I was thinking, and wondering if this was a good idea: We could have like an after practice or when we have no pratice, the battery, or sometimes even a band as a whole get together and have like a, not really a jam session, but just about a hour or more to just come up or write new cadences, cheers, etc. or focus on battery rudiments, music, our cadence, which is all we ever get.. just one, which our band director writes. I have a freind who's band did this, without the band director's help, which they had these jam session once a week or so, turned the band from being hated and not respected into liked even more than the cheerleaders and football team.

The problem is: Our band director is, well, he won't let us. And only 2 or 3 of our battery is motivated enough to even consider it. Last season, our middle bass and cymbal play decided to not even march in step most of the time, and at band camp, they got into a fight. (eventually the middle bass got kicked out, and the cymbal is geting close to it.) Still, Only 3 or 4 would show up in our 7 person line.

The director also say that, "...most popular songs now-days only have 4 chords, and we play 4 chords in out B flat warm up..." I want to say that will 2 or 3 4 chorded songs hurt us? I mean we barely play the song closest to popular in the stand maybe twice in a game. And I'm sure we can find some songs that people won't be offended by. Will the parents care, I mean look at the all black school down the road about 5 miles whose mascot is a rebel.

I could go into more detail, depends on what subject though, just ask.

What do you think/?

Your band sounds remarkably similar to my band.

Our band director doesn't want us playing a song that has four chords in it for forty-five seconds, but the school down the road plays that for their halftime show.

Basically, if you approach your BD with the right attitude, and start at a low level, then you could maybe build up to some "jam sessions".

Ask him if you can assemble the band one day after school to learn a new pep band tune- one that doesn't have any curse words that the crowd will shout- and coordinate it with your drum major(s) so that the rehearsal will have structure.

Do this with enough pep band tunes until you are trusted enough to make up your own tunes.

When it comes to cadences, just tell your band director and percussion instructor that you need to have a rehearsal with a more relaxed, creative atmosphere to make a few cadences.

Or you could have your own sectional for the cadences. But when it comes to full band stuff, ya gotta get the go ahead from your BD.

;O

Our band director is the percussion instructor.

I think it could be like one day a week that the percussion has a seperate rehersal, since we have monday, tuesday, and thursday practice, but win we get it down to just thursday, have percussion on tuesday.

I have written a letter, i guess you could say, with 2 cd's of songs. He talked about it about 10 minutes just before practice one day, and said basically what I said.

I took a straw poll of the freshman during the week of the Alabama High School Graduation Exam, where alll the freshmen went to the gym, and they all said that we play songs they never heard of, and some they have heard of come from the rivals of their favorite colleges.

I have been working on a few cheers during of off season (the spring semester) with Finale Printmusic 2008, and it has been turing out real well; songs like:

Crazy Train (the song the football team likes the best, whcih was played OVER THE LOUDSPEAKERS since we never play it.
Carry on Wayward Son
I don't Want You Back
Ridin'
Shout
William Tell
and a new version of ESPN, since ours stinks

Way off topic, but for all that is good and holy in this world, stop working on music and learn some grammar skills, learn how to spell and learn how to punctuate. I feel like I need to run your posts through some sort of translator to understand what you just said.