My 3A high school band has about 20 people in it. They are pretty pathetic looking. They don't bother with these crazy props since they don't participate in any competitions.

Real answer:

From my recollection, LD Bell, FM-Marcus, and some of the big San Antonio HS bands started the amazing amount of props on the UIL side of it all around 2004ish. Maybe a little sooner, like around 2000? Lots of people used them for BOA competition for a while, but these were some of the first bands to use them every year.

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FYI, the props in the OP were inspired by something like this:


The show was titled "Samsara" and according to wikipedia:

"meaning "continuous flow"), is the repeating cycle of birth, life and death (reincarnation) within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bn, Jainism, andTaoism"

They had five different movement in the show, birth, life, perfection, death, re-birth. I was really dad they didn't have afterbirth, the props would have been horrendous.

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Interesting. It's OK to have a performance with not-so-thinly veiled references to Middle Eastern and Far Eastern religions. Wonder what people would say if they included a Star of David or, allah forbid, a cross?

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Interesting. It's OK to have a performance with not-so-thinly veiled references to Middle Eastern and Far Eastern religions. Wonder what people would say if they included a Star of David or, allah forbid, a cross

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I'm told the original design had a silhouette of a lady at the top of the pyramids, but it was removed for just that reason.

We had something like this every year 98-01. HS director was a former DCI type and we did BOA contests as well. Giant ground tarps got used two years (a planet and then a bullfighting ring). Best/worst was Freshman year we had a guy wear a giant Kali costume made of PVC and fabric and ''fight" the color guard.

Sheesh. So much work and money goes into that crap. Who are these vaunted "judges" that are actually putting on parents to drop cash on that stuff?

Can we go back to playing the music, marching in crisp formations, and making fun of male woodwind players, please?

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Sheesh. So much work and money goes into that crap. Who are these vaunted "judges" that are actually putting on parents to drop cash on that stuff?

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The owners of prop companies, costume stores, and music stores.

This is why the HS Bands that I have directed have always been and always will be traditional Military. Would the FTAB have props? Most of the times that I have seen a HS band with props it was to enhance the program, but many times they are used to take your eyes off of the fact that the band can't march. One of my students at Area contest last year commented that marching band is becoming a One Act Play with music. Went to a contest in Louisiana a few years back and they brought a trailer to our buses and asked for out props. He didn't understand why we didn't have any.

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Here is Allen HS mid-show on Saturday with 500+ on the field. I think we counted 28 sousaphones.

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Would barely make a decent bass cross with only 28.

One time at band competition.......

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Would the FTAB have props?

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The answer is yes.

See:
-Bugle Rank
-At least 1/2 of all whitebelts
-Plus the whitebelts who can play well but are too hungover
-And the several black belts who can't actually play an instrument

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Can we go back to playing the music, marching in crisp formations, and making fun of male woodwind players, please?

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Would the FTAB have props?

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The answer is yes.

See:
-Bugle Rank
-At least 1/2 of all whitebelts
-Plus the whitebelts who can play well but are too hungover
-And the several black belts who can't actually play an instrument

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Yeah I don't know what you would call the buglue rank but the fightin' texas aggie flag corp.

Just got clarification from a friend of mine.

Allen band members receive their letter jackets senior year unless they make all-state band or get a one on the solo at the state contest.

so they get a letter for not quitting for 3 years? I guess that is better than getting it for not quitting after 1-2 years.

but then they could go join the lawn darts team and get a letter that way.

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so they get a letter for not quitting for 3 years? I guess that is better than getting it for not quitting after 1-2 years.

but then they could go join the lawn darts team and get a letter that way.

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Knocking club sports who put just as much practice and effort in to their sport as UIL sanctioned sports. Cute.

Duncan, are you seriously trying to make the point that kids these days should have to earn their letter jackets like it's something meaningful or important?

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so they get a letter for not quitting for 3 years? I guess that is better than getting it for not quitting after 1-2 years.

but then they could go join the lawn darts team and get a letter that way.

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Knocking club sports who put just as much practice and effort in to their sport as UIL sanctioned sports. Cute.

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Not as cute as pretending that bowling and other club sports are the same level as UIL sanctioned sports.

Please let children play sports. Please let my children play sports

Band hoares!!

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Allen band members receive their letter jackets senior year unless they make all-state band or get a one on the solo at the state contest.

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Same at Consol. Easiest way to get a letter was having good grades for 2 years to get one at the start of Junior year. Cross country: had to be a senior or all-state. UIL Academic team: senior or state.

You are right. I qualified for one junior year after my stellar TAKS scores, but I already had my letter in bowling. I technically could have had two letter jackets.

So glad I never got a letter jacket. 4 years of varsity tennis and declined the jacket every single year.

I had a letter jacket for IB

Trevas, I hope you are having a good day.

I definitely got my letter jacket for Academic Decathlon

I got one my sophomore year of HS because I was the only sophomore in recent memory to make the Varsity cheer squad.

Boom.

And before anyone says cheerleading is not a sport, it was at my school. We were good at the stunting.

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Trevas, I hope you are having a good day.

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Thanks Ronnie I am. A friend of mines is going with me to the Cowboys game tonight. Ronnie I hope you have a #blessed day.
#Friendship

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We were good at the sl utting.

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FIFY

Clem, would you describe your stunting as icy hot?

As mentioned above, DCI is where it started. This year they had giant teeter totters , trampolines , model runways ... just to name a few.

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We were good at the sl utting.

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FIFY

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Ha! Some were. We lost a few to pregnancy over my three years on the squad.

They died giving birth? Why are you laughing about that?