cookie_monster

They're insane that's what lol

ok if this is completely wrong please let me know but this is what I heard through the grapevine. He's not going to get his degree now because he's going pro BUT I heard that he was majoring in teaching and right now he's student teaching which means he's SO close to having that degree. And we know Texas will keep him another year for ANOTHER great season. I think he should finish college first but that's his choice so good luck to Houston!

Ok a lot of tension going on here so let me see if I can possibly help relieve it. First I agree DCI should stay the same - brass and percussion. The End. HOWEVER, ww's do bring a different color to the band. I'm sorry if the brass and percussion don't like balancing to the woodwinds but if you look at different pieces of music there's a lot of balancing to the brass for the ww's. Granted, yes it's harder for brass to balance to ww's but please realize that ww's are rarely heard in a melodic line with the brass. It's true, the brass do dominate the sound. So why, if you are the dominating sound throughout the band, do you want to take away what little the ww's have in an ensemble after technical passages? You have the dominance, you have DCI. Just a thought. It's all equal no matter what instrument you play in my opinion.

ok I'm curious since we're talking about judges and all - does your band have the directors walk around the field during a practice and act like judges to get everyone used to seeing them on the field? Just wondering.

Technically I think a clarinet can go to a C above the high G. I have a fingering chart for it, but I've never heard a high schooler play higher than a G. But I don't think it's impossible.

Alright I'm not drum major but here's how it goes at my school. First everyone has to submit "paperwork" to the directors. I don't know if any other school does it but we have to submit and petition signed by band members, a resume, and essay, and a couple other things. If you turn in all the paper work you move on. Then everyone who wants to be a student leader participates in a marching audition. The directors give you about a week to learn the box drill - really easy. We do it in 2 big blocks on the field about 40 time (or however many are trying out) so all the directors can watch everyone one time. Scores are tallied. If you're trying out for drum major or another "high ranking" field position (not section leaders) and you're scores are in the top 12-15ish you move on to round 2 - the conducting round. So you conduct for the dircectors and they do tempo checks where they give you a tempo and you have to clap it. If you do well you move on to round 3 - the interview which is just what it sounds like. You have an interview with the directors. Then EVERYONE'S scores are tallied, put in numerical order and then they pick the student leaders. Drum majors at the top. Kinda tedious I know and I'm not sure if any other school does it the way we do, but there you go.

I don't think pushups should be a form of discipline. It takes time out of rehersal and there are better ways to end talking problems on the field. And that's what field officers are for - to manage the discipline on the field when the directors can't. Just my take on it.

I gotta agree with everyone else. NCBF was not fun. The "master classes" (or at least mine) was helping 2 girls on their solos for an hour (when of course we could have been sleeping) You had to dress up EVERYWHERE even if you left your room which was fun in the beginning becasue we felt very professional but after about a day we were all craving jeans and t-shirts. Of course the lack of sleep has been mentioned. The concerts....wow.....that's all I have to say. Big auditorium, not many people. Except of course for the Honor Band/Orchestra of America which probably would have been really cool if it wasn't on the LAST night of the festival AFTER the "banquet" they had at 10 pm. Although I do hope everyone else's experience with it was better than mine - I really do. Oh!! And if you're walking backstage for your concert girls, pick up your dresses or you WILL fall down the stairs. There's my personal advice for you.

my freshman year we were all in this big block that pulled forward into a diamond and first the judge was caught in the that but that wasn't too bad because all he did was follow us so he wouldn't get creamed but then we had this big for lack of a better term "docie-do" (if that's how you spell it prolly not) move where there was a group of 4 people in the diamond and we all switched places and the judge was still caught. it was pretty funny watching the tape of him trying to get out.

This is very true. But you can get a feel for how a band's going to perform at Super Regionals based on how well they've done throughout this season. Like Churchill's win at Houston and the fact that they've always been high ranking in all the contests they've gone to you just know they're going to do well. But you're right it all comes down to how hard everyone works this next week and a half and how well they're show goes at the actual contest.

I think I'm agreeing with you too. Only the head director changed not the marching director so Cedar Park's been used to, for lack of a better term, "working for" the same guy in previous years. I think they'll do well this year, but no doubt with bands like Reagan and Churchill and EVERYONE else going to San Antonio in 2 weeks, we're ALL up for some stiff competition so good luck to everyone!

ok I'm feeling a little tension rising so I'm going to add my 2 cents in for everyone's sake and maybe hopefully possibly relieve some of it. You're absolutely right, you can't base any opinions from last year's results, but I personally think you can base them on history. Cedar Park's history is not to do very well at the beginning of the year, but toward the mid to end they really skyrocket and do extremely well (in my opinion). As for the music caption (I think that was the next conversation) I can honestly say I have no clue. Brazoswood (spelling?) has done very well this year I think and with Reagan and Winston Churchill and everyone else that's going to be there in, what is it? 2 weeks, the competition is definitely going be a good one.

