges.”

“The French horn has two different keys, while the mellophone has just one,” added Adam Adler ‘12, another member of the mellz. “Some of the fingerings are different as well, and the mellophone is shaped more like a trumpet.”

Despite these strong parallels, many of the members of the mellz section have little or no previous experience with the French horn. Ballinger played cello and piano before Stanford, but no brass instruments, and Amanda Klein ‘13 played the trumpet in high school, with only a few months of experience with the French horn.

Adler, however, chose the mellophone specifically because he had experience playing the French horn.

“[I chose French horn] because it was pretty and because not as many people play it,” he said. Stanford’s band allows students to experiment musically, welcoming newcomers to any instruments and all sorts of styles — Adler said LSJUMB had an electric violin and keytar players at one point. He himself once brought his French horn on Band Run, having just gotten out of wind ensemble rehearsal.

But the Band experience is not limited to just non-traditional instruments — far from it. LSJUMB members sometimes find their section camaraderie and eccentric traditions the most fun aspect of playing, only reinforced by time spent practicing together.

“The entire Band practices together every Monday night, and each section practices by itself once a week,” Klein said.

Part of the job of each section includes instrument maintenance. Normally, mellophones require regular cleaning and shining, but the LSJUMB’s rally instruments purposely are kept in fairly bad repair.

“We keep them in cases so they don’t get stepped on and that’s pretty much it,” Ballinger said. “We have a few nice horns that we play at important events where we need to sound better, and we take care of them by playing them less often and protecting them with our lives. Usually our goal is to be loud and rock out, which doesn’t require really awesome instruments.”

Some members of the mellz also have other responsibilities in Band. Adler is one of the writers of the Band field shows, which are delegated to specific writers.

“Mondays, the entire Band gets together and we brainstorm,” he said. “Then the writers take the result of the brainstorms and make the shows, making them funny.”

Band members also often arrange their own music or preexisting songs for the Band.

What with practice, brainstorming sessions and seasonal travel, Band is a big time commitment. Yet the admiration the group receives on the part of Stanford students, who brag of its wacky adventures with school pride, make it an integral part of the Stanford experience.

“Personally, I love the Band because they play good music, and they’re obviously musically talented,” said Jordan Limoges ‘13. “But they manage to be musically talented in a way that’s very Stanford — they’re not uptight about it.”

Limoges played the French Horn before coming to Stanford, but opted not to join the Band. According to the mellz, she’s missing out.

“I joined to rock out, for fun,” Adler said. “I get to play music, but it’s not too serious. If I want, I can walk away from my section or play with the trombones. I can steal a trumpet solo.”

The mellz also feel they are a vital part of this uniquely Stanford group.

“The mellz are the best because they are really, really loud,” Ballinger said. “Our sexion has really awesome people, and it’s a smallish instrument so you can rock out a lot while playing.”

“But if you asked anyone in Band they would say their sexion is awesome,” he added. “Because, basically, Band is awesome.”