<p>Are any of you guys involved in Duke's Marching or Pep band? I've noticed that a lot of top schools don't exactly have the greatest MB's (scatter bands, etc, you know what I'm talking about), but from the website, DUMB seems fairly good and serious. I've marched drum and bugle corps, etc, and want to know if Duke's program is competitive against a large state school (like U of M), or at least fairly close. Thanks for the imput guys!</p>
<p>i'm not involved but some of my very good friends are. most people do it to get into basketball games. it is not very competitive (from what i know - again, not a lot). overall, it's for people who enjoy playing an instrument. that's about it...i think.</p>
<p>i pulled all of the above out of my butt...although i do believe it might be true.</p>
<p>I also have friends who do marching band, and from conversations I have had with them about it, I can tell you a bit about the band.</p>
<p>DUMB is very good. They play at football games. The problem is that so many students are so interested in Tailgate that they decide it's not worth missing Tailgate to play in the Marching band.</p>
<p>Ok, so I don't know too much about the marching band... but I can tell you a bit more info on pep band. In order to do pep band, you have to have been in the Marching band. There are so many people who do pep band that you aren't required to play at every game. Attendance is taken with the pep band in order to decide who gets to tour with the two basketball teams during the March Madness tournament. There are other points of evaluation that go on in deciding who gets to go to what tourney games, but I believe attendance is the most important one.</p>
<p>Anyone who has been to a basketball game can tell you that the pep band is really good. They play well, and they're all very energetic and actively participate in the cheers that we as Cameron Crazies do.</p>
<p>As for if our marching/pep bands are competitive with other bands, I couldn't really answer that one because I'm not familiar with other marching/pep bands. Ah, the joys of growing up in Vermont...</p>
<p>Some good friends of mine are in the Marching Band (I play trumpet in the Orchestra). In terms of quality, they sounded quite good last year, especially with their new director. They had about 120 people, which was up from the previous year...and I think that trend may continue. While no, they may not be a Michigan quality band, they have a great sound for drawing from an undergrad pop. of 6500 and a Music Department (vs. a school thereof). The pep band sounded very tight this year as well, particularly with a solid brass section. And while Stanford's band may be, well, ridiculous and somewhat awesome, DUMB is actually a legit marching program.</p>
<p>They also play really fun songs. Ones that you'll hear EVERY game include Rock Lobster (OBVIOUSLY), Take On Me, and Hey Baby. I also remember hearing Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" at some point, and I think a few other fun random songs. And yeah, they devil surf. Which is AWESOME.</p>
<p>Alright, sweet guys, thanks for the replies.</p>