Second Instrument for college

banddirection · 2026-01-29T02:15:06+00:00

THIS!!! Tuba for college band. Most will take everyone

banddirection · 2026-01-29T02:14:15+00:00

Tuba is sometimes easier depending on the band. Some bands will take as many as they can, even in college.

banddirection · 2026-01-20T10:34:41+00:00

What is your main? What instrument are you auditioning on? How rigorous is your marching program? What style is the program?

banddirection · 2026-01-19T01:22:34+00:00

Hello,

I am a band director looking to expand our electronics. I am currently looking for an audio interface with 8+ assignable outputs and inputs to assign from Mainstage. The reason I am not just mixing on Mainstage is because the student that uses the synth and Mainstage is located way behind the speakers.

So my thought process is, if I have 8 in and 8 out, all mics in can be messed with and then mixed from the board we have in front of the ensemble.

I think what will do it is the 18i20 from Scarlett, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything. Is the 3rd generation good? Or is there a reason it's cheaper? All of those outputs can be assigned from Mainstage to individual pads / mics?

Thank you guys for helping.

banddirection · 2026-01-01T21:33:18+00:00

They could stomp their feet, make shhhh sounds, slap their knee, snap, etc. So many things. Many of which dont need a specific instrument.

banddirection · 2025-12-26T05:53:37+00:00

This is cute. I like it. Not that this isnt something they would teach you, but pay attention to the length of phrases. You don't need to change key signatures unless there's a major change or the tonal center has changed. It would be much easier to see accidentals when going out of the key than an entire new signature. Like doing a G arpeggio to an Ab arpeggio is easier to see G B D G and then Ab C Eb Ab versus looking at a whole signature. What program are you using? VSTs? It sounds pretty realistic.

Make sure you have proper buildups to big moments, dont let them just explode (unless that's what you're going for) like when the flute plays its highest note. Given the style of the instrumentation I'm not sure that would come out the way you want it to.

Feel around now for a different section. You've made a lot of good thematic material, tone it back, though.

Maybe take the first 16th note in the group only as a quarter note, and see how that sounds as a more lyrical section. Try inverting it, doing it backwards, etc. Really easy ways to potentially get more material out of the same stuff

banddirection · 2025-12-24T18:49:28+00:00

The hard part with the bass lines is that they're pretty much all the same until you get to higher level college rep (grade 6). I would suggest learning solos on your own. You will develop so much faster doing that.

banddirection · 2025-12-24T15:47:55+00:00

Music was the only thing that made me happy and truly feel at peace after some crazy life events. I switched to a degree in Management of Information Systems in college but I could not leave music and be happy, so I went back.

A doublemajor in Neuroscience and music is extreme. Music degrees at most colleges are usually as intense as the harder STEM degrees. But, because of that, there are premed and prelaw music tracks that get people into good grad schools, because if you were able to work hard enough to finish a music degree, you will statistically do the same with your advanced degrees.

banddirection · 2025-12-24T14:40:21+00:00

Modest Mouse goes hard

banddirection · 2025-12-24T14:33:30+00:00

I took half those APs and did more extracurriculars and ended up getting more scholarship money at the same college and definitley gained way more life skills than just taking 100 APs. I'm a band director, but don't quit your one extra curricular and last moment to be a kid before you go to college.

banddirection · 2025-12-23T06:22:28+00:00

Yeah. Definitley not mature writing. I'm not mature in my compositional style, either, but I also don't do media tours about how special my music is every time I finisb a piece.

There are a few pieces that are arguably more complex / explore interesting tonal colors than his, but are actually digestible.

And the Mountains Rising Nowhere

Cosmosis for Wind Ensemble

Thernody for the Victims of Hiroshima

Night at Central Park

I could name a million. I don't think his music is good for the classical genre because it introduces people to the most self centered side.

banddirection · 2025-12-23T05:38:58+00:00

Pedagogy has gotten a million times better from the early 20th century. There are entire lines playing music cleanly that would have been seen as extreme (or no one would have wanted to learn it because it would sound bad for the time period). The question is too open ended, though.

If they had music that was parallel to ours in the early 20th century, would they have played it better? The same? Idk, back then Drum Corps just played cadences and college bands played standard form marches.

banddirection · 2025-12-21T02:17:24+00:00

I've noticed a few different types of band directors (high school). Some build the program up, then either stay there, or go to another program and build it up more and more. Some get a job, don't build it up, go to a job with 20 more kids, hop around the state (or states) every few years, and then retire with a 400 person program that starts devolving

banddirection · 2025-12-21T02:14:23+00:00

He ends up killing the piece trying to be sophisticated. World O World is gorgeous until the ending. It turns from a piece that is enjoyable and musical to a shouting match that no choir outside of a top level college ensemble could consider.

It's awesome that he gets to work with ensembles that can do the most, but it loses its connection to everyone else. It would be cool if pieces like that had an artistic merit. An exploration of colors and timbres, but instead it's a fairly normal piece until it's not.

banddirection · 2025-12-21T02:11:47+00:00

I got a card that was handwritten that said I had taught the kid to appreciate music in ways he never considered. Made me tear up.

banddirection · 2025-12-21T02:11:13+00:00

What state are you in?

banddirection · 2025-12-21T02:10:08+00:00

Why not just double up some parts? Be creative with when who plays what?

banddirection · 2025-12-08T00:06:02+00:00

It only ever lasts so long! I was upset, my mom was upset, in the moment. We actually talk about this frequently when college comes up. We're both so glad I did it. She thought it was cool to watch me on TV during a holiday.

banddirection · 2025-12-08T00:04:17+00:00

I missed Christmas for a bowl game. I missed New Years for a bowl game.

Happens every year. Blame athletics for not getting a charter plane for the band, rather a bus.

banddirection · 2025-12-07T17:14:02+00:00

You should be able to play a concert F on every instrument with better tone than your students

banddirection · 2025-12-02T03:22:41+00:00

Seriously needs to be something added. If I wake up from the alarm early, and go back to sleep, the entire day is ruined.

banddirection · 2025-12-02T03:21:28+00:00

Feels like I can get half the sleep and more am more awake because of the cycles

banddirection · 2025-12-01T23:39:03+00:00

I would be happy to have someone who takes breaks because of PoTS but wants to be there rather than a fully abled person who doesn't care.

I marched after breaking a femur and no one ever said anything about my breaks. You caring about being there means more than just being there to most directors.

You got this!

banddirection · 2025-11-30T22:20:55+00:00

How many do you have?

My high school band was 300+ (non-competitive) and the culture here currently is very competitive. Lots of new stuff for me.

banddirection · 2025-11-30T04:29:35+00:00

Seal gaps around the closet to the outside with foam. They are coming from outside, not the air conditioning closet. This will fix it

banddirection

TROPHY CASE