Expert Article- Trojan Marching Band Final Copy

Under The Helmet: My Freshmen Experience in The Trojan Marching Band

Many thousands of USC football fans every year get to see their college marching band play on game day, but it seems unlikely to me that very many outsiders to the band understand what goes into being a marching member of the Spirit of Troy. Remarkably, the University of Southern California’s marching band was founded over 125 years ago. The “Spirit of Troy” has garnered national recognition. They have been featured in: over 100 movies and TV shows; 2 platinum albums; multiple academy awards shows as well as countless other feature appearances. 

Pictured (USC Alumni Will Ferrell directing the USC Trojan marching band--”TMB”)

When entered USC this year as a sophomore transfer student, I decided to try out for the school’s marching band. I participated in my high school’s drumline for all 4 years of high school, but joining a college band, especially one of USC’s caliber allowed me to experience band in a completely different way. In writing this paper I hope to give people more insight on the nuances of joining a world class marching band. In particular I will discuss the extensive preparation during band camp and weekly practices that readies marching members for game days.

The Sacrifice

It is hard to encapsulate the true depth of participating in a marching band like the Spirit of Troy without understanding the hard work that goes into it. To start, while the rest of students are still off on summer break the marching band is hard at work. More than a week before school starts; old and new drummers are auditioned for coveted spots on the drumline. Once these drummers pass through the gauntlet of auditions they are thrown straight into the fire, constantly learning the building blocks to USC’s infamous cadence; drum warm ups and “school songs” like Tribute to Troy and Fight On!--hallmarks of every USC football game.  

Band camp
Later in band camp, the dynamic changes dramatically and the focus turns to marching and visual technique. We learn a special kind of marching called “stutter step.” We run this for hours, marching down the field and in place until the technique feels natural. We learn a bevy of other commands that allow the drum major and field staff to: call the band to attention; change the direction the band is facing; and check our positions in relation to others in a consistent, disciplined manner.

 
Pictured (Our majestic Drum major leads us in practicing our marching step)

We stand like toy soldiers in the glaring hot sun, screaming in unison to commands from our drum major. We are directed to examine our posture; making sure that our bodies project an image that is both confident and powerful.

Over the course of the week over a hundred freshmen are initiated in the technique and gravitas 
they will need to march alongside the Spirit of Troy. At the conclusion of band camp we are fitted for uniforms; among which is our infamous gold Trojan helmet signifying a membership into something much greater than the individual.

The practices

The band practices four times a week with the inclusion of the day-long Saturday practice and game day. We perform a new halftime show virtually every week so within the span of five days, we are expected to memorize five to ten minutes of visual choreography in addition to several rock charts that go along with the marching. Beyond band camp the hard work does not end; as the season progresses the expectation is to constantly improve on technique and retain past songs for future performances.

Pictured (A Friday practice with the TMB)

The drive behind the extensive preparation becomes abundantly clear once game-day approaches and we get the chance to showcase the fruits of our labors.

Game day-- The Payoff

For most USC students, game day is one of school spirit, camaraderie and excessive drinking. Trojan marching members get the chance to experience and contribute to game day in a remarkably different way.

Morning rehearsals

Saturday starts bright and early at 6:34 sharp, no small feat for a group that has likely been up into the early hours of the morning participating in the customary night-before game-day celebration. We eat a small breakfast and run through our customary drumline exercises—warming up our minds and bodies for the day ahead. Once we join the full band we get a chance to dress-rehearse all our musical numbers and tie up any loose ends in our drill and music. The urgency and energy on game day is palpable; getting “it right” is a must.

Break before the game

For afternoon games we receive a couple hours downtime to relax before the game. This is our chance to eat a eat a meal, take a nap and work on anything we need to before the performance. For the past two afternoon games I have eaten a  brief breakfast with some of the other cymbal players, then promptly passed out on my bed until call time. Resting up for the evening ahead is crucial so beyond sleeping eating, expecting to get anything productive done on game day is a foolish expectation.

As call time approaches a horde of band members descends into the relatively small band office in the basement of Stonier by Tudor hall. Roughly 280 students squeeze into this tiny space and transform from civilians into the uniformed band that the crowd knows and loves. As we change, we are trapped in a sea of bodies trying to accomplish the same task, but this also allows us to use our nearby friends in putting on the more difficult parts of our uniform.

