Sufficiently sunburnt, sleep-deprived, and outright exhausted, I watched with pure joy as my high school’s marching band completed their final performance at varsity camp on Friday. This being my sixth band camp (four as a student and two as an instructor), I am still astonished by how much these kids accomplish in five days. And, I am still unashamed by how much I love marching band.
I also realized that many people, especially those who hate on marching band, just do not understand the amount of work it takes to put on a successful show. *Cue memes from the marching band episode from Spongebob*
Before we can move any further, you must understand this truth: marching band is A LOT of work. Not only is marching band physically and mentally taxing, but emotionally as well.
Let’s start with marching basics. Any marching band member can tell you that having proper attention position will go a long way. To properly stand at attention, a student must have his heels together, toes about a fist-length apart, knees slightly bent, arms drawn back, hands in fists at the hips, chest out, shoulders back, chin up, and eyes looking forward. DO NOT lock your knees! You’re only hurting yourself in the long run, and making yourself more likely to pass out during a performance or parade.
As far as the actual marching goes, ditch any preconceived notion you had about walking or moving in general. While keeping your upper body at attention, you must step out with your left heel and rollstep to your toe, continuing with your left foot in order to march forwards. Backwards marching requires students to glide from foot to foot while up on their toes. The goal for both of these motions is to move without bobbing your head up-and-down so that you can A) perceive the field around you and B) play your instrument better. Furthermore, the band must have a unified concept of step size. Per every yard line on the field (5 yards), the band member must use eight, equal steps. Are you still with me?
Here’s where the fun begins. For field shows, each band member is given a specific instrument number to follow on a drill chart, much like a coordinate on a grid. The student is responsible for tracking that instrument number throughout each chart in order to determine where to move to new formations. Flutes, for example, are F1-F19. Each new formation or hold during a formation is called a set. Depending on the length of a piece, there might be anywhere from 11 to 25 sets per song. Once the band is able to march through all the sets, you put it to music!
No matter the speed (and many times that speed is very fast), students must actively march to each spot making sure the left foot steps out on all odd counts and right foot on all even counts. Students must use their peripherals to guide the formations into place, keep an eye out for the tempos given by the drum majors, and play the show tunes which are memorized by the first home game of the season.
So next time you see the halftime show, consider all the hard work that goes into putting on the performance. A band only has 15 minutes to prove themselves and get as close as it can to perfection.
