 "Photo: Caleb Miller, Daily Texan Staff")
The Longhorn Band has begun to post videos of basic marching steps taught during annual summer clinics to its Web site. The clinics help those wanting to try out for the band to learn the moves necessary to succeed in auditions.
The instructional videos show various band maneuvers, including how to stand at attention while positioning your chin, arms and legs outward or inward to a certain degree measure, forward march, slide and box drill, which is a transition from forward march to slide. One movement unique to the Longhorn Band is the tap stride, which consists of rolling your foot down from the toe to the heel when marching.
John Brady, the band’s drum major and a civil engineering senior, said the videos are posted for students who are already admitted to the University and are looking to audition for the band.
“The motivation was to give people the chance to have access to clear instruction with clear maneuvers,” he said.
Brady said the Sudler Trophy, which is a national trophy given to college marching bands, can only be awarded to a college once and that the UT band was the fifth university to receive the award. The band has also performed at the inaugurations for presidents Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
To those who are unfamiliar with marching practices, the movements may seem difficult. But Longhorn Band Director Robert Carnochan said it is not difficult for band members because the majority of them are “familiar with the moves from their high school experience, so they only have to adapt to stylistic differences.”
Carnochan said the band members’ dedication to their performance is staggering and the UT community should be aware of the time members contribute to the band.
Carnochan said college marching bands try to avoid rivalries and concentrate on entertaining UT fans and supporting the football team.
Acceptance into the Longhorn Band, nicknamed the “Showband of the Southwest,” consists of two auditions. Aspiring members must play a musical selection before incorporating basic marching maneuvers, which must be learned before trying out.
Visit LonghornBand.org for more information.
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