By Benna Sayyed
The black college marching band embodies a mix of excitement, creativity, soul and breathtaking rhythm. It is music. There are the dance girls and majorettes gliding across the green, executing amazingly synchronized dance moves to accompany the musicianship of band members.
The selection might be contemporary, funk, classical, R&B and Hip-Hop. It is this showmanship in the arena that competitions such as the Honda Battle of the Bands have become extremely fierce showdowns for musical supremacy.
So what initiated this unique style of entertainment that is produced on the campuses of America’s Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)?
The roots of these bands stretch back into the years of the American Revolutionary war, when free blacks were required by law to serve in the military. Prohibited from carrying weapons due to colonial fears of an insurgence, they served solely as drummers, trumpeters and fifers.
As the first half of the 19th century progressed, military musical companies started expanding their repertoire, and introduced more versatility in their ensembles, which enabled them to provide entertainment to various social functions besides fulfilling military duties. This established a stronger link with the public. The conclusion of the Civil War brought an end to many black regimental bands, and as a result, a good portion of these bandsmen joined civilian bands or found gigs with touring road shows. As the last quarter of the 1800s began, marching bands had completely blended into mainstream America.
Brass bands, which had concurrently become popular, a surplus of inexpensive military wind instruments, and the prevalent accessibility of black military-trained musicians, enabled the marching band tradition to thrive in black communities as well. Following the Civil War, recently emancipated blacks throughout the South seeking economic and social advancement, strove to matriculate into newly founded black educational institutions that began to sprout in the region.
Within these flourishing schools, small bands were created to assist in recruiting students, and collect funds for programs. A few of the first black collegiate bands were the Florida A&M State Collegians, the Alabama State Collegians and the Kentucky State Collegians. Although students informally conducted a good amount of these budding musical groups, they developed into professional companies in time. Many military band members returning home from World War I were offered jobs in the growing music departments of black schools. These early HBCUs also hired skilled musicians who traveled with the minstrel troupes and vaudeville companies, which had been performing since the mid 19th century.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the music programs of HBCUs significantly developed. The powerfully syncopated, dynamic rhythms characteristic of black military bands, rural and municipal brass bands, minstrel bands, and concert bands, transformed into an innovative marching band tradition on HBCU grounds all over the South. As the 1960s commenced, this distinctive manner of performance among HBCU marching bands prevailed, setting them apart from their musical counterparts at predominantly white universities.
Over the years, HBCU marching bands have not only tremendously increased in size, but have also improved their quality of music. Richard F. Lee, Director of Bands at Texas Southern University, pointed out that at times spectators become so captivated by the show techniques, they forget about the music.
“We’ve gotten better musically also. Because the music has changed quite a bit to the hip-hop culture, the music doesn’t sound like it is as intricate as it used to be, so to speak. The audiences just like to hear different types of music, and it is a polyrhythmic type of structure that creates an interest to the audience,” said Lee.
According to Lee, who has spent around 32 years teaching music at HBCUs, a black college marching band such as TSU’s Ocean of Soul, differs from a band of a mainstream university in that it provides a little more excitement by using various show band techniques such as spins and high stepping. He said that other university bands follow a strict core style closely associated with the military, which is totally OK, but simply offers a different form of excitement than an HBCU marching band.
“Here at Texas Southern we’re known for our kaleidoscopic precision drill, our stellar stereophonic sound, our dazzling dynamic dance routine, and many of the HBCUs have somewhat of that same format. For audiences in general it’s exciting, but especially for African American audiences because of the predominance of the drum section,” said Lee.
He mentioned that these illustrious drum lines, which are truly dear to the band, are able to perform for about an hour playing the same note, piling rhythms on top of each other. This spectacle especially appeals to the black culture. Lee said that the Ocean of Soul improves the image of TSU from the standpoint of being an excellent ensemble.
Accordingly, since it is a marching band, the largest and most visible ensemble on campus, it receives more media attention than most other university entities that are unable to gain the same type of press unless it is for something negative. Furthermore, the Ocean of Soul gets a chance to display the good side of TSU.
“We’re ambassadors for the university. Music is a universal language that everybody likes. It gives us a chance to speak to segments of the population that may not have even known of Texas Southern had it not had been for our musical ensemble and more specifically the Ocean of Soul,” he said.
Twenty-one-year-old Rieko Brent, a tenor saxophonist currently completing his third year as a member of the Ocean of Soul, said that plenty of things have inspired him to become a marching musician. His father also plays the sax; and his mother strongly conveyed her hopes of him following in his father’s footsteps. After beginning his musical career in middle school, he joined the marching band in high school, and became even more inspired to pursue music.
Brent said that it is sometimes hard to articulate the differences between HBCU marching bands and their counterparts when you do not really know what is actually happening in the next college.
“I think this HBCU has good alumni support, a very strong alumni support when it comes down to our musicianship, what we do, and what we do for our community. Our community just loves us. It really likes seeing what we do; the people like to support us by attending our performances, sending us money and driving distances,” he said.
Brent said that his mother drives from his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, to other states to watch him perform.
“I love mostly just the thrill of performing and seeing how much I can push myself when I’m tired and can’t go any longer, but I’m still doing it. That’s the biggest thing for me, besides seeing the crowd applaud, seeing that they’re happy that we gave them a good show.”
Benna Sayyed is a San Francisco native. He lives in Houston.
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