Few things can stir the soul like the rousing tunes of a marching band .
Whether it ’ s the inspiration of patriotic music or the exhilaration of a contemporary song , when it ’ s performed by the synchronized precision of a high school marching band , magic happens .
“ An excellent marching band to me is one that can produce an emotional response from the audience ,” said Todd Ebert , band director at Cuthbertson High School .
Precision , timing , rhythm , focus and stamina are all key elements in a band ’ s ability to present a halftime show that wows the crowd ; but those complicated marching patterns on the field , performed to the beat of lively music , doesn ’ t just happen . It takes lots of hard work and the help of experts .
Porter Ridge High School band director , Ian Faires , said this year ’ s show began with an idea . After being inspired by the movie Lion King , Faires decided this year ’ s show would have a jungle / safari theme .
“ The show includes Toto ’ s song , Africa , and Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah , which gives the performance that Egyptian flavor ,” Faires said .
Deciding a theme , however , is the easy part . That idea has to evolve into a performance that involves original compositions and often complicated marching configurations on the field .
“ Most of the time , your designs are going to be somewhat symmetrical for the field : squares , rectangles , and circles ,” Faires said . “ So the marching drill has to recognize what the music is doing . If it ’ s very forceful and powerful , you ’ re making straight lines . If it ’ s more flowing and the melodic line keeps going , you want to make more curve or linear lines on the field . It just depends on what the music is telling you to do .”
Putting the right song together with the right marching drill is no easy task , which is why high school band directors enlist the help of composers to turn those ideas into reality . Faires uses Tim Hinton , a composer / arranger in Orlando who writes the music for middle , high school and college marching bands .
Once Faires ’ jungle-themed music was arranged , it was handed to Neil Underwood , the associate director of bands and director of athletic bands at Lenoir-Rhyne University . Underwood took Hinton ’ s composition and wrote the marching drills to match . The completed arrangements were then returned to Faires .
After the band director gets the composition and the marching drills to match , it ’ s time to start the hours and hours of practice , often in the hot sun . It might look like the band members move easily across the field , but it ’ s a lot more complicated than it looks .
“ They really can ’ t see where they ’ re going because their eyes are on the drum major , plus they have instruments in front of them , so it has to be muscle memory ,” Ebert said . “ On top of that , they have to use their brains to play all the music they ’ ve memorized . It really encompasses every part of the brain . We try to get that muscle memory so they can do that .”
This is Cuthbertson High School sophomore Kendall Quade ’ s first time in marching band . She confesses there is a lot to remember .
“ You have to look at the drum majors and you have to know where the bars for the measures are in the music ,” Quade said . “ Typically the left foot is stepping at the bar . Keeping count is hard , but keeping track of the measures helps .”
There is a reason band members look as though they glide gracefully across the field . It ’ s called core-style marching . Ebert said this is a very rigid stance , with the band member standing very straight , while not really bending their knees as they move .
10 • Nov / Dec 2016 • Parent Teacher News
Marching bands wow crowds with precision , skill
Porter Ridge High School students Isa Dieguez , a freshman , and Jeremy Mace , a senior , chat after band practice at their school .
Cuthbertson High School band director Todd Ebert directs band members while rehearsing a complicated marching drill .