Why are some bands so good?

[bariphonium]

I've been thinking about this, and I want y'alls opinion on it: Why are bands like Bell, Duncanville, SFA, etc. so good, while others are not? Why are some bands noted wherever they go, while others make people say "Who are they again?". What's stopping Westlake, The Colony, Leander, and other bands who aren't often considered "great" from winning BOA Regionals and placing high in State? And what's making Duncanville and Langham Creek constant contenders for Honor Band? Why is that?

[Hawkeye]

Serious motiviation, dedicated directors and members, publicity, and doing all the contests they can do?

[Xenon]

Serious motiviation, dedicated directors and members, publicity, and doing all the contests they can do?

I agree with everything except the contests. Duncanville doesn't go to many contests.

 

Also, great band boosters and community support are other pluses.

[davidpowell]

Well, if the directors and staff aren't great, the kids can't be. End of story.

 

However, if this first criteria is met, the burden then falls to the kids.

[whitewing09]

it depends on what you mean. cuz ive heard about westlake and theyre somewhat good i dont really hear about duncanville i hear alot about reagan ld bell cedar park. and alot of them and i havent about some of those that alot of yall have and ive heard about some some of yall might not have. it all depends on what you do and where you do it.

 

 

i agree need a strong staff for the students to be strong

[sax5warrior]

priorities and resources

[Dynasty]

Student Leadership. A band is only what the kids put into it, after recieving direction from their directors.

[Dynasty]

I should also a great sense of family. Being comfortable and supported is critical too.

[mnkyman]

^lol double boost from the admin

 

 

good musical educational foundation...starting from 6th grade..not just a good band in high school..but starting from the beginning and up

[euro_euph06]

-Great Staff

-Phenominial Student Leaders

-More than qualified Techs

-Wonderful Private Lesson Staff

-Phenominial Drumline/Instructor

-Good 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and Middle School bands

-School and District Administration (This important for the reason that if you dont have the support and funding to run--you are screwed)

-And the most important key to being "good": is to just have fun. If you are not having fun, then (in my opinion) why are you doing it?

[smusic]

 

They have amazing private teachers and very smart directors with tenure and experience. Also, they had he best middle school directors in the state.

 

 

 

 

[actualgirltrombone]

Also, random distribution of natural talent. For instance, some neighborhoods may somehow get more musically inclined families with more kids that just can play their horns.

 

That may also be a reflection of middle school programs, but all I know is that about five people in 2nd band actually practice and we keep on getting compliments ?

[MartinHorn]

discipline

 

dedication

 

good leaders

 

talented kids

 

and a lot of other factors listed on this topic.

 

bottom line, it takes hard work to be good, bands don't just get lucky.

[TX Suh-nare]

It also takes a balance of pushing and shoving

 

In other words, a band director has to know how hard to push their band to get something done, and the band needs to shove the work back to the band directors.

 

The best directors know to push their kids too far at times, to make their students rise up to the challenge. The best students, COLLECTIVELY, not only rise up to the challenge, but shove the music back into their director's face, forcing him to find something wrong with it, or new to look at.

 

To me, even though some people just have "it," anyone can be a upper level performer. It just depends on how much of your butt you're willing to whoop.

[LordGiggles]

I don't think natural talent of an individual has anything to do with the success of the band program. It has to be the work of a collective whole.

 

Actualgirltrombone, I believe you can recall the senior class of this year from your school. Most of them were potential all-staters, all of them were really really talented, some of their sections were stacked ( such as the flutes ). But you can see the lack of success that occured this year, because of people on the other side of natural talent, that don't want to work and bring down the program.

[euro_euph06]

I don't think natural talent of an individual has anything to do with the success of the band program. It has to be the work of a collective whole.

 

Actualgirltrombone, I believe you can recall the senior class of this year from your school. Most of them were potential all-staters, all of them were really really talented, some of their sections were stacked ( such as the flutes ). But you can see the lack of success that occured this year, because of people on the other side of natural talent, that don't want to work and bring down the program.

