TCU MARCHING BAND

[Stiff Arm Frog]

I think unless you were in band you shouldn't give your opinions!

Man, you are new to this board.

 

[researchfrog]

Burn out was a major factor in why I quit band in 1999. It was when Youngblood decided that the different sections of the band must meet ten or twenty minutes prior to the official start of class. That wasn't a big deal for me two days a week, but I had a Friday afternoon class immediately before band and the professor frequently taught past the official end of class. That class was in my major and something had to give. Though my fellow posters have advised me that Youngblood is no longer so stringent with marching, it was his first year in '99 and he expected us to work very hard at playing and marching. It was also around this same time that they started to crack down on KKY's Freshman Orientation Party and prohibiting drunk alumni in the alumni band at Homecoming. As a college student, marching band no longer seemed very fun.

For many years afterwards, I would post on here regarding the need for the school to discontinue the traditional TCU marching band and switch to a scatter band concept such as the Rice MOB or the Leland Stanford, Junior University Marching Band. The School of Music could then retain a vestigial drum and bugle corp for band exhibitions. Given the continuous academic improvements in TCU's incoming classes and your discussion of burnout, I am renewing my old suggestion.

 

[hfrog1211]

What are the rules for earning a band scholarship? Are they full or partial scholarships?

There are very, very few full scholarships. I would bet maybe half have a partial scholarship, and those scholarships might average 25% of tuition. That's based on very few facts, though..

I was in the marching band during the four CUSA years, and I did not have a music scholarship. It can be difficult being in the band if you have to keep a job, too.

 

[Screaming Flea]

Looks to me that the Band needs to reassess the way they have been doing it, like our football coaches will, so they can modify things to make it better if they want to. Hopefully they will, and band members can fill us in on what is going on.

I certainly agree with your statement. For years I've hinted that the TCU Band needs to re-invent itself. No more hints, straight out...re-invent.



This is certainly going to be an interesting year. Surprises will be all over the place, especially when OU comes to town and one of there first yells is going to be.....We're going to beat the hell out of you..! They had it long before TCU. Another of the surprises will be ...the visiting bands. All of a sudden, we're going to be stumbling around in the twilight looking very much like a large high school band. It's time for re-invention.

 

[ShadowFrog]

I certainly agree with your statement. For years I've hinted that the TCU Band needs to re-invent itself. No more hints, straight out...re-invent. This is certainly going to be an interesting year. Surprises will be all over the place, especially when OU comes to town and one of there first yells is going to be.....We're going to beat the hell out of you..! They had it long before TCU. Another of the surprises will be ...the visiting bands. All of a sudden, we're going to be stumbling around in the twilight looking very much like a large high school band. It's time for re-invention.

Agreed. Perhaps not re-invention but some...fresh thinking.
And a REAL travel budget. THAT will hurt and not likely to happen soon or easily.
With the clamp-down of MCG (Marketing Clipboard Girl) there is much less opportunity to pound out some fun 16-measure blurts between plays and/or timeouts. Much less the old pep band that use to split off & run to the top of the west side upper deck & do battling fight songs from one side to the other. On the plus side I will say thank goodness they FINALLY retired Hey Micki and I Want Candy -- both waay too tired from the 80's.

 

[BUGrad95]

There's nothing wrong with traditional formations and songs, but every now and then mix it up. One of the best halftimes I saw all year was the Baylor/OU game. Each band did its thing, but surprised everybody with a "flash mob" to Party Rock Anthem. Once BU's band came off the field, they put their instruments down. Then it started. After a few minutes OU's band came running in. The crowd loved it. Also note OU doesn't have their entire band. Some of the larger Big XII bands don't take everybody on the road. I wish there was a better video, but this gives you an idea of what I'm talking about.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBwQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DgVtSaJFqOaQ&rct=j&q=baylor%20ou%20band%20flash%20mob&ei=lq8xT-ySAsjf0QH0nKDbBw&usg=AFQjCNEqQLEtxI9RBhv4LNyRbRFsqqvIvQ

 

[Raw Frog]

This thread has been (and hopefully continues to be) enlightening. It has brought some issues out that need to be addressed before next season. The TCU Band should stake out its turf as the spirit pulse of the Frogs... the AD and the Band Director should get together and talk this out. The band members need to have some creative space to work with and have fun with. It is a big commitment and a sacrifice of their time. Make it enticing for them. The new stadium is their house too. They need to get ready to face off with the Big 12 bands and big fan base. We do not want them to feel hog tied or throttled back. They have a bunch of work to do. They should carry the burden of getting the crowd going and pumped, not some piped in artificial hype. There is a place for piped in music for sure, but not during the game so much. Not to take the place of our band as the core of our spirit motivation next to the players on the field.
A meeting should be set to get this worked out now.
We all want to take pride in our band.

 

[Deep Purple]

So, a student would not have to be a music major to be in the band?

Not only that, you don't even have to be a TCU student. Almost anybody who can play an instrument and be taught to march in formation can join the band.

 

[Deep Purple]

Another of the surprises will be ...the visiting bands. All of a sudden, we're going to be stumbling around in the twilight looking very much like a large high school band.

Not very likely for home games. How much room is there going to be in the new stadium for large visiting bands? Keep in mind that visiting bands don't get free seating. The visiting school has to purchase tickets for them. That means there has to be non-reserved seating available for purchase.

