You see them every Football Saturday. The Big House erupts when they take the field. They perform as a flawless unit in which all individuals are constantly aware of where they are on the field, what their next move is and everything that's happening around them. They practice daily even in the harshest weather and undergo extensive training. They are some of the University’s most talented students. And no, they’re not on the football team.

The Michigan Marching Band has been a crucial part of the University’s fabric since 1896, and for many football fans, the band is just as important to the Big House experience as the game. The band is collected, cohesive and professional when we see it on the field. But we all know that the complex halftime shows don't just happen with the wave of the drum major’s baton. What goes into producing a new show each week? And how is the band so damn good? It all rests on the effort and dedication of its members.

Anyone who lives south of Hill Street has probably heard the Marching Band brazenly practicing every day. And anyone near Elbel Field at 4:45 p.m. on a weekday will hear the sound of drums pounding in unison while brassy scales grow louder and louder over thumping rhythms. Practice begins each day with a half hour of music rehearsal. The band members usually receive their show music several days before gameday so they have sufficient time to memorize their parts.

During last Monday's practice, all 328 students in the Marching Band stood in arched rows around the 50-yard line. The musicians stood attentively, watching the conductor for his signal. Band members brought their instruments to their lips in perfect unison to play a new song together for the first time. At first, the resulting music was good, but nothing spectacular. But by only the third run through, it sounded almost perfect.

The music for the band’s last show — an opera-themed routine for the Delaware State game — was musically intricate, and luckily the band had an unusually large amount of time (two weeks, instead of the typical one) to prepare for it. Even still, every show has to be memorized and performed while the band is in motion, adding a certain amount of difficulty to the performances. Because of this added performative dimension, band members must have a great amount of dedication to learn the music off of the field so they can perform their choreographed parts well when they take the field.

“(The students) are just so motivated to be in this band — they’re just so positive about the energy they bring every day,” said Scott Boerma, Director of Michigan Marching and Athletic Bands. “They bring the commitment to excellence; they bring the understanding of the tradition of this band that goes back to over a hundred years of tradition.”

"They’re carrying on a legacy that came before them and they understand that and they take it very seriously,” he added.

Music is only half of what Marching Band is about. Drill — the actual marching and formations displayed on the field — takes up the rest of the practice. Between drill sets, the Marching Band looks like any other bunch of kids decked out in mostly maize and blue hoodies and sweatpants. They just happen to be carrying around trombones and saxophones. Once they hear the drum major's whistle, however, the band members chant in unison, raise their instruments and become a single, unified entity.

The 275 members that march the halftime show trace the same path and play the same measures over and over until the formation exactly mirrors what was mapped out on paper. Graduate students and other students in leadership positions walk the practice field and correct those who are out of line while faculty members stand at the top of a tower overseeing the field and occasionally yelling out directions and reminders to individuals.

Despite the hard work everyone puts into the Marching Band, no one seems to grow sick of it.