Hence why our class has the most music majors from our school ever:

 

4 UNT

3 Texas State

2 UH

6 UT Austin

1 Baylor

 

And that is out of 40 seniors. And the flutes were the second most talented section. The Euphs are always number one.

 

 

edit: Added a person that is going to Baylor.

Edited May 30, 2006 by euro_euph06

[Claritone]

dedication, leadership, middle schools and lessons teachers, pretty much everything that has been said already

[FunkyFlute07]

student leadership.

band directors.

band boosters.

money money money.

talent.

 

 

band has to be motivated, and the motivation comes from the band directors and student leaders, and the boosters. gosh.money is a big part in it tooo i think, cuz if you have money, then you'll have the best of everything and such. gosh..im done for the moment...cuz my eyes are closing as i finish..typin.g

[takigan]

Good, well-educated staff that know how to walk the fine line between making the kids want to give their all.....while still making it fun enough so that they actually want to give their all.

 

The more kids a director can make respect him/her, the more willing those kids will be to go all the way for him/her.

 

 

Other than that, the students need to be educated with what they're really about. Exposure to what DCI is and how it relates to them is also important. I didn't even know what Drum Corps was till I left HS when I met people at college who marched in it. I hated marching band, but as I watched tapes of DCI shows and documentaries showing these kids at camps and how hard they work to produce the high energy shows that they do, I was opened up to a whole new world I never knew and gained a newfound respect for the sport. I think having a video day of one of these documentaries in HS would instill a respect for the sport and a new desire to work hard for their own HS program wherever that may be.

[manuel_pablo]

Good, well-educated staff that know how to walk the fine line between making the kids want to give their all.....while still making it fun enough so that they actually want to give their all.

 

The more kids a director can make respect him/her, the more willing those kids will be to go all the way for him/her.

 

 

Other than that, the students need to be educated with what they're really about.  Exposure to what DCI is and how it relates to them is also important.  I didn't even know what Drum Corps was till I left HS when I met people at college who marched in it.  I hated marching band, but as I watched tapes of DCI shows and documentaries showing these kids at camps and how hard they work to produce the high energy shows that they do, I was opened up to a whole new world I never knew and gained a newfound respect for the sport.  I think having a video day of one of these documentaries in HS would instill a respect for the sport and a new desire to work hard for their own HS program wherever that may be.

Ditto. Our directors have us watch about 2 band/dci videos everyday at dinner during our June camp(which is currently in progress).

[umdebaba]

Population also has alot to do with it. In big cities there are some schools that are better funded than others. Those schools can afford a quality band program. When the students come in, they have lots of people to pick from. While the ratio of superior to not so superior players/marchers may be the same as compared to other schools and if medium and large schools march the same amount of people, the large sized school will have a higher percentage of excellent players/marchers. By having a large population and good funding a school can afford better music education. This brings more families involved in music because of siblings, offspring, or friends. This helps build the backbone of a superior band.

[Hawkeye]

Population also has alot to do with it. In big cities there are some schools that are better funded than others. Those schools can afford a quality band program. When the students come in, they have lots of people to pick from. While the ratio of superior to not so superior players/marchers may be the same as compared to other schools and if medium and large schools march the same amount of people, the large sized school will have a higher percentage of excellent players/marchers. By having a large population and good funding a school can afford better music education. This brings more families involved in music because of siblings, offspring, or friends. This helps build the backbone of a superior band.

I somewhat agree with this statement. In a big city, there is a chance to get larger donations and maybe better funding from the district.

 

But I do know that in my school's district, the budget isn't near enough to fund the entire marching season (and still be able to compete in BOA & UIL, and fund all the usual marching season stuff) and the district is just south of Houston. Near NASA and near oil refineries & major oil company offices.

[I<3thebox]

Hmmm... Ok I thought about this a bit and here's what I came up with.

 

Basically it boils down to this,

1. You have to be "great" (reaons / factors of greatness are up for debate)

2. You have to KNOW you're great.

 

Example, if a band staff has an attitude that their band IS great, it will rub off on the students and maybe they're good - but not great - if they go to a competition, and get SLAMMED they can either react (a) that they were just cheated or conspired against, or some excuse or ( they can say "oh wait... we maybe be good, but we got called on some stuff" - again alot of this is staff to student stuff - if the staff says "we got screwed" the students usually follow suit.

