Reply to Time commitment for marching band in Madison HS

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The parents are fanatical and the band director is a tyrant, FYI.[/quote]

This can and will be said about every outstanding band program. My HS Director WAS a tyrant and yes, some of the parents were fanatical. Oh well. We went to the state competition almost every year, marched in Inaugural parades twice, Rose Bowl, etc, etc. I'm 49 and we had a band reunion five years ago. I am still in touch with many, many of my bandmates and still have my instrument.

Band taught me a lot about perseverance, things worth working hard for, a work ethic geared towards excellence, and leadership. It was a great teenage experience and has served me well in college, the courtroom and now as a member of the intel community. Let your kids be challenged and grow up a little.[/quote]

Many academic and athletic activities also teach perseverance, hard work, etc. Just wanted to get your opinion if you think band is unique in any way in teaching these things. We are considering band but conflicting with another activity. DD likes both and conflicted on what to choose. [/quote]

PP here. For me, I loved music and I loved my instrument (flute). I was also in the color guard during marching season. For me, it was a lot of fun as well. I was the color guard captain my senior year.

I was not hugely athletically talented or inclined, so pushing myself in a sport wasn't something that was going to happen at the high school level. There are other activities I think I would have done well at - debate, student government, but found my niche in band. It gave me a community and lots of friends. You're competitive within your instrument group, but usually not in a toxic way. But you're friends with everyone else, and during marching season you are all pulling together towards your goal, so there's a great sense of camaraderie and teamwork. The games are fun, competitions and trips are fun. My parents were pretty hands off with the whole thing so I was pretty responsible for getting myself where I needed to be and on time. And while I can't speak to the Madison band in particular, at my high school the band was pretty diverse - racially and socioeconomically. And we had people with very different motivational levels. That can be where leadership comes in - how do you motivate the person who's just there to pass the time to give it their all for the team? I personally think that's different from some other activities where being really competitive is necessary.

The flip side is that I was in band and it takes up a lot of time, so if you're not happy with it that won't be much fun. But I worked it all in - I got good grades, worked part-time, etc. It didn't lead to a scholarship and I didn't have to write a college essay way back then so that was not my motivation.

Good luck to your child![/quote]

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