Collaboration is a tenet of the Spartan Marching Band. The directors, graduate students, uniform team, phys-ops, Saturday staff, section/squad leaders, and everyone in the band itself all work together to create the game day experience we know and love, but sometimes the SMB adds even another piece to the puzzle in the form of guest musicians. Last year, the band welcomed renowned clarinetist Doreen Ketchens for a dazzling display of New Orleans jazz, and this Saturday the SMB plans to introduce Spartan Stadium to the vibrant sounds of Boston Brass. So how does a process with so many moving parts accommodate another group?
To understand how the Spartan Marching Band is able to work with guest musicians, it is essential to understand how the band puts halftime shows on the field in the first place. The SMB has it down to a science.
Learning a Halftime Show: A Crash Course
Step 1: The Music
Monday night is where it all begins for the hornline. The two-hour music rehearsals, hosted in the Demonstration Hall’s ballroom, allow the band to get acquainted with the sounds of the show without worrying about the sights. Armed with sheet music and a pencil, the band goes to work.
The first read of a tune is often filled with unwelcome dissonance from wrong notes, awkward silence from missed entrances, and confused glances from member to member, but following a bumpy beginning something amazing happens: The ballroom fills with the sounds of progress. There are conversations about key changes, complex rhythms, and articulation marks, followed by the sound of lead on stands as mistakes are marked. Then, after a few brief notes from the directors or graduate students, the band plays the piece again. The second read is not good by any means. It is still filled with mistakes and a bit of confusion, but after the last note rings out as the band ends the piece together, the room buzzes and excitement fills the air.
“It’s all about potential,” says one senior from the tuba section, “it doesn’t matter if everything was perfect. I can imagine what the song will sound like on game day and I am motivated to work hard so I can make that happen.”
Step 2: The Drill
Putting over three-hundred people on the field is no small task, especially with the limited time provided by a football schedule, so when rehearsal time comes around every single member of the band must come prepared. Every individual is responsible for having their movements aka the “drill” written out either on their music or on a notecard so that they know when they move, how many counts, and where they end up on the field.
When the whistle blows at 4:30 pm for rehearsal, the Spartan Marching Band goes to work with intense efficiency. Without instruments, the band marches through a tune movement by movement. After slowly going through the moves one by one, the moves are chained together. To prepare for playing and moving, the band slowly transitions from counting aloud how many steps are in a move to singing what music they are playing.
Although the process goes slowly at first, it is not uncommon for the SMB to learn multiple songs in one rehearsal or march an entire tune without instruments within ten minutes which is why it is imperative for members to know where they are going prior to ever stepping foot on the field. Some band members have taken to drawing arrows in their direction of travel, writing how large their steps should be, or sketching the shape of the formation in their music so that they are never lost on the field. Upon asking her method for marking music, one fifth-year member of the band showed me her highlighter collection and a legend. Marking time highlighted in pink, movement in yellow, and “stomp downs” (when the band stands in place) in orange. Knowing the drill is not something the members of the Spartan Marching Band take lightly.
Step 3: Putting it all together
The last step of the halftime process, putting together the drill and music, is when the Spartan Marching Band begins to become recognizable. The bulk of SMB rehearsals are spent marrying the movement to the sound. The band picks up their horns, flags, batons, or drums after finding their spots on the field and once again begins to construct the show piece by piece.
A common rehearsal technique involves the band playing their instruments but not moving across the field. SMB members will mark time and practice step-offs but remain stationary as they play the music so they can visualize the move before actually performing it. After this, the band will then march their move and sing their part so they can practice the movement. After doing this for multiple moves or an entire song, the band will reset and put it all together while playing and moving. Auxiliary members of the band like the color guard and twirlers will practice spinning/tossing (the choreography) in place while the band plays and march along when the band is moving.
Refinement and repetition are the name of the game for this part of the process. The SMB doesn’t allow music or notecards on the field, so with every rep band members are working to memorize their music or choreography. When asked about the element of memorization, a fourth-year member of the band stated, “I don’t really think about memorizing the music as a challenge. It feels necessary. If I don’t have to look at my music, I can see where I am on the field more accurately and if I can anticipate where I have to be on the field, everything just feels more fluid.”
Working Together: The SMB and Guest Musicians
So how do guest musicians fit into all that preparation? The SMB still completes its typical three step process, but here are a few challenges that come with these guest shows.
The band will not truly know how the music sounds until the guests are able to do a sound check in Spartan Stadium with the band. The band does not march during these rehearsals to avoid tearing up the grass in the stadium, so there is no physical practice of the movement, but this extra music can be distracting and cause memorization to be more difficult. Additionally, the band will be asked to make adjustments to ensure the guest musicians are heard. The band has been playing the same music the same way for days or weeks, but the way the music is played may change on a moment’s notice as these sound checks typically happen only a few days prior to the game.
So, Why Go Through the Trouble?
Being able to work with world-renowned musicians may cause some logistical challenges, but the SMB members wouldn’t have it any other way. Two members of the tuba section, Blazer and Blitzen, glowed when recounting their experiences working with Doreen Ketchens last year. Blazer described the experience as “incredibly positive and educating. My experience with Dr. Ketchens was one of the best memories of our season last year.” Blitzen was equally complimentary saying that working with Ketchens “was an inspiration for all of us to become better at our instruments.”
Who is Boston Brass?
The band is equally excited to work with guest musicians, Boston Brass, this Saturday. The quintet is made up of Jeff Conner, trumpet; Jose Sibàja, trumpet; Chris Castellanos, horn; Domingo Pagliuca, trombone; and William Russell, tuba. The group has a large repertoire from jazz standards to classical arrangements and aims to “bridge the ocean of classical formality to delight audiences in an evening of great music and boisterous fun.” Boston Brass’s energetic sound is known worldwide having performed in thirty countries and having taught masterclasses at prestigious universities around the world (Juilliard, Peabody Conservatory, Royal Academy of Music in London, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory at the National University of Singapore and Mahidol University in Bangkok, to name a few).
The Spartan Marching Band feels incredibly lucky to work with such a talented group and hopes that you all enjoy a show filled with energetic music and equally energetic drill.
With love to our guest musicians and Spartan fans,