I'm an old guy who grew up and still lives in Columbus = Ohio States home , I will say there are many good college bands . But None do shows like the TBDBITL ! There are other great videos of them but my favorite is the 2014 NFL London game at Wembley Stadium pre-game show , the entire show is great but at the end they do Script Ohio , the Greatest tradition in college football.
@@paulharrold Exactly!! That's why they're The Best Damn Band In The Land!!! Lifelong Ohioan now living along the border in South Texas but still huge Buckeyes fans!
@@Ignats75most musicians memorize their music after enough practice through muscle memory. I can still play songs on guitar and piano from my high school days, 20 years ago, after not touching a piano in over 10 years. Not as good but it comes back to you pretty quick.
As a former band kid, alot of people dont realize the passion and drive that we have when we do this. MONTHS of Practice. HUNDREDS of hours making sure we hit our spots. Memorizing the music. its ALOT of work. I wouldnt trade my time as a band kid for anything in the world. It was such an amazing experience
I am 78 yrs.old and also a former band member I played 3 different clarinets from 4th grade thru high school and also had the pleasure of playing with Kent States band while in high school... Best time of my life and brought me many memories. I have to say we had the best band teacher/instructor🎶 Mr.Milton Shaw.Love watching TBDBITL Ohio State. Love your comment. Bye from Ohio🌹
As a former band kid, I agree. My bandmates were the people I spent the most time with. So much dedication and passion it takes. And if even 1 person messes up the set, everyone will notice.
Have to confess, as an Ohioan (with a brother deep in Michigan country - poor lad married a girl from there, mixed marriages are always difficult but the families have found a midway peace point. At least once I found little girl cheerleader costumes from both teams, cut them up the middle and sewed them together. Turns out if you put your 3 year old niece with big blue eyes and her hair with ribbons from both teams in her pigtails, the guys have to stop fighting at the Thanksgiving table. Yes, I have/will/do use children in family wars.) it's one of the things I appreciate about most Michigan folks (don't tell any Ohioans, I'll lose my card! 😁) the football team fights will kick up a hell of a ruckus in the parking lot - but ya'll still are respectful to the band. For that, I'll give a compliment (not about the teams, I'll get BOTH sides of my family after my head for the betrayal!) but damn ya'll make great fudge and your Zoo is almost, if not better than, even the San Diego zoo! But don't tell anyone I said something nice, I have to see family this weekend and I just can't deal with the yelling! lol
@@butterbeansc I wish you fully understood the rivalry we have. It’s the best thing ever. I love hating Ohio State and they love hating us it’s the best
I mean to be fair, it's Ohio what else will they spend their time on? Irish dance? Well I did anyway, F football I trained in the dance under Ann Richens lol
This is why The Ohio State University Marching Band is also known as "The Best Damn Band in the Land!" The stadium is only 10 minutes away from my home and can have over 100,000 people in the stands. That second one was the "Eye of Sauron" from The Lord of the Rings.. Many reactors mistakenly think it is a handbag.. LOL
The suckeye band can't hold a candle to the Real Best Damn Marching Band in the Country which is from a Real University.. University of Michigan. Go Blue ! The only people that consider the Suckeye band better are the delusional suckeye fans.
I-O.. Yeah shame that Mt Carmel West Hospital building is abandoned and now moved to Grove City Ohio. I was not born here i was born and raised in Atlanta Georgia and have lived here since 1995.@@jeremiahmasterson1661
Point to remember. That football stadium is NOT for Professional Football. It is on the campus of Ohio State University. It is used for COLLEGE football games. It just happens to be the fifth largest sports stadium in the World. It has a capacity of 102,780 !
I'm Sebian immigrant and I saw FIESTA BOWL game in yr. 2,000 with (#1 ranked) Ohio State vs. (#2 ranked) Florida State in Tempe, AZ. I saw both marching bands performing and parading through the streets od Tempe, the night prior to the game. In military back home I was in marching band, and we were very good - but those two marching bands, especially the Ohio State really blew my mind! It was experience of a lifetime!
What always astounds me as that the marchers are playing their musical instruments while simultaneously remembering the choreography. I could never do that!
