APS - Symphonic Band marching band requirement

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about those who are in varsity football skip practice every so often so they can run track, too? Oh, sorry, both have mandatory practices because missing a practice could affect the team and the training

Stop bashing music. The arts already suffer and way more emphasis and preference is put on sports. Schools around the country are providing less and less funding for music, art, drama and chorus.

I think what they are doing is brilliant. You want to play in the music program? There is a 3 month commitment to play in marching band in addition to regular class. My large Fairfax HS did it back in the day. Playing in the top band in high school and playing in the marching band go hand in hand. Otherwise you don’t have a robust marching band without it.

OP here. I wasn't bashing music. I was asking if there was flexibility for other music commitments. I personally think it's nuts that that this isn't an established acceptable reason to skip marching band but stay in advanced band, but my kid isn't upset so we won't push it. But you can definitely support the arts and not support this marching band policy!!!

OP, I really don't think this back and forth even involves you or your original inquiry anymore. It's just band v sports now.

No, it’s whether marching band should be forced on kids who want to do symphonic band or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible to just take symphonic band for second semester?

I think that would have to be a discussion with the band director and counselor. In theory, I don't see why not. You'd probably need to take a "flex" aka open period or study hall in Fall. Unless there is some one semester elective offered in the same time slot as band.

This part is more challenging than doing marching band. There are extremely few semester courses, and they would have to be the same class period as symphonic band or your schedule won't work. Also, not all the high schools grant "flex" or "open period." Maybe the different high schools vary in their cooperation and flexibility; but ours was not flexible when one of our children had to fill-in a second semester class because part 2 of their fall semester elective was cancelled. All of the few semester electives were full except for one (which would have been an absolute disaster for our kid) and they would not work with us to even develop an independent study (despite it being on the books).

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Tough titties to those of you who balk at your kid having to do marching band.

It is a way to ensure that kids are committed to both bands. Many kids think band is something they can skip out on. If you're serious about symphonic band, you would do marching band.

Marching band is treated like a varsity sport. It requires mandatory commitment.

I think what the previous WL band director did was brilliant! Win-win because both bands were great!

Except we don't do this for anything else. Kids can take AP calculus without being on the math team, AP physics without being on the robotics team, why this major extracurricular requirement for advanced band when there is nothing analogous for anything else? What is worst that could happen -- school wouldn't have a marching band? If not enough kids want to do it, maybe that is a fine outcome.

Exactly.

Kids are always expected to show up for music performances. You don't take orchestra and skip the concert. It should just be renamed in the course catalog as We Symphonic/Marching band.

Can someone explain why OP's French horn playing daughter can't play with the school orchestra? That seems like the obvious solution.

Does W-L have a symphonic orchestra?

No the "orchestra" is just a strings ensemble.

Given the demands of her music commitments already and the homework time required (assuming she's taking a good number of intensified classes), she probably doesn't have time to commit to marching band anyway. So, picking a different elective sounds like the better choice. Other music options could be learning a string instrument with orchestra, learning guitar, or sing in chorus.

Wow. That's super disappointing for a school district as large and well resourced as APS. Even my dinky high school had a real orchestra program. They really need to shake up the leadership for the music program. It's embarrassing.

I went to an affluent Southern CA high School with a large, very well regarded music program and it was the same - band and a separate string orchestra. Seems pretty typical. Otherwise you are dividing up your band instrument players across two groups. Alternatively, you have one group that is a full orchestra but that seems less common at high schools. Might have to do it with a smaller music program which might be why your "dinky high School" did it that way.

No. My high school was less than half the size of WL, but had a 300-400 person marching band, depending on the year. More than half the school participated at some point during high school. And we were in New England where big marching bands weren't generally part of the culture. The marching band director and football coach even had a truce where a number of varsity football players would march the halftime show in their football uniforms.

We had a super vibrant music program with a couple of award winning jazz bands, a full orchestra, and a symphonic band. Most of the top musicians played in several groups. (Joining orchestra as a wind, brass or percussion player required an audition). Perhaps it's because I'm from near Boston where there is a strong classical music culture, but I've never heard of a high school not having a full orchestra.

DP. I would say it's because you grew up in an area that had full orchestras. I'm from a small midwest town. High school of 1200, consistent award-winning marching band 135-140. Orchestra program not as strong and just strings. Maybe some percussion? At times, band members were pulled to go help out the orchestra.

