General Section Information-As a whole, we are Marching Chiefs, the marching band of Florida State University, comprising approximately 450 of the most talented individuals on campus. You need not be a music major to be a member. In fact, 80% of Chiefs are not music majors. All it takes is a little musical knowledge and a lot of hard work and dedication. As a section, we are the clarinets, affectionately known to most as "Pieces". We usually average between 52-56 members, which is the second biggest section in the band (behind the trumpets, who usually have around 70).Having this many people you can bet we are a very important part of the band, so we do our best to insure that we are as prepared as possible. Marching Chiefs practice Monday-Friday from 4pm-6pm and also run a continuity rehearsal on game days. In addition to that the clarinets hold sectionals at regular intervals throughout the season. to top
Performances-Marching Chiefs perform at pregame and halftime of every home game, learning 5-6 different shows per season. In addition, we also perform at 2-3 away games per year. Before each home game Chiefs hold an event commonly referred to as "skull session", where individual sections perform for the audience and the band plays some of the show music for that game. Performing section cheers for an audience is a fun and exhilirating experience, and the clarinets take part as often as possible. In november, Chiefs take part in special "Prism concert" performances as part of the annual Tri-State convention. This is another opportunity for the clarinet section to shine. Finally, there is the stands music. Chiefs play in the stands at every game, and this is always considered very important to the morale of the team as well as the fans. to top
Expectations-Expected of every member of the section are several things:
1. Be on time to rehearsal- Everyone in Chiefs suffer when there are holes in the show and people don't know their spots. It is essential that everyone be at every practice. Class conflicts do happen on occasion, but one should do everything possible to avoid them.
2. Know your music- Take your music home and practice it. There is nothing more unproductive than trying to teach 50+ clarinets notes (I know because I was section leader for 2 years :-) Sectional time should be spent on musical attributes. In addition, if you miss practice for any reason, get a set of drill charts and study them. Everyone has a part and place in the section..KNOW yours.
3. Show up with the correct attitude...every day. Everyone has a full load of classes and a million other things going on. Nobody wants to hear how much you don't want to practice or how unhappy you are. For the 2 hours that you are at practice each day, forget all the other stuff that's going on and concentrate on getting done what needs to be done. to top
Road Trips- I think everyone would agree that road trips are one of the best parts of being a part of Marching Chiefs. You get to see different schools, meet other band members from those schools, have section bonding time on the clarinet bus, which includes but is not limited to: 80's dance parties, truth or dare, suck and blow, assorted card games, and lord knows what else. Sometimes we stay in very nice hotels and sometimes we stay in shitholes. We never know until we get there, and that's part of the fun. One cannot adequately describe the experience of a "first roadtrip". I will leave that up to you to see once you are a member. to top
Audition Information-So after all that you still think you want to become a member of Pieces, eh? Well, the actual process isn't that complicated. Call the band office (email me and I'll give the number to you) or mail the school of music and request that you be put on the marching chief's mailing list. Simple. Audition music will be mailed to you sometime during the summer. Practice it. A lot. Requirements for becoming part of the clarinets section is a combination of your playing ability marching skills. Not to worry though, everything will be taught to you once you get here. All you need to worry about is practicing your audition music and giving your best effort. The rest will take care of itself. to top
Rookie Week-About 2 weeks before school starts Chiefs hold their annual "band camp", also known as "rookie week". Rookie week is an intense week of marching and playing. Prospective members go through different handouts and learn everything about the style of marching that Chiefs use. You will not go through it alone. You are placed in rows, with 3-4 other people and have an individual teacher, called a row leader. Your row leader is your guide for the week. They will teach you everything you need to know. In addition, you will learn a show and perform it for the veteran members. Sometime in the middle of the week, veteran members arrive and they too relearn all the stuff that you will have been learning. They also learn a show to perform for you. At the end of the week, there is a final evaluation where staff members evaluate the progress of rookies and veteran members alike. Nobody is guaranteed a spot even if they have made it before. Everyone reauditions every year. It is in this way that we can keep the quality of our section at its highest. Sounds easy right?... :-) to top
