<p>I was wondering if UCLA still does this? I'm not sure which year it was but I remember the site saying that you had a good chance at an appeal if you planned on joining the marching band...is this true?</p>
<p>lol! bando!!</p>
<p>I haven't heard too much bout their band...</p>
<p>No flames please, but Cal Band and USC Trojan Marching Band <em>seems</em> to get a lot more attention.</p>
<p>nooo cal band is not that great....ive heard usc is good though..but cal's was not so great when i saw them...i love ucla's band...theyre the best</p>
<p>yes it is true, visit the ucla band website for more info. I know somebody who got in through appeal, but he's an incredible musician. You have to talk to the band director first, just stating it in your appeal letter isn't enough.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.uclaband.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.uclaband.com/</a></p>
<p>My roommate said his friend got into UCLA by appealing to the band this year. I can't confirm though but he told me that was an option for someone else last year too. </p>
<p>Um, I don't think you've seen the Cal band. Honestly, they're not at the same level as UCLA or USC. Yes I'm in UCLA band, but I'm sure any bando would agree. But I don't want to bash them cuz they're very friendly to the UCLA band. We just um... have the same fight song ;)</p>
<p>All 3 bands are very different stylistically. Cal has a Big 10 marching style. USC has um... yeah... a unique USC style? And UCLA is much more traditional like a drum corp.</p>
<p>Ok so this is true then...haha well that good news for me haha</p>
<p>^ what kfc4u said...cal band is not good!!!! ahh.</p>
<p>S's roommate is in the drum line and really enjoys it.</p>
<p>kfc4u, is UCLA's band really different than a high school band? It is much more physically oriented? (running laps, push-ups, etc.) Are there game day practices? Is a lot of musical abilities/knowledge required? Does it interfere with other activities (academic or non)? What do you guys do after football games (winter, spring)?</p>
<p>Band has been the center of my life for the last four years and as a result of that, I haven't been able to do very many other activities. I'd like to experience the college version, but I'm not sure if it's the right thing for me.</p>
<p>If you don't mind, please try to sell it to me.. and at the same time be objective; tell me what you think is good and bad about it.. as well as the general consensus.</p>
<p>Thanks a bunch.</p>
<p>I cant find any info on the marching band appeal on the UCLA site.</p>
<p>"kfc4u, is UCLA's band really different than a high school band?"</p>
<p>yea you play in front of 90,000 people instead of 900. </p>
<p>"It is much more physically oriented? (running laps, push-ups, etc.)"</p>
<p>nope. about the same. actually, i haven't done a single pushup in college marching band. its probably cuz we aim to be performable but not perfect since we never officially compete. </p>
<p>"Are there game day practices?"</p>
<p>yes, your saturdays are gone. morning bus ride to rose bowl, then morning game day rehearsal outside the rose bowl, then lunch (burger king sponsors our lunch hehe), then rallies and mini-parade into rose bowl, then pre-game show, the game, halftime show, the rest of the game, then "concert" on the field as ppl leave the stadium. get back around night time. schedule varies depending on how TV schedules our games. </p>
<p>"Is a lot of musical abilities/knowledge required?"</p>
<p>enough to play your music decently. i play tuba in the marching band, but i've never played tuba in my life until this summer during band camp, but i used to play baritone so yeah. some ppl in the band are crazy music majors or march for top drum corps, but some just do it for fun. if you've been section leader in high school, you're probably good enough to play. even if you haven't, you still might be good enough. if you can't play the scales and free piece for the audition... then your musical abilities aren't up to par. </p>
<p>"Does it interfere with other activities (academic or non)?"</p>
<p>it's not supposed to. the rehearsal time was scheduled to be optimal so that none of the band members have class during rehearsal. there's 3 two-hour rehearsals during weekends, on tuesday 5-7pm, thursday 4-6pm, and friday 3-5pm. as for band camp... i dont think it interferes with anything else, except you might be too tired at the end of the day to rush for a frat. but there's band members in frats so i guess its do-able. </p>
<p>"What do you guys do after football games (winter, spring)?"</p>
<p>winter is basketball season!!! and it's a great time to be at UCLA as the team improves under ben howland! his third seasons have always been the charm, and next year is his third season at UCLA... and the 4 core freshmen (including jordan farmar) will be back. basketball games are fun and exciting, and our team does good in it! </p>