It's just done differently in different places.

+1 In Northern Virginia the norm is band and a separate strings orchestra. It's not some sign of a weak program, just the way it's been done here. If you want full orchestra offerings, it looks like you need to move to the Northeast.

A 70 person marching band at a high school the size of Yorktown or WL is absolutely the sign of a weak program. That's super undersized. There just aren't enough kids participating in the music program to even have a quality symphonic band. That isn't how it should be at a large, well resourced high school with so many motivated, high achieving kids.

The pandemic really hurt band and orchestra programs. Many are half the size they were in 2019, some more, some less.

If you have a music student, you have seen this firsthand. If you don't, then you can see it there in the numbers.

if that is the case (and I think it is) I would think the schools would try to encourage kids to continue with music by providing more flexibility for the marching band requirement. Letting more advanced musicians participate in a band for beginners is not really a good alternative -- you would not ask a kid ready for MV calculus to take algebra 1 again just because he does not want to be on the math team.

+1

The marching band requirement is killing participation.

I’d rather see more kids participate in music than force kids to do marching band for “school spirit”.

HSs don’t really need big marching band anyway. Just do a smaller, optional pep rally band.
More fun & mobile.

No more now than 2019. No, the marching band requirement isn't killing anything. But the pandemic, loss of in-person teaching and playing, caused a lot of students to quit. Of those who stuck with it, whether high school kids, middle school, or elementary, the current levels of musicianship are lower overall, too.

During the closures, sports practices continued outdoors. Music lessons didn't. Some students took lessons by zoom, a few took lessons in teachers' yards or private studios. But ensemble playing didn't happen. Across the country, bands and orchestras are smaller now than pre-pandemic. And it will take years to rebuild the pipeline, for those schools that value music and fund elementary school music education (which local school districts are underfunding, more now than than they were pre-pandemic).

More than one thing can be true. Pandemic decreased participation. AND the marching band requirement decreases participation.

My kid stuck with her instrument through the whole pandemic and was really bummed she couldn’t do advanced band at W-L because the marching band requirement conflicted with her fall sport. Same with another kid from her MS.

They could rebuild music (not marching band) faster if they lost the requirement. I hope they do before my next kid starts HS.

The other option is for marching band to find a way to coexist with with other popular high school activities.

+1 DD did W-L marching band and had a good experience and the requirement was never an issue for her. But I do think they could accelerate the band rebuilding without it and if they can't support a full voluntary marching band then should lean into having a fun pep band with the kids who want to do it. DD is continuing band in college but intentionally picked a college where they have pep band, not marching band. She didn't want the time commitment of marching but likes the fun aspect of pep band.

+1

Pep bands are so fun and much less commitment.

This thread is so anti-marching band it's ridiculous.
Marching band is not a form of torture. It can be an absolute blast.

There's absolutely zero reason why a school as large as WL or Yorktown can't support a marching band.

Great. Then we shouldn’t have to force kids to do it.

Just to be clear, no one is being forced. It's an elective for goodness sakes.

They are “forced” to do it if they want to do advanced band.

Yes. It is part of advanced band. Don't like it, don't do it. And those who are unwilling, don't.
All courses have their requirements. Marching band is one of the requirements for advanced band. How many other advanced classes do you advocate eliminating requirements from?

Are there any equivalent courses that have a required intensive extracurricular activity?

Geometry intensified requires math olympiad?

AP Physics requires wrestling?

No, but intensified sciences require participation in science fair. My son refused to do intensified sciences because her didn't want to do that.

And for the griping that you can't do marching band + a fall sport (not completely true), do you also complain that a student can't do two fall sports because there will be conflicts?

Stop attacking people criticizing the policy as groupers and complainers. The central point of the thread is that there isn’t a compelling reason to make marching band a mandatory requirement for participation in symphonic band. People are rightly noting the variety of disadvantages that come from that policy. The only arguments I’ve hear in favor of the policy seem to be “we couldn’t field a marching band if we didn’t make it mandatory” and “stop whining”.

The first argument reveals that purpose of the policy isn’t actually to benefit the students, but in fact to harness the desires of students to participate in symphonic band to achieve someone else’s goals.

The second argument shows that you don’t have any other arguments.