Both of my daughters were "band weenies" (their words), in high school. Those kids work their butts off starting in July, in south Texas to be up to speed for football season. All the bands perform on friday nights but also compete in music contests and state wide marching contests. I had a total of six years of being a band parent. Wouldn't trade it for the world.
I did it in high school, in Michigan. Hot in the beginning and winter coats and mittens by the end. Playing piccolo in mittens isn’t easy but I managed. Yes, we worked our butts off.
Ohio State band also does a really nice tribute to Michael Jackson. Maybe someone else can confirm or correct me but I am pretty sure this band does a new show every home game. So they would be learning/performing a new routine every couple of weeks.
I live in Dublin, OH, and know someone who was in the OSU marching band. They all have their own Ipads they are required to study to learn the formation, and if they dont, they are replaced. This isn't everyone in the marching band, everyone has a replacement like a football team. If you aren't good enough someone will take your place.
The person the dinosaur ate was a Michigan player (our big rival) -- that's also their ship we sank!! LOL The movie you didn't know was Lord of the Rings!!
Marching band kids are badass. Having to be perfectly in sync while marching in complicated formations, while playing instruments that *also* have to be in perfect sync, and some of those instruments are *heavy*! Most of us couldn’t do it, that’s for damn sure.
Speaking from just high school marching band experience , many hours are devoted to practice. From a college level ( which I did not do), practice is even more intense with longer hours devoted to it since every week there is a different theme. From what I understand , the competition to even get into this marching is at a very high level. Proud to say that I live in Columbus, and that my husband and 2 of my sons are OSU graduates. 🙂
We started to learn marching as young as the 6th grade (so that would be around 11ish years old). We were able to be “band-aides” to the high school marching band, so we’d run around and hold sheet music for soloists, lay out flags, hand out water, etc etc. It gets engrained in you! For our high school halftime shows, we would start every year with Band Camp, which would be like a 2 week crash course where the upperclassmen would teach the freshmen the basics. Then we would move on to learning the show. The directors had a special program where they could input the formations and it would print out our spots, and then section leaders would be in charge of going and spray painting the dots out on the practice field. We would have a TON of colors and that’s how you’d know where to go. And as you go over and over and over and over it, you just start memorizing it. And then that doesn’t even count the classroom and afterschool hours, where we’d have to play and memorize the music. We’d have to play by memory for test grades every Friday morning, also. You couldn’t remember it, you didn’t march. Band was tough, but I wouldn’t change it for the world! We had the best times!!!
I've had the privilege of marching on that field with my high school band twice. There's nothing like being there as a band. OSU's Marching Band is widely known.
In the movie where the little girl notice Clark Kent racing the train - the woman that played the girl's mother was the actress that played Lois Lane in the TV series with George Reeves.
At the college level, I have never seen the same show twice performed by the marching bands there. Which means they are learning this choreography and music all in a week!
That really frustrated me when I did it in college. Ohio State does it well, but I find that in general it's hard to put on a show you're proud of in that amount of time.
They don't learn it in a week, they learn them over time but have to be ready for each week as well. Plus the band is large with certain people learning different things to lead others for the show.
I marched for two years. It is a labor of love. You learn to march to where we are all basically taking the same size steps and are not bouncing when we move. You learn your position and keep it by also keeping notice of the people beside and in front of you. Practice here would start in June or July. And like in a previous post, we worked our butts off in 100° weather. We went out of town to a band camp and actually was there for five or six days working on shows for about eight hours a day. Then it was also part of my coursework and part of my training to do this after classes each day. It isn’t easy, but the end result is always exciting. It was fun watching your reaction when this is some thing that is outside of your norm. I guess as an American we just are accustomed to the pageantry.
These kids have literally a book of moves (somewhere around 36 or 38) that they must learn to memory. The director of the band will watch them during practice in the commentator booth. He will direct them where they are having trouble getting into position correctly. The work that these students put into learning not only the moves but the music is crazy and unbelievable. There is a rather lengthy documentary about the band and how the kids audition, how they are chosen and how they practice. I think the documentary is "The Best Damn Band In The Land" which is what the OSU band is known by, or TBDBITL.