<p>spring isn't a busy time. perhaps a rally here or there. </p>
<p>throughout the year, there's also random gigs where a business might ask ucla band to play for them at their meeting or something. some of the gigs will pay you for playing... a good perk! </p>
<p>all fall rehearsals, band camp, football games, and bowl games are mandatory. everything outside of football season is optional.</p>
<p>if you're interested in joining the band, i seriously recommend that you try it, at least for your first year!!! it's definately a part of the college experience, you'll be in the middle of all the spirit, and you don't know how many bands wish they could play at the rose bowl (the granddaddy of them all!!). that's definately a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. plus, you'll have your section as the first couple of friends you'll find before school even starts (at band camp). </p>
<p>it is always exciting to do all the shows, and football games are spirited and intense. our director also does work with some top notch drum corps (i believe he's worked with sc vanguard, cadets, cavaliers, among others), so he's very demanding but good with charting drill. i'd like to pride ourselves in marching a "real" show... a show where there's a repertoire of about 3 songs each and we actually make "field show" formations on the field. most college bands just play a couple short tunes, they form simple and boring formations like blocks and stuff during their shows. this year, the closer to one of our shows was mr. roboto, we formed a robot on the field and made the robot do the robot, and then we had all the band members do a robot too. our pep tunes are the most up-to-date of all college marching bands, i suspect. in addition to more traditional stuff, we do have britney spears' toxic, beyonce's crazy in love, family guy, etc.</p>
<p>did i mention that EVERYTHING (besides marching shoes) is FREE???
yup. you heard right. yes, even the trip to stanford (for the stanford game) next year including hotel free and a stipend for food is provided. yes, even the bowl game trip is all free. no uniform fee, lunch always provided during game day morning rehearsal, transportation provided, etc. </p>
<p>we're SUPER PRODUCTIVE during rehearsal. we move very quickly and efficiently. a lot of stuff is learned during band camp too, so its easier during the school year. i actually felt that college marching band was less time consuming than high school marching band... and a lot more efficient. </p>
<p>other perks include:
- moving in early! beat the traffic. settle in, adapt, meet people, buy your books first, etc.
- band counts as 2 units of A's... a great GPA booster!
- band is working on full-paid trip for all band members to NOTRE DAME in 06.
- dude, playing in the rose bowl and pauley pavilion are cool already
- the gigs that i mentioned, and some of them pay you for going! fox sports west's socal sports report has asked the band to play, as had gwen stefani (but the event got cancelled due to rain). </p>
<p>oh yea, this year you'll actually get 2 trips, because not only will the band travel to stanford, but also head to the coliseum to play <em>that other school</em> (that can only play a grand total of 3 songs: 2 fight songs and "the hey song," so high school-ish). a bonus trip would be the bowl game, which is dependent on the football team's record (quite possible that next year's football team will make a bowl game). </p>
<p>[i realize this has not been objective, but hey, the marching band is the mouthpiece of school spirit]</p>
<p>bands contribute SO much to the excitement of college sporting events, I must say. i'm so excited for UCLA games. </p>
<p>and speaking of USC's band,</p>
<p>i don't do band nor have interest in joining (i can't play a thing,) but SC's "The Spirit of Troy" gave me this brochure for summer practices or something. the title on the cover page says: "One Time at Band Camp..."</p>
<p>USC band recruits everyone and their mom to join their band. they're desperate to get people to can blast loud but not care about their tone quality. and thats why they can only play 3 songs. </p>
<p>hehe just kidding.</p>
<p>but yea, USC band puts a lot of effort into recruiting. i believe their band members ask their roommates to join the band. </p>
<p>"bands contribute SO much to the excitement of college sporting events, I must say. i'm so excited for UCLA games. "</p>
<p>yup. hey, cal copied "sons of westwood!" ;)</p>
<p>(story behind it: ucla supposedly copied one of cal's fight songs, but because ucla athletics have been so successful, ppl hear "sons of westwood" and associate it with UCLA rather than cal.)</p>
<p>kfc4u, I was about to tear your message up until I saw the just kidding part. ;)</p>
<p>But ok ok, UCLA's band does <em>sound</em> better.</p>