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Post by Marine. on Sept 22, 2008 20:08:12 GMT -5
yay for non BOA bands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2008 21:20:03 GMT -5
I went to Zia yesterday and I understand what you mean. One of the schools had a random set of risers in the middle with their show based around it, and they did a lot of falling or dancing or whatever...it felt more like a Broadway show than a marching one. Another had a narrator reading from "A Telltale Heart" for theirs, which was just weird, but cool in a way. I much prefer, however, the "collegiate" style bands that do pop music, like mine  |
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Post by 1frodos1 on Oct 28, 2008 0:08:33 GMT -5
What is ther other than BOA?
From comments it explains why our band dose so bad at those comps.We play an entertaining show and dont do the hand push thing.I did see a band do a uniform change on field and it looked like they should be color gaurd.We can change uniforms one for fiel the other for parade but all that is buttoning a different flap of the uniform under the other
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tromboneking87
Band Nerd
The symbol of Chief Illiniwek embodies spirt, pride, and loyalty to this great university
Posts: 372
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Post by tromboneking87 on Oct 28, 2008 0:42:13 GMT -5
As a Music Education student, I've spent a bit of time thinking about this subject. In the end, it really comes down to opinion, but if you want to hear mine, keep reading. My high school was non-competitive, and from that experience I learned a very important fact: just because you are non-competitive does not mean you are "bad". The opposite is also true; just because you are a competitive band does not mean you are "good". Don't get me wrong, I've heard some AMAZING high school competitive bands, but I've also heard some that really tried too hard to get that "BOA judges effect/GE score" and it just ended up being a really (apologies) boring show. In my opinion, the choice to do BOA really comes down to one basic decision: what do you belive is the function of high school marching band? If you believe it is to crank out future Drum Corps members, or to add more trophies to the case, or to "win", then BOA makes perfect sense. (I would like to apologize for my really bad writing and if this is getting a little edgy, it's late and this is a subject I feel strongly about, if I offend you personally I am very sorry). I, on the other hand, believe that the purpose of a high school marching band is to 1.) Entertain its audience, no matter who they may be, 2.) Be ambassadors for the school, representing pride in the program to the county, state, etc., 3.) Be a positive force within the community, and 4.) BE FUN! Now while achieving these functions is possible in a competitive setting, I think it is a little too easy to lose sight of these goals when the pressure to impress the judges is present, when "impress the judges" means "alienate your audience and sacrifice your motion/music for general effect". Now, all this being said, there are positive points to competing. The thrill of winning a competition is something that cannot be described (my freshman year we took our little non-competitive program down to Orlando and swept every single category, marching band, concert band, jazz band, AND all choirs). Winning competitions can get a program attention from the school district that it wouldn't normally get (districts like things they can understand like "1st place"). And it also gives the students a better perspective on the bigger goal (instead of "We're going to play at another football game" it's "We're going to try to get further than last year"). That's why I really like this comment... Our band is definitely not a BOA band, but our BD still insists on having us go to at least one BOA competition per year. This year we're going to 2. I think the first one is local, but the 2nd is in Indianapolis, and I think we're just going there for fun. quote] This is a PERFECT way to allow students a competition experience without becoming full out competitive. It also gives the students a taste of the BOA world, and with time, the students may want to do more. In the end, if the band is heading the direction that the director is looking for (and that direction does not include sacrificing young musicians on the altar of "getting a high score"), then I think it is ok. Again, I apologize if I ruffled some feathers, and for the extreme length of this post. I can go to sleep now. |
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Post by bandgeek101 on Oct 28, 2008 1:51:26 GMT -5
cpuldn't agree more
....we do great at comps and actually focus on ALL of those things
--we focus #1 on perfected music, which includes marching technique as it affects sound
--after that we focus on drill and add visuals as we go
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2008 19:43:36 GMT -5
Our director is of a definite mind that the audience is number one, and we get phone calls whenever we aren't at a game (some people have blamed a loss on us...). Audience liking us=money, and money=good.
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sakura11irving
Band Nerd
I <3 anime, manga, video games, and band.
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Post by sakura11irving on Nov 30, 2008 18:10:34 GMT -5
I hate BOA. And I will never like it. We work so hard, and then all BOA does is push us down. I dont like that you have to be sooo...FLASHY to get go ratings from the judges. What happened to good old fashioned marching band of just playing great music and hauling arse across the field?!? Apperantly thats not what a lot of people are appreciating anymore. BOA has screwed our band over so many times. I think this past year, the band that won, had their whole colorgaurd jump out from within a big flower prop. and before that, the band that had won, CRAWLED and DRAGGED themselves across the field. they litterally got on the ground and did that. NO joke. My BD never wants to become that kind of band to succum to something like that. And i dont blame him one bit. Wait... Are you with Cedar Parks?!?! DUDE, I LOVED YOUR SHOW!!!! I could feel the air moving around inside the dome when I watched your show!!! ^o^ And don't get too down on yourselves. Cedar Parks got... 3rd? That's still really awesome! Our band didn't even make finals... See, my band was one of those out of state bands... we got bumped up to 3A last year and needless to say, we didn't make finals this year at San An because one of the judges would NOT LET GO of the fact that our woodwinds were not in time with our pit, but anyways back on topic... For our band, we place second at our in-state competitions (Colorado), but seriously, who in their right minds would place a BOA competition in Colorado, whereas we march in below-freezing weather, and we HAVE NO DOME. For us, BOA competition is the "icing on the cake" as our drum captain puts it. We go to BOA competitions to compete, yes, but we also go there to see the bad-a bands too. Like, as I said earlier, we went to San Antonio this year, and we didn't make finals like we did 2 years ago (my freshman year) (okay, we played exhibition...) Something else is that Dr. Tim Lauzenhiezer (or however you spell it) I think said something really valuable at San An this year: EVERY SINGLE band kid who is marching on the field today DESERVES a standing ovation. It's so much work to do marching band. Heck, tons of people have dropped out because of time commitments, but our band is still awesome. |
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Post by Keebler on Jan 24, 2009 17:51:08 GMT -5
BOA is so much fun!!!!!! It's my favorite trip!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2009 16:59:36 GMT -5
^^I think most BOA bands would die up here, sakura.
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Post by altoclarinets on Feb 15, 2009 15:48:29 GMT -5
Park and play should be used only in one circumstance: there is an extremely tough lick in an exorbitant range of the instrument, and the musicians need to be still to have a base to play off of. And even when this is the case, it should only be the feature section, everyone else should continue moving around them. Visuals are best when they add to the shows theme, not distract from the performance. Like thisYaay texas band. |
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