I was in marching band in high school. For one football half time show we payed 99 Luftballoons and were split into 3 groups in the shape of balloons and had to "float" across the fit. The entire process uses the lines on the field so we all ended up in the correct spaces. It took a lot of practice to march, play our instruments and not have a collision with other members as we "floated" across the field. We memorized the music of course and the rest was just being in the right place at the right time. The director had the entire thing graphed out on paper for each if us.
There is an amazing amount of hard work and practice they go through to be this phenomenal. My son had marching band in highschool and he would have to practice 4 hours a day on school days and 8 hours on days he had no school for the first two months of school. Then they were able tob"relax" a bit by only practicing on school days, and doing football games on Saturdays, with Sundays off. I can't imagine how much harder these kids have to work to be this amazing. I have so much respect for marching band members. They really work so hard to be this good.
They actually did TWO Superman movies -- the symbol was "Superman" theme by John Williams, with Christopher Reeve; the saving the building was the "Man of Steel" theme by Hans Zimmer with Henry Cavil!
Band kids practice constantly months before football season starting in high school. They spend so many hours per week that they are excused from taking PE classes. The half time programs are so elaborate now days, that there are computer programs to plot to the shows.
The OSUMB rehearses every day for about 2 hours to learn these shows. This was the first year that we didn’t completely use paper charts. The squad leaders used a program called “drill book next” and the rest of us used paper charts until 2014 when everyone was issued an iPad after we were in an Apple commercial. This show was my 3rd year out of 5
I've lived in Ohio my whole life. The Ohio state marching band kicks ass. When they march in the bratwurst festival's queens parade the Saturday of the festival they're one of the bands I watch the parade for. The drum major throws that baton so high and how he catches it without missing it is amazing. I was in the marching band in school and it takes a lot of practice to get every note and step perfect. You miss one step or step too soon or late the whole routine is screwed. This is perfection.
These students are amazing. They do the figures, play their instruments while marching, and carry a full academic load. It is almost beyond believable what they do. Many high schools have marching bands as well, and schools like OSU recruit students with scholerships. I agree with you about the Super Bowl halftime show.
Our high school marching band was very competitive. We performed every Friday night at home and away football games, then had a competition almost every weekend . We traveled to regional and national marching band competitions. The skill and discipline that we learned was immeasurable!
@jessicageorge9136 I admire and respect what you and your classmates accomplished. It was truly outstanding. My high school had a marching band as well as extremely good choirs, jazz band, orchestra, etc. They put a lot of emphasis on extracuriicular actibities and especially music. I was in our choir, and we went to regionala every year and were invited to sing at many community events. This was back in the 1960s - i an old lady, 😊. But, those years growing up in a community like that with not only the music but being part of something where everyone contributed to somethimg bigger than each one but, without each one it wouldnt have been the same. I am forever grateful for those years. They did contribute to my future successes, and i continued to sing in my church and local choirs. It was all wonderful.
I agree with everyone else here. Being in marching band is a magical time in your life. As a student, you realize it's special, but when you have a child involved, you realize how truly amazing it is. The one you couldn't identify was the Eye of Sauron from LOTR. Our high school has an alumni band that performs every few years. It is always fun, and I can still play all the songs from high school - Horse, Long Train Running, Wipe Out, our fight song and our alma mater. I'm so glad you enjoy the band! Go Bucks!!!!
The movies they covered were 1) Superman, 2) Lord of the Rings, 3) Harry Potter, 4) Jurassic Park, 5) Pirates of the Caribbean For Lord of the Rings they formed the ring and then the Eye of Mordor watching from his tower.
Yes, that is amazing. The matching bands are the real athletes in those games. Marching, playing, and knowing where to go. You do that artistry the same way people get to Carnegie Hall. Practice, practice, practice.
Gotta reiterate how completely mind blowing it is that they are able to put on these amazing half time shows. College marching bands here in the USA are amazingly talented and there are others who do some great shows like this to check out. No doubt Ohio St is the best though...I'd say out of ones I've watched on here their tribute to video games show is probably my favorite but the Top Gun one is amazing for the material. Michael Jackson and Queen tributes are close and they have a cool one on here from Wembley in the UK. Definitely check some more of them out!!
