My son is considering going to a private high school where they have a great band but no marching band. At the conference today the band director said they had a student last year graduate that is in the FTAB.

I just looked up on the website and they say Marching band experience is a requirement.

Does anyone know if they accept members that do not have previous marching band experience for auditions etc.

I had thought they would have had previous marching band experience till the director said this today.

He is in 8th grade and plays the Tuba.

Thanks in Advance

No way. I'm pretty sure anyone can join the band.

requirements for the fightin Texas Aggie band:

1) ability to play an instrument

2) desire to be in the Corps

3) marching band experience would be preferred

This is not the Aggie Band of my day where you would have cadets just carry a horn so that we would march around 300.

Wait, ability to play an instrument is now a requirement? I thought you just had to know which end to put up to your mouth!

Greutzmachers -- Goin' commando!

I had my mind made up in middle school, as well. The points above are correct. Good news is that he plays the Bass (tuBAS= t.u. beats aggies in BQ Language). The Aggie Band loves to have Bass Rank and the X shape behind the drummers when they march in a block formation.

I know many of my peers came from a wide background of mediocre to All State creditentials. He will need to be ready for the physical commitments of the Corps on top of the Req's listed. Good to know and see the intrest at a young age.

Thanks everyone for the posts!

Current member of the band here, (drummer Butt). I know the requirements for acceptance into the band will be changing starting this spring, though I am not sure what exactly these requirements are. Our membership has exploded over the last few years (currently almost 450 members) and we will now have to put a limit on the number of freshman we allow. you will have a playing audition in the spring, and in May the top players of each section will be selected, where in years past its been almost a guarantee to get in if you could at least make a sound. The band website should have all the information needed, or one of the directors should be able to answer any other questions through email/phone calls. hope this could help

With the Corps growing like it is, perhaps it is time to bring back the fish Band like they had in the late 40's early 50's. Albeit for different reasons but I find it hard to grasp turning away a kid who wants to join the Corps of Cadets just because the Aggie Band is too large. I get the reason to keep the onfield presence down in the low 300 body range - you can only do so much with so many pairs of legs walking around.

I am just not comfortable with some music puke doing 'auditions' on kids to decide who gets in and who doesn't. Would be a bad, bad precedent and would turn away some damn good future Aggies. Find a Plan B.

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I am just not comfortable with some music puke (ie Red Raider director) doing 'auditions' on kids to decide who gets in and who doesn't. Would be a bad, bad precedent and would turn away some damn good future Aggies. Find a Plan B.

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+1

I would suggest that 'wildman15' go out in front of Dorm 11 and sit on the bench that has the plaque for Richard M. Price, '74 on it. Take a moment to read about a man you never knew but was like a brother to me. Best Aggie I ever was around. My good bud Rick would have NEVER made it past some Liberal Arts music geek's audition had that bit of BS been in place in the late summer of 1970. It obviously was a much different era than now, but then closer than you think. Seems like folks are bragging about how the Corps of Cadets this year is the largest in number since......1970. Amazing. If you let music pukes dictate who gets to be an Aggie Bandsman then you miss out on a future 'benchworthy' Ag out there. Trust me.



[This message has been edited by WBBQ74 (edited 11/21/2013 5:01p).]

Rick Price will always live in my memory, both from when he was a Zip and I was a fish and then later when he buzzed the Band on a Saturday morning practice on Kyle Field. When we got word of his passing, I knew Mr Price died doing something to help others. They don't have auditions for men like Rick Price.

AggieFNP

It's your basic law of supply and demand. Lots of people want to join the FTAB. Back in my era, Lots of people did.

Fall '88, we started with about 120 fish including about 15 females. Spring '89, we marched Final Review with about 65 fish including exactly 1 female.

Granted, my year was an anomaly due to a desired outcome but they did their damnedest to weed out anybody and everybody. In B-Company, we started with 30 and ended with 13. 11/13 marched Final Review in Spring '92 and I will say that those 11 are some durable b*stards.

