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The Top 10 Things To Do Right Now


            To Clean Your Marching Band




            Bob Chreste


                                                                                     –
              Now that many of us are knee-deep  the As, all of the Bs, and all of the Cs  #7   Create Show Exercises
            in marching season, we are always  can make rehearsing stagger breathing   We all do music fundamentals and
            looking for ways to make our bands  more efficient.                  marching fundamentals to develop our
            better. The following ten tips are                                   student’s skills. By creating exercises
                                                   –
            not necessarily in a specific order of  #9   Choose the “Hits”       based on aspects of your show, you
            importance. All of these tips have   Choose approximately five moments  can further develop necessary skills
            equal importance to help create a  in your show that you will allow the  for your show. If you have a few
            cleaner and more successful marching  students to expand their comfort zone  rhythms  that are  either repetitive  or
            band.                             dynamically. The students must be  that many of your students must be
                                              allowed out discover where the point  able to play well, create an articulation
                 –
            #10   Create Stagger              is that their tone begins to distort.  or  style  exercise.  It  can  be  done  on
            Breathing Parts                   These should be the only moments in  either Concert F or Bb and then you

              Stagger breathing is an important  the show where they get to push their  can choose to repeat it ascending or
            part  of  creating  the  “wall  of  sound”  volume to create a dynamic impact.  descending. It’s also recommended that
            with your  marching  band. This is  All other moments of the show can be  immediately  following the  exercise,
            helpful not only for you impact  brought down to focus on contrast,  the students play through the actual
            moments, but for keeping energy in  clarity, style, balance, etc. These “hits”  excerpt that the exercise is based off
            the sound throughout all of your  must be rehearsed on a daily basis,  of. If you have specific dynamic effects
            phrases. Since the brass section is  and can be done only on air. It is  that occur, you can create a long
            the most audible part of the wind  possible to play loud with quality;  tone exercise to mimic those dynamic
            section, they should be your primary  however, it takes daily practice and  effects. Again, immediately following
            focus  for  creating  stagger  breathing  patience from the band director.  the exercise, the students should play
            parts. It’s recommended that you                                     through the excerpt that the exercise
                                                   –
            break each part into three parts. For  #8   Do the Math              is based off of.
            example: Trumpet 1A, Trumpet 1B,    In order to help clean your drill,
                                                                                     –
            Trumpet  1C,  Trumpet  2A,  Trumpet  “do the math” to figure out subsets to  #6   Adjust Your Setup
            2B, Trumpet 2C, etc. The tempo and  help your students understand step   Rather than having your band
            volume will dictate how long each  size and pathways. You can use the  always warmup in their section, create
            student should play on one breath.  yard lines as your reference points to  a mixed setup so that  they are not
            Generally, a student should play for  help give the students a checkpoint  standing near someone that plays the
            7-10 beats before a breath. If their  during the middle of a set. By helping  same instrument. This will no longer
            part is rhythmic, they should leave  students figure out their yard line  allow the students to “hide” in their
            out notes to breathe.  If their  part is  crossing counts, this will give them  section. For the director, it will be
            more long note based, they should  the ability to create a more even step  easier to provide feedback to a specific
            sneak out, take a breath, and then  size. As students learn to be more  student since it will be more obvious
            sneak back in. Students should not  consistent with their step size, the drill  where a comment is needed. If four
            “clip” notes off to breathe on bar  will become more readable.       trumpets  are  standing  together  and
            lines. Creating similar parts for all of                             one student is not matching style with



            Bandmasters Review • September 2018              21                            Texas Bandmasters Association
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