If season ticket sales are in the 25,000-30,000 range (already at @ 23,000, and we still have a long way to go), that's 55-65% of the available seating. Then we have the following issues...

Sections 120-128 (lower deck East, light grey) are reserved for TCU students and the TCU band. Sections 230-238 (upper deck East, light and dark orange) are reserved for TCU season ticket holders. Sections 226-229 and 412-416 (upper deck corners, violet) are for visiting fans. The only remaining appropriate spot for a visiting band is section 230 (upper deck East, medium grey.)

But if individual-game ticket sales are exceptionally high, that could limit available seating for visiting bands. Schools with average-sized bands like Baylor should have little problem, but I'm guessing schools with exceptionally large bands (Texas, OU, etc) will face traveling squad limits due to lack of appropriately located seating. I doubt we would seat any visiting band in the upper deck West (sections 409-411, medium grey), and if we did, the visiting school would likely protest.

 

[Mike Brooks]

The band needs to start now to get ready to compete with Gramblin State's Band for the home opener. If they were smart they would put together a halftime show together. That would be a classic. I believe Houston did the same thing a few years back.

I'm surprised our band hasn't tried to pull a tech and opt out of the grambling game. That isn't the type of band we want our band competing against right now.

 

[hfrog1211]

I would think a lot of the band is interested in seeing the Grambling band. They're a unique phenomenon. Not everybody has this inferiority complex towards groups that are different.

As an TCU ex-bandsman, I've never wished I was in a band like UT, Stanford, SMU, TAMU, or Grambling.

 

[OmniscienceFrog]

As for the band I just have a request.

For the love of God, play Deep in the Heart of Texas the original way. I don't care if John Philip Souza himself arranged the jazzy version, it stinks.

+1

Even if nothing else in this thread is accurate, this IS. I cringe every time they start playing that, because I know what's coming.

 

[Screaming Flea]

+1

Even if nothing else in this thread is accurate, this IS. I cringe every time they start playing that, because I know what's coming.

After four years or better, I think everyone is sick and tired of it. This is just another example of the lack of creativity on behalf of the director's. There thought is obvious, the song is there, everyone can play it and it is a time filler for the half time. When you lack creativity and the willing spirit to change, what do you do?


Re-invent folks, its long over due.

 

[froginaustin]

The Longhorn Band at UTx requires requires auditions and limits enrollment. Been doing that for decades. It's easy to do that when a university admits ~8k freshmen and probably ~2k transfer students every fall, and only a fraction of students will get football tickets. Want to be sure of a UTx student football ticket? Join the band.

Required time commitments for UTx's band are such that it is predominantly if not majority freshman. Most people are so thoroughly burned out after 1 year that they give it up.

I remember Prof. Jacobsen talking about U of Michigan band "traditions", and got the impression from him that what Michigan bandsmen did was not uncommon for Big Ten schools. Pretty damn tough "boot camp" orientation for new members, and hazing for an entire first year that sounded harsh even in 1970. With a seriously reduced toleration for hazing in these modern times, likely no one busts freshman chops any more, to the degree they did back then. But I really wouldn't be surprised if any of these large-enrollment football schools didn't have bands that, in effect, hazed newbies just to make sure they really wanted to participate-- knowing that if 1 quit another could be plugged into their spot.

In the old days, TCU bands did not try to run people off. Quite the contrary; Jacobsen and the TCU brass wanted as many participating as possible.

 

[musicfrog4226]

I love everything the marching band is doing, especially the "jazzy" deep in the heart.

 

[SFA Frog]

After four years or better, I think everyone is sick and tired of it. This is just another example of the lack of creativity on behalf of the director's. There thought is obvious, the song is there, everyone can play it and it is a time filler for the half time. When you lack creativity and the willing spirit to change, what do you do?


Re-invent folks, its long over due.

First you try to know what you're talking about. Deep in the Heart of Texas is not played at halftime. It is played as part of the pregame show. Pregame shows tend not to change much at most schools. They are generally designed to be more traditional. The current pregame show has been in place since before 2001 when I started in band. A few parts of have changed but TCU's goes something like:

march on from east side
do 4-5 run
play fight song
Play Shine
Deep in the Heart of Texas
Horned Frog Pride is in there somewhere
Showgirls dance to something
Alma Mater
National Anthem
Fight song with Jacobson turnaround to march back off to the east side or go to form tunnel

The halftime show has changed every year and it is made up of parts or the whole exhibition show. It is less traditional and more creative. Also, TCU's band thankfully isn't a traditional park-and-bark college marching band. They actually work pretty hard at what they do and are an actual marching band rather than stand and play loud (park and bark) ensemble that many other bands are.

 

[Raw Frog]

Thanks SFA.....any ideas to make it better or suggested changes?

 

[WColeman]

I guess this is part suggestion/ part question. . . why doesn't the band play their version of the Hawaii 5-0 theme they created for that contest. It sounds pretty good on the video they made.

 

[asleep003]

Give'em Spats! So, if they're not so good... they will look good. And if they are good... then they'll look better than they are....

Cheers !

 

[nytexan70]

Spats! So old school like SMU stuck in the last Century. The pregame performance at every college is pretty much the same the school song , Fight song, Star Spangled Banner. Texas and other schools pretty much do the same thing week after week year after year due to time and rehearsal limitations. My son was in the SFA Band in Nacogdoches does and old school type A&M type pregame show that is basically the same thing every year and every game. The half-time show varies from year to year.