What to expect- Rookie week will test you physically and mentally. It is definitely not meant to be torturous, although to some it seems that way. Expect to be up at around 6am every morning, eat a good breakfast and be on the field by 7:30am for morning marching fundamentals. By 9am the sun is out and you begin to break a sweat. But you have just gotten started. Chief step..one more time, oh I lied..one MORE time... etc. By noon you have been at it all morning and are ready for a good lunch. You eat lunch and are back for more by 1:30pm. A blessed break from marching fundamentals.. you rehearse in sectionals for 2 hours. In sectionals you work on pregame music and the show music you will be performing for the veterans. By the time 3:30 rolls around you want to crawl up and nap, but no, there is more. Another hour and a half of marching ahead of you. Up and down the field you go, marching like there is no tomorow in hopes of proudly displaying yourself as a Marching Chief. It's now 5pm and you are ready to collapse from the heat and exhaustion. Good news, it is dinner break. Eat a good dinner and be back in the band room by 7:30 for full band rehearsal. This will last for about 2 hours. By the time 9:30pm rolls around your head is spinning, your muscles ache and you feel weak. The day is finally over. You crawl up in your bed and sleep until 6am the next morning when it starts over again. I promise you, you *will* be sore, you *will* be tired, and you will probably wonder what on earth posessed you to do such a crazy thing. Take heart, thousands of others have gone through it before you and have survived. It is difficult, but not impossible. You CAN do it. Just decide now that you WILL do it. Decide how much heart and desire you have and then go for it. The world is your oyster. Also, know that after rookie week, the rest of the season seems like a breeze. If you can handle rookie week you are ready to take on the world (and those pesky Gators). to top
Skit night-Skit night is a very special tradition of rookie week. It takes place on the night the block list goes up, and it's meant to be a stress reliever for both vets and rookies alike. Basically, every section does a skit pertaining to anything, but usually it's a slam on one of the other sections. In the end, every section has been slammed on. Of course, it's all in the name of fun- Marching Chiefs truly is one big family. If nothing else, the night's festivities bring a couple hours of amusement and entertainment and is a switch from the rigors of the week. to top
The block list-The block is the term we use to refer to anyone who actually marches with us. It is important to make that distinction because we have something else called glue crew, which I will explain in just a second. On Wednesday night, 6 days after you have been in rookie week, leadership gets together and decides who is most deserving of spots in the block. (This goes for both rookies and veterans. As I said, EVERYONE has to reaudition). We will take as many as are qualified, whatever "qualified" means for that year. This is the part that worries potential members the most. They think that the audition process is some big ordeal and "oh, I'm not that good a player" or "oh, I can't march very well". Don't let that stop you! Many times, we take people with excellent attitudes over better players or marchers. We want to know that you will be dedicated and give 100%. Don't worry about getting cut or not making it. Try your best and the rest will take care of itself. Honest. Now, having said that, we have spots for people who aren't quite ready to march with us in a section called Glue Crew. They are still 100% part of marching chiefs, they get to play in the stands and they get to make all the road trips with us. They are the technical coordinators for halftime shows and are in charge of props and extras. It is not a bad thing to be on glue crew, so if you are offered a position, take it. :-) to top
This is hard work. Is it really worth it? YES YES 1000X YES! When you join Marching Chiefs you not only join the biggest family on campus, you also have the presige of being in the best marching band in the nation (and I mean that literally). FSU Marching Chiefs are known all over the world. In fact, a group of 200 of us went to London, England in the summer of 1997 to play for a world league football game. FSU has another European trip planned in a year or two because we were such a hit with the British. Besides all that, FSU has one of the strongest football teams year in and year out. Some schools wonder *IF* they'll be going to a bowl game that year. We worry about whether we'll be playing for the national championship. Games are a blast, and I guarantee you that you will be making friends and memories to last a lifetime. Yes, it is definitely worth it. to top
Some questions to ask yourself-