There's no compelling reason to requiring science fair participation for intensified science, either.

Which intensified science course requires the science fair?

I don't know if all of them do, but chemistry did.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Tough titties to those of you who balk at your kid having to do marching band.

It is a way to ensure that kids are committed to both bands. Many kids think band is something they can skip out on. If you're serious about symphonic band, you would do marching band.

Marching band is treated like a varsity sport. It requires mandatory commitment.

I think what the previous WL band director did was brilliant! Win-win because both bands were great!

Except we don't do this for anything else. Kids can take AP calculus without being on the math team, AP physics without being on the robotics team, why this major extracurricular requirement for advanced band when there is nothing analogous for anything else? What is worst that could happen -- school wouldn't have a marching band? If not enough kids want to do it, maybe that is a fine outcome.

Exactly.

Kids are always expected to show up for music performances. You don't take orchestra and skip the concert. It should just be renamed in the course catalog as We Symphonic/Marching band.

Can someone explain why OP's French horn playing daughter can't play with the school orchestra? That seems like the obvious solution.

Does W-L have a symphonic orchestra?

No the "orchestra" is just a strings ensemble.

Given the demands of her music commitments already and the homework time required (assuming she's taking a good number of intensified classes), she probably doesn't have time to commit to marching band anyway. So, picking a different elective sounds like the better choice. Other music options could be learning a string instrument with orchestra, learning guitar, or sing in chorus.

Wow. That's super disappointing for a school district as large and well resourced as APS. Even my dinky high school had a real orchestra program. They really need to shake up the leadership for the music program. It's embarrassing.

I went to an affluent Southern CA high School with a large, very well regarded music program and it was the same - band and a separate string orchestra. Seems pretty typical. Otherwise you are dividing up your band instrument players across two groups. Alternatively, you have one group that is a full orchestra but that seems less common at high schools. Might have to do it with a smaller music program which might be why your "dinky high School" did it that way.

No. My high school was less than half the size of WL, but had a 300-400 person marching band, depending on the year. More than half the school participated at some point during high school. And we were in New England where big marching bands weren't generally part of the culture. The marching band director and football coach even had a truce where a number of varsity football players would march the halftime show in their football uniforms.

We had a super vibrant music program with a couple of award winning jazz bands, a full orchestra, and a symphonic band. Most of the top musicians played in several groups. (Joining orchestra as a wind, brass or percussion player required an audition). Perhaps it's because I'm from near Boston where there is a strong classical music culture, but I've never heard of a high school not having a full orchestra.

DP. I would say it's because you grew up in an area that had full orchestras. I'm from a small midwest town. High school of 1200, consistent award-winning marching band 135-140. Orchestra program not as strong and just strings. Maybe some percussion? At times, band members were pulled to go help out the orchestra.

It's just done differently in different places.

+1 In Northern Virginia the norm is band and a separate strings orchestra. It's not some sign of a weak program, just the way it's been done here. If you want full orchestra offerings, it looks like you need to move to the Northeast.

A 70 person marching band at a high school the size of Yorktown or WL is absolutely the sign of a weak program. That's super undersized. There just aren't enough kids participating in the music program to even have a quality symphonic band. That isn't how it should be at a large, well resourced high school with so many motivated, high achieving kids.

The pandemic really hurt band and orchestra programs. Many are half the size they were in 2019, some more, some less.

If you have a music student, you have seen this firsthand. If you don't, then you can see it there in the numbers.

if that is the case (and I think it is) I would think the schools would try to encourage kids to continue with music by providing more flexibility for the marching band requirement. Letting more advanced musicians participate in a band for beginners is not really a good alternative -- you would not ask a kid ready for MV calculus to take algebra 1 again just because he does not want to be on the math team.

+1

The marching band requirement is killing participation.

I’d rather see more kids participate in music than force kids to do marching band for “school spirit”.

HSs don’t really need big marching band anyway. Just do a smaller, optional pep rally band.
More fun & mobile.

No more now than 2019. No, the marching band requirement isn't killing anything. But the pandemic, loss of in-person teaching and playing, caused a lot of students to quit. Of those who stuck with it, whether high school kids, middle school, or elementary, the current levels of musicianship are lower overall, too.

