TRtrumpet Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 As far as I know, me and Whitewingz have been the only ATSSB (3A and below) kids on here forever. So do we have anyone else now? As fun as it is talking and hearing about bands I'll never get to see , It'd be cool to talk about some good small school bands too. *Also, question for anyone who's tried out for all-region in ATSSB and TMEA: How much harder is the competition? Both my band director and my uncle (who's a 5A director in Laredo), want me to try out on the TMEA track next year. But it's my senior year... and I don't want to go and get killed if I don't have a chance. So yeah, just wondering if anyone else has done that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takigan Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 I competed 5A in HS 4 years and never competed in an ATSSB region but I have judged one. I have also judged a 4A TMEA region as well and have known in college many people with track records in all the bands and have equated this with their respective abilities..... Think of it this way (and this isn't the case with all regions/areas, but is the prevalent trend): 5A All-State Symphonic Band > 5A All-State Concert Band > 5A All-Area > 5A All-Region top half = ATSSB Symphonic Band = 4A All-State Band (there's only one) > 4A All-Area > ATSSB Concert Band = 5A All-Region bottom half > ATSSB All-Area > 4A All-Region = ATSSB All-Region Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRtrumpet Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 That's kinda depressing, lol. I just started taking lessons, so unless the guy thinks I should move up to TMEA, I'll just stick to ATSSB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandmanio Posted May 11, 2008 Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 That's kinda depressing, lol. I just started taking lessons, so unless the guy thinks I should move up to TMEA, I'll just stick to ATSSB. If you didnt' make all-state in ATSSB, I wouldn't even consider TMEA. I knew of a Bari Sax player that made 1st chair Allstate in ATSSB his Junior year and then tried 5A TMEA...made first at district, first at region and then 4th or 5th at area and didn't make it his senior year. BTW, he made 4A region and area his fresh and soph years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRtrumpet Posted May 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 Yeah... I don't think I will. So you can try out for BOTH? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takigan Posted May 29, 2008 Report Share Posted May 29, 2008 I think you can as long as the dates all line up, but even if it's legal in both TMEA and ATSSB you can't do it if your school doesn't let you (they'd have to pay the fees for both competitions as well as be a member of both ATSSB and TMEA which entails dues of their own). I'd ask your director. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrewk Posted June 5, 2008 Report Share Posted June 5, 2008 You can't track both TMEA and ATSSB. If you ask me (and I have tried out on both). You will have a more enjoyable experience if you tryout for TMEA. ATSSB is, and lets face it, mediocre and is a baby downed version of real All-State. Plus, the real reason behind all-region/area/state auditions is to become a better player and ATSSB doesn't help (me at least) at becoming a better player. Just my $0.02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterNick Posted August 2, 2008 Report Share Posted August 2, 2008 I sometimes think about the idea that the ATSSB and 4A state bands should be abolished, but I still can't quite get a full justification, other than they don't quite sound just as good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitewing09 Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Wow thats hate. I'm sorry that a lot of us in smaller schools don't get as much attention as individually or sectional as some of yall people in 5A's (yes it does make a difference) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salas Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 Wow thats hate. I'm sorry that a lot of us in smaller schools don't get as much attention as individually or sectional as some of yall people in 5A's (yes it does make a difference) I agree 100% with you. People sometimes forget that not everything revolves around the world of 5A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterNick Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 Wow thats hate. I'm sorry that a lot of us in smaller schools don't get as much attention as individually or sectional as some of yall people in 5A's (yes it does make a difference) Sorry if it comes off that way, but I heard performances of a lot of the groups, and while the ATSSB bands sound good, the TMEA groups are pretty much to the level of professional musicians. Believe me, I'm being kind compared to what others have said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitewing09 Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 It doesn't matter how your words compare others, they aren't the ones on this forum. People deserve to compete with other people of their own level. Pretty much you're saying people from smaller school shouldn't be able to have the same opportunities as people of bigger schools. We all know that TMEA is going to sound better than the lower level bands because look at