Questions regarding the band

[smubrooks]

One of my favorite parts of college athletics is the band. Some schools have large bands and others do not. The SMU band does an awesome job, but appears on the smaller side for most Div 1 bands. Does the band give out scholarships? Do they recruit HS students to come to the school for band? With the move to the BE and more money for the athletic dept is it reasonable to expect that the band will grow in size?

[couch 'em]

One of my favorite parts of college athletics is the band. Some schools have large bands and others do not. The SMU band does an awesome job, but appears on the smaller side for most Div 1 bands. Does the band give out scholarships? Do they recruit HS students to come to the school for band? With the move to the BE and more money for the athletic dept is it reasonable to expect that the band will grow in size?

Bands in general are full of middle class students, not typical SMU types, especially when football is bad. Scholarships at SMU are small, not enough to bring anyone to SMU who wouldn't be coming anyway. Many schools bands are full of music related majors. The music school at SMU doesn't seem to get along with the band and former members have posted before on ponyfans they were discouraged from participating in band. Winning football should help.

[DiamondM]

1. At many schools, music majors (at least of the instrumental variety) are required to participate in the marching band for 1 or more years. Not only are they not required to do so at SMU, but as already mentioned, many in the music school discourage performance majors from playing in the Mustang Band for various (invalid, IMO) reasons.

2. Most schools include LARGE squads of flutes and clarinets, which add little to the actual sound of the band as far as volume goes, but they pad the numbers visually. I am not in favor of changing the Mustang Band's instrumentation just for appearance. Sound yes, appearance no.

3. As mentioned, studies show that marching band participation in high school is largely a middle class activity. (See HP -- even with a perennially good football team, they have quite a small marching band compared with other area schools with similar enrollment). A smaller percentage of SMU students are pulled from the middle class than other schools, and so there are just fewer enrollees at SMU that have a band background. The economic status of band kids also makes scholarship money that much more important.

4. Being in band and sitting through football games (and basketball games) is not seen as cool by SMU students, it's hard work, and there isn't enough scholarship money counteracting that sentiment, so even those with band backgrounds opt out of participating in the Mustang Band. (Cheer and pom squads also suffer from the "too cool for school" feeling -- compare with other schools -- even, sigh, TCU -- where being on the cheer or dance team is a really big social plus). This has changed a little now that the team is winning and the band is travelling to bowl games on an annual basis, but even in the 80s, the band was still small in comparison to large state institutions with lots more enrollment to start with.

[DiamondM75]

As for the move to the BE and more money for the athletic department. The band, cheerleaders, pom and dance squads are a part of the student affairs department. I doubt that moving to the BE and having more athletic money will equate to more money for student affairs. We have to make the athletic department profitable, or at least a break even, before more money for other departments is available.

[NavyCrimson]

"96 Guys & a Doll!" Those were the days!!!

[redpony]

NC- absolutely. Irving Dreibrot (sorry if sp is wrong) was very creative and always put a good show on the field. His bands were not large but regarded as some of the best marching bands in the SWC.

GO PONIES!!!

[NavyCrimson]

Agree!!!!
Usually in the autumn, of course that's tradition, I have several of their band CDs I often listen to in my car.

[Statler]

Couch 'em and Diamond M are dead on about band being a function of the middle class.

Another way to look at it is this:

UT band marches about 300 instruments. Undergrad Student body is about 30k...so 1%

Tech same thing.

SMU's undergrad is about 5k to 5.5k so 1% would be 55. The fact that we march 86 is way above the average.

The M Band has traditionally marched no greater than 100. The last time the M Band march the magic number of 96 was in 1980. From that time forward scholarship money has not kept pace with the rise of tuition hence the band has gotten smaller.

[Dutch]

Undergrad is closer to 8k I believe.

[Statler]

Undergrad is closer to 8k I believe.

How many students attend SMU?
For 2009, 6,228 undergraduates and 4,663 graduate and professional students were enrolled at SMU. First-year student population:1,329.

http://www.smu.edu/Admission/ConnectWithUs/FAQ.aspx#general

So with those stats the M Band should be @62. So Don Hopkins, Director is doing a good job with what he is given as far as financial resources.

[SmooBoy]

Until the band gets out of that underwater band hall, it's never gonna be a draw for the casually interested student. Diamond M Club needs more funds to realize a new band complex.

Would love to see number approach 100 again.

[2ndandlong]

Vote for Adam Still today.

[Dutch]

Vote for Adam Still today.

seriously?

[2ndandlong]

Yes.

[Dutch]

what do i win?