If you’ve ever baked on a football field searching for your dot or powered through a halftime show in September heat, you know the dilemma. You need to stay hydrated, but you also don’t want what you drink to leave a sticky mess inside your horn.
That concern inspired MarchMix GUSH, a sports drink created with brass players in mind. The goal was to provide electrolytes without added sugar, while choosing ingredients that reduce chloride content.
But leaving out sugar is only part of the picture. What goes into your cooler deserves some thought when you’re about to pick up an instrument.
Why Avoid Sugar?
Most sports drinks are developed with the person drinking them in mind. Brass players also have to consider what happens after they take a sip and start playing.
Traces of what you consume can travel through your mouthpiece and into your leadpipe, tuning slides, and valves. When the water dries, dissolved ingredients can remain.
Sugar can leave sticky residue that mixes with saliva, oral debris, and the lubricant already inside your horn. Over time, that buildup can contribute to sluggish valves, sticky slides, and more cleaning.
Leaving added sugar out of MarchMix GUSH was a deliberate choice. Rehearsal already has enough moving parts without adding sticky valves to the list.
Sugar Is Only Part of the Picture
Sugar free does not mean residue free.
We also chose ingredients to lower the chloride content of MarchMix GUSH. Avoiding added sugar and reducing chloride were both considerations as we developed a drink with brass players in mind.
Electrolyte salts, acids, flavorings, and other dissolved ingredients can still remain after a drink dries. Sugar substitutes can also leave residue. Your saliva and existing instrument lubricant contribute to buildup, too.
These choices address concerns that informed the formula, but ingredient selection alone does not establish instrument safety. MarchMix GUSH cannot prevent every kind of buildup or replace regular maintenance.
Keep following your instrument’s cleaning guidance and taking care of your valves and slides. We haven’t figured out how to make MarchMix clean your horn for you.
What Players Are Saying
MarchMix GUSH gives marching musicians an electrolyte drink option without added sugar. Members of the Troopers have shared their experiences, including what they enjoyed and what could be improved.
“Since I started using it I’ve noticed I have been less prone to headaches, fatigue, and grogginess during rehearsal … I know that some people don’t like the taste but I myself really do enjoy it”
Atticus E., High Brass
“After drinking I felt like the heat wasn’t getting to me as badly, and that it was much easier to stay focused throughout the blocks that I used it … It was pretty hard to get around the taste.”
Anonymous
“I was introduced to march mix at troopers, the first day I used it I noticed immediate benefits in my endurance throughout rehearsal. It’s helped me tons in hot and humid rehearsal settings …[But] I sweat more”
Daniel M., Low Brass
These comments reflect individual experiences. They also give us useful feedback about the formula. Some players enjoy the taste, while others find it challenging.
Made With Brass Players in Mind
Marching asks a lot of your body, especially during long rehearsals in summer heat. MarchMix GUSH offers a way to include electrolytes in your hydration routine while avoiding added sugar and reducing chloride content through ingredient choices.
Mix it according to the product directions, keep water available, and keep your instrument clean. The goal is to make your next sip fit the demands of rehearsal while considering the horn you’re about to play.
We’re still working on a formula that helps the visual caption head decide what to do with the contras.