Marching bands more than music and marching

Marching bands more than music and marching

By Tri Hafiningsih

JAKARTA (JP): A marching band performance is real
entertainment, not just music and marching around. It is a
mixture of music, color, skill and attractions.

The music makes you want to sing or dance rather than march
around. At least that was what attracted the audience of the
Grand Prix Marching Band (GPMB) 2000 at the Senayan Indoor
Stadium, last weekend. The audience clapped, cheered and sang
along with the performing bands.

Almost all kinds of music were played in the performances of
20 marching bands across the country. Pop, jazz, rock n'roll or
R&B were mixed with ballads, classical or orchestral music. Slow,
jazzy tunes were blended with fast, marching numbers in the
bands' repertoires. Even features of traditional gamelan and
dances were included in some of the bands' attractions.

The colorful displays of the musicians and guards are not easy
to forget. The show presented by the skilled musicians of Pupuk
Kaltim Marching Band won the most applause. The ballet
choreography during the slow number Bahasa Kalbu (Language of the
Heart by popular singer Titi Dwi Jayati) was one of many
attractions that won the band from Bontang, East Kalimantan, the
first place in the 16th grand prix.

Making a great show involving over 100 people, however, is not
easy.

Members of the Santa Ursula Marching Band had to put up with
hectic schedules of music and marching practices in the last
three months. They had to spend the holidays after the mid-term
tests in a training center to be ready for the Ben-Hur repertoire
they had to perform. The 12-minute show, which was adapted from
the 1959 classic movie, took at least five months to prepare.

Being a member of a marching band is also hard work. For Rima,
a first year student at the University of Indonesia, practicing
her skills would mean not only long, boring hours of marching and
basic music practice, but also literally hard work requiring
stamina as the student band's "helper". This "squad" of helpers
is responsible for arranging the stage or field to be ready for
the show within minutes. They have to push the wheeled xylophones
and carry the timpanies, cymbals, cow-bells and other standing
percussions, called the pit instruments, to the right spot. They
are also responsible for bringing the flags and other accessories
and arranging them in the required spot on the stage. During the
GPMB 2000, Rima and around 30 fellow helpers had only three
minutes to set up the stage.

Everyone should know exactly what to do and everything should
be exactly in place, Rima said.

It would take several months more of working as a helper
before she could be one a member of the Madah Bahana Marching
Band (MBUI) musicians. There would be time when she will stand
before an applauding audience, after a successful performance.
Her seniors gave an attractive performance of a jazzy upbeat
number entitled Cantina Band, ala Sing, Sing, Sing by Louis Prima
for their closing piece at the grand prix.

Meanwhile she has to be content with playing her mellophone
only in practice sessions and being a ready helper during the
band's shows. "For the time being, I will just be wherever the
band performs," Rima said.

Training

Setting a training schedule for such a big band is another
complicated task.

Members of the Garuda Indonesia band, who come mostly from
lower-income families, had to really squeeze both their time and
money to attend the routine rehearsals.

"Some of our members come from Bogor, Sukabumi, Yogya, even
Surabaya. It's never easy for them to set aside the time and
money to come here," said one of the band's supervisors.

"We didn't have enough time for many training sessions, and we
couldn't afford training centers," said Oktariadi, adding that
the more prosperous members of the band helped the less fortunate
ones by providing meals and accommodation during the training
sessions.

Though many of their members had no educational background in
music, Okta said, they had the discipline and eagerness to work
hard like professionals.

"They seem to have extra discipline and stamina to train in
music and marching displays," he said.

The repertoire of the Garuda Indonesia Flight Drums and Bugle
Corps in the GPMB event was taken from a popular play Miss
Saigon. The attractive display of the band was supported by
shiny, colorful costumes of the musicians and color guards. They
received good applause from the spectators.

Worthwhile

The hardship of training for a successful marching band
performance is always worthwhile.

A great show is a visualized form of hard, skilled training,
discipline, and teamwork of all members of the band, said
Kirnadi, a leading band master and trainer.

"It's a harmony between a person's musical and visual
creativity," he said, adding that the marching band training was
part of an education to improve a person's self esteem,
leadership and communication skills.

Despite all the great performances of the bands, the marching
band competition failed to attract many spectators. People in the
audience who were glued to their seats were mostly close
relatives of the performers, including parents, brothers, sisters
friends or former members.

Marching band shows are still not popular, said the chief of
the organizing committee, Lisa Ayodhia.

"Many people still think such shows are not worth watching.
It's actually a lot more than just music and marching. It's real
entertainment," she said. Marching band activities, she said
still need a lot of promotion across the country.