Ready for the Boom: Months of Preparation

The Hawkeye Marching Band is one of the largest student organizations on campus, holding nearly 200 auditions for new members each summer.

First-year band members are invited to campus the week before classes start for band camp. During this week of intensive training, members learn how to high-step and low-step—the first step toward getting all 250-plus members to march uniformly.

PHOTO courtesy hawkeye marching band Hawkeye Marching Band members drill down the basics before adding instruments.

Once their steps are in sync, students learn the drill for all seven halftime shows, master the pregame lineup, and rehearse the musical scores for the season. For the first 10-hour day, they don’t even touch their instrument.

“It’s definitely a long and tiring week,” says senior Jennifer Fairman, who leads the piccolo section, “but it’s such a fun week, and it’s so rewarding to see the hard work translate into the amazing dedication and commitment we have during the entire season.”

Halloween with the Marching Band

Whenever the Hawkeye Marching Band has an opportunity for fun, they're all in.

PHOTO: John Emigh

PHOTO: John Emigh

PHOTO: John Emigh

Preseason Plans

Preparation for the fall begins at the end of each season. When the uniforms are hung, instruments are packed, and classes are out of session, Director Eric Bush (15DMA) and five graduate assistants convene to brainstorm halftime shows for the following season. “We want to push the envelope,” says Bush. “Big Ten marching bands are leaders in that area, so we want to do things that haven’t been done before.”

This year, the team created and arranged the music for several shows, including a celebration of the Iowa-based musical The Music Man, magical moments from Disney’s Hercules, a workout movie montage, the 50th anniversary tribute to CAMBUS, and the drill for From Sea to Shining Sea. Grad student Kara Metzger also prepared a show in honor of pop divas (the band now refers to her as “Queen”).

A New Band Era

PHOTO courtesy hawkeye marching band Pyware is used to create marching band drills that are then transferred to band member's phones using an app called FlipFolder.

Gone are the days of flipping through drill books. The Hawkeye Marching Band now uses an app called FlipFolder, which connects to Bluetooth and syncs all members of the band to the same drill. Not only does the app show the score for the show, but it also loads the drill formation so band members can check their position on their phones during rehearsal. This is all possible with the invention of Pyware, a software that creates marching band drills. Pyware transforms the field into a grid, and once the formations are uploaded, the software can determine how many steps are needed to get from one position to the next for every member of the band.

A Place to Practice

PHOTO: Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex The Hawkeye Marching Band currently practices at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex.

For years, the melody of the “Victory Polka” and “Iowa Fight Song” echoed through City Park from an open field in the Manville Heights neighborhood, where the band held practice for two hours a day, five days a week. That all changed in 2014 when the band relocated to the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Center. The move gave the band a reliable place to practice and store its gear, as well as a level practice field and lookout tower for the director to see the band’s entire formation. The band is currently fundraising to further improve its practice space.

PHOTO: Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex Inside the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Center.

Before their two-hour practice sessions, band members throw footballs on the field, hand out Sour Patch Kids to anyone who walks by, and bond over their shared love of music.