That's the way I am...just counting down the days and remember contests and all that other stuff. It's really sad especially because if I do decide to do band in college it'll never be the same. I'm really gonna miss it.

yeah it's not about cockyness (sp?) or being "better than someone else" because in the end it's not going to matter. It's not even the fact that it was unexpected for Cedar Park to get a 2. Was it? Sure maybe if you want to look at it that way and I pesonally don't look at it as a compliment to Cedar Park either. It's like at BOA...when you brank ranks it's about congratulating each other and meeting new people not saying "oh here look my real shiny medal" no that a'int cool. Ok just some food for thought.

Everyone is going to have their off days. Cedar Park's was just at UIL. It's not that big of a deal if they'd gotten straight one's or three's what's important is that you go out and perform no matter what the rating. Who cares about trophies and placements it's about the performance and how well it went for you and rest of the band. So what? Cedar Park got ONE 2. Who cares?? In the end they averaged out to be a one so what's the big deal? Like I said everyone is going to have days that no one is focused and everything craters so why does Cedar Park get picked out immediately as soon as ya'll saw they got a two? Not trying to be mean or anything but I think there's a bigger picture here that's being missed by some. And congrats to everyone who was at UIL!!!

we do song battles occasionally but it's always after the other band finishes their song and it's not every song that they play. I think it's just a fun friendly competition with the other band. Of course it can get taken over board and do it way too much and interupt the other band's playing and I find that rude but other than that it's just a friendly contest...if you even want to call it that.

"yum yum give me....none" referring to the tuning of whatever random intrument we happen to be tuning that moment haven't heard that this year but that was a popular one in previous years oh and then there's "crazy, I was once crazy....." (<---definitely popular my sophomore year)

Oh that guard bus...thankfully I wasn't on it. But bus rides can definitely be fun. Long bus rides are even funner. Like when we went to Indianapolis/Chicago - like a 22-24 hour drive, around hour 18-20 you're getting pretty crazy and start doing dumb things and taking weird pics but's way hard to sleep on a charter bus unless you have a seat to yourself or you're on the floor. Oh and the movies we watch...ok so our directors for some reason only let us watch G and PG movies (wow! I hope that changes but Disney movies are definitely great when you can sing the songs). Unless you have a retarded bus leader like I did last year when the ENTIRE bus wanted to watch Tarzan and she made us watch The Fox and the Hound. I wish I were kidding but I'm not.

I agree with clarinot, congrats to Conally for their win and I was really sorry to hear about your tradegy this past week. Know that my thoughts and prayers are with you and that I thought everyone of you had a lot of integrity to perform at the football game and a contest considering. But congratulations again.

Is it just that I haven't been informed lately, but I was surprised not to see Westfield attending BOA Houston. Are they going to a different contest? I wasn't really sure but they always do pretty well at BOA events. Just curious.

I agree WWs shouldn't be in corps...then it wouldn't be a corp duh! But if you really want to march then there is no other option but to learn a brass or percussion instrument or learn to spin a flag, rifle, sabre, etc. You can get the same WW effect with the pit and probably a whole lot cleaner too (with runs or something like that). I'm not trying to diss WWs for those of you who think that's what I'm trying to do. I play the clarinet, but I don't think you'd get the same effect with WWs than you do with a full brass line.

ok my favorite is "light explosives now...and....now" that's great!!!

Last time then we'll get water *band does it again (probably more than once)* Ok set it up for a run ^that's turning into my new favorite

So what do all the seniors feel about this being their last year as a high school marcher? I can't really say band because we've still got concert and some will go off to corp next summer and all that stuff. But I'm talking about the high school aspect - the football games, the contests, everything. Me...it's already starting to hit. I've realized this is my last year, my last show. It's really sad knowing that I won't go through this whole experience of marching band again. It's only going to be a couple more months and it's over. I'm trying to live it up the best I can. Get all those memories in now before college next year. Just something I was thinking about.

That's the way our band is. Our directors don't make us to push-ups or run laps if one person's misbehaving. The students leaders handle it and most of the time, they handle it very well and it's not an issue. Of course we run and do work-outs for physical strength and cardio stuff but that's why we run. As for the one's who don't cooperate, if that happens it just goes up from section leaders all the way up to the drum majors and directors if need be. But about the motivation thing. Our student leaders meet 5-6 times during the summer (one of them being a 3 day camp) and set out all the goals of the band and what we expect to acheive but we make sure that we don't measure success in trophies. It's not about winning or losing, it's just about having a great show and all the aspects that go into it, whatever that may mean to you. And we make sure the first day of camp that everyone knows that.