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How many section leaders is too many?

Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:11 pm
by vollkommen
I was just wondering what everyone thought about this. It's not exactly off topic but it isn't really important either. I personally think that having more than one section leader is kind of pointless and counterproductive, especially when there is no hierarchy between/among them. I have a friend who goes to Fresno State – she’s in band, obviously, and is one of the clarinet section leaders. They have two section leaders for a section of about thirty. That makes sense to me. My section has three section leaders for a section of sixteen. Kind of stupid, don’t you think?

Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 2:40 pm
by eternalbando
I really think it depends on the size of the section, but in my opinion, it usually should be no more than 2. 3 is too many. If you need more than 2 for proper leadership, then maybe you should reconsider who you're choosing as leaders...just my opinion.

Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 3:03 pm
by IsnipeWithAknife
MORE THE MERRIER!!!!!!!!

A section should be 100% section leaders

Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 3:45 pm
by ChIckInPIt
Having more than one section leader means that co-section leaders have to agree on most everything. They sorta need to get along. I guess it depends on how well the leaders can work together.

Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 3:50 pm
by saxplyr7
edbandchick wrote:I really think it depends on the size of the section, but in my opinion, it usually should be no more than 2. 3 is too many. If you need more than 2 for proper leadership, then maybe you should reconsider who you're choosing as leaders...just my opinion.
I agree on this one. The size really matters. Other than that no more than 2....oh sorry been said already. In our sax section we have 2 but there's like 17 so yea. Same with Clarinets. We also have 2 so size is what counts.

Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 6:07 pm
by Barisax951
do you think the section leader should be the better player

Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 6:28 pm
by AzhlackDMPiccolo
I think for big sections . 2 seciton leaders for a small one then 1. Big sections need 2 or 3 because one person can't really pay attention to ALL o fthem. if there's 2 or 3, they can split up the seciton. Besdies having 2 section leaders keeps everything in balance so one section leader wont turn into a dictator. Each person will have the other one on check. :-D

Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2006 7:21 pm
by MoophoniumMan
Multiple section leaders have been known to be dangerous.

That is, the two people who are leading need to be able to get along and work together for the betterment of the section. If they are unable to lead with shared power, the section will have drama and time and energy that should be going to marching technique and dynamics will be wasted on taking sides and playing power games.

What sucks about this is that the director has to be able to predict whether the two people will be able to work well together, and that's really hard.

So I have to say, only use two leaders when it's really necessary. And I don't see the use in more than two section leaders.

Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2006 9:05 pm
by phatbob2007
i think 2 is too many, i mean i can understand like if you have 3 concert band and 3 section leaders, but like in marching band, 1 is enough, you dont want 2 people 2nd guessing each other and saying different things, it makes them look like they dont know what they are doing, there only needs to be one section leader, and they lead the section. band is a dictatorship....sorry

Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 10:42 am
by Ex Nihilo
i say it's the maximum number that order can be kept and tasks can be accomplished with. if that means one, then so be it. if that means twenty, ditto.

Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 7:40 pm
by roan520
would another factor be the (Disciplined) senor to Freshman ratio? becuase, the more seniors you have that know what they want, the less leadering you'd need?

Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 10:46 pm
by Tobias087
i don't think the senior to freshmen ratio matters too much. in my band, last year the juniors were the hardest to control, but this year its the sophmores. [/quote]

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 6:22 am
by demosthenes
freshman sophomore whatever, as long as they get it done right?

i think there should b no more than two.

two section leaders can to the check and balance cycle so that each section leader has equal power.

if there three or more section leaders they may tend to gang up on a particular section leader, which is bad for the section.

It really does depend on the size of your section

Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 11:51 pm
by Klarinet
I recently became the section lieutenant for a 2A band with 8 clarinets after moving from at 5A band and being a co-section leader with between 18 and 25 clarinetties. I felt dividing the section up really helps when you have the players mostly operating on two different levels, but other than that I didn't find having an extra leader that beneficial.

Re: It really does depend on the size of your section

Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 4:28 pm
by eternalbando
Klarinet wrote:I recently became the section lieutenant for a 2A band with 8 clarinets after moving from at 5A band and being a co-section leader with between 18 and 25 clarinetties. I felt dividing the section up really helps when you have the players mostly operating on two different levels, but other than that I didn't find having an extra leader that beneficial.
I think there are circumstances where having an extra leader could be incredibly beneficial, but often, it's not. There's no reason to have more than enough leaders, because often that can create more problems than it can solve.

An example from my experience this past year...in my college marching band, we had a clarinet section of 5 last year. One girl decided not to be in marching band this year, one guy decided to switch to colorguard, and the 3 of us that were left all applied for section leader. I only applied because the section leader from last year told me she wasn't planning to apply. Well, in the end, she did. She was chosen for section leader, but the director decided to make me and the other guy that applied "co-leaders". I don't think it was purposeful. Infact, I think it was truly to prevent hurt feelings. It worked ok, because I don't think anyone's feelings were hurt - atleast mine weren't, but as a co-leader, I felt worthless. In such a small section, there is NO need for more than one leader, especially not 3! I felt like there was no way for me to be helpful, because whenever I tried, I felt like I was getting in the way of what the section leader wanted. In the end, I had people in our section asking me questions behind the leader's back, and it started to cause problems within the section. It's frustrating to feel worthless, but at the same time, I'd rather have not even been called a "co-leader" and enjoyed the season a little more. I guess you just have to sit back and let things go, even when you wish they'd work out better.