Many viewers of the marching show only see the final product on the field, but the amount of tasks that happen behind the scenes is tremendous. From an online music pass-off program, an app used for learning drill, an intricate sound system and a whole staff of people hired for a number of different reasons, all of the behind-the-scenes action that goes into an eight-minute performance is quite time consuming.
While most students at Timber Creek were dreading the early start date of the 2017 school year being Aug. 15, the band kids were preparing for an even sooner start on July 26. With the first day of this school year being so early, all extracurriculars that would normally have summer practices had to push back their start date for this year to be earlier than ever.
Although it is not a state year, this is still a critical year for the band. With three Bands Of America shows, a UIL contest, the HEB Marching Showcase and US Bands Coppell, the band has been busy learning a very conceptual show that includes the four themes of Koi, Frog, Crane and Dragonfly which led to the overarching idea of Meetings Along the Water’s Edge.
“The marching band is always evolving, and you can especially see it in this year’s show,” said Drum Major Katherine Bos. “The theme of the pond animals for each movement tells a story, and the music embodies it perfectly. You can see how much the band has improved through our musical ability and how we can tell this story.”
In order to come up with the concept of the marching show each year, the band staff meets with a design team who work together to come up with a theme for the season. Vincent Oliver is the band’s music arranger, in charge of planning the music for the whole show. He brings in variations of famous compositions and also writes some of his own original material. This process usually begins each February, and parts of the next year’s show music is usually released in May for the students to begin learning it before the school year lets out for summer.
In addition to having the responsibility of learning the music, each student is expected to pass off each part of the show, both online and in person. The band uses a program called SmartMusic to complete online passes. SmartMusic is a program that allows each band member to create an individual account for them to pass off their music. The program detects correct notes and rhythms, but cannot read style and dynamics. Once a student has received a 95% or higher online, the student will then pass off in front of a director, where students are held accountable for performing it like how they would in the actual show.
“SmartMusic makes me a better musician because of features that contribute to the musician’s success,” said piccolo player Erin Obregon. “My favorite one is one that allows you to slow down the tempo and loop a measure or group of measures that you are having trouble with in order to get it under your fingers and learn that section of music.”
Although music is a huge part of the show, another crucial piece to bringing the marching show to life is the drill, which is the formations that the band moves from throughout the show. For this daunting task, the band has hired Ron Hardin, an experienced drill writer who has worked with several drum corps bands, including Carolina Crown. Hardin uses a computer software to write the drill for the show that is then transferred into an app for the students to see exactly where each set of their drill is. Each individual student that marches in the varsity show is assigned a drill number, which tells them specific coordinates and where they are to stand in the show. This year, the band is using an app, the Ultimate Drill Book, instead of old school paper coordinate sheets in order to learn drill. Similar to SmartMusic, each student is able to create a unique account that allows them to view the drill with the music and tells them specific details according to their drill number such as step size and each coordinate on the field for every step taken.
“The ultimate drill book app has sped up the process of learning and cleaning drill exponentially,” said Brass Captain Tanner Price. “We’ve learned more drill so far than we had by October last year. The app has put the TCHS Band at an advantage over many other bands in our area and has already become a priceless tool to the success of our program.”
The emergence of the Ultimate Drill Book is something that is still something extremely new to the band community, and only about 10 high school bands across the country are using the app as a way to learn drill. The creators of the app have asked Timber Creek to be their feature band to help push the app.
“A team of people from the app will be coming to film the band on September 28-30 and will get coverage of a rehearsal, football game and competition.” says band director Hunter Bown.
With show music and drill written, the students begin to put it all on the field at afternoon rehearsals. Although students have marching and playing responsibilities, there are several moments during the show where soloists are playing, and the band is just marching their drill. Choreography is implemented to enhance the show and bring the vision to life while the soloists play. To get the most communicative, eye-catching choreography, the band has hired two highly experienced choreographers, Brett Lindsey and JC Caceres. Both choreographers have experience with elite drum corps groups, including the Blue Knights, where Caceres is the visual designer, and Carolina Crown, where Lindsey has been a part of the corps and served on staff as a visual tech.
With these choreographers on the band staff, it is crucial that there is additional help spread out on the field to help relay and reinforce the information from the press box. In order to do this, the band hires field technicians to help out with all of the articulate details that are hard to catch from up on the tower. All of the field technicians are experienced band members that have marched in World Class Drum Corps International groups including Blue Devils, Phantom Regiment, Santa Clara Vanguard, The Academy and Carolina Crown who specialize in the color guard, brass line, battery and pit areas. These techs allows students to receive individual feedback from those who are highly experienced in their profession.
From music, drill writers, costume, visual staff and the significant help of technology, the band is equipped with multiple resources to help set them up for success. With their first competition less than two weeks away, the band is working harder than ever to refine and polish their show to make it the best it can be.