My son is looking at the Aggie band. He really loves music and plays in all the marching band, jazz band, blues band, etc. He also was raised an Aggie and is looking at contracting, so this would be a good fit. My question concerns the instruments. Do you provide your own instrument, or rent them like in high school? He has a trumpet, but would rather play baritone. I think the band uses concert euphoniums, which are really expensive. Does the band have some kind of rental for concert euphoniums? Thanks for any info.

As a former trumpet player, stick with that! It is the best section in the band!!!

Don't let the tubas and bongos ever tell you different!

Answering your question, though, the band has school owned instruments, but most people highly prefer to use their own. There's not enough for everyone, and the quality is not a good, in most cases.

I agree with agbq99. The trumpet section is the best...and yes I too was a trumpet player. Besides, he'll appreciate it as a fish running back to the dorms with a trumpet rather than with a baritone.

Hey NC, how are you?

It's also easier on the blackbelts when, as a whitebelt, you give them your horn to take back to the dorm!

yea the band gives you an instrument, but if you own one you can use it too, but with the complex drill we perform that may not be the best idea cause they get banged up often

A banged up horn is like a battle scar!

Besides, what are you going to do with that instrument after you finish wearing boots anyway?

I got mine professionaly cleaned and major dents removed, and then put it in a closet. It's not like I'm out anything by using my own.

I would, however, take "drill damage" into consideration of you also plan to play in any of the concert bands/orchestras.

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My son is looking at the Aggie band. He really loves music and plays in all the marching band, jazz band, blues band, etc......

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Just a word of warning. Your son will not be musically satisfied playing in the Aggie Band if he has already branched out further musically as you posted above. Nothing against the Aggie Band...that's just not their thing.

He may want to consider joining the A&M Symphonic as well....it's possible to do both. There are a number of Aggie Band members in the Symphonic Band, especially in the brass section.

Hazzard makes a great point. I didn't play in the symphonic bands, but a # of buddies did.

But, yes, the FTAB, while the best band anywhere (I'll admit my opinion is biased) is not the most musically challenging. We play virtually everything in the same time, tempo, and it's all marches.

Nevertheless, anyone that is dead set on doing it, can do it. You can accomplish anything you put your mind to, and, guaranteed, joining all current and former Noble Men of Kyle will be a life changing experience.

Thanks for all the replies. Great points Hazzard. I think he has thought this through quite a bit. He has seen more than his share of Aggie band performances, and realizes that it will be quite different, but I think he just wants to do something different. He likes the marching as well, and wants to be part of the tradition of the Aggie band. He currently gets a lot of variety in music. One day he'll do a marching contest, then a jazz concert, then he'll play a blues harp on stage, etc, but it seems he'd enjoy the Aggie band. He's looked at the TAMU jazz band as well, but I would imagine that is very competitive to get a spot in, isn't it? He loves old style Jazz and Blues.

Use a school instrument, they have them readily available, and it's worth it to not wreck your own horn.

If he needs to talk to anyone about outfits to join, general band things etc., feel free to shoot me an email at musicalaggie10 at yahoo...

[This message has been edited by musicalaggie (edited 5/27/2007 9:08a).]

[This message has been edited by musicalaggie (edited 5/27/2007 9:28a).]

The Band does not use the word "tuba" b/c it has a "tu" in it. Bass. Heard it straight from a former A&M band director

Other sections refer to basses as tubas just as they refer to drums as bongos.

I was also in the band in '99 and used a school owned trombone. It will get banged up and he is better off saving his own. As for which instrument to play that is up to him. There really is no difference in the sections, but I guess the trumpets get to sit a few rows closer to all the action on the field! He will love being in the Aggie Band reguardless of music ability. There are those that are really good good and then there are those like myself who only played 2 years of High School before coming to A&M.

As a freshman/sophmore, I had to get my trombone repaired about once or twice a year... I used the school's instruments so I didn't have to mess up my own.

There is no rental fee.

Does the band still practice on the turf field by the football stadium? I think it's about 1/2 mile. Doing that sprint as a trumpet would be a lot easier than a baritone.

no they haven't used the turf field in a year or so because of the construction on the practice fields.

I played Bass so I didn't have my own horn, but not a lot of my buddies used their own horns.

We did Parents Weekend drill in the new practice facility, because drainage is being installed on the drill field (it flooded to the point of being unuseable several times this year). It sounded strange in there, but by the end of the first day everyone caught on. I would have loved to stand outside that thing and listen...from what I hear, the Aggie Band will still be getting wet when it rains.