ALLEN BAND: LOVE THEM OR HATE THEM

[Rowdy2013]

Not a band person here.  But interested in general opinion of band experts on the Allen band.  Do you love the 850 member band?  Or do you hate them?

[takigan]

I love the idea of an 850 member band.  And I disagree with the common opinion out there that they should split into a varsity competing band and a non-varsity athletic band.   Band isn't just about competitiveness after all.

I think it's interesting how there isn't a band in the nation that comes close to rivaling this band's size.  I can only think of a couple college bands that have had over 400 members in the whole program (and zero high school bands), and not a single band at all that has even hit 500.  The idea of a single band program being bigger than any other 2 band programs blows my mind!

[FloMoParent]

I don't like the 800+ member band.  I think they are doing the students a disservice.  It is obvious that the school has money and parents who are passionate about their program, but with that many people, they really don't have an opportunity to learn and perform like most of the other 5A schools in the area.

[TromboneMan77]

I have a (very good) friend who goes to Allen, he is in their JROTC.
He says....a lot of stuff about their band. I'll leave you to conclude what sorts of stuff. I'll just say this, my friend doesn't lie.  

[whitewing09]

I have a (very good) friend who goes to Allen, he is in their JROTC.

He says....a lot of stuff about their band. I'll leave you to conclude what sorts of stuff. I'll just say this, my friend doesn't lie.  

 

So we can either conclude he has good things to say or bad things to say. That's great!

 

 

 

On another note, wasn't there a time when this band was making area finals in the highly competitive Area B?

[takigan]

I don't like the 800+ member band. I think they are doing the students a disservice. It is obvious that the school has money and parents who are passionate about their program, but with that many people, they really don't have an opportunity to learn and perform like most of the other 5A schools in the area.

You do realize this school has TEN full-time band directors....and that's not counting the middle school directors who go up to help out, as well as the part-time staff and consultants plus over 30 private lesson instructors. The crowd may be huge, but the kids aren't lost in it.

 

And the fact that every student marches and there are no alternates, means every student gets a chance to learn and perform. Plus it's 850 kids learning versus 200-300 kids learning...soooo, more kids learning is better than less. Cutting it down to 400 or smaller would be a disservice to the 450+ kids that got cut.

 

Their pride isn't a shallow pride that gets by with "Well, we've made finals at area a few times, so we're better than most". No, their pride comes from the fact that they're the biggest freaking marching band the world has ever known!

 

http://www.marching.com/spotlight/allen-texas-huge-marching-band/

[takigan]

There's an article on the internet somewhere where the former director Charles Pennington talks about how the program is run logistically, but I can't seem to find it.

Edit: Found it: http://issuu.com/sboschoolbandorchestra/docs/sbomay2011/20

[AllenTrombone]

Its a different environment for sure! If you asked anyone in the band, we really enjoy being together and its a very positive atmosphere. We're not as much as a competitive band, but we certainly do have our share of amazing players and marchers, sure we could be like our football team, but we take pride in involving everyone. 

 

The fact that we don't have any alternates is false, for contest we have around a hundred alternates that march a secondary position during halftime. Its hard to become an alternate unless you skip class almost every day, or are failing your classes. Even if your an Alternate, your still encouraged to do your best and we have Student tutors to help with classes, and a private lesson staff to help with our playing. 

 

Unfortunately, Charles Pennington is now at the middle school, he had some health issues. This year, we are running on entirely new staff, and have around 600 new marchers.

 This year, a number of changes were issued by Blane Hinton. 

 

As a band, we love being in the stands. As a group we cheer for our team, and talk and chatter. I can remember a magical moment from my freshmen year. Its really hard to describe the feeling, but it was caught on tape. 

 

What would i say? I Love the band, and i wouldn't give it up for anything in the world.

 

[takigan]

I apologize for the misinformation.  The fact that the band marches such a huge unit combined with the only videos of Allen I've seen being from Football games (haven't seen them live yet) in addition to reading a lot about the Allen band's philosophy of inclusion made me assume that, like several bands I know of in DFW, they march everyone.

I also want to clarify that I can't truly speak for the Allen Band's definition of pride...as I am not and never have been affiliated with that program.

[AllenTrombone]

I apologize for the misinformation.  The fact that the band marches such a huge unit combined with the only videos of Allen I've seen being from Football games (haven't seen them live yet) in addition to reading a lot about the Allen band's philosophy of inclusion made me assume that, like several bands I know of in DFW, they march everyone.

 

I also want to clarify that I can't truly speak for the Allen Band's definition of pride...as I am not and never have been affiliated with that program.

Last two years, it was just upperclassmen. This year, there are some alternates, but I've only met three. Our system has been, if you've been placed as a shadow for a number of reasons (Missing class) You have to challenge another person to march half time. 

 

Three years ago, they marched everyone. (I'm not knowledgeable on this time i was in 8th grade), My 9th grade year, we didn't do the uil half time but we did 2/3 Halftimes. My sophomore year, under Pennington we got 11th in the Plano east marching competition. While only the sophomores graders had little uil experience, and the freshmen didn't participate in this show. Now, Nearly 99% of the people are in the show. In the beginning of the year, they said a hundred to two hundred shadows, however it looks closer to thirty,  

 

The articles may have been from 2010? I think there are a few newer ones, ill try looking for one that isn't about our new stadium. If you haven't been to an allen game, Its a great place to see the band and a bit of school pride!

 

No problem, there are all kinds of rumors about the band. Someone even said you don't need an instrument to join, you believe that? xD

[NickTheDrummer]

I will preface this by saying that the only knowledge I have of the Allen Band is that they're freaking HUGE.

 

That being said, it is my opinion that as long as the students are being taught well, which it seems they are, then the more the merrier. 

[Chryco4]

If the directors have found a way to manage the band in a way that the students (and parents) enjoy then that's great. Nothing else matters. It sounds like this band is just one big happy family and is a very enjoyable experience to play in or watch. Being able to come up with an effective way for the directors to manage the gigantic group is quite an impressive feat in leadership.

 

I just have one question.

 

Does the band have 76 trombones yet? I remember a few years that the director said that they would add that song to their repetoire if the section got that large. Haha.

[Statebound]

I've seen a ton of HS football games the last 10 years and Allen has the absolute best "game" band -- and that's a high compliment from me.  They play from the beginning of the game to the end.  If I remember correctly, they play "Macarena" when the opposing QB comes up to the ball and it's extremely intimidating.  The kids seem to have a great time.

 

The other great "game" bands that come to mind right now are Plano, Duncanville, Hebron, and Coppell (insane brass).  Plano plays "Hey Baby" and the entire crowd sings along.  Hebron plays "Iron Man" when the other team has the ball. Coppell brass is just really loud and reminds me of a college marching band.

 

No slight to Marcus, but I've always noticed that their band does not play much during games.  Probably saving energy for Saturday contests.  Whatever the reason, it obviously works.

[stewartjames008]

I even don't like the 800+ members bands. There is very little room left for all the members, as very few shines in these types of bands.