Marching By The Numbers

Marching By The Numbers

Take a look at some of the unbelievable numbers regarding drill coordinates for marching bands.

Jan 27, 2017 by Michael Gilley
Music City: One Final Run For Finis
Drill coordinates can get tricky for any marching band. It's all a matter of understanding geometry and numbers. But some of the numbers regarding marching can be staggering.

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48,000

That is the square footage of a football field. The field measures 100 yards from goal line to goal line and 53 yards 1 foot from side line to side line.

160

If you marched a perfect 22.5 inch 8:5 step it would take you 160 steps to go from goal line to goal line.

85.33

Again, marching a perfect 8:5 step size, if you started on the front side line and marched to the back it would take you just over 85 steps.

13,652

If you laid a grid made of points that were 22.5 inches apart, there would be just over 13,652 points on the field.

20,250

It's not uncommon for DCI groups to have 150-200 dots for each show. If you had 135 members on the field marching with 150 dots, that means there will be a total of 20,250 coordinates memorized for a 12 minute show.

40,000

In 2015, Allen H.S. in Texas has 800 members as of the 2015 marching season including the dance team. If they only have 50 dots per member, that is 40,000 coordinates for 1 show.

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