During the closures, sports practices continued outdoors. Music lessons didn't. Some students took lessons by zoom, a few took lessons in teachers' yards or private studios. But ensemble playing didn't happen. Across the country, bands and orchestras are smaller now than pre-pandemic. And it will take years to rebuild the pipeline, for those schools that value music and fund elementary school music education (which local school districts are underfunding, more now than than they were pre-pandemic).

More than one thing can be true. Pandemic decreased participation. AND the marching band requirement decreases participation.

My kid stuck with her instrument through the whole pandemic and was really bummed she couldn’t do advanced band at W-L because the marching band requirement conflicted with her fall sport. Same with another kid from her MS.

They could rebuild music (not marching band) faster if they lost the requirement. I hope they do before my next kid starts HS.

The other option is for marching band to find a way to coexist with with other popular high school activities.

+1 DD did W-L marching band and had a good experience and the requirement was never an issue for her. But I do think they could accelerate the band rebuilding without it and if they can't support a full voluntary marching band then should lean into having a fun pep band with the kids who want to do it. DD is continuing band in college but intentionally picked a college where they have pep band, not marching band. She didn't want the time commitment of marching but likes the fun aspect of pep band.

+1

Pep bands are so fun and much less commitment.

This thread is so anti-marching band it's ridiculous.
Marching band is not a form of torture. It can be an absolute blast.

There's absolutely zero reason why a school as large as WL or Yorktown can't support a marching band.

Great. Then we shouldn’t have to force kids to do it.

Just to be clear, no one is being forced. It's an elective for goodness sakes.

They are “forced” to do it if they want to do advanced band.

Yes. It is part of advanced band. Don't like it, don't do it. And those who are unwilling, don't.
All courses have their requirements. Marching band is one of the requirements for advanced band. How many other advanced classes do you advocate eliminating requirements from?

Are there any equivalent courses that have a required intensive extracurricular activity?

Geometry intensified requires math olympiad?

AP Physics requires wrestling?

No, but intensified sciences require participation in science fair. My son refused to do intensified sciences because her didn't want to do that.

And for the griping that you can't do marching band + a fall sport (not completely true), do you also complain that a student can't do two fall sports because there will be conflicts?

For years, my kid has invested her time in an instrument and a fall sport. We were shocked that she could not do advanced band and her sport at W-L.

By forcing them to do marching band with advanced band they are losing students for various reasons.

So be it. Welcome to real life.

This is equivalent to “stop whining” which, once again, is not an argument. APS made a choice, a policy decision, to impose this requirement. And people have every right to point out how there are numerous negative downstream effects of that requirement. Unless you want people to assume you have no actual argument and are just irrationally set on defending the policy, you need to offer an actual argument. You need to point out what actual positive good is served by the policy, why it is justified in the face of the drawbacks, and why those positive goals can’t be met by some other, less restrictive means.


Unless, of course, your argument is just “that’s life, where bureaucrats are going to pass dumb rules that suit their own purposes and you’ll have to live with the consequences. And invariably some portion of unhappy people will irrationally defend those choices because they don’t actually care when rules affect other people, only themselves.” THAT is a valuable life lesson that teenagers probably need to experience at some point.

[Anonymous]

^^ahh. Everything you just stated in your last paragraph totally applies to you. The school has passed a “dumb rule“ that doesn’t suit your purpose. And you’re trying to defend your choices because you don’t actually care about marching band, only your own child. Who is the one being irrational? You or the school? Also, was it you who called band kids “obnoxious“?

[Anonymous]

Marching Band should be an optional extra curricular activity. I know high schools across the country that mandate it for kids in certain bands or for a certain number of years and very few of the kids who were forced to do Marching Band enjoyed the experience. I am sure that some do but the ones I know all did the mandated number of years and then stopped, none thought about doing Marching Band in college.

We are trying to encourage kids to join a music program and then we limit their choices by forcing them to do something after school that might interfere with other activities or requirements that they might have. Arguing that they can participate in a less challenging option, ir a lower band, to avoid the requirement is silly. Kids have worked hard to improve their skills to be able to participate in a higher level group and then you say that they can only do that if they are willing to give up a month of summer vacation, time after school, and weekend days because they have to participate in a second activity.

Marching Band is a different beast then band or orchestra or other musical activities. It takes a different skill set to march and move. Not everyone is interested in the physical nature of marching band. Not everyone wants to play and move at the same time.

