Case Study on Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Marching Band from 1998-2011

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) marching bands have been at the forefront of entertaining crowds at football games for many years, from the innovative techniques in marching and maneuvering to orchestral arrangements of classical to popular music that capture the hearts of all music enthusiasts. The band that exemplifies this is the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) marching band, better known as the incomparable ‘Marching100.’ This world-famous marching band has performed on numerous occasions, such as the Super Bowl, Rose Bowl, and the President's Inaugural parades. A qualitative research case study will examine the halftime pageantry in the first stage. The music played during this era in the second and third stages will focus on the influence of popular music in the FAMU marching band during this era. In some counties in Florida, many schools want a glimpse of the style and musical artistry that the FAMU ‘Marching 100’ band can bring to their music programs; this can range from musical selections to cultural dances. There is a void of scholarly writing addressing the HBCU marching bands, and there is a shortage of references that guide one through the style of an HBCU marching band. At the end of this publication, the goal is to address the needs of music, culture, and pageantry while highlighting the service of entertainment for various activities in the school and community. FAMU’s marching band uses many cultural connections to inspire its fans and community. Findings from this publication will serve as an outlook on FAMU and the repertoire of the halftime pageantry. The researcher will display musical selections from 1988-2011 in this publication. Since numerous recording and camera angles exist, the researcher will only display complete halftime shows from YouTube. Discoveries from the videos will express the student-driven/ cultural experiences involved in selected literature to perform in the FAMU marching band. The researcher must document FAMU and HBCU cultures to understand this part of American history. Continued research on HBCU marching bands that can express their culture and community connections must be conducted.