The eye of sauron is associated with Lord of the Rings. In addition to what you said about the choreography and the music, they have only the time between games to learn it all, which is usually just 1 week, sometimes 2, which is the time between home games. They spend more time on the field during that time than the football team. Did you notice in the Jurassic Park section that a player in white was to the upper right of the big "10", and was soon eaten? He was a fictional player from the opposing team--U. of Michigan, as was the case in Pirates of the Caribbean.
I was in the band 6th-12th. Our high school band was quite prestigious, attending multiple competitions (winning all but one) as well as the Macy's Day Parade. We were allowed music sheets for so long, had to memorize the music and program as a whole. Enough repetitive performances and it becomes second nature. Incredible performance 👏.
Each band member memorizes their places, how many steps, big steps or small steps. Hundreds of hours of practice. There are marching bands in Canada too.
I’m Ohio born and raised and when I went to an Ohio v Michigan game, we stormed the field after winning and I managed to get a picture with some of the band members and boy they are TALL AS HELL lmao
For something completely different but just as impressive, search for The Fightn’ Texas Aggie Band 4-way cross. It’s a precision military drill band. The largest in the world with around 400 members. From Texas A & M University.
I was born and raised in Columbus, OH and have been around the Shoe (nickname for the stadium because of its shape). I’ve seen them in person and the talent is absolutely amazing. I’ve gone to school with someone who went to OSU at the same time and she played for the band. They go through a strenuous try out process before even being in the marching band.
1)The two circles and the Eye of Sauran (The Eye of Sauron is also called the Great Eye, the Eye of Barad-dûr, the Red Eye, the Lidless Eye, and the Evil Eye. Sauron's symbol of a lidless eye became an image that instilled fear across Middle-earth during the Third Age.) was from the movie Lord of the Rings. 2) Remember this is a football game (known as soccer in Europe) and the two teams of the team from Michigan against Ohio States. In the Jurastic Park, there is a man being eaten by the T-Rex and it is representing Michigan from the Ohio Marching Band. 3) Remember they are marching but many of them are also playing instruments while marching. 4) There is a person doing all kinds of tricks is essentially, a drum major is the leader who keeps the tempo with the use of a baton or other forms of time-keeping, such as conducting. The drum major often holds the responsibility to keep the band organized and structured. 5) As for Harry Potter, you guessed right. There are other videos of this amazing marching band like a tribute to Michael Jackson, movies, etc. They practice during the week and do their show on the weekends. Yes, the choreography is amazing.
Proud Ohioan here!! We have TBDBITL!! And the importance of the from major & the band member to "dot the i" is off the charts as well! The impressiveness of these talented people to PLAY MUSIC, MARCH, & DO A CHOREOGRAPHED ROUTINE IS BEYOND COMPREHENSION! ❤❤❤ #gobucks
I was part of Northwestern marching band. We had practice for hours every afternoon. A week of long days setting down basic routines. Every person’s every step are mapped out on charts that each person memorizes. My father directed a drill team and putting a routine together took a very long time.
I’m 62 and remember learning marching techniques in the 2nd grade. And my daughter was on color guard in high school which performed and competed with the marching band using flags, rifles and saber. By college these kids have been working on these skills for years.
It's funny seeing you so flabbergasted by this, when it happens at just about every high school on every Home Game on Friday night and at just about every college on a home game Saturday.
@@ryan_lloyd Hell, we have a whole group of people who do it competitively for fun! There are many Drum And Bugle Corps across the nation who do this kinda stuff all the time.
High school and college marching bands have competitions in which they are judged on their musical abilities, marching choreography, and originality. Hours and hours of music practice and hours of marching practice!
My office was right next to the OSU band practice field. As with most high schools, university band practice is several hours a day most of August which is our hottest month, averaging high 80s to 90s these days. Their practice sheets look like graph paper with their progressions marked. They do a new show every home game, so 5-8 a season including bowl games. Very fun hearing them in the background while working.