We should be making band more enticing, not less. Forcing kids to participate in a difficult, time consuming activity in order to be able to participate in the higher level band fails to make that class enticing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Marching Band should be an optional extra curricular activity. I know high schools across the country that mandate it for kids in certain bands or for a certain number of years and very few of the kids who were forced to do Marching Band enjoyed the experience. I am sure that some do but the ones I know all did the mandated number of years and then stopped, none thought about doing Marching Band in college.

We are trying to encourage kids to join a music program and then we limit their choices by forcing them to do something after school that might interfere with other activities or requirements that they might have. Arguing that they can participate in a less challenging option, ir a lower band, to avoid the requirement is silly. Kids have worked hard to improve their skills to be able to participate in a higher level group and then you say that they can only do that if they are willing to give up a month of summer vacation, time after school, and weekend days because they have to participate in a second activity.

Marching Band is a different beast then band or orchestra or other musical activities. It takes a different skill set to march and move. Not everyone is interested in the physical nature of marching band. Not everyone wants to play and move at the same time.

We should be making band more enticing, not less. Forcing kids to participate in a difficult, time consuming activity in order to be able to participate in the higher level band fails to make that class enticing.

Sounds like you are looking at a self-selecting group.

Kids who play sports also do marching band. The two are not mutually exclusive. OP is an extreme outlier with a peculiar teacher and a clueless parent who doesn't know how to support her DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Marching Band should be an optional extra curricular activity. I know high schools across the country that mandate it for kids in certain bands or for a certain number of years and very few of the kids who were forced to do Marching Band enjoyed the experience. I am sure that some do but the ones I know all did the mandated number of years and then stopped, none thought about doing Marching Band in college.

We are trying to encourage kids to join a music program and then we limit their choices by forcing them to do something after school that might interfere with other activities or requirements that they might have. Arguing that they can participate in a less challenging option, ir a lower band, to avoid the requirement is silly. Kids have worked hard to improve their skills to be able to participate in a higher level group and then you say that they can only do that if they are willing to give up a month of summer vacation, time after school, and weekend days because they have to participate in a second activity.

Marching Band is a different beast then band or orchestra or other musical activities. It takes a different skill set to march and move. Not everyone is interested in the physical nature of marching band. Not everyone wants to play and move at the same time.

We should be making band more enticing, not less. Forcing kids to participate in a difficult, time consuming activity in order to be able to participate in the higher level band fails to make that class enticing.

Well said. This requirement is pushing kids away from music, not drawing them in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ahh. Everything you just stated in your last paragraph totally applies to you. The school has passed a “dumb rule“ that doesn’t suit your purpose. And you’re trying to defend your choices because you don’t actually care about marching band, only your own child. Who is the one being irrational? You or the school? Also, was it you who called band kids “obnoxious“?

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Marching Band should be an optional extra curricular activity. I know high schools across the country that mandate it for kids in certain bands or for a certain number of years and very few of the kids who were forced to do Marching Band enjoyed the experience. I am sure that some do but the ones I know all did the mandated number of years and then stopped, none thought about doing Marching Band in college.

We are trying to encourage kids to join a music program and then we limit their choices by forcing them to do something after school that might interfere with other activities or requirements that they might have. Arguing that they can participate in a less challenging option, ir a lower band, to avoid the requirement is silly. Kids have worked hard to improve their skills to be able to participate in a higher level group and then you say that they can only do that if they are willing to give up a month of summer vacation, time after school, and weekend days because they have to participate in a second activity.

Marching Band is a different beast then band or orchestra or other musical activities. It takes a different skill set to march and move. Not everyone is interested in the physical nature of marching band. Not everyone wants to play and move at the same time.

We should be making band more enticing, not less. Forcing kids to participate in a difficult, time consuming activity in order to be able to participate in the higher level band fails to make that class enticing.

