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The Top 10 Things To Do Right Now
To Clean Your Marching Band
Bob Chreste
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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
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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
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#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
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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,
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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