who you're getting your people from, 5A schools, the schools that pretty much get the most funding and have more opportunities, while some kids from smaller schools can compete, most can't and us from the smaller and sometimes less fortunate schools deserve an opportunity to compete with people of our level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenon Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 It doesn't matter how your words compare others, they aren't the ones on this forum. People deserve to compete with other people of their own level. Pretty much you're saying people from smaller school shouldn't be able to have the same opportunities as people of bigger schools. We all know that TMEA is going to sound better than the lower level bands because look at who you're getting your people from, 5A schools, the schools that pretty much get the most funding and have more opportunities, while some kids from smaller schools can compete, most can't and us from the smaller and sometimes less fortunate schools deserve an opportunity to compete with people of our level. Well said. This is just like having multiple classifications for Football, Basketball, or any other sport. Small schools don't have the same kind of resources and student base to pull from as large schools. MisterNick, It is not fair to say that small school bands just aren't as good, so they should be disbanded. Would you ask that Celina's 2A (now 3A) football team (one of the best 2A teams of all time) be disbanded if it couldn't keep up with Southlake Carroll's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterNick Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 You misunderstand me; I wasn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitewing09 Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 I don't think you understood my point. My point was people should compete with other people of the same level yes I do know that people from smaller schools can compete with people from bigger school but a vast majority can't compete with people from bigger school because of the lack of resources. Yes you can compare an individual achievement to a group competition, there's nothing different when it comes to resources. A 2A football usually won't have as many resources as a 5A football team. Same goes with a band student, usually students from a smaller school don't have as many resources as a student from a large school, I don't see how you don't understand that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenon Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 Yes you can compare an individual achievement to a group competition, there's nothing different when it comes to resources. Yes, the resources available to the individuals at a smaller school are more likely to be smaller than those at a larger school. Resouces could include things like Private Lessons, Quality Instruments, Other good players around you to make you want to achieve more, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitewing09 Posted August 5, 2008 Report Share Posted August 5, 2008 We have access to quality instruments, but not really any on private lessons, and we hardly get to work sectionally, usually if there is something wrong the whole band has to wait on one section, most people don't have to deal with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takigan Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 I sometimes think about the idea that the ATSSB and 4A state bands should be abolished, but I still can't quite get a full justification, other than they don't quite sound just as good. Disbanding them because they don't sound as good would be pointless. Sounding good is not their purpose. It's about opportunity, experiences and encouraging the kids to do their best in whatever they choose to do. I think keeping the kids in the dark about the level of competition that's outside of ATSSB is not a good thing, but denying them an equal playing field via contest disbandment would hurt the smaller programs more than it would help them in any way shape or form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_sax_agent Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 In the end, we're all musicians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRtrumpet Posted August 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2008 Disbanding them because they don't sound as good would be pointless. Sounding good is not their purpose. It's about opportunity, experiences and encouraging the kids to do their best in whatever they choose to do. I think keeping the kids in the dark about the level of competition that's outside of ATSSB is not a good thing, but denying them an equal playing field via contest disbandment would hurt the smaller programs more than it would help them in any way shape or form. I totally agree with this dude (or girl ). Alot of 4A and 5A gets don't get what it's like being in a program where you don't have over 50 people alot of the time. My band has about 36 and we march 8th GRADERS and up. If we didn't we'd have less than 20 people on the field. Many other highschools in my region do the same. We don't have the luxery of having 100+ and getting to choose our best players to put on the field or in our "wind ensemble". We have to work with what we've got, which isn't alot. We also don't have the kind of staff big schools do. We