Minnesota Pride?

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Foggie

Foggie
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Seriously, will someone explain our marching band to me? How is it possible to have a 500 piece band and still not be able to hear them at halftime? Actually, that may be a good thing since their shows consist of either Latin Jazz tunes, 80's rock tunes, or the collective works of John Williams. Terrible.
 

Foggie,
I'm guessing you're all alone on this one.

The 315 member (not 500) Pride of Minnesota is one of the few things we have going right at the moment. I'm not a band alum, so I have no horse in this race. Based on my 28 years of having attended college football games at a dozen or so different stadiums (plus the limited band coverage shown on TV), I'd say that our band is about #3 or 4 in the Big Ten (tOSU and wisconsin are #1 and #2) and perennially in the top 15 or 20 in the nation.

The only time it is difficult to hear the band is when they're facing the opposite side of the stadium or when the PA guys are playing Welcome to the Jungle while they are tring to play. So I'd suggest you talk to Sir Isaac Newton about the physics of sound or to the PA guys if you'd like to hear the band better.

In terms of their repetoirre, they were playing patriotic themes at this weeks halftime. Problem? Otherwise, I do agree that much of the music in their halftime shows is dated and they could use some more recent tunes.

Go Gophers and Ski-U-Mah.
 

I thought the band's halftime show this past weekend was as good as any I've seen in the last decade. It was fantastic.

As for hearing the band, this goes with the territory of playing outdoors football. It depends on where you sit, the direction of the wind, what direction the band faces, etc.

This is not unique to TCF Bank Stadium. I was at Michigan Stadium several years ago and the only reason I knew the band was playing was because I could see the fans throwing their fists into the air. I figured they must have been playing Hail to the Victors and when I strained my ears, I could barely hear it.

For the record, I have seats on the home sidelines and have never had a problem hearing the band at TCF Bank Stadium.
 

If hearing the band is a problem... you could stick around through the end of the game and sit in "the richers" seats and have no problem hearing the postgame performance. The Drumline actually played for 20-30 people out in front of the gates after the game last weekend.. played some new material and was awes. happened after the postgame performance. I think this is a new tradition starting and a pretty cool one. :) FYI-I am a Band Alum.
 

Both of these posts are spot on. I have attended games in Ohio State and Wisconsin in the last year. Your location within the stadium is the biggest factor in hearing the band. At Ohio State I was high in the second deck and the band was on the exact opposite side of the stadium from me. But, because they were pointing at me, I could hear them very well. At Wisconsin, again high in the second deck but this time the band was down to my lower left. I could barely hear them. It wasn't their fault. I'm sure I would have heard them fine if they were pointed at me.

The biggest problem with our band isn't the halftime or pregame shows, it is the sunken and too-small pit they have to sit in during the game. It is difficult for anyone to hear them on the closed end of the stadium... and it ISN'T their fault. It was really bad last year. This year I have noticed they have added speakers on the field that point back to the closed and, and it seems to help a lot. I have also seen them 'point' to either side when playing, on occasion. That has helped too.

Another issue I have is it seems like the programs like Michigan, Ohio State, USC, etc. understand how to set up for TV coverage. When watching a game on TV that is played at their stadiums, you can hear their bands PERFECTLY and it really adds to their 'branding' for their entire gameday production... and how it plays on TV. It used to drive me nuts in the Metrodome when you watched a game on TV and you could barely hear the rouser or what the band was playing, and when you did hear it, it sounded strange because it seemed like the microphones were placed about two inches from the flute players or another section. The 'U' has one of the best, most recognized fight songs in the country and it would always sound strange on home televised dome games. I figured it would improve when the team moved to TCF. Unfortunately it hasn't. Some media expert needs to take lessons from Michigan so the rouser sounds 'normal' through the TV broadcasts.

Any/all of these problems are outside the immediate control of the band itself. I think they do a great job. Gameday wouldn't be the same without them.
 


The pregame show can't be beat. The halftime show tends to be uninspired: music that doesn't translate to a marching band, music that no one would want to hear anyway. I'll take the rotating M over spelling out Ohio any day. I do think the marching could be more precise. I love the Battle Hymn and the Swinging Gates formation, but those swinging gates could be more even.

One thing that annoys me is that on the scoreboard, they always focus on individual band members. I've been harping on this for years. Focus on the whole band, so that we can all see the formations!
 

How much would it cost to expand the band seating area?
 

They still need more Sousaphones and Trombones.
 

GophBen said:
They still need more Sousaphones and Trombones.
Click to expand...

If the numbers of folks who sign up for the band do not dip seriously, the band will be more selective as far as the incoming instruments is concerned. Clarinets, saxes and flutes will be reduced a bit, and power brass will be upped. This should help with the volume.

And the band is just fine. The speakers do help, although very often only one person's playing is way amplified, haha, and it hardly ever is good. Thank goodness there are 300+ of them! :)
 



RodentRampage said:
How much would it cost to expand the band seating area?
Click to expand...

I have wondered this too. I would think it would be cheaper to raise the pit to be equal to the surrounding seats than it would be to dig out one of the sides and lower it to fit the rest of the band. It just goes to show, even with something as well thought out as TCF Bank Stadium, that a little detail like "the band needs enough bench seeting for 400 people to fit 300 actual members with their instruments"... can be overlooked and result in a gaff in the finished structure.
 

I think the band is fantastic. If the football team was doing better, the band would be getting a lot more respect. The rotating M has to be one of the most difficult formations in college football.

