Music at USC

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of South Carolina
1

<p>Does anyone have experience with the competitiveness of the music program at USC?</p>

<p>I really want to continue band (I'm a clarinet player), but I don't really want to do marching band... so I was hoping to audition for the second band (The Symphonic Winds I think?), because the third band only meets in the spring. =(</p>

<p>I know that the Wind Ensemble is extremely competitive. (The musicians in the program are absolutely fantastic.) But how difficult is it to get into the second band?</p>

<p>I really want to do band. aghhh.</p>

2

<p>AU, I have no idea, but give some thought to marching band. It doesn’t take up nearly as much time as high school marching band, it counts as a 1 hour class (which you can use as an elective), there are no marching band fees like in high school, you get into football games for free…and you get PAID to do it. </p>

<p>It’s not that bad of a deal.</p>

3

<p>Well my dad doesn’t want me to do school, workstudy, AND marching band. And I checked and marching band is Tuesday-Friday for an hour and a half a day. The scholarship, though nice, is only $400… so it doesn’t really help that much. And I’ve never done marching band in my life.</p>

<p>My band director really wants me to do it. I’m still confused. I don’t know. Agh. I love my clarinet, but marching band seems like it would be SO much time.</p>

<p>Is your son majoring in music?</p>

4

<p>Music Education</p>

<p>At his high school marching band was 4 hours a day 3 days a week, plus football games on fridays and competitions on sat, so six hours of practice a week doesn’t sound like so much.</p>

5

<p>I agree that workstudy would be next to impossible with a full schedule and marching band though.</p>

6

<p>Yeah. That seems relatively insane to me.</p>

<p>I already do jazz band from 7-8 three mornings a week and concert band from 3-4 once a week. I’m sure sure how I could handle six hours, plus have a job, plus do school. I also want to be able to go home on the weekends… and marching band would kill that idea.</p>

<p>Music Education… That major seems like love to me… but so, so, so much work. XD As a music ed major though, isn’t your son required to do marching band 3 out of 4 years?</p>

7

<p>Music ed majors are required a total of 7 USC ensembles. So basically one each semester, except for their last semester when they will be student teaching. But they can plan in whatever ensemble they choose. Other music majors are required to do 8 ensembles, except for composition majors, who I am not sure they have to do ensembles at all.</p>

<p>Western Carolina University does require all music ed majors to march, but marching band is not required at USC for any major.</p>

<p>I would assume that most percussion or wind instrument players would do marching band during the fall, and then another ensemble during the spring, and obviously string instrument of piano students wouldn’t.</p>

<p>Coastal Carolina offered my son a very attractive music scholarship, much more than he got at USC or Western Carolina (but less than Furman), but they tied the scholarship offers (actually several smaller scholarships) to performing in 4 different ensembles (two per semester, which we thought was a bit much).</p>

8

<p>Really?</p>

<p>I had heard many music students complaining about the fact that USC requires marching band for three out of four years.</p>

<p>But I agree. Four ensembles a year does seem like quite a bit much.</p>

9

<p>I just doubled checked, this is for Music Ed:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>So it is 8 hours, I was wrong about 7 hrs. But apparently they do have their choice of either Marching Band (MUSC 123) or Symphonic Band (MUSC 124). I would assume that most winds would do 3 semesters of marching band in the fall semesters, and three semesters of symphonic in the spring.</p>

<p>Edit: Just checked to see if MUSC 124 is offered in the fall semester, it wasn’t listed, so maybe you are right, they would have have to do at least 2 semesters of marching band because they could only do 4 semesters of MUSC 124 (to reach a total of 6 credits of MUSC 123 or 124). </p>

<p>It is never stated that you have to do marching band, but their policies more or less create a situation where you do. You were right, I was wrong, I am big enough to admit it.</p>

<p>Music ensembles are very important to colleges as a prestige factor, I assume that they put a lot of effort into recruiting (or forcing) students to play in the larger ensembles that get more attention.</p>

<hr>

<p>Anyhow, USC is not known for having a good marching band. I’ve seen a LOT of negative comments about their band, including how much smaller bands or schools just totally “blew them out of the water” like Furman and Western Carolina. USC has had 4 different band directors in 4 years.</p>

<p>Now to defend USC a little, they do 3 different shows each season, while Furman and WCU only do one show.</p>

<p>I have had several students to tell me that marching band in college “just isn’t the same” as marching band in high school. My son’s marching band in high school was a really big deal, they are a very competitive group, won the 5A upperstate championship for 3 out the 4 years he participated, they placed 2nd place twice and 3rd place once at the state championship, and made the finals every year. they were also the overall grand champion at local competitions at least once every year, and competed at a lot of out of state competitions, including going to the Atlanta Regionals twice, and the National Championship in Indiana twice. Marching band at his school isn’t just a music ensemble, it’s a sport.</p>

<p>College marching band is not competitive in the same way, I think that students coming from really competitive high school bands tend to be miss that competitive aspect in college.</p>

<p>The positive thing is that their new band director is supposed to be fabulous. Every comment that I could find about her indicated that she is amazing. Maybe she can improve the marching band situation.</p>

10

<p>Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound snarky if I did. XD AP exams have my mind in mushland right now.</p>

<p>But yeah, I recall reading an issue of the Daily Gamecock while I was at USC for the band clinic, and the front page article was about how the marching band needed to do better.</p>

<p>I really don’t know much about marching band, so I couldn’t tell you anything about it. I do know that all of the friends I made at USC in the band clinic were obsessed with marching band, so it seemed like a fun thing, but since I’ve never had any experience with it, I wouldn’t know.</p>

<p>Watching competitions though, I could tell that it takes a LOT of work. It’s really impressive when done well.</p>

11

<p>You didn’t sound “snarky” at all.</p>

12

<p>The USC Wind Ensemble played at graduation on Friday. They sounded great!</p>

13

<p>The USC Wind Ensemble is AMAZING. They really blew me away. I honestly had no idea just how amazing the USC music program was until I heard that concert. It was just …a life changing experience. XD</p>