Dartmouth College Marching Band
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The Dartmouth College Marching Band (abbr. DCMB) is an organization of Dartmouth College.
About the DCMB
The Dartmouth College Marching Band was formed during the 1889 football season.,[1] making it the oldest in the Ivy League. Since the 1960s, the DCMB has been a "scatter band"[2] like every Ivy League marching band except Cornell's band.
During the fall, the band attends all home football games and one away game.[3] For the pre-game and halftime of each game, the band writes a script, intended to be humorous, which is read over the loudspeaker as the band scrambles into a formation which relates to the jokes in the script. During the football game, the band plays during offensive first downs, defensive third downs, and after any points are scored, and supplies various chants and songs.
Once football season is over, the DCMB remains active by acting as a pep band at hockey and basketball games,[4][5] as well as by playing at various special events on campus such as Winter Carnival.[6][7] The band also performs "Bandygrams" for Valentine's Day, allowing other students to request romantic songs be played at their friends, lovers, or enemies around campus.[8]
Historically, the band included a kazoo section as well as a "liquid percussion" section, in which kegs and jugs were used as percussion instruments.[9]
While the band does have official faculty representatives, the organization is primarily student-run. The "Big 4" of the band consist of the President, Vice President, Drum Major, and Assistant Drum Major.
Traditions and history
The band continues to play the old fight songs that have been played at football games for nearly a century. These songs include "Dartmouth's in Town Again," "Come Stand Up Men," "As the Backs Go Tearing By," and "Glory to Dartmouth" – collectively known as the "Dartmouth Tunes" or "DT's". The conclusion of each game is cause to play the
In the week before classes begin, the members of the DCMB flock to campus for band camp where members refresh their musical abilities, as well as marching abilities since the band needs to look its best when marching on and off the field and around town in order to not distract from the ensemble's impeccable playing and scrumptious comedy.
Every Dartmouth Night Weekend, the band doubles in size as alumni return wearing sweaters knitted by the Faculty Advisor's wife, and march with the band. Some alumni have come back for more than 50 homecomings. The band demonstrates its only fancy marching during the halftime show, as band members march directly into a "D" formation.
For the senior game, DCMB senior members do a pants-less run across the field and perform the rest of the halftime show without pants.[11]
Song repertoire[citation needed]
The song repertoire consists primarily of pop and classic rock as well as some TV and movie theme music, though new additions are constantly being added by students. Some of the band's most played songs include:
- Dartmouth Tunes (DT's):
- "Dartmouth's in Town Again"
- "Come Stand Up Men"
- "As the Backs Go Tearing By"
- "Glory to Dartmouth"
- "Alma Mater" (formerly known as "Men of Dartmouth")
- The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "The Impression That I Get"
- Walk the Moon - "Shut Up and Dance"
- Smash Mouth - "All Star"
- Bruce Channel - "Hey! Baby" (from Dirty Dancing)
- Richard O'Brien - "Time Warp" (from The Rocky Horror Picture Show)
- The Foundations - "Build Me Up Buttercup"
- Cascada - "Everytime We Touch"
- Wilson Pickett - "Land of 1000 Dances"
References
- ^ "Dartmouth's 'Scatter' Band Adds Zest, Humor to Sports Events | Dartmouth". home.dartmouth.edu. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
- ^ "Dartmouth College Marching Band". Archived from the original on 2013-09-26.
- ^ "DCMB - Schedule". dcmb.dartmouth.edu. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
- ^ "Valley News - With schedule done, the season really begins for Dartmouth men's hockey". Archived from the original on 2020-03-01.
- ^ "As Winter term kicks off, pep band gets in tune".
- ^ "Dartmouth Winter Carnival | Photographs". 16 December 2010.
- ^ "Multimedia".
- ^ a b "Dartmouth College Marching Band". Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
- ^ "Kegs, kazoos and spirit: It's the marching band".
- ^ a b "DCMB - Directorate". dcmb.dartmouth.edu. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
- ^ "Valley News - Heart-Stoppers: Dartmouth Improves to 5-0". Archived from the original on 2018-10-24.