The Spirit of Houston Cougar Marching Band: The Haves and the Will-Nevers

2003-2004.

UH Marching Band is an awing experience. From the first fiendish practices onward, it drew you in, it did ... things to your soul (and that's its own memory for later on, after the damage has been healed), and made you part of something much greater than yourself.

I'm an egoist. This is not a bad thing; it is only right and proper to worship that which is holy. So when I say this, you need to truly understand the frame of reference.

The band was diverse. It had both kinds of people: Music Majors and Nons. The Nons were a frail, sickly, and dying breed. The director tolerated them only as much as he did because they enjoyed equal opportunity employment protection, at least for a little while. The first year wasn't so bad, but in my second year when the band became much more regimented and "structured" then it was it more noticeable.

Now, the Music Majors were the alphas of the pack. They got first dibs on the loot from our fallen foes and fought in the second line using the Nons as fodder. The Music Majors were always in the know of the happenings of the band, having to relocate their dens to the Moores School of Music during their tenure lest they perish. Whether or not you wanted your form corrected, on the overall, they would do it for you. They were in the right because they had classes in this and the Nons were just some pissants. The arrogance was often visible in the heat haze of practice.

Music Majors were majoring in music for a reason, however. These people would lead their own marching bands and cause untold suffering on their legions one day. Others would try to make the world a brighter place and actually teach music. Others would make their living by playing their horn. Those people were very, very good at what they did. That didn't necessarily make them the kind best-suited to quietly accepting criticism or putting up with someone who very clearly was not (nor will ever be) at their level.

I am fond of the clarinet. I've accepted I'm not at the best at it and I have only rarely done the necessary practice to improve my skills. Clarinet music tends to involve the instrument's range and also require a lot of dexterity for highly technical passages. I was able to get through them, but I wasn't going to be performance-level like some of my betters. When it came to the marching and playing, I had trouble keeping up, as did other Nons.

The second year, there was a squad leader system set up, wherein members were would be in squads, who report to the section leaders (or the assistant section leader), who report to specific drum majors. We weren't anything close to even a PMC and we weren't interested in the band becoming one. But the Music Majors, the elites, prospered under this system, lending them authority to be superior.

I really thought I had more, but ... it sucked.

There were a few bright beacons of hope despite this. Another story for another day.