I was interested to see opinions on whether I should join my High school band as a senior. I wasn’t ever in band in High school and I’m currently a Junior. The last time I was in band was in 6th grade, then I quit. I never quit being involved in music as I learned how to play bass guitar and I have been learning to play drums for the past year or so, just self taught.
The reason I have hesitated to join band was because I didn’t do it freshman year with all my friends, now most have quit band. Now I’m Junior and have been considering joining because I want to join the band for the college I want to go to, and they say high school marching experience is required. However that is not the only reason, I have always wanted to be in percussion since 6th grade, but I ended up playing alto sax.
My high school’s band is pretty good, and have been to multiple state competitions, Grand Nationals, all that stuff. If I did join band, I would want to play a marching percussion instrument such as, snare, bass drum, etc. I’m not really interested in pit, because there is no pit in the college band I want to be in. Also, I have always wanted to march with percussion.
Currently, I have been practicing on my own with drums for about a year now. I know I would need to learn quite a bit to land a position on drum line. What’s troubling me most is how I should start the conversation with the Band Director if I decided to join, or if it’s just too late as I would be a senior by next marching season. I realize band would take a lot of my time, but I don’t have much going on and it would introduce me to new people and friends.
What do you guys think about this? And your opinions on if i should join or not, etc…
I know this is quite long, but i just wanted to give enough detail on my situation. Thank you for reading and your replies!
Means a lot to me!
First be sure you will have time in your senior year schedule – marching band can be time intensive at some high schools and you will have your existing ECs (hopefully you have some), college applications, and classes to handle.
If you are OK with the time commitment, I would talk to the band director – let him/her know what you told us here. Offer to audition if the band director feels that would be appropriate.
I would talk to the band director now. Ask if it’s possible to audition and what you should be doing to prepare until that time. You may also be able to sit in and observe the drum sectionals and see what level of music you would need to be playing.
I’m curious - why do you want to participate in marching band in college when you haven’t in high school?
Spots in the drum line can be very competitive at high schools, depending on the size of the band.
You need to speak with the band director ASAP to see if you can still join. You’ll probably have to attend summer training and other activities with the incoming freshmen.
Good luck! I think you have realistic expectations and a good case for talking to the director. One question to maybe consider is, if the director says there are no openings in percussion, would you go back to sax? College marching bands would have woodwinds sections right?
Well, to be more specific, the college I want to go to is Texas A&M. I want to join the corps of cadets and be a part of the Aggie band, their band has always caught my atttention since I first saw them. Just to note, I would still join the corps even if I didn’t do band. The Aggie Band catches my eye because it is such a unique band with a military/traditional style.
Another reason is that I can find out if I would like to be in a marching band and just to experience it, see if I like it enough to even consider playing in college, as a lot of my friends was/is in band.
I realize if I was this interested in band I should of joined a long time ago, but i quit because I didn’t want to play saxophone. I felt like I couldn’t switch my instrument (which I’m sure was false) because my teacher said i did so well with sax. However when I was in band I always had a great deal of fun when the whole band played together and performed.
You really need to speak with your high school’s band director right away. You won’t be able to join TAMU’s marching band without high school experience.
Yes, talk to band director. Would you consider taking some private lessons? You could mention this as a possibility.
My band director was always trying to talk students into playing the tuba - maybe you should be open to all suggestions.
Our school has a different band for each grade, and marching band is 10-12th grade bands mandatorily meeting at band camp then after school to practice marching and playing together. It would be difficult to join late, but probably not impossible. The kids in 12th grade band have been playing their instruments for 7-8 years (at least) and are assigned music of appropriate difficulty. So someone who hasn’t played that long would most likely have to start in a lower level of band. The advice to speak to your band director about your situation is the only possible course of action.
@CheddarcheeseMN has a point…if you really just want to get in, and are willing to put in the extra effort to get caught up, then ask the band director which instruments he needs (and chances are, those same will have less competition at the college level as well).
No, I don’t think it’s too late. Go for it if you are really interested! I think your chances depend on how competitive the band is in general, and the drum line in particular, at your school, your flexibility, and your commitment. At my daughter’s school, drum line is by audition only. I know kids that spent years in the pit before they got to be in the drum line. Are you willing to be flexible and take up an instrument that the band is short on? Are you ready to put in the time and effort required to do well, including private instruction?
Even if yo do get a spot, when you get to Texas A&M, you have to realize that you will be competing with kids who have been in band for 8 years. You need to keep your expectations realistic.
As someone who actually joined high school band as a senior, I would say that you should 100% pursue this. I went to a small high school with an even smaller band program that was willing to accept anyone as long as I just talked to the band director first, and I joined percussion with only minor previous knowledge on how to play piano, read music, and grade school clarinet experience. I did not do marching due to sport conflicts, but I know at least my band director would have taught me anything I needed to know for marching because he wanted to grow the program. Even if joining your high school band does not get you into the college band of your choice, it will still be a rewarding, memorable experience, and I highly doubt you will regret it.
