How many of you were in band in school?

[Aceman]

You know - the standard high school band. I have a theory about band, that it is mostly the death of musical desire. The instruments are mostly tragic in anything but a John Phillip Souza nightmare, the songs are horrible, or great songs done horribly.

For all of the "Music / music education is important" crap I hear - I don't buy it, and I'm a musician!!!!

And if you know people who were in band, do they still play?

[Aceman]

My wife was - she played clarinet because her parents made her. She hated it, while still being first chair. Threw a fit and finally quit.

Her yuounger sister took standard Piano lessons. A month ago on the phone she said she played classical because she realized you "couldn't play a song" on just piano except classical (someone better tell Elton John, Billy Joel, etc...)

I just see people giving their kids music lessons for absolutely no reason other than they think they should, or it's a good idea etc...

Just baffles the hell out of me.

[Lucid_Lunatic]

I was in bluegrass and gospel bands through most of my teens.

[uOpt]

We didn't have a regular high school band like in the US.

My high school pooled resources and people with a city owned music school and we had a Big Band. Too bad I didn't like Jazz but we had a great time and went on trips. Good thing they don't have the silly alcohol from 21 rule over there, otherwise we couldn't have drunk with the teachers.

[TheLivingDead]

I was forced to play a plastic flute for a few years.

[King IzzO)))]

Jazz band, not marching band. Played drums and upright, I suck at upright.

[LesStrat]

For once I did not vote "rob"

[tc]

That's not necessarily true...I think it varies from school to school.

This is actually a uni band from a school I almost went to, but I don't see how a high school band couldn't, with the proper incentive, be as badass as this.



As for me...well, my school wasn't all that musical and I just preferred to study by myself or with private teachers. My high school music teacher was always trying to correct my technique and would show me these completely un-ergonomic ways to hold the instrument/how to pick/etc...and even went so far as saying that "all guitars with glossy finishes sound and feel better!"

Cue the facepalm.

[Funkfingers]

I'm in the UK. We have neither High Schools (in the American manner) nor marching bands.

I want to vote Rob Option but Ace has tacked on that bit about one time in camp.

[dd12939]

Started in school band in 3rd grade and will still be in band in my second year as a doctoral student. I won't get into the discussion about whether or not music education is important, but you can guess where I stand.

[dd12939]

Ace, I agree with you that not much good can come from a kid being really forced into it against their will, but the same can be said of most any activity.

As for your apparent distaste for everything "band" we'll have to agree to disagree. Unlike pop music or even the "major" bits of orchestral repertoire, most people get very little exposure to wind bands (especially good ones) without seeking it out. I will grant you that there is a lot of really terrible band music, but there is in the orchestra as well (they've just had 400+ years to collect the good pieces that we remember and forget about the rest), and I don't even need to say that there is some bad pop/rock/jazz/metal/country...

Sousa was indeed a master, but what about Holst, Hindemith, Persichetti, Grainger, Husa... All brilliant.





And Brass Band

[Lazarus1140]

I started with piano lessons when I was six. Then I joined the school band in the seventh grade. In the middle of my senior year in high school I dropped band, sold my trombone, and bought a guitar. I was surprised to see that as a poll option.

[Jessie's ghost]

Nope.

[Bfeeney]

I was in a band for the senior year talent show. We had 2 guitars, bass, drums and vocals. Well to start things off the drummer flipped out on a teacher so he wasn't allowed to play, 15 minutes before we go on! Sub-in drummer that doesn't know the song! The other guitarist and I didn't know the value of stage monitors, We were on either side of the drums (about 30' apart) with our amps facing the audience and we (at least I) couldn't hear what he was playing so it was like there was a sloppy 10 second delay between the two of us. To make things worse, The singer got stage fright amnesia so he spend 75% of the time humming the lyrics. So basically a nicely orchestrated song turned into punk rock sinceless noise. Sure ruined my day, but the drummer (who couldn't play) are still best friends and we now laugh at our ignorance/stupidity back then.

[GuitarStv]

In the small community that I grew up in, my elementary school didn't have anyone qualified to teach a music program (we just listened to music during those classes . . . wtf?), and our high school didn't have a music program at all. Figure it would have been pretty cool to go somewhere with music in school . . .

[texasguitarslinger]

Played alto sax in 7th and 8th grades symphonic band. I was 1st chair for most of 8th grade.

[ItsaBass]

1, 3, and 4 kind of apply.

1. Yes, I was in band. Four years jazz/stage band (electric bass), three years marching band (trombone, sousaphone, and euphonium/baritone horn), two years orchestra (uprite bass), one year drumline (snare), and one season in the all-city youth band (trombone) after I graduated high school. One semester on the bone in the local community college band (which was terrible in comparison to my high school band), and one semester on bone in the Spirit of Troy (bunch of drunk private school pricks).

2. I didn't quit to play guitar. I played guitar better because of it. It encouraged and supported my bass and guitar playing, and made me a quicker learn in all styles of music and on many instruments.

4. Band camp was on campus for us, not some retreat in the woods. I cannot imagine the bedlam that would have broken out if band camp was a bona-fide camping trip. Not at band camp, but during the regular school year, I cannot count the number of times my girl-fiend and I defiled various spots in or around the band room, auditorium, little side theater, dressing rooms, bathrooms, storage closets, walk-in instrument lockers, etc.

Marches are actually really good **** in general. I love 'em, and have many albums full of them. Here are my two favorite numbers that we played. "Voice of the Guns" was our competition march one year, and "Army of the Nile" the next. Both were written by Kenneth Alford. A.O.T.N. is a truly bad-ass march, especially in its first section.



We also competed with this one, which has an insanely good and intense first section (minor), but then gets boring (the major part):

[crusty philtrum]

I wanted to play cello in a marching band. But they wouldn't let me because my shoes were squeaky when i walked.

[ItsaBass]

I wanted to play cello in a marching band. But they wouldn't let me because my shoes were squeaky when i walked.

Not to take anything away from your joke, but I saw a marching band with a cello once. It was wheeled on a cart. I've also seen 'em with electric bass and guitar. Pretty idiotic, as none of these instruments came anywhere close to being audible, nor can any of them be played very well while walking.

[SlyFoxx]

I played trombone in grades 5-8. By 7th grade I was pretty good holding either 1st or 2nd chair for two years. I was also a member of the stage band which was about a 15 piece chunk of the large band. We had somebody on P bass and we played pop tunes arranged by the band director. I played in 9th grade for a while but I transferred a few months later to a private school that was so small there was no band so I pretty much dropped it. Later found out for sure that the HS band director was gay and was diddling students. It was really no surprise though as he could pitch hissy fit like nobody's business and we all thought he was a little light in the loafers.