Here's Ohio State's show from this past weekend. They don't stay still for very long, they do a great job moving their squares, curves and lines around the field!
Band halftime show tonight
- Thread starter ScarletDave
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Said it many times and I'll say it again as someone who was in the band....the members have to play the hand they were dealt - there is NO issue with the band members - all of the issues are to with having a completely unqualified director.
People criticize our football players on this board all the time. It must be hard for the parents of our players to read some of the comments on these message boards....and unlike the band members, who have to buy their own band shoes and pay to dry-clean their uniforms, those kids are getting full scholarships and more. Re-read this thread from the beginning, and tell me how a kid who plays in the band would not be offended by the comments people posted here. Everyone is free to say whatever they want, but don't tell me that people's comments are just focusing on "the leadership" or "the coach."
-Scarlet Jerry
-Scarlet Jerry
If they have 500 musicians, then they also likely have more brass than our entire band.
And it's my own instrument, so I hate to say it, but you cannot hear an alto sax (even a section of 20 of them) on the opposite side of a rowdy stadium without a microphone. Playing in a competition is about dynamics.... playing to a packed, rowdy stadium is about volume.
Never heard anyone bash the kids. I am embarrassed for them. They are not put in a position to succeed. When you are borrowing half time shows from High Schools things have to change. In the stands mic'd up they sound great. On the field playing to one side you cannot decipher what they are playing.
Here we go, so we should censor our opinions just because we don't want to hurt people's feelings? It's obvious our band is not up to par with other big ten schools or other schools in general. Do the band members work hard? I'm sure they do. Most of the people who defend the band are band alumni or connected to it somehow. Since I have no connection to the band whatsoever I can not tell you why we are not as good as other schools but I can state my opinion that the band is among the worst I have seen at the collegiate level.
And no, I wouldn't go out of my way to tell you how much the band sucks, but if it came up in conversation, I would have no problem telling you my thoughts as I often have done while discussing this very topic with the people in my section.
Anyone who performs in or for the public has to deal with both praise and criticism. They don't get a pass just because they try hard.
RU football fans pay good money to attend games and the band is part of the experience they are paying for. I thank the students for the effort they put into performing in the band, but that doesn't mean I have to lie and say the band is good.
If your child is in the band mostly for his/her own enjoyment or purposes then the opinions of the fans in the stand shouldn't matter much. But if his/her wish is to bring pleasure to others through music then the opinions of the audience matters and the feedback should be listened to.
I was in the Rutgers band. WHILE I was in the band, I criticized the band.
I came out of a very competitive high school marching band, and knew what a well-run, high-quality band looked like. Rutgers wasn't it - still isn't. That's not a knock on the band members - now, or then. We marched because we enjoyed marching - but even that wore thin after years in a badly run band, and attrition was a real problem. Frustrations mounted so that it wasn't worth it to continue for many band members.
And even then, we put on real shows with real drill - not a string of park-and-blow formations, where we marched to a spot and played for 16 bars. When we did have long stand-still sections, it felt like cheating - might as well have set up folding chairs. If that was what we were doing as a band when I was a freshman, I wouldn't have been in the band as a sophomore.
There are a lot of great marching bands in NJ, and a lot of those kids go to Rutgers. We're also the home to the Blue Devils and Raiders, and the Cadets are just across the river. There's absolutely no reason we can't have a band that rivals OSU/etc... except that our administration doesn't have the first clue how to accomplish that.
I watched the video of the show. So much standing in one place. Check the timer - they stayed in the HALO form for over a minute - in a show that was around seven minutes long! It is supposed to be a MARCHING band!
Jerry - I think you're misreading this thread. Nobody is blaming the members of the band for the quality of the show. The closest I can see to that is the comment someone made about us possibly being the worst band. It all comes back to the band leadership (and I don't mean the drum majors or section leaders). Either you are putting on challenging shows in terms of the music selection and the marching, or you are not. This was not a challenging show. What did they have, 10 sets? "Back in my day", we'd have about that many per song. The practice schedule is unchanged - we had a week-long band camp and two hour rehearsals M/W/F all season long plus Saturday morning run-throughs on game days. The student body still comes from the State of Rutgers. So what's different? The director/leadership.
And putting on a 100% ripoff of a HIGH SCHOOL band performance should be an embarrassment. I see nothing wrong with stealing the concept, many bands have put on similar shows. But for Heaven's sake, the drill needs to be better than that.
Jerry - I think you're misreading this thread. Nobody is blaming the members of the band for the quality of the show. The closest I can see to that is the comment someone made about us possibly being the worst band. It all comes back to the band leadership (and I don't mean the drum majors or section leaders). Either you are putting on challenging shows in terms of the music selection and the marching, or you are not. This was not a challenging show. What did they have, 10 sets? "Back in my day", we'd have about that many per song. The practice schedule is unchanged - we had a week-long band camp and two hour rehearsals M/W/F all season long plus Saturday morning run-throughs on game days. The student body still comes from the State of Rutgers. So what's different? The director/leadership.
And putting on a 100% ripoff of a HIGH SCHOOL band performance should be an embarrassment. I see nothing wrong with stealing the concept, many bands have put on similar shows. But for Heaven's sake, the drill needs to be better than that.
@ScarletDave & @Scarlet Jerry The band is certainly better than in years past. I tell the band spy that comes up to section 207 that all the time. Are they tOSU great? no, of course not but I would hope that no one here on this board or in the stands would think we possibly could be without the $$ to back it all up.
the band was noticeably quieter this weekend. I noticed that when I was on the sidelines for the National Anthem and when I was in my seat in 207 for the halftime show.
I think they show great enthusiasm at the Scarlet Walk and during the game and the drum corp show in the Block R Party after the walk is really terrific. If people here have not seen it they really should. Their performance last year with the Indiana drum corp and the post game on field performance (which pretty much nobody saw) was great.
The guys who must have graduated last year and come to the Scarlet Walk every game to play their fake instruments and do the dance moves along side the hedges are hysterical.
I'm not a band parent or a band alum or connected to the band. I am thrilled that the amoeba shapes of past are gone, and while I am not into video games or Star Wars I see the band is moving in the right direction.
the band was noticeably quieter this weekend. I noticed that when I was on the sidelines for the National Anthem and when I was in my seat in 207 for the halftime show.
I think they show great enthusiasm at the Scarlet Walk and during the game and the drum corp show in the Block R Party after the walk is really terrific. If people here have not seen it they really should. Their performance last year with the Indiana drum corp and the post game on field performance (which pretty much nobody saw) was great.
The guys who must have graduated last year and come to the Scarlet Walk every game to play their fake instruments and do the dance moves along side the hedges are hysterical.
I'm not a band parent or a band alum or connected to the band. I am thrilled that the amoeba shapes of past are gone, and while I am not into video games or Star Wars I see the band is moving in the right direction.
Really quite simple look at Michigan their "band" sucked last year so they got rid of Hoke and Got Harbaugh now look at their "band". Yes I am mixing metaphors but it all starts with the head and smith is bad head
I have been reading this board for years and I have never heard anybody say anything bad about the kids who volunteer their time to participate in the band. So any parent who reads these band criticisms and takes it as a negative comment about their child I think is off base. Now having said that, let's be honest, our band is awful, just plain awful. I put all of the blame on the band director and not the kids. Most of those kids are very talented, but they are just not given a chance to shine. I don't understand how the situation is allowed to continue as it is year after year, but again I remind myself that this is Rutgers and demanding excellence out of the adults in charge is just not the norm. Oh well, at least we all got a good education, and in the big picture that is more important than having a conference championship level team and a great band.
