We have an entire competitive system set up to burn people out and drive them out of the industry - or drive them towards "advocacy" so that they're able to have a personal life at the end of a work day. People in the advocacy industry are able to work a standard 9-5 schedule.
A 6A HBD typically works 10-12 hours a day, five days a week - in the DOWN time. During marching season, it's 14+ hours a day six days a week, and another 5-6 hours watching video and working on that seventh day. If you're REALLY going for honor band on top of it, you're not going "down time" either - you've got sectionals, clinics, extra rehearsals, and everything else all year long.
There's a reason there are VERY few SMC medal-winning band directors that are any combination of (1) under 40 (2) married (3) have a family. One, maybe, but almost never two, and certainly never all three anymore.
Or Honor Band directors, for that matter.
This is the system we have created for ourselves. And many people see no problem with it, so it's not going to change.
Responses
« Back to index | View thread »