MAKING GREAT STRIDES

Complicated drills earn new respect for marching bands.

Not long ago, high school marching bands existed mostly to pass the time in the middle of football games while fans got hot dogs at the concession stand. But that is changing.

Now, bands are earning the respect of their schools and the public by playing popular music and marching complicated drills. What used to be a few songs from the turn of the century played in straight lines on a football field has evolved into songs that everyone recognizes, marched in constantly moving formations.

This transformation of bands came from a lot of hard work and dedication, according to most local band directors. In Indiana, some high schools can boast that they are among the best marching bands in the country. Every year at the Bands of America Grand National Championship held in the Hoosier Dome (this year on Nov. 12 and 13), Indiana bands are always among the top 12.

Children's Express interviewed numerous musicians and directors at the Indiana State Fair Band Day competition in August and conducted interviews with members of the Cathedral High School marching band to find out about their experiences in marching bands.

Discipline, cooperation

According to 14-year-old Jon Kissling, trumpet player for Cathedral, the key to maintaining one of these quality bands is smart people who follow directions and cooperate with each other.

Although everyone wants to win, only a few select bands can make it to the state finals, which were held in the Hoosier Dome on Oct. 23. This event, sponsored by the Indiana State School Music Association, draws crowds from throughout the state.

Last summer, Amber Meranda, 18, was a soprano trumpet player for the Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps, a professional group, in Bloomington. Now a freshman at Butler University, she is a staff member with the Cathedral marching band.

She explained that a band can be good without winning any competitions. "A great band has a lot of discipline and they're eager to learn. It doesn't matter how they place, how they play, how they march. It's how eager they are to learn and how much discipline they have," she said.

"If you're eager to learn and you have a lot of discipline, then over a period of time you can become what the judges deem as great. But you don't have to be accepted by the judges to be a great band."

The marching season for most bands usually starts in the summer with band camp. These camps can be anything: Some are held three hours every evening for a week at the school; others are a full-fledged camp, held dawn to dusk at a local college or university.

Practice, practice, practice

Art Conner, band director at Wabash High School, described his school's practice schedule, which is similar to that of most local bands':

"We started June 26 with what we call a pre-camp, at four hours a day plus (playing) sectionals. We went to band camp for a week . . . (when) we had about eight hours a day of practice there, plus recreation time. Since then, we average two hours a day with a few evenings of sectional practice."

During camp, band members learn the basic marching techniques, such as the attention position and the 8-to-5 marching step. They also get the music for the upcoming season and start to march drills, the complicated movements you see on the field.

By the time of the first competition, all the drills and music have been perfected, or should be.

Meranda talked about her competition experiences as a member of the Lebanon High School band.

"Before the competition, you usually practice in the morning or the afternoon, depending on when the contest is, and you get your show fresh in your mind.

"Then you go to the contest site and get dressed and think about your show," she said. "You think about what you're getting ready to do; you think about all the changes you've made while you're putting on your uniform.

"Then you go and you warm up. And warm-up should be really intense. You warm up your lips and your legs and get all your muscles working and get you brain moving and you prepare to go on the field."

On the field: the payoff

According to Meranda, once you get on the field for competition, the mood becomes serious, and everything that you have worked for starts to pay off.

Kathy Reed, the 16-year-old drum major at Wabash, agreed.

"You have to save all your energy and keep your mind focused on what you're doing and know that you're the best out there, and that you can do it."

Although being in a marching band is a lot of hard work, it also can be fun, explained Joe Woodruff, 16, drum major for Cathedral.

"(Other people in the band) love it. They all have this good sense of pride, forcing them to stay with the band and try their hardest to do everything they can for it."

This sense of camaraderie among band members allows great friendships to be formed. According to 15-year-old Janet Thibault, alto saxophone player for Cathedral, almost all of her friends are in the band.

But for Kathy of Wabash, she had to earn her friends' appreciation.

"At first, (my friends) thought we were like band geeks and stuff. But then we started getting a lot better and I started showing them what we could really do, and they respect it."

Other diversions

Before you can build up a quality band program with a well-rounded group of kids, you must earn the respect of your school, according to Conner of Wabash.

"I have seven cross country (runners), five football (players), six cheerleaders, three volleyball, two tennis, and we just work around it.

"For the summer, if you're going on vacation, if you've got basketball camp, you got cheer camp, you just let me know ahead of time (and) we'll work it out."

For those kids that do find the time, band can be a rewarding experience. Unfortunately, explained Conner, there aren't many kids eager to do it.

"Too many kids go cruising and drinking and partying, and everything else but (band)," he said. "There aren't very many kids that are willing to take the time and commitment to do something like this.

"I think it's a very good experience for the students who are willing to participate and put in the time."

EDITED BY: Eric M. Augenstein, 15