The Future of High School Marching Band

[b_sax_agent]

There are some great arguments on this topics.

 

But neither will change, and it's a bit too early to tell what is going to happen with marching band.

 

Who knows which band will come up with the next ridiculus thing that will change band as we know it forever.

[Danpod]

  Liquid Midget said:

i totally agree with having more time to practice and more show time. there have been so many instances that a band has to cut really cool moments out of their show. it would also be nice to have more practice time to work out those trouble areas that we never seem to get because there just isnt enough time to clean it. i also think uil should take color guard and percussion into consideration when judging. you would see some pretty drastic changes in the top bands of the state as far as uil is concerned.

 

Percussion is already taken into account in the Music caption. Colorguard is a little harder to judge because it's more movement than marching. Even if Percussion and Colorguard had more of a role on the judging sheets, the allotment of points for those sections would only add up to nominal changes rather than drastic changes.

[takigan]

I guess I redirected this thread in a BOA vs. UIL direction.....but no one's really mentioned much about the future of show concepts/designs.

 

The BOA forerunners (LD Bell, The Woodlands, Richland, Reagan, Churchill, Cypress Falls, Hebron, Westfield etc.) have been the most influential in pushing the marching band tradition in Texas......every year these schools seem to outdo themselves in new, innovative....even CRAZY concepts. Though I wonder how groundbreaking and unique your shows can get before you run out of ideas.

[Danpod]

  takigan said:

I guess I redirected this thread in a BOA vs. UIL direction.....but no one's really mentioned much about the future of show concepts/designs.

 

The BOA forerunners (LD Bell, The Woodlands, Richland, Reagan, Churchill, Cypress Falls, Hebron, Westfield etc.) have been the most influential in pushing the marching band tradition in Texas......every year these schools seem to outdo themselves in new, innovative....even CRAZY concepts. Though I wonder how groundbreaking and unique your shows can get before you run out of ideas.

 

It really is fascinating that programs can continue to push the envelope concept/design wise, yet still maintain a sense of identity. The groundbreaking can only go so far without opening up the entire front sideline and making it fair game =)

[Xenon]

  Danpod said:

It really is fascinating that programs can continue to push the envelope concept/design wise, yet still maintain a sense of identity. The groundbreaking can only go so far without opening up the entire front sideline and making it fair game =)

 

Spring 2000 at UIL State Finals. Best closing move ever.

[takigan]

You ever watched an old, random show of either BOA or DCI and they either mention some member of the staff or drum majors or you see a close-up of one of the soloists in the show and you randomly yell something out along the lines of "Oh my god, that was my junior high band director!" or like you know them in some other random totally unaffiliated way to the organization they're apart of in the video and you didn't even know?

 

I think one of the drum majors in the Spring 2000 show is a grad percussion assistant here at Sam.

 

lol, nice finish. Pretty innovative for 2000, especially for UIL. After seeing this, I now await the day I see a band that charges the stands right in the middle of the show and finishes their closer in the aisles of the stadium, complete with a lone Trumpet soloist, who, after climbing on top of the press box, plays the most epic closing solo ever. I mean sure, they'd get penalty points out the @$$, I just think it would own.

Edited September 4, 2008 by takigan

[Xenon]

UIL doesn't have sideline penalties, so (as far as I'm aware) you can go anywhere you want.

 

BOA, though, Bell 2007 kept getting penalized at BOA GN for having the little girl go up to the DM podium and sing/sleep. And Duncanville 1991 or 1993 at BOA GN had a flute solo by the DM that she played from the podium for which they received a penalty.

 

Duncanville 2001 ended with the band playing the Shaker Melody portion of Appalachian Spring, then playing the quiet ending part while coming off the field and blocking up right in front of the stands while the Drum Major climbed into the stands to direct one last park and blow of the Shaker Melody.

 

I am also a huge fan of the way that SCV left the field in 2006, especially at the Alamo Dome where there was an available exit at the back of the stadium.

[Donezo]

  Xenon said:

Duncanville 2001 ended with the band playing the Shaker Melody portion of Appalachian Spring, then playing the quiet ending part while coming off the field and blocking up right in front of the stands while the Drum Major climbed into the stands to direct one last park and blow of the Shaker Melody.

Allegedly Tom Shine has said this was inspired by Poteet 1997. That move almost got Poteet disqualified in state prelims and a similar move almost got them disqualified in 1999 state finals! Contest officials were apparently unclear as to what constituted an "instrumental cadence."

[bonepit06-07]

wow ive nvr heard of any of this happen this is all so crazy but yet so interesting

[MisterNick]

  Donezo said:

Allegedly Tom Shine has said this was inspired by Poteet 1997. That move almost got Poteet disqualified in state prelims and a similar move almost got them disqualified in 1999 state finals! Contest officials were apparently unclear as to what constituted an "instrumental cadence."

 

I've seen that done a few times before, and I remember thinking, "whoa, can they do that? Is that Legal."

 

Also, I love this thread too. Something that concerns me is that some directors will see these trends and take the wrong lessons from them. Some will see bands that try something new and is successful, and try to emulate that, and more often than not it's just a pale imitation.

 

I remember a while back, someone writing a small diatribe in the TMEA newsletter, talking about how pageantry might be hurting marching competition overall. "Are we spending too much on sound systems on the field instead of buying an oboe or bassoon for the concert band?" (I'm paraphrasing here.) I think that bands that can afford things like sound systems don't really have to worry about having quality instruments in their program. I remember one Westfield show that featured a bassoon octet! Seriously, when some college programs are hard-pressed to find 3 for their department.

 

Also, while it's true that you can't have football without marching band, the reverse isn't necessarily true. Look at UT-Arlington for the best example of that. I also know of a 3A school that has a marching band, but no football program, so they perform at halftimes for smaller schools that don't have a marching band. It's still growing and building at the moment though.

 

I don't see BOA or UIL absorbing into each other by any means. There are several bands in TX that still march military style (Lufkin, Longview, and Kingwood just to name a few) and, honestly, it just wouldn't work in a BOA setting. I do, however, see an evolution of UIL rules, seeing as it happens all the time. Back in the day, they used to have a 12 minute rule for marching performances, but then they adjusted it over time, and I can see them adjusting it again as needed.

 

There was a point here...I'm sure of it.