have ONE director that works with every band 6th, 7th, and highschool. And in schools like MINE, people just aren't motived in band. Most of them are in it cause there friends are, or cause they heard it's a blow off class or just so they can get a free ride to every football game. I know there is many small ATSSB schools that play extremely well, but there's just no comparison when you compare them to the top 4 and 5A schools. Now this doesn't mean we can' t be good players individually. At the band camps I go to every year I'm always up in the top bands with the big school kids. You just to have the will and drive without there being much motivation or help, but even then it's still a major disadvantage. That's why we compete with kids our size. Most kids in schools like this can't even afford the gas to drive to the nearest city (which for me is over an hour and a half away) to get private lessons for somone, much less the actual price of them. And most parents here wouldn't do it anyway just because they don't see band as something being worth it, but that's mostly cause we have a very unsuccesful program. They were even talking about cutting the music program all together a few years ago, and I know schools around us that have had that actually happen. I don't wanna sound like I"m ranting and making this big sob story, but I just wanted to let y'all know what it's like. Basically the small schools are at a major disadvantage. But that's why compete with eachother and not big schools. Disbanning the ATSSB wouldn't be fair. The kids I know in the ATSSB state band (and tha'ts quite a few) have never had lessons before in there life and they don't come from the best bands in Texas. They get there from there drive and own motivation alone, which I think is really cool. I'm not dissing the TMEA band in ANYWAY. But lets face it, unless you're just freakisly amazing, everyone in that band has some kind of private lesson help, and usuasly come from good programs that have motivated them to do well from the begning. It's just how it is. Sorry that was so looong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterNick Posted August 28, 2008 Report Share Posted August 28, 2008 After much much consideration, I feel that I owe everyone an apology. I'll admit, I came from a 5A school (which is now 4A and my own band has gone downhill, but that's another rant), and one of our directors was kind of a stickler for trying to crank out all-state students (personally, the farthest I ever got in my high school career was all-region, but again, a rant for another time), and he wasn't shy about expressing his hatred for the ATSSB bands, saying it "contributed to lower standards" and was "nothing but a glorified region band," and "the best of the best belong in the TMEA all-state band, PERIOD!" (These are all direct quotes, by the way). I, myself, went back-and-forth between the whole TMEA/ATSSB thing, and I saw a live ATSSB concert, and I thought they weren't that bad, and the conductor of the symphonic band (Bobby Francis, I believe) threw a few numbers at me: when he was a student, there were about 5-8,000 students auditioning and now the number has increased to about 40-50,000. Add that to the fact that, sometimes I listen a bit too often to the "you suck" comments I got on YouTube. When you've been at the top, I find it can be a bit too easy to "spit" on those who are still struggling. After all, they made it, why can't you? And I have to remind myself that ATSSB isn't a lower standard, it's a different standard. Also, region and state aren't supposed to be about winning and awards, but trying to offer rewarding experiences. I keep forgetting that band (in particular) and music (in general) needs to be a collaborative art, rather than a competitive sport. More to life than just winning and all that... So, once again, to those of you to whom I've insulted, I apologize; for those of you who choose not to accept, I understand, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitewing09 Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Lol of course we'll all accept, me for instance, just didn't like those comments you would make. I'm sorry, but if your old director is making those comments he should be slapped in the face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRtrumpet Posted September 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 Totally agree there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tylerolivera Posted January 12 Report Share Posted January 12 On 5/11/2008 at 12:03 AM, Bandmanio said: If you didnt' make all-state in ATSSB, I wouldn't even consider TMEA. I knew of a Bari Sax player that made 1st chair Allstate in ATSSB his Junior year and then tried 5A TMEA...made first at district, first at region and then 4th or 5th at area and didn't make it his senior year. BTW, he made 4A region and area his fresh and soph years. AJ Brown or someone else? believe he was the 1st chair for 2 years, besides that it was a ranchview kid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tylerolivera Posted January 12 Report Share Posted January 12 3 minutes ago, tylerolivera said: AJ Brown or someone else? believe he was the 1st chair for 2 years, besides that it was a ranchview kid wait **** thats 2008 celesta and LeanderMomma 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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