Conversely, they're are schools that have real potential and they just don't know it - again alot is staff to students. The staff is the band's relation with the outside world. Band staff are the people who have done it all before, and know people from XYZHS and networking and all that jazz. If the staff doesnt let their band know they're great, they wont acheive greatness.

Also their cant be any inconsitencies - if part of the staff says "great" and the other half says "mediocre" or if the whole staff says "that was great" and the band is like... "WTFlip?" or if half the band is believing and acheiving greatness and the other half is believing and acheiving mediocrity... you get the picture

so basically everything has to match.

 

So, I guess I've also come to the conclusion that a band needs an excellent staff with the right balance of techinical skills, leadership, personality, and very importantly networking if you're school can grab some DCI judge or the Techie from the Cavies or the Honor Band director or or or just b/c your directors know the right folks or have good reputations - you've got a sweet deal.

 

Finally I also think name recognition plays a part. Like that guy up there said they hear about SFA and Duncanville and Reagan and such - people flock to those kinds of schools. If a kid is moving from A to B and he's got the choice of some random school or Reagan - hes going to pick Reagan - like someone said they get more attention and more students to pick from so they have a higher concentration of the best ones. Same thing goes for staff. If I just got out of Band Direcotr school at UH of something I immediately look for openings at top notch schools - they get lots of attention so they can be selective. Kinda like how Ivy League colleges work.

 

wow that was long, ok Im done

[x04ty29er]

I quite agree with what is being said here. However, I have seen some schools outside of Texas and some in Texas that begin teaching in the 5th grade and earlier. Also, some bands, usually the more flawless ones, are run like the military.

[trumpetman1288]

I think if you have...

 

A.) The students enjoy what they are doing

B.) Directors that know what they are doing

C.) Adequate funding to help the program grow

D.) Support from the community/school

E.) Excellent fundamentals (playing/marching)

F.) Unity within the band

G.) Discipline and respect

 

...then the band will be successful.

 

If students do not enjoy what they are doing, the desire to compete is lost. If there is no desire to compete, then the band cannot be successful.

 

Directors have to know what they are doing. The students can be the most enthusiastic people for band, but if the directors do not know what to do, then the band will not have any success. There is a band down here that is in this exact situation. The students love band, and you can tell by their performances, but concepts of balance, fundamentals, and discipline are not enforced by directors. The band has no first division to show for it.

 

Funding is important. Without it, some concepts cannot be executed in a show. Imagine the colorguard with white flags and no uniforms. Imagine watching the Woodlands 2004 show without the props and numbered flags. Money helps...there really is no way around that.

 

Support for the band helps a great deal. Students feel that they aren't wasting time in band if they are getting the recognition they deserve. Football is king in Texas, no denying that. When the band starts to receive credit and support along with the football team, however, students begin to feel as if they are not wasting time with band.

 

Fundamentals start with beginner band. Granted, you cannot be extremely strict with beginners as you would a high school student or the numbers would quickly drop, but directors need to implement good playing habbits and teach effective playing exercises. Marching fundamentals need to be strong from the start of the season; they can't just suddenly pick up during the middle of the season in order to win anything.

 

Unity is crucial with any organization. A basketball team cannot be great if the starters all hate each other. Differences must be put aside for the sake of an organization if it is to be successful; in other words, leave grudges/anger/rivalries with others outside of it.

 

Discipline and respect are key. A band without discipline is like a school without rules. Respect on the field is also earned, not demanded. If section leaders and officers do their part, then others will follow their example and continue the

tradition.

 

But that's what I think it takes to have a good band. A lot of successful bands have different means of accomplishing goals. It all comes down to what I just mentioned though. Some bands go above and beyond, and I have even heard some bands go so far as doing pilates (it's an exercise for those of you that don't know) to help them. You can do pilates all you want, but if a band doesn't have good fundamentals they can't compete. If a band is rich, they won't win if they aren't motivated. So on and so forth.