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The Inner Workings of a High School Marching Band

From: SpiritHouse Inc/Youth Noise Network
Length: 08:33

One organism in celebration of life!...and music...etc." Read the full description.

Ben_small Ever since I was little I've always dreamed of being in marching band. Being at a competition and hearing them announce, "Now on the field. C.E. Jordan High School Marching Falcons. Director, David Robinson." Under all the lights, the stadium being packed, people cheering for you. It's always been a big dream of mine. Not your usual dream, I know. But, I'm not your usual person. Finally I get to be IN the band instead of watching it. This piece goes into the "inner workings" of the Jordan Marching Falcons. You learn alot about what everyone does and what the "legendary" band camp is all about. Jordan is one of the few real marching bands left from the DCI days. They haven't become Show Style and given up on trying to win just with the marching and music, relying on their colorguards and props to get first place. The only props you'll see with this marching band are the flags, rifles, and sabers. That's why I'm disappointed that lately, the judges have started to just judge on props, and that's not cool. Interviewed in this piece are two marchers, a colorguard, and our well-known band director. It rids (I hope) marching band of all, or at least most, sterotypes produced by television or movies. Enjoy! This Piece is Dedicated to Mr. David Robinson who is leaving Jordan after 20 years. We Love You DR! Vocab for Non-Geeks like myself DCI- Relies on marching skills to win competitions Show Style-Relies on props to win competitions Guard- The girls (and sometimes boys) who do the dancing part of the marching show while the band plays Rifles(guns) Sabers(swords)Flags(flags)-Three basic things the guard uses Drum Majors- The students who conduct the band while they are marching Music-"Escapade" Performed by Jordan High School Marching Falcons 2003

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Piece Description

Ever since I was little I've always dreamed of being in marching band. Being at a competition and hearing them announce, "Now on the field. C.E. Jordan High School Marching Falcons. Director, David Robinson." Under all the lights, the stadium being packed, people cheering for you. It's always been a big dream of mine. Not your usual dream, I know. But, I'm not your usual person. Finally I get to be IN the band instead of watching it. This piece goes into the "inner workings" of the Jordan Marching Falcons. You learn alot about what everyone does and what the "legendary" band camp is all about. Jordan is one of the few real marching bands left from the DCI days. They haven't become Show Style and given up on trying to win just with the marching and music, relying on their colorguards and props to get first place. The only props you'll see with this marching band are the flags, rifles, and sabers. That's why I'm disappointed that lately, the judges have started to just judge on props, and that's not cool. Interviewed in this piece are two marchers, a colorguard, and our well-known band director. It rids (I hope) marching band of all, or at least most, sterotypes produced by television or movies. Enjoy! This Piece is Dedicated to Mr. David Robinson who is leaving Jordan after 20 years. We Love You DR! Vocab for Non-Geeks like myself DCI- Relies on marching skills to win competitions Show Style-Relies on props to win competitions Guard- The girls (and sometimes boys) who do the dancing part of the marching show while the band plays Rifles(guns) Sabers(swords)Flags(flags)-Three basic things the guard uses Drum Majors- The students who conduct the band while they are marching Music-"Escapade" Performed by Jordan High School Marching Falcons 2003

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Review of The Inner Workings of a High School Marching Band

This piece is based around an interesting structure - instead of trying to explain a massive, complicated entity like a marching band in the context of a story arc, the piece's producer gets out or our way and lets various people involved in the band tell the listener what goes on instead.
The problem with this, however, is that a lot of the knowledge is just dropped on the listener out of the blue: terms like "guard" and "drum major" are used quite frequently, and if you're not familiar with marching bands, it may be confusing for you, and require some close listening and guessing to follow the story.
But the point of the piece manages to shine through anyway: contrary to what "American Pie" would have us believe, band camp is about hard work and dedication, and at the end of the piece, I came away with a new appreciation for the discipline needed on every member's part.

Broadcast History

Broadcast on WXDU, Durham, NC in March, 2006.

Related Website

http://www.jordanband.org