To be in marching band is very demanding and it takes discipline not only to do all that while playing your instruments is a whole new sport. Kudos amazing
This brings me back to high school Only 12000 population in town but we still had a huge marching band and the director was always coming to with crazy shows Not only did you learn the moves, but had to memorize all the songs, March in this damn wool uniforms, and to be in the band you had to keep your gpa up . There was a new routine each week, and ask that practice was on your own time after school. You learn alot of skills you don't realize at the time
Now imagine this is your local University, and you can attend any of the OSU games! That marching band has been Award Winning since long before I was born!! 😍
I'm in sec country & by far this is the Best band I've ever seen! Check out the Script Ohio for a great treat as well ... cannot believe they don't mess up😂
I LOVE MY BUCKEYES!!! THIS IS THE BEST DAMN BAND IN THE LAND (TBDBTL)! GO BUCKS O=H The 2 circles was Lord of the Rings, then Harry Potter, then Jurassic Park, then Pirates of the Caribbean!!
The OSU band is really amazing! Although I have not seen them in person, I have seen many videos! I have lived in Ohio all of my life and have been in the Columbus area since I have been an adult! OSU band has been doing these types of performances for as long as I have known! I am proud to live in Ohio!❤❤ Glad you are as amazed as I am!!❤❤
Hey, i live in Ohio, we LOVE our OSU football, however, we are also VERY proud of our band. They are referred to as the "Best Dam Band In The Land" of course dam is spelled the cuss word way, but i didn't want the post to get taken down. I think it is just as hard to become a band member as it is a football player (that is not fact, it is just my assumption. Glad you enjoyed it!!! I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. GO BUCKS!!! (it's a law that post that on every message🤣) (obviously kidding)
My HS school's Shaker Heights High School marching band has been the largest Marching Band in the state of Ohio...for years. They go overseas every 2 years and last year they played in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
There is a tradition during Ohio State that the "Ohio" is formed and the musicians march across the field and ... here's the "big finish" ... the drum major, a highly sought position, marches to a place just above the "i" in Ohio and "dots the i". and he wields his baton and high steps across the field. A big crowd pleser. Look for on RU-vid. I am a devoted Michigan fan but I have to tell you that these young people spend years in high school studying band and then in college, in all kinds of weather practicing, practicing, practicing and honing their skills and discipliines for these few minutes for our halftime pleasure.
We use the hash marks on the field, but it takes years of practicing our instruments (I was a tuba/sousaphone) to even be good enough to audition, 1000's of hours of marching practice, and the amount of teamwork and direction was incredible.
It shows what a great budget on top of all the hardworking and talent can do. My son was in the band at another college around this time…it happened to be the number one football team at the time. I forwarded this show to him and pondered that as good as his band did, how come they don’t have as amazing songs etc as this? His reply that the school put most of the budget into the football team and very little into the band where as OSU invests in the band program and pays for the music and choreography. He said if he’d known all of that ahead of time, he would have actually pushed to go there instead of where the highly ranked football team was. Bottom line, he still had fun playing with the band and learned a lot about the discipline and timing elements you talked about.
What makes this even more amazing is that the Band prepares a new half time show for every home game, so they will have had just one (possibly two) weeks to put this show on the field from scratch. That means memorizing all the music (they don’t carry music on the field), all the drill, and then getting them both onto the field into a performance like this. There is a sign in the Ohio State football team’s practice facility that is a quote from Ohio State’s legendary coach and huge OSU Marching Band fan Woody Hayes that reads “If we practice half as hard as our Band, we’ll be champions”. Says it all really.
Best marching band music was written by John Phillip Sousa. My favorite is Stars and Stripes Forever. It's on RU-vid played by the US Marine Corps Band.
I'm sure someone has already stated it, but OSU is one of the top college teams in the US, and their band is incredible. Pulling their formations off takes a LOT Of practice, but it really comes down to knowing what the people immediately around you are doing so you can hit your mark. OSU's formations show off their technical prowess given how they make the formation and then move with it. Also Mt. Doom = Lord of the Rings. I loved watching you react to my home state band. If you ever get a chance, check out my home town Marching 110 as well - Ohio University has "The Most Exciting Band in the Land".
I was a band kid in high school. I could only remember one field show. College field shows are on another level. Try checking West Virginia University halftime shows.
OhioState is a rival team, but even I have to admit…no one does it better than the Buckeyes. They were this good even in the 1970s. Well before they could plot it all out on computers….
