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<p>Not bogus at all. It is a huge time commitment, which logically means there is less time for other pursuits. “Too much” might be subjective, but it certainly can be valid. My S marched freshman year, played in a community youth orchestra, and a well-known youth symphony. He rarely had time to practice. He had to evaluate his schedule on cost vs. benefit. Marching band AND the community youth orchestra lost.</p>
<p>He cut out everything for youth symphony, academics, and practicing. In his case, marching band took too much time for too little result. In his case, actually a negative result, as it decreased his musicianship (yes, he did hear, “mellophones, play louder!” all the time), hurt him physically, and took time away from practice.</p>
<p>That said, I did marching band, and it was the highlight of my HS - not for music, but socially. I encouraged him to give it a try. His marching band was very competitive, large, well-run, expensive ($1500 per year), and a very big deal. They regularly win competitions all over the southeast. Students are frequently “punished” for not marching, such as being assigned to lower level bands. (They did not do this to my S, however.) My niece (same HS) cannot march because she is a competitive gymnast, and will be in the lowest level band all four years because of it, although she is quite talented.</p>
<p>I agree that marching band experience in HS and college is crucial to those who want to teach HS music. Plus, the experience can be a draw for certain colleges.</p>