This came up a while back but was never explained. Can some of our former band members (or anyone who knows) explain how the formations are taught? I've always wondered how in the hell they don't all run into one another.
ok. Tiga, I'll tell you how we did it back in the dark ages. I was in the Tiger Band when Dr. Swor was the director. Each week we were given a diagram that explains the formations. That's just so we know how we fit into the grand scheme. As far as moving into one formation and then into another, the sheet music we were provided was prepared for each individual band member. We had our assigned places in the lines as a our starting point. From that starting point, the music was marked with symbols placed over certain notes in the music. Some of the symbols are for left turn, or right turn or reverse turn. Every move was choreographed this way for EACH of the band members. We were allowed to practice with the music and the show cues until Wednesday. By Thursday we were expected to have the music and choreography memorized. Friday's practice was all memory, as was the actual performance. Did that help? Basically, we learned from a cheat sheet that was taken away two days ahead of the performance.
I'm always amazed by the band's performance; and wondered how they did it myself (having never played in a band myself). Thanks for the info paducahmichael.
Tiger Band was a precision drill band in Paducah's Day, the best in the country. Only Texas A&M still does drill. The modern Tiger Band does Drum-Corps style shows like almost everybody else. Lots of follow-the-leader marching, then standing still and playing a song. They sound really fantastic if you are on the side of the field they face, else you can't hear them. The old bands that actually marched threw the sound all around the stadium. And the drills were sooooo much more impressive than the standing abstract designs of a corps-style band.
Back in the mid-80s, everybody would get a book showing the formations. Each page of the book had a formation and markings showing the previous formations, as well as some type of instruction on how to get there. Mostly, they said something like "float x8", meaning you had 8 counts to get from the previous formation to the one on the page. Each member would transcribe it onto the music. Back then, Linda Moorehouse drew the formations on specially printed paper that divides the football field into graph boxes showing two standard "8 to 5" steps (most bands take 8 steps to go 5 yards). Now, most bands use computer programs to create the graphs. The graph gave you a pretty good idea of exactly where you needed to be on the field. On Tuesdays when the show changed, most of the practice was dedicated to 'blocking' the show, moving from one formation to the next without instruments. This gave everyone a feel for how the show would move. Over the 5 years I was in Tiger Band, we mostly marched corps style, but would occasionally do some close drill or circle drill style as well. Frank Wickes wasn't a particular stickler for memorizing the music, apparently unlike Dr. Swor. Mr. Wickes thought that we sounded better when we had the music in front of us, so he never made us put it away. Not wrong, just different. It takes a lot of dedication and hard work to pull it off. And if I had the chance to do it for another 5 years, I would. GEAUX TIGERS LSU Tuba 85-89
I could be wrong, but I don't think the early 70s Tiger Band did the same type of drill that aTm does now. Certainly, the movement from formation to formation was vastly different than now, but the films I have seen from those days seemed to be based on getting into formations that were recognizable pictures. For example, I've seen one show from that era that has bow & arrow shooting into a heart. Another one I've seen was forming into the shape of a tank while playing some military march--Tiger Band has recreated this one as recently as 2007. aTm's band, while certainly impressive in its close order stuff, is more abstract and doesn't usually create pictures like that. Of course, I could be wrong. GEAUX TIGERS LSU Tuba 85-89
You're right and wrong, Thorny. As far as the 69-72 seasons, we did sort of a combination of the drill and show time. There has never been and probably never will be a better military style college band than the Aggie Band. (I'm not taking the service academies into consideration - don't know much about them.) All I know for SURE is that it was the time of my life I remember most fondly. Yes, it was hard and it was mentally and physically demanding. But I'd do it again and again if they'd let me. I couldn't walk one end of Tiger Stadium to the other today - much less march it! Very, very lucky and proud to have been a part of the Golden Band from Tigerland! Alto Trumpet was my horn. Sort of a French Horn sound for a marching band.