I was thinking of formations the band could do, and I thought of something really cool. Imagine the band simulating a drawn up football play, with band members making X's and O's: 5 people making up and X and 5 or six making an O. A Susaphone player could be the ball.
 


RodentRampage said:
I think the band is fantastic. If the football team was doing better, the band would be getting a lot more respect. The rotating M has to be one of the most difficult formations in college football.

I was thinking of formations the band could do, and I thought of something really cool. Imagine the band simulating a drawn up football play, with band members making X's and O's: 5 people making up and X and 5 or six making an O. A Susaphone player could be the ball.
Click to expand...

If it's one of our plays, the Sousaphone would end up woefully underthrown and in the flute section I'm sure :(
 



The band needs to pick new songs for the during game entertainment. Green Day and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are good and all, but not quite the tunes to get folks excited.
 

fej said:
The band needs to pick new songs for the during game entertainment. Green Day and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are good and all, but not quite the tunes to get folks excited.
Click to expand...

Send the band director an email with suggestions for what you want to hear, and maybe donate a few bucks to the band to help them obtain the rights for those songs.
 


Schnauzer said:
The biggest problem with our band isn't the halftime or pregame shows, it is the sunken and too-small pit they have to sit in during the game. It is difficult for anyone to hear them on the closed end of the stadium... and it ISN'T their fault.
Click to expand...

Well, the sunken pit they sit in is aimed at the field.. Because that's where the action is, not in the stands.

Also, where I sit (right by the entrance of the visiting team) I can hear the band just fine. The reason they are in that pit is to create sound that is aimed at the field (homefield advantage bit). They get loud from where I sit, and I can only imagine how much louder they are from the field.

My feelings on the band are, pre-game, half-time and post-game they are there for the fans. During the game, they are there for the students and the action on the fields.
 

more cowbell! Actually I think we are better than WI, I have not heard Ohio States band live. This year I think the band is at the top of its game. You can also hear them on Oak Street before the game.
 

we will win this week? said:
more cowbell! Actually I think we are better than WI, I have not heard Ohio States band live. This year I think the band is at the top of its game. You can also hear them on Oak Street before the game.
Click to expand...

Come to the game this week if you want to hear the OSU band. I am getting tickets off stubhub pretty much for that reason.
 

Band Needs Some Changes.

I've given up on the band this year after hearing them play Lady Gaga's Pokerface 3 seperate times.

Lady Gaga? Are you serious? Who picks their selections. Aren't there about 10,000 better songs to play.
 


LesBolstad said:
I've given up on the band this year after hearing them play Lady Gaga's Pokerface 3 seperate times.

Lady Gaga? Are you serious? Who picks their selections. Aren't there about 10,000 better songs to play.
Click to expand...

Get off my lawn, you damn kids! Always walking through with your Walkmans and your Jordache and your Converses!
 


Too bad Dr. Frank Bencriscutto can't come back again. I got an opportunity to talk with him personally him just before my first year at the U in the early '70s and was so impressed with his passion for music. I had the feeling he was trying to recruit me(maybe just my ego talking). I would have loved to be in the band back then, but I opted for drinking too much beer and passing hot chicks up over our heads in the stands instead.
 

Law_Abiding_Gopher said:
I want to believe this but the schedule that you can click on after following this link shows a blank slate for this weekend. Am I missing something?
Click to expand...

Our band just confirmed it today on their twitter account.
http://twitter.com/#!/TheUMMB

@TheUMMB
UM Marching Band
Don't forget to get in your seats early. The OSU Band will be here for the first time since 1966. Pregame starts 23 min. before kickoff!
3 hours ago via web Favorite Retweet Reply
 

verified via another resource

a coworker of mine has a friend that plays cymbals in The Best Damn Band In The Land, and he stated over the weekend that they are very much coming to Minneapolis.

We have a brand new state of the art stadium that looks better than 1/2 the other stadiums in the Big Ten, a team we should be proud of for not completely giving up this season, a great band of our own, this should be a time when TBDBITL comes to Minneapolis and is impressed.

Unfortunately I think they will not leave with many lasting memories beyond a 50-60 point drubbing of the Gophers and spelling out the Script OHIO to a nearly empty stadium a half hour before the game.
 

GophBen said:
They still need more Sousaphones and Trombones.
Click to expand...

the band shows are fine but I DO agree that they need more brass..I think this has been an issue for some time now. In my day, we had 220 members, and around 60 t-bones and 65 tumpets, a dozen or so tubas and so on...woodwinds are fine but in a Marching Band they should not outnumber the brass.
 

Ski U Master said:
Our band just confirmed it today on their twitter account.
http://twitter.com/#!/TheUMMB

@TheUMMB
UM Marching Band
Don't forget to get in your seats early. The OSU Band will be here for the first time since 1966. Pregame starts 23 min. before kickoff!
3 hours ago via web Favorite Retweet Reply
Click to expand...

From this message, does that mean that the OSU band will be doing a pre-game performance before the U of M band?
 

go4rob said:
the band shows are fine but I DO agree that they need more brass..I think this has been an issue for some time now. In my day, we had 220 members, and around 60 t-bones and 65 tumpets, a dozen or so tubas and so on...woodwinds are fine but in a Marching Band they should not outnumber the brass.
Click to expand...

Agreed! It's a marching band...not an orchestra. Lose the woodwinds!
 


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