Anonymous wrote:Everyone gets in. You have to be good for a leadership position. Jazz band and honors band you have to work for.

No, you just have to be a favorite

At WJ, Pep band and drum line require that the student is enrolled in any music class: Chorus, Piano, Guitar, Music Tech, Band or Orchestra, but you can take up a new instrument. A lot of the chorus kids do drum line and play symbols

Anonymous wrote:Okay thanks, good to know everyone can join. Follow-up question: how hard is the music, and how many years of band would you say a kid needs to take to be able to participate without feeling over their head? I assume it would be too hard for a kid in their first year of band on a given instrument-- how about their second year? (Assume no outside lessons.)

Most kids in 9th grade marching band at least started playing in 7th grade band.

Are you starting your kid on an instrument from scratch in 9th grade? Do they read music due to playing piano or being in orchestra?

Some kids switch instruments to be in marching band.

Since the schools I'm familiar with usually at least have 7th & 8th grade before marching begins, I'd say 2 years of training would be advisable. Ask the band teacher for guidance.

Also...our school is open access/non-audition for flag twirlers. So that's a way few people (like orchestra players) get a chance to march and parade. There's a chance a beginning instrument player could march in another capacity at your school.

We don't have one. Makes me sad.

Anonymous wrote:Okay thanks, good to know everyone can join. Follow-up question: how hard is the music, and how many years of band would you say a kid needs to take to be able to participate without feeling over their head? I assume it would be too hard for a kid in their first year of band on a given instrument-- how about their second year? (Assume no outside lessons.)

What school? Some of the schools in the district actually do compete, so at those schools assume your kid will need to be able to read music and be fairly proficient at the instrument 🎺 or have outside lessons. For these schools Marching Band takes up as much time as a sport if not more.

Anonymous wrote:Okay thanks, good to know everyone can join. Follow-up question: how hard is the music, and how many years of band would you say a kid needs to take to be able to participate without feeling over their head? I assume it would be too hard for a kid in their first year of band on a given instrument-- how about their second year? (Assume no outside lessons.)

There are kids new to instruments. I assume they fake it till they figure it out. Get outside lessons. In HS there is not much individual help for instruments to they have to be super talented and learn on their own.

Anonymous wrote:Everyone gets in at Einstein and it’s an amazing program/activity.

It's not amazing. They are very basic, no competitions, not much of anything. Nice group of kids but other schools are far better.

Okay thanks, good to know everyone can join. Follow-up question: how hard is the music, and how many years of band would you say a kid needs to take to be able to participate without feeling over their head? I assume it would be too hard for a kid in their first year of band on a given instrument-- how about their second year? (Assume no outside lessons.)

At BCC everyone who’s in a band other than jazz band is required to do pep band. It’s part of their grade. I think jazz band isn’t included because they have other events they’re required to play in outside of school.

Everyone gets in at Einstein and it’s an amazing program/activity.

Highly dependent on the school. Which program?

Everyone gets in. You have to be good for a leadership position. Jazz band and honors band you have to work for.

Most take anyone but not all schools have marching bands. Ours is very basic and does little.

No one turned away at our high school (RM) but marching band does not participate in competitions or even travel to away games. They just play the 4 or 5 home football games. Friendly and welcoming group of kids, good way for freshman to make connections.

How hard is it to get into marching band/pep band in high school, and does this vary by school and/or by instrument? How many years of in-school MS and/or HS band experience on a given instrument do you generally need to get in and participate successfully (i.e. would switching instruments mid-way through MS or skipping a year or two of MS band make it hard to join as a freshman)? Do you need private lessons and/or to be pretty musically talented to get in, or are most kids who just do regular in-school band good enough?