Suiting up for the game

In order to suit up we first put on our pants; high waisted pants formally called “bibbers” that more resemble overalls than pants one would wear on a regular basis.

Next we put our shoes on. Even though there isn’t a required shoe for marching band, the shoe must be totally black and ideally be comfortable for standing for long periods. We then put on “spats;” white shoe coverings that allow our shoes to look the same and complement the look of our uniforms. Also pictured, is the baseball cap and gloves that go underneath my helmet and jacket respectively.

Putting on our jackets a fair bit of dexterity as the zipper is only easily accessible from the back.

The final touch to this ensemble is our trademark gold helmets and capes. This step also includes our black sunglasses, which help us not to be blinded in the stands as we perform in directly facing the sun until it goes down around the second quarter.

Journey to the coliseum

After suiting up, the next couple hours consist of playing “mini shows” called rallies where we get to showcase our music and warmups in a more intimate setting. After each rally we march over to another location to the beat of the drumline cadence and perform again. Including the drumline-only warmup behind heritage hall, we play four of these rallies before we march into the coliseum. The cadence the drumline plays is unique to USC in that it is six musical pieces together rather than just one song, spanning more than ten minutes long. Whenever the band moves as a unit, our cadence is played and repeated until we reach our destination. For longer marches this can mean 3 or 4 iterations of the cadence sequence.

This portion of game-day is one of my biggest challenges because rally songs and cadence are played virtually non-stop until we reach the sanctuary of the stadium’s back entrance. It takes a great deal of mental focus and physical stamina to play with energy and accuracy for extended periods of time.

This was especially when we played against Western Michigan. A combination of unusually hot temperature and the scheduling of the game made it brutally hot for the duration of the day, still we pushed through and played our performances as expected. I remembering peeling my uniform off and collapsing on the ground at the conclusion of the experience; grateful to finally be done, but exhausted beyond belief.

Pregame

Once we get to the stadium the band gets a couple minutes for water before the next portion of our game day experience; the pregame show.

Pictured(Marching onto the field before pre-game)

20 minutes before kick-off, the band performs a show initiated by the drum major stabbing his sword into the center of the field.

During pregame the band also displays their marching technique and showmanship; spelling out words like “USC” and “Trojans.”

Pictured( U-S-C spelled out during a pregame show)

Stand-tunes

At the conclusion of pregame the band finds its way to the stands where it will stay until halftime approaches. Stand tunes are played constantly, one song is played  every single play according to what happens during the game. There is a whole set of songs played almost exclusively in the stands as well as several modified rock charts that have been edited for length. In between playing the band watches the game; intently yelling and spectating the game like any other student. Unlike a regular student however, we are forcibly wrapped up in the actions of a game because the events and success of each play dictate what we will play when the whistle sounds. Something that I really enjoy about playing in the stands is watching the massive student section respond to the different songs we play.

At halftime we play the show that we have been practicing all week; executing the drill and music to the best of our abilities. When we finish, we head back to the stands to play the duration of the game in the stands.

Closing rally and the march back

At the end of the game we create a formation facing the student section, playing a victorious rally for the students that stuck with the team through the entire struggle. During this time, crucial members from the football team are invited to “direct” the band from atop the directors ladder. This moment represents one of the few times that anyone is allowed to touch the drum major’s sword; one of the others is when a USC student is drafted into the NFL.

Finally, we exit the stadium and make the march back to campus, stopping for a quick rally to pay tribute to Tommy Trojan and to make an encore performance of our fight song in front of the school bookstore.

Pictured ( The 2017 USC Drumline)

Thanks for reading-- Fight on!!

Works Cited

Herbach, Alex. "USC Trojan Marching Band." Halftime Magazine. N.p., 07 Sept. 2015. Web.

Padelford, Brett. "Trojan Marching Band Named Best in College Football." USC News. USC, 21 Oct. 2104. Web.

Padelford, Brett. "University of Southern California." About USC. USC, n.d. Web.

Song, Jason. "USC's Marching Band Not for the Timid, Freshman Finds." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2015. Web.