Marching Bands Adapt During Pandemic

There are many sounds that people have instantaneously come to associate with that of the fall season. Those sounds tend to include the sound of the sound of geese as they fly south, the sound of a crackling bonfire, and of course the crunching sound of leaves on the ground. A lesser known and appreciated sound, however, is that of the music of local marching bands.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, marching bands across the country have been silenced while some continue to play and regularly rehearse this season. Those who continue, however, do so under very new and very different conditions compared to previous years. Many college bands are still playing.

“This season, we are split into two groups, so the entire band is never in the same place at the same time,” says Bethany Mestelle, Block Captain for the marching band at University of Minnesota. “Our band is normally 320 members, legally that is too many people. We can’t have that many people in the same place.” Right now, the band has been split into two groups, Maroon Band and Gold Band. According to Mestelle, one half of the band comes in for the first half of rehearsal, the other half of the band comes in for the second half. “Each band is learning one halftime show and one pregame show,” Mestelle says. “And those are all pre-recorded because we are not allowed to be in the stands during games or on the football field.”

We canceled our competitive marching season back in July,” says Amy Fuchs, the Director of Bands at Oak Creek High School. “With the number of kids in our band, to the recommendations in terms of distancing and the limitations on group gatherings, there was just no way that we were going to be able to follow the recommendations and do anything like what we normally do.”

While Oak Creek is not competing, they are still practicing with the marching band music that they were given for the season (digitally) at the end of last school year, as well as having virtual sectionals throughout the summer. “We are just working on music,” say Fuchs. “We are not currently playing in school.”

This is not to say, however that the pandemic has only brought upon negative results. Many instructors have taken this opportunity to explore new avenues. Despite the cancellation of the performing season, Oak Creek is taking the opportunity to continue and potentially evolve their band.

“It’s allowed us an opportunity to do a couple of things we haven’t been able to do in the past, because we’re not so busy preparing for a performance,” Fuchs states. “We’re doing a lot more with music technology. We’re using a program called BandLab where they can create music electronically, so that’s kind of a fun thing that’s come out of this.”

For the U of M band, it has helped emphasize the sense of unity amongst the performers. “As of right now we’re just recording our performances and releasing them that way,” says Mestelle. “It is a totally different atmosphere; we’re motivated by a completely different thing now. People have really always been in band for the people that are in band.”