50 Steps to a Better Marching Band

by Donald Green

As those associated with the marching band activity know, it's quite a task to coordinate music, movement
and auxiliary work into a unified field presentation. With band camp fast approaching, I began to focus on
the many tips and techniques I've picked up as a student, director and adjudicator to make that job go a
little more smoothly. Here are some ideas I've accumulated over the years that I will be using this fall with
the Duquesne University "Pride Of Duquesne" Marching Band, located in Pittsburgh, Penn. Our students
come from a wide variety of band programs - from highly competitive to "parade only" situations. These
points have been helpful in unifying these students into a common style. Hopefully you will find some of
these points useful, and add them to your teaching "bag of tricks."

1. If you can play in tempo, you can march in tempo.

2. Take all of the counts to get to your drill set.
3. Use subsets to clean drill. If it's a 32-count move, stop at 16, check the form, then go.
4. The auxiliary units should have the same marching basics as the winds and percussion, with slight
variations to allow for equipment and dance concerns.
5. Pulse is key. Use various devices (metronome and P.A. system, wood block, counting out loud) to set
and maintain tempo while learning and cleaning drill.
6. The integrity of the drill set comes first. All must adjust to make the "picture" work.
7. Teach only the techniques needed for your show. Don't waste time on counter-marching if you don't
use it in the show.
8. New directors: It takes 10 years to build a program and one year to wreck one.
9. As a rule of thumb, if your concert band performs grade four literature, then your marching band
should march grade two music. Think two grade levels lower when considering music for the field.
10. Don't burn them out! Shorter, more frequent breaks work better than infrequent, longer breaks.
11. Marching band should be an equal part of the total band program, with the center of your program
being the concert band.
12. Hint: Don't be afraid to look in those gym classes to find potential auxiliary members. Some schools I
know do a mini unit on flag right in the gym classes!
13. Fix one mistake. Make a deal with your band: If you made nine errors in marching and playing during
the last run-through, then make eight mistakes during this run-through. Depending on the size of your
group, you could fix hundreds of mistakes at one time.
14. Band Buddies - match up a veteran band member with one or two new members before the first
practice. Allow time at the beginning and end of rehearsals for Band Buddies to meet. Example: "Do
you have your hat? ... I'll call and remind you of our next practice... How's your music coming? ... Let's
sit down and play it together...You're doing GREAT!! ...Let's practice a slide right... Band pants go on
first, then the shoes... Hoagie orders are due tomorrow...etc."
15. Do playing exercises while you do marching basics. As soon as a marching technique is taught, add a
playing exercise to it. How often does your band march in the show without playing?
16. Budget time for marching basics. Don't get down on your band for marching poorly if you don't devote
time to reinforcing the fundamentals.
17. Prioritize your rehearsals. Pick a section of each tune in the show, maybe 16 to 32 counts, and work
on just those sections for tonight's rehearsal. It's a long season; don't be in a hurry.
18. Don't practice mistakes. If your practices consist of nothing more than doing "run-throughs" of your
show, then you are simply practicing mistakes. Make sure section leaders and staff members - better
yet, the whole band - have a copy of the drill. Make sure everyone has their copy at every practice.
19. Get a sound system. A loud speaker, P.A. system, bull horn, or a "Long Ranger" are a must for every
rehearsal. A sound system has many uses. For many years I didn't use one, and I was hoarse by the
end of band camp. Plus, your band thinks you're yelling at them all the time!
20. Define your/our style. Make sure everyone has a firm grasp of how you want the marching basics
performed. Break things down; demonstrate. Demonstrate again.
21. Start rehearsals on time. If practice starts at 6:30, and you show up at 6:30, you are late. You must
enforce this from day one. Have a routine in place. Where is everyone supposed to be at 6:30? In the
band room? At sectionals? On the field?
22. When designing your show, use the ratio of 60 percent music, 40 percent marching. Snappy drill
formations are great, but mean nothing if the tune that goes with it can't be understood. Does the
band need to be moving the entire tune?
23. Down time kills progress. Keep a healthy pace to rehearsals. Try to anticipate potential problems in
music or drill, and plan a way to work the problem out. Stopping a rehearsal to fix problems happens
to all of us, but shouldn't be a part of every rehearsal. Anticipate and try to keep down time to a
minimum. Keep other sections busy while you are working with a particular group.
