Tune changes for marching bands
As the Oklahoma marching band’s rendition of “Sweet Victory” filled Memorial Stadium, everything was in place on the field.
More than 300 Pride of Oklahoma members formed a perfect pattern from one goal line to the other during an elaborate performance for the game against Kansas State. The sharp tweet of a whistle kicked off songs from familiar TV shows. Crimson and cream flags waved in unison under the stadium’s bright lights.
One critical element was absent — a crowd, unless you count a few carboard cutouts. Instead of entertaining tens of thousands of Sooners fans live on a Saturday afternoon, the band put its show together in an empty stadium on a Thursday night — the trumpets’ bells covered amid concerns about spittle, not far behind the batontwirlermoving effortlessly in the middle of it all.
The band isn’t allowed on the field at games due to the pandemic, so Brian Britt, Oklahoma’s director of bands, has decided to record performances in advance and have themplayed on the big screen during games. It’s a way to keep some semblance of the pageantry that has largely been lost in this unusual season.
Marching bands, part of the game since its beginning more than a century ago, are idled or toned down across the country. They won’t be able to perform in front of the usual crowds. Some are performing in reduced numbers and others are doing virtual performances.
Many can’t get together to create the family-like atmosphere they are known for because of class size limitations and social distancing rules on campus.
“Much of what makes our band experience special has been altered, and you can really feel it,” Oklahoma drum major Paxton Leaf said.
At Ohio State home games, marching band members stream onto the field to forma cursive Ohio known as “ScriptOhio.” After theword is fully formed, a tuba player struts over to “Dot the i,” and the crowd roars.
That won’t happen this year. Although football recently has been given the go-ahead in the Big Ten, the conference isn’t allowing bands to perform on the field.
“My heart especially goes out to those who were slated to dot the i this year in the script Ohio,” Ohio State director of bands Chris Hoch said. “Those seniors — some of them who have been working for this since they started playing tuba in fourth or fifth grade — aren’t going to have that opportunity this year.”
In the past, Oklahoma’s band has come together for weekly meals. That is gone. The crowds at games are a fourth of their usual size, eliminating of the energy they usually generate.
It’s not the same, but at least it’s something.
“For all of our seniors, it was really important to get this done,” Leaf said. “It felt like the rug got yanked from underneath us in March. We were getting ready for everything to start and of course, everything started to happen all at once.”