Then how about changing the policy in a way that doesn't make a "lesser" and "better" concert band? Don't make it "intermediate" and "advanced" band and encourage more students who don't want to do marching band to stay in concert band. Personally, I think "advanced" should mean something and the only real differences under existing policy are that all the better players are sucked away from concert band into symphonic band, and marching band is a requirement for symphonic band. Marching band, imo, is an extenuation of the advanced band curriculum and part of being in advanced band. Just like delving deeper into topics and requiring more reading/work is part of the AP class curriculum, even though those things do not directly extend beyond the school day - though they do create more homework outside of the school day. Yes, marching band is a time commitment - so is a sport. Regardless of what people here keep insisting, students don't have to be able to do both and band shouldn't have to be the activity that yields to all others. If you can't do both, don't do both. There are other electives my kids have wanted to take, but aren't able to because of schedule conflicts. It's unfortunate they didn't get to take them; and it's unfortunate if some kids can't or won't do "advanced" band because of marching band.

I cannot understand why everyone thinks marching band is the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Marching Band should be an optional extra curricular activity. I know high schools across the country that mandate it for kids in certain bands or for a certain number of years and very few of the kids who were forced to do Marching Band enjoyed the experience. I am sure that some do but the ones I know all did the mandated number of years and then stopped, none thought about doing Marching Band in college.

We are trying to encourage kids to join a music program and then we limit their choices by forcing them to do something after school that might interfere with other activities or requirements that they might have. Arguing that they can participate in a less challenging option, ir a lower band, to avoid the requirement is silly. Kids have worked hard to improve their skills to be able to participate in a higher level group and then you say that they can only do that if they are willing to give up a month of summer vacation, time after school, and weekend days because they have to participate in a second activity.

Marching Band is a different beast then band or orchestra or other musical activities. It takes a different skill set to march and move. Not everyone is interested in the physical nature of marching band. Not everyone wants to play and move at the same time.

We should be making band more enticing, not less. Forcing kids to participate in a difficult, time consuming activity in order to be able to participate in the higher level band fails to make that class enticing.

Sounds like you are looking at a self-selecting group.

Kids who play sports also do marching band. The two are not mutually exclusive. OP is an extreme outlier with a peculiar teacher and a clueless parent who doesn't know how to support her DC.

I'm one of the marching band defenders here; but this is an unfair characterization of OP. I agree about the peculiar music teacher, but OP - and her daughter - are fine with her not doing symphonic band. OP merely asked if it was a possibility for her daughter to do symphonic without marching. OP seems quite supportive of her daughter's interests and talents, as well as her priorities and future ambitions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Marching Band should be an optional extra curricular activity. I know high schools across the country that mandate it for kids in certain bands or for a certain number of years and very few of the kids who were forced to do Marching Band enjoyed the experience. I am sure that some do but the ones I know all did the mandated number of years and then stopped, none thought about doing Marching Band in college.

We are trying to encourage kids to join a music program and then we limit their choices by forcing them to do something after school that might interfere with other activities or requirements that they might have. Arguing that they can participate in a less challenging option, ir a lower band, to avoid the requirement is silly. Kids have worked hard to improve their skills to be able to participate in a higher level group and then you say that they can only do that if they are willing to give up a month of summer vacation, time after school, and weekend days because they have to participate in a second activity.

Marching Band is a different beast then band or orchestra or other musical activities. It takes a different skill set to march and move. Not everyone is interested in the physical nature of marching band. Not everyone wants to play and move at the same time.

We should be making band more enticing, not less. Forcing kids to participate in a difficult, time consuming activity in order to be able to participate in the higher level band fails to make that class enticing.

Then how about changing the policy in a way that doesn't make a "lesser" and "better" concert band? Don't make it "intermediate" and "advanced" band and encourage more students who don't want to do marching band to stay in concert band. Personally, I think "advanced" should mean something and the only real differences under existing policy are that all the better players are sucked away from concert band into symphonic band, and marching band is a requirement for symphonic band. Marching band, imo, is an extenuation of the advanced band curriculum and part of being in advanced band. Just like delving deeper into topics and requiring more reading/work is part of the AP class curriculum, even though those things do not directly extend beyond the school day - though they do create more homework outside of the school day. Yes, marching band is a time commitment - so is a sport. Regardless of what people here keep insisting, students don't have to be able to do both and band shouldn't have to be the activity that yields to all others. If you can't do both, don't do both. There are other electives my kids have wanted to take, but aren't able to because of schedule conflicts. It's unfortunate they didn't get to take them; and it's unfortunate if some kids can't or won't do "advanced" band because of marching band.

I cannot understand why everyone thinks marching band is the problem.

Marching band isn’t the problem. It’s a great activity and I hope more kids choose to do it.

