Michigan Marching Band???
Sorry if I missed it, but what is the status of the MMB this fall? Are they still a going concern? Are they having their normal "band week" just in case? I'm assuming the MMB is not off-topic, but I will admit to a bias in their favor....
As a bonus, if anyone knows the state of the School of Music groups, I'd be curious...
Personally, I never spread a single germ by playing trombone. But that was me. /s
August 18th, 2020 at 1:03 PM ^
There's a band camp joke in here, somewhere...
August 18th, 2020 at 1:04 PM ^
What exactly would the MMB be playing at with no sports? Regents meetings?
August 18th, 2020 at 1:08 PM ^
This one time, at band camp, we played in front of cardboard cutouts! It was sooo cool...
(Yeah, I know, it's terrible...)
August 18th, 2020 at 1:16 PM ^
<insert Carl Grapentine voice>
"Baaaaaannnnddddd take the field! Or the stands, or the press box or even the locker room if you want to. Nobody's here but you."
August 18th, 2020 at 1:34 PM ^
We played at Hill auditorium every year I was in MMB. There were no sports going on then.
August 18th, 2020 at 1:32 PM ^
Well, in the Michigan Marching Band, we viewed ourselves as more than just an alternative to going to the concessions during halftime...
August 18th, 2020 at 1:33 PM ^
With no sports to play at, all that’s left for them to do is obsess over the size of the M’s on their hats.
August 18th, 2020 at 2:49 PM ^
Do you honestly not understand that the university and their programs do not exist to solely support the football team?
August 18th, 2020 at 3:48 PM ^
Music is its own pursuit.
August 18th, 2020 at 1:25 PM ^
They were told to plan for a Spring season. That's the last I heard a week ago.
August 18th, 2020 at 1:29 PM ^
Thank you. That's what I was asking for. As a bando, I am used to the "bandfag" pummeling (not there's anything wrong with that).
I am still curious about the rest of the School of Music
August 18th, 2020 at 1:32 PM ^
It's gonna take them forever to get out of that tunnel, staying 6 feet apart. Also it's gonna be the fattest block M
August 18th, 2020 at 1:34 PM ^
Nike clearly made the M's bigger on the hats because they knew about COVID all along.
August 18th, 2020 at 5:18 PM ^
With all the time that this would take, we'll need a bigger band since we're now talking about shift work just for the entrance to the stadium.
August 18th, 2020 at 1:34 PM ^
Last I heard, there was still going to be a class with the option to opt into remote or quit for a year, and performances would be for social media. There's been about as much drama around that as there has been for football itself, at least within the band sphere. I'm not sure where that's left off at this point though.
August 18th, 2020 at 1:41 PM ^
Thank you! Yeah, it's a class for which you register and get credit and move your GPA..... It's not trivial for those involved.
August 18th, 2020 at 1:36 PM ^
Online only. No idea how that works with band, but, if anyone can figure it out, they can.
August 18th, 2020 at 1:41 PM ^
"Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the 235-TikTok account strong Mmmmmmichigan Marching Band!"
August 18th, 2020 at 1:47 PM ^
Thank you!
August 18th, 2020 at 1:40 PM ^
That's because trombone is the superior instrument for the discerning gentleman (or lady, ladies is trombonists too). Obviously, I have no bias here.
August 18th, 2020 at 1:43 PM ^
I upvoted this post even though it is so obvious, it really didn't need to be stated.
Do I need one of those /s things here?
August 18th, 2020 at 1:56 PM ^
Thank you for the info, for those who provided info. I loved my 5 years in the band (I was a slow engineering student) and I felt a distinct sadness walking off the field (in formation) for the last time. Having that last opportunity torn away is no small thing. Right or wrong as far as the politics/decision go, I would have lamented the forever-missed opportunity. For those who expected the privilege of streaming out of that tunnel and "taking the field" and who will never again have that opportunity...I truly sense any feeling of loss you now have. It's a bad year.
August 18th, 2020 at 2:39 PM ^
Playing trombone is a disease per ipsum. /s
(Tubas what!?!)
On a more serious note, my senior year was the first year after the 20+ year run without a bowl game, and I can remember how down I got just missing that experience. I can definitely empathize with the students losing a year. I trust most are smart* enough to realize the consequences, and the MMB facebook page has been doing a good job highlighting alumni that are out in the healthcare trenches fighting this thing.
*when I was in band, I did question my intelligence when it was 35 degrees, raining, we were losing to Northwestern, and we had to stay 30 min after the game for the post-game show.
August 18th, 2020 at 3:15 PM ^
Thank you! Yes, I remember a bad, bad day against a Lou Holtz coached Minnesota team...
August 18th, 2020 at 3:32 PM ^
Well. My very first game was App State. So, hooray.
August 18th, 2020 at 8:03 PM ^
We must have been in at almost the same time... Drumline 04-08 here. Thanks for bringing up those good/awful memories! That Northwestern game in the 3-9 rich rod year was horrendous...
The couple of bowl trips before that were awesome though!
August 18th, 2020 at 2:30 PM ^
No marching band and no school of music ensembles - everything is virtual
August 18th, 2020 at 3:26 PM ^
The trombone is probably the best social-distancing instrument. I plan on my trombone players using only 4th-7th positions this year to help prevent the spread of COVID.