I don't think that post-sign-up weeding out process is occurring today with as much fervor as it did during my era. Thus, they have to do a weed out in advance. And I agree wholeheartedly that your ability to play an instrument has virtually nothing to do with your ability to be a hard-charging Aggie Bandsman (or Bandsperson, I guess).

In my era, we would start the year with 320 or so and finish the year with 265 or so. By the way, attrition wasn't limited to fish. Not all of the Soph. Jr. or Srs. made it to Final Review either - for a variety of reasons. I seriously can't believe that the FTAB is having so many applicants that it is having to turn people away. If the playing requirement were in effect when I was in the Band, I can tell you that my most well known buddy (news article wise) wouldn't have made it through the front door of the Band Room.

I'm with WBBQ on his idea of reinvigorating the Fish Band. I don't think we ought to be turning anyone away that wants to be an Aggie Bandsman. A&M is too damn hard to get into nowadays, and then to tell some young person that has run that gauntlet that they can't be in the Band... I just think that's wrong.

The FTAB directorial staff, IMO, needs to rethink this policy if it is indeed THEIR policy (as opposed to coming from higher up).

Yeah, what sort of elitist would use musical ability to limit membership in the marching band of a BCS school? Oh wait, they all do. It's not like they would be turning people away from the Corps, just the band. Seeing as the only official difference is the band has the additional requirment of representing the university as a musical group, I think it's completly fair. Unfortunalty, there is a limit to how large the band can be, and you have to limit it somehow. A fish band wouldn't solve the issue, as logisitcally those individuals would still be handled by the band, and the actually Aggie band would still grow. The days of counting on a 50% plus attrition rate are over, thankfully

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Yeah, what sort of elitist would use musical ability to limit membership in the marching band of a BCS school? Oh wait, they all do. It's not like they would be turning people away from the Corps, just the band.

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Other schools have a music department, A&M doesn't. Being in the band is completely voluntary.

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Seeing as the only official difference is the band has the additional requirement of representing the university as a musical group, I think it's completely fair.

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Non regs and/or corps turd opinions don't matter.

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Unfortunately, there is a limit to how large the band can be, and you have to limit it somehow.

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Since when?

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A fish band wouldn't solve the issue, as logistically those individuals would still be handled by the band, and the actually Aggie band would still grow.

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Think football..a freshman team prepares the players for Varsity level competition. The same as a fish band would prepare for 3 years of marching experience.

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The days of counting on a 50% plus attrition rate are over, thankfully

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It wasn't a bad thing to run people out of the corps and band who couldn't cut it. I'd take a cadet corps of 1,987 motivated cadets who want to be in the corps rather than 2,500 fat cadets who are not pushed to get better.

With a band that numbers almost 450 members with projections of being even larger in the near future, and a halftime show that only works for 360 members, it is quickly turning into a logistical nightmare not only to make sure everyone gets at least one halftime show, but also housing on the quad and traveling expenses. I mean no disresepct towards anyone, but eventually we are going to have to make cuts somewhere. Also keep in mind that Col. Brewer '81 is still a director for the band and has a lot of pull in deciding who will make it.

Auditions? What would Fat John say?

All I can say is that I'm happy that I was there in a day when we struggled to march 300 at times, where I got to set foot on Kyle Field as a fish for every game (the only thing that made life worth living as a fish) Dead Elephants were sometimes called back to fill holes (me) you could still pack someone's bags for them, and legends like Rick Price could be BQs.

What has changed? We had to work hard at recruiting back in my day. Why do high school kids suddenly want to join?

SJ?

Good luck to your son

Rick Price must have been pretty a pretty special person. Would someone help fill my informational void?

I can only say that I remember Maj. Rick Price died during Desert Storm when a cargo plane he was piloting crashed in Germany. These days thanks to the Internet, you can find pictures, stories about the crash, etc.
http://www.dstorm.eu/pages/en/other/losses.html
Take a look at the links from August 29th, 1990.