If you’re thinking of trying out for the clarinet section of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band (and we hope you will!), please be aware of some important issues. Our clarinet section is small - only about 4.5 percent of the total band - and it is the smallest clarinet section in the Big Ten Conference. As a result, tryouts for our section, and for the band in general, are extremely competitive.

But we don’t want that to scare you away! In fact, you should know that we accept players from a wide variety of ability levels and we never set a quota on the number of clarinets accepted in a given year. Your chances of becoming a Wisconsin Marching Clarinet will be based upon your dedication, intensity, and ability to complete the very physically demanding Reg Week.

For more information about Reg Week, check out this .pdf document, courtesy of our trombone section: Freshmen.pdf. A majority of the information in it is relevant to the clarinet section.

Here are a few items pertaining to the clarinets which are not included in the trombones’ guide:

1. Bring your own clarinet, lyre, and plenty of extra reeds. Our marching style is very hard
on reeds, and you will break more than a few during tryouts.

2. Get in shape! You will find our marching style to be very physically demanding and tiring.
We encourage you to workout in the weeks and even months before Reg Week in order
to prepare. We highly recommend running and any other type of endurance training.
The Wisconsin Band is not your high school band! Most of our members were Varsity
athletes in high school, and even they get worn out.

3. To get a better idea of what our typical practice looks like, click here.