Forcing kids who want to continue music at W-L to do marching band is the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Marching Band should be an optional extra curricular activity. I know high schools across the country that mandate it for kids in certain bands or for a certain number of years and very few of the kids who were forced to do Marching Band enjoyed the experience. I am sure that some do but the ones I know all did the mandated number of years and then stopped, none thought about doing Marching Band in college.

We are trying to encourage kids to join a music program and then we limit their choices by forcing them to do something after school that might interfere with other activities or requirements that they might have. Arguing that they can participate in a less challenging option, ir a lower band, to avoid the requirement is silly. Kids have worked hard to improve their skills to be able to participate in a higher level group and then you say that they can only do that if they are willing to give up a month of summer vacation, time after school, and weekend days because they have to participate in a second activity.

Marching Band is a different beast then band or orchestra or other musical activities. It takes a different skill set to march and move. Not everyone is interested in the physical nature of marching band. Not everyone wants to play and move at the same time.

We should be making band more enticing, not less. Forcing kids to participate in a difficult, time consuming activity in order to be able to participate in the higher level band fails to make that class enticing.

Sounds like you are looking at a self-selecting group.

Kids who play sports also do marching band. The two are not mutually exclusive. OP is an extreme outlier with a peculiar teacher and a clueless parent who doesn't know how to support her DC.

Some sports are extremely hard/impossible to do at the same time as marching band.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Marching Band should be an optional extra curricular activity. I know high schools across the country that mandate it for kids in certain bands or for a certain number of years and very few of the kids who were forced to do Marching Band enjoyed the experience. I am sure that some do but the ones I know all did the mandated number of years and then stopped, none thought about doing Marching Band in college.

We are trying to encourage kids to join a music program and then we limit their choices by forcing them to do something after school that might interfere with other activities or requirements that they might have. Arguing that they can participate in a less challenging option, ir a lower band, to avoid the requirement is silly. Kids have worked hard to improve their skills to be able to participate in a higher level group and then you say that they can only do that if they are willing to give up a month of summer vacation, time after school, and weekend days because they have to participate in a second activity.

Marching Band is a different beast then band or orchestra or other musical activities. It takes a different skill set to march and move. Not everyone is interested in the physical nature of marching band. Not everyone wants to play and move at the same time.

We should be making band more enticing, not less. Forcing kids to participate in a difficult, time consuming activity in order to be able to participate in the higher level band fails to make that class enticing.

Sounds like you are looking at a self-selecting group.

Kids who play sports also do marching band. The two are not mutually exclusive. OP is an extreme outlier with a peculiar teacher and a clueless parent who doesn't know how to support her DC.

I'm one of the marching band defenders here; but this is an unfair characterization of OP. I agree about the peculiar music teacher, but OP - and her daughter - are fine with her not doing symphonic band. OP merely asked if it was a possibility for her daughter to do symphonic without marching. OP seems quite supportive of her daughter's interests and talents, as well as her priorities and future ambitions.

OP here. Thank you! My daughter's teacher did not want her taking trumpet as a second instrument, I honestly haven't asked about anything else because the only other instruments my daughter has expressed any interest in are cello and piano - neither of which are relevant for band or emboucher. Her teacher actually did encourage her to do marching band and said most of her students do it mainly because it is fun and social. But my DC does not really like band music (she tolerates it now out of loyalty to the Arlington schools music program, which is how she got interested in music in the first place). She wants to do scales and practice Strauss and Mozart concertos until I beg her to put her horn away and go to sleep. DH and I do not know where her music drive came from -- definitely not from us but we are trying to support her as best we can. She loves her current youth orchestra and they seem to like her and she is getting tons of cool opportunities. It is a better fit for her than AYPO (which would be band-compatible) for a variety of reasons.

[Anonymous]

OP likes to deride marching band in an effort to get her special snowflake into symphonic band. I’ve got news for you, your kid is not the only exceptional and musically, gifted child in Arlington. It sounds like you need to find alternative plans for your kid to participate in music in the public schools. If you can’t follow the rules that are established for everyone, then you should seek out opportunities outside the school system.
If your kid plays a brass instrument, I highly suggest jazz band, which is offered spring semester. I’ve never heard more talented and gifted musicians than those in the Arlington high school jazz bands. Many of the kids in the Arlington band programs go on to become music majors.