re: GBFTL band camp question..

I'm an old guy, so I don't know if this helps at all. I was a freshman in Tiger Band 41 years ago. Back then, you had to pass a personal audition with the band director first in the spring of your senior year in high school. If you passed that, then you had to survive the preseason cuts from the freshman week of preseason rehearsals. The total cuts amounted to about 10% of the preseason members. There were a total of 3 cuts during the preseason. I was an average trumpet player, but a horrible marcher. I survived the first two cuts, but the band director called me into his office and said that my marching had to improve greatly or I wouldn't survive the third cut. Thankfully, there was no third cut that year, and I made it. I was "invited" the following year to participate in preseason rehearsals with the freshman incoming class. (Think "voluntary practices" in the NFL--you'd better be there!) Fortunately, the extra practice that second year allowed me to become a better marcher, and I made the band cuts easily. I played another 3 years in the band after that.

The best way to prepare is to be the best player you can and be prepared to learn the marching routine quickly. Things move faster in college than in high school, and everyone's an all star!