August 18th, 2020 at 4:04 PM ^
Just noticed your username. Pretty clever. Always fascinating to me to see what horns different players like. Like many, I'm biased toward Selmer.
My daughter is a current MMB Tenor. But she played Alto growing up. Once she was a sophomore in high school and I realized how serious (and good) she is, I let her start playing on my Mk VI.
August 18th, 2020 at 4:35 PM ^
My parents bought me an SA80 series 2 alto when I started college. After they passed, I found a mint condition original SA80 tenor and bought it with some inheritance money. I’ve toyed with the idea of getting one of the newer reference models, but my horns play like a dream so why spend another several grand to make an almost lateral move.
August 18th, 2020 at 6:02 PM ^
I have a selmer iii alto bought in the years before they figured out the intonation sucked when it was the hot item. Just got a nice mark vi tenor of eBay that i tried out though — so I’m pretty stoked.
August 18th, 2020 at 4:44 PM ^
I think I'm offended.....
August 18th, 2020 at 4:49 PM ^
C’mon, we all know ‘bone players have thick skin (or is that thick skulls?)
August 18th, 2020 at 4:57 PM ^
Massive somethings!
August 18th, 2020 at 4:59 PM ^
Massive F attachments?
August 18th, 2020 at 3:44 PM ^
My wife and I were recently talking about how does band even WORK with everything going on, marching or otherwise. Beyond blowing air through an instrument, there is the emptying of spit valves...
August 18th, 2020 at 4:19 PM ^
The band spent a TON of time on this and many (most?) P5 schools collaborated on a study looking at air, spit, and aerosols through instruments. In the days leading up to the change for the MMB to all virtual, there were a number of solutions to address many of the concerns.
Slitted masks (allowing a mouthpiece to be inserted while still keeping the face covered) were purchased for all members of the band. In addition, there is a bag solution where the instrument is contained in the bag (like a mask for the instrument) which would keep spit and aerosols from spreading but still allow the sound out.
Further specifics included increased spacing and (in my opinion) a really cool and audacious plan to record 100 players at a time performing their part of a show and then video-editing them together. That keeps the group to the current 100 person limit but still allows for a large band show. They were planning on doing a number of shows like a normal season and then perhaps releasing the videos on YouTube if that was the only option.
Tons and tons of work by the directors and staff to get ready for the season. Too bad it couldn't happen. My daughter is a current MMB member and is really disappointed to lose the season.
August 18th, 2020 at 4:44 PM ^
"Slitted masks (allowing a mouthpiece to be inserted while still keeping the face covered) were purchased for all members of the band."
I'm only supporting this if it means the permanent removal of all flutes and piccolos from the MMB.
August 18th, 2020 at 4:49 PM ^
Has MMB ever had flutes? Obviously, pic's are superfluous, in spite of their supposed value in that Victors thing MMB occasionally plays... However I seem to recollect an extreme measure of cuteness possessed by certain pic players, so I find myself conflicted....
August 18th, 2020 at 5:01 PM ^
At least this time I'm not calling for the disbanding of the clarinet section.
But as someone who sits in an end zone, I feel it would be an improvement to replace all clarinets and piccolos with trumpets. Maybe then we could actually hear the band when it's on the field.
August 18th, 2020 at 8:33 PM ^
Not in my recollection; but the number of piccolo players went from 2 to 12 around 1980, for some strange reason...
August 19th, 2020 at 9:08 AM ^
Did George have a thing for the girl playing third chair piccolo, maybe?
August 18th, 2020 at 7:11 PM ^
I did one year (1979) in the MMB and played trombone. King of Brass, bitches.
Not a whole lot of funny stories as I never road the Glock Bus.
We did have a drunk Purdue fan try to grab a plume off one of our hats which nearly gave the band member whiplash. Several of us tackled the Purdue miscreant and held him on the ground until the police showed up and took him away.
Our bowl game that year was against North Carolina at the Gator Bowl. We shared a HS practice field with the North Carolina band prior to the game. They were nice enough. It was 55-60 degrees out and we (MMB) were all in shorts and t-shirts, because that's a balmy temp for Ann Arbor. The North Carolina band were all wearing jeans (trousers, not shorts) and some were wearing big puffy down coats. Too funny.
I do remember one away game when after the game they gave us Kentucky Fried Chicken prior to getting on the bus. Normally when the band was marching to the buses or to Revell Hall, we'd do a chant, "Go Michigan, beat x". x being the football team's next opponent. So we're marching to the buses with a box of KFC tucked under one arm and the chant was "Go Michigan, eat fried chicken". Seemed funny at the time.
August 18th, 2020 at 8:35 PM ^
Purdue’79 at W Lafayette was the KFC game.
August 19th, 2020 at 9:10 AM ^
I only rode the Glock bus a few times, but the experience is definitely memorable. "What goes on the glock bus stays on the glock bus" was a couple decades before Vegas advertised using that same phrase.
August 23rd, 2020 at 5:14 PM ^
Everything you say about Glock bus is true. Even though you say nothing! Four year vet here.