By Tim Hurlburt // Assistant Director of Bands
While Tiger Band has always had a healthy respect for our heritage and traditions, we also keep an eye on the future and have a national reputation for innovation. The long reach of our high-tech society has helped Tiger Band grow, improve and become more efficient. Gone are the days of tracing formations onto graph paper and carrying around binders full of drill charts and musical scores. “The Band That Shakes the Southland” is all-in with the technology boom.
COMPUTER SOFTWARE
All of the music played and drill marched by Tiger Band is written by Directors Dr. Mark Spede and Tim Hurlburt. Finale, a music notation software, lets the user manipulate the music into a clean, printable format.
Using a midi-interface, the user can also use an electronic keyboard to input music to the program and listen to what they are writing in real time. Pyware, a drill-writing software, allows the user to create the formations you see the marching band creating on the field. The writer can watch an animation of the drill being performed from multiple angles and the program even generates individual coordinates for every performer and every position they have during the entire show.
The Tiger Band staff also uses Photoshop and Premiere from the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite to edit the photo and video media. All of the recording and audio editing is done with Pro Tools.
GADGETS
All of the information that we need for rehearsal is stored and accessed via four iPads. We use them to quickly and efficiently take attendance, display all rehearsal tools, like drill charts and musical scores, and play computer-generated recordings while we learn new drill. All of our paperwork is also stored on the tablets, making travel much easier.
We have a wide variety of audio tools in our technology arsenal, all used for different reasons. We use a different set of microphones and audio interfaces for recording versus what we use for sound reinforcement in the stadium. Tiger Band even has multiple sound systems for use at the rehearsal field, for special on-field performances or a more portable version for other venues.
MEDIA
The Tiger Band staff includes two videographers and a photographer who all use state-of-the-art equipment. Our newest addition to the media family is our drone camera that can hover hundreds of feet above our rehearsal and take full HD video and high-quality pictures, which has proven to be a valuable tool in getting the formations “just right.”
The band’s footprint also extends to the internet and social media. We encourage you to visit our webpages to stay up to date with “The Band That Shakes the Southland!”
Website – Clemson.edu/TigerBandPhotos – TigerBandMedia.comTwitter – @CUTigerBand
April 17, 2024