24. March in relationship to each other, not the field. Hash marks and yard lines are reference points for
teaching purposes; they're not gospel. 'Truth is, after a while, your students should be able to march
your show on an empty parking lot, with a good deal of success. Students should learn to march in
relationship to each other, and adjust for each other's mistakes. Mistakes will become less frequent if
the marching basics program is reinforced on a regular basis.
25. Be realistic about the ability level of your students. Always take inventory of each section. Which ones
are strong? Which ones are weak? Will you have any tubas?
A good time to do this is right after the spring concert, when you start looking toward next marching
season. Next year's band, on the whole, may be much younger than the group you have now. Keep
this in mind when you program your show. Your favorite drill move, where 250 people go from a
"Condor" to a company front in eight counts, may have to sit on the shelf another year until your band
matures.
26. Fix it before you move it. When cleaning drill from set to set (or picture to picture), take a few seconds
to stop and adjust each set. Be sure Set Five is correct before moving to Set Six. Fix the current set
before you move it to the next set.
27. Use marching fundamentals that pertain to your show - eight to five and box drills are great, but what
about curvilinear forms? Most bands do some circle, arc, or curved patterns in their show. Devise
exercises that address these drill forms. This may take some time to develop at first. Use cones and
yard markers to set the area of your circle or arc, and make sure each student marches around the
cone so the form doesn't condense. Actually, your students will find in time that curved forms and arcs
are easier to perform than company fronts. Again, once the students begin marching in relationship to
each other, things will get easier.
28. Make it work. Don't get too bogged down by trying to stick exactly to what is on the drill sheet. The
band roster may fluctuate many times throughout the season. I have never seen a drill that hasn't had
to be adjusted at least once during the marching season. Some of the best jobs of drill adjustment I've
seen were done at rehearsals, on the fly. Also, don't feel you have to have all drill changes down on
paper. Major ones - yes. Interval adjustments, small form reshapes - no. Make it work on the field.
Don't worry so much about the drill sheet. It's just paper!
29. Teach the path. When teaching drill, go from set one to set two several times, then turn the band
around and march them back from set two to set one. This way you are teaching your students the
path from set one to set two, not just the starting point or ending point.
30. The drill is the movement, not the pictures. A drill set lasts for a split second. Focus more on the
movement from set one to set two (step size, step style, horn angles, body facings, etc.). True, hitting
your drill set is important, but the band moving from set one to set two is much more important than
just set one or set two.
31. On some drill moves, many different step sizes may need to be used to make the "picture" work. Try
to gauge a six to five stride as a "middle of the road" step size. (i.e.: try to make six to five the largest
step size anyone will need to make their set.) This is not always possible, but try to keep most of the
drill within that six to five step size range.
32. Get to higher ground. It's best to clean drill from a higher vantage point (tower, ladder, top of the
school, press box, scissor lift). That way, music balances can be worked on at the same time. It's also
much easier to evaluate how the drill moves and flows. Try to have some staff members or graduate
assistants on the field with the band to assist with cleaning. A high vantage point may not be possible
at every rehearsal. Talk to the athletic director and the other coaches who use the football field. See if
 it is possible to wedge the band into the schedule once in a while. A great time to start "planting the
bug" in the athletic director's ear about the field is in the spring. If practice on the "main field" is rare,
then make sure all staff and band members are present to take advantage of the opportunity when it
should arise.
33. Take advantage of performance opportunities. To keep the band in focus after a drill change or before
a big contest, have them perform at soccer games held on the "main field." Soccer games were
sometimes held on the same night as my practice. We could simulate "game day" conditions and the
routine of getting ready to perform. It built respect between the band and the athletic program (big-
time PR points). The soccer fans loved us! It also made their sport feel appreciated. My band got to
perform recently taught or changed material in front of an audience. And we accomplished all of this
without ever leaving the school grounds.
34. When choosing music, again be realistic. A tune featuring the University of Texas, with 50 trumpets
and 25 tubas, may sound slightly different when played by your four eighth-grade trumpets, three
beginner trombