<p>Does the Stanford marching band have oboes in it? Just curiosity on behalf of D-I know nothing about bands whatsoever. Do most college bands include oboes?</p>
<p>Nope, very few marching bands include oboes, and those that do are generally military marching bands, which have basically the same instrumentation as a concert band. If she wants to join, she’ll probably be encouraged to take up another woodwind instrument. Of course, she could play something completely different, too–I went from drums to trombone shortly after joining. Remember, the Band doesn’t require any experience on one’s instrument to join. In fact, the mere fact that she plays an instrument will put her ahead of half of the new members!</p>
<p>If your D wants to play music, there’s a wind ensemble, and I’m sure an oboe will be welcome there.</p>
<p>The marching band can be a lot of fun for the right person, but it has very little to do with actually playing.</p>
<p>I was an oboist, music major in college back in the days. I participated in the high school marching band and played the glockenspiel. It was so much fun. Perhaps an option for your D?</p>
<p>She also played clarinet for 5 years: No clarinets in marching bands either, huh?</p>
<p>Oh well-she read music and she’s a quick study. If she really cares to, she can take up an instrument that does have a role in marching band.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses.</p>
<p>No clarinets march in marching bands all the times. The reasons oboes don’t is because oboe reeds break easily compared to other woodwind instruments.</p>
<p>Yes, we have clarinets in the marching band. The only thing with that is they’re very hard to hear, so some people prefer to play a louder instrument instead. Personally, I see the Band as a great chance to learn something new, so I was happy to switch to a new instrument.</p>
<p>By the way, for anyone who’s interested, the Band usually holds some sort of social event (barbeque, ice cream social, or something like that) for profros during Admit Weekend one afternoon. Look for the people dressed in crazy clothes. Alternatively, you can email the recruiters (addresses on the band website) and ask about it.</p>
<p>And yes, there’s also the wind ensemble, which I’m also in. It bears mentioning that WE is going on tour at the end of the year to Italy and Greece. It’s lots of fun!</p>
<p>Wrong. The Stanford Band has any instrument you want to play (including bagpipes at times). </p>
<p>If you want to be in the LSJUMB and play the oboe, they will have music made for you.</p>
<p>The Band is probably one of the best musical bands in the country because they don’t march and play. They scatter, set and play. </p>
<p>Go to the LSJUMB web site [The</a> One, The Only](<a href=“LSJUMB - Home”>LSJUMB - Home)
Also contact Band Manager and let her know you want to be an immortal
Liz; <a href=“mailto:lschack@stanford.edu”>lschack@stanford.edu</a>.</p>
<p>Hey Sly Si or other Cardinal scholars/parents, my son is thinking about the LSJUMB and is a pre-frosh. He’ll be there next week at Admit.
We were wondering, how much time is taken up going to practice, out of town games & trips, etc? He’s engineering, so it may be tough (Grades first, right?). Also, does the school pay band expenses on these trips?
thanks</p>
<p>Twice a week football season plus sat am. They don’t “kill you” if you miss a practice. Pep rallies. Winter season the band is (used to be) “try out” and takes perhaps more time. Lots of engineers, premeds, etc in band. And believe it or not, grad schools like the EC.
Band bus to Berkeley and LA. Otherwise hitch or beg rides.</p>
<p>Yeah, you don’t have to come to anything in Band, but the more you go to, the more people you’ll get to know and the more fun you’ll have. Music rehearsals are once a week on Monday nights year-round (including in the summer for those who are on campus).</p>
<p>During fall, there are volleyball games (usually two games every other week), field rehearsals on Wednesday and Friday afternoons (but only in weeks with a football game), and game day on Saturday. Game day pretty much takes all day because you have one last field rehearsal in the morning, break for lunch, then meet up to play for pregame stuff, then play for a tailgate party (and get free food) after the game. We also travel to one football game per year with the entire band, usually to L.A. That takes up a weekend (leave Thursday night, return late Saturday night).</p>
<p>In the winter, there are almost always two basketball games (men’s or women’s) each weekend. The only other traveling we do is to postseason basketball, which happens at the end of spring quarter. Those are limited-size bands, so not everyone gets to go, but the really committed people usually get to go to something, especially if you’re around for spring break. The amount of time you spend on those trips depends on which ones you go on and how the team does, since you go home as soon as the team loses. There is a “try out” band as Princess’Dad refers to, but it doesn’t really mean anything–the members of that group get priority for postseason trips and are required to attend an extra rehearsal every other week (which is also open to anyone who wants to show up). But anyone can show up to home basketball games and other winter events.</p>
<p>Spring schedules revolve around random “rallies” we play all over the place, and so are really unpredictable.</p>
<p>Naturally, very few people (usually just section leaders and management) go to everything, and no one holds it against you for skipping events. Some things–roadtrip, Davis Picnic Day, Big Game, etc.–it’s highly recommended that you go to, and skipping it without a good reason is slightly frowned upon, but those only happen once or twice a quarter.</p>
<p>The LSJUMB does vary with the years. In the 60s it was an open band. Then in the 70s it was probably one of the best musical bands in the country - and had musical try outs to get in. The tryouts were extremely tough for the “basketball band”.
But, that was a time when the University President (Lyman) returned a million dollar donation to the University with the attachment that he needed to censor the band.</p>
<p>Then the band hit some hard times, to where it now recovering.</p>
<p>There are a collection of records made by the band every couple of years. The ones in '72 and '74 were by far the best. The trumpet solo David Ruiz was a professional musician at Disneyland (now a doctor).</p>
<p>Speaking of records, watch for the new album sometime this year. We think it’ll be better than the last one.</p>
<p>The fragile double reeds of an oboe will not be able to hold up in a marching situation!</p>
<p>If she is not a serious oboe player, she will find it fun and trivially easy to switch to a clarinet or saxophone. (If she ever played a recorder or flutaphone when she was a kid, a sax has similar fingering and she can learn to play music written in the key of C in about an hour, I swear.) If she is a serious oboe player, playing a single reed instrument can be hard on her embrochure and she should go for the glockenspiel - that is what the oboe players in my D’s band do. (My D plays bassoon in wind ensemble and sax in marching band, but she is not exactly a very serious bassoonist.)</p>
<p>Just saw that she played clarinet in the past. She can just play clarinet in the marching band. Piece of cake. She’ll have fun with it!</p>
<p>yup, the band is cool because you can do anything you want. my friend played cello in high school and now plays alto sax in the band.
but as an oboist, I would recommend not taking your oboe outside (cold on the outside of the oboe+warm on the inside= cracks in the wood). the oboe is best suited to the indoors. unless it’s plastic and was very cheap… and you don’t care about your reeds. 
if you want to have fun, join with another instrument. if you want to play music, take lessons or join an ensemble. yay oboe!</p>