Military Band Doubling

[schssax04]

Sorry for the post already guys, but i've gotten such good response that I decided to push my luck again :D

Ok, i am very seriously considering the path of military bands and I have gotten different responses as to what the best path is to it, whether i should continue to persue Clarinet in addition to saxophone (i'd say i'm an intermediate clarinet player, 1st clarinet in High School Wind Ensemble, so i'm not there yet...) or if i should drop clarinet and solely persue Sax.

I guess what my real question is is this: How much mileage will i get out of a college training on clarinet as a primary alto saxophone player in military bands?

PS if you don't mind recommending which DC military band you like the best, that would be great

once again, thanks in advance

[mostly alto guy]

If you want to play reeds in a military band, keep in mind that these bands play all kinds of gigs incorporating various styles of music. Your best shot is to be a good sight reader and to be able to play all your scales with a decent sound on sax, clarinet, and flute. Oboe wouldn't hurt, and if you can play bassoon, so much the better.

[gary]

If you are targeting one of the DC bands, you don't necessarily need to worry about doubling, unless it's one of the big bands. If you want to play in a big band you're doubling needs to be as good as some people's primary performance. Sorry, make that "tripling".

In the concert bands I don't bdlieve you will be required to double if you're a clarinet player. In some of the services, you might have a clarinet doubling as a requirement if you're a sax player, but you're unlikely to be asked to do it in a DC concert band.

In any case, you've got to practically be a virtuoso. Those musicians are exceptional and competition to get into one of the bands is fierce.

Outside of DC, I believe clarinetists and saxophonists are required to double. Each service has its own requirements and levels of skill required. mostly alto guy's answer is also accurate. Not all services, nor their bands within their services, are the same, so if you're interested do a lot of shopping around. There was at least one substantial discussion on this in the past. If you're serious about joining a military band, see if yoiu can find this thread.

[A1sax]

Most Military bands require you to play a string instrument too. Flute is favourite for many sax players as the fingering is similar.

[bruce bailey]

There is another exception. My college roommate ended up in the "Ceremonial" AF band in DC. There he played Guitar in small groups and Tenor for funerals even though he was an Eb Clarinet player. Sometimes if you also play clarinet, you could have more possibilities of going to a different post when an opening comes up. Go for it!!! I grew up as an Army Brat and the great thing about the military is that you have a steady job, get travel leave, housing, retirement and MEDICAL which is everyone's big expense now and more so in the future. It's like being in High School again without you parents and no classes, only band!

[mostly alto guy]

Like HS? Au contraire!

Military musicians are, first and foremost, military personnel. While in actual truth each branch of service has its own philosophy regarding the military duties of its musicians, there are certain inescapable sililarities. Most notable among them is the application of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, a set of laws that apply to all uniformed personnel.

What does the UCMJ cover? What things are punishable under its articles? Here are some examples: Insubordination. Tardiness. Absence from work. Falsifying official records. Derilection of duty. Use of illegal drugs. Abuse of alcohol. Adultery.

Add to that the simple fact that at any time the Service could simply decide it needs to you to go get shot at instead of playing your horn.

Still sound like HS to you?

[bruce bailey]

I was referring to the playing experience. With any job, there is a certain amount of responsibility. I grew up entirely on bases and posts and went to an army HS. Great experience.

[miles]

I can second the comment above as i am currently a member of an Air Force band. We're not trained to fight so it pretty much wouldn't make any sense to send us to do that. Other branches may be a different story.

[gary]

I doubt seriously that an AF band is going to go into combat. But ask any Reservist or National Guardsman presently or formerly serving in Afghanistan or Iraq what their original understanding with the government was regarding their chances of going into combat and they'll likely tell you what they understood and what came to pass were not the same. The military's "agreement" with its bandsmen is no different.

Times have indeed changed since my following anecdote, but the same fundamental ways of doing things, and "understandings" haven't. As an Air Force bandsman, although told there were no AF bands in Viet Nam and promised I would never go there, I wound up in Viet Nam for a short time, performed on bases where fighting was going on right outside the bases, got shot at, had aircraft right next to where we were housed blown up, and had a bomb attempt in the "safest" base chapel in Viet Nam (Tan Sonhut sp? Air Base) on Christmas day. Additionally, I got caught in Korea during the Pueblo crisis where fighting could've broken out at any given moment.

The military will tell you anything you want to hear, but the bottom line is, you are their's 24-7 year round and when they feel they need you for something...anything...they have the legal authority to trade your oboe for a rifle at the drop of a hat.

I would not expect this to happen in an AF band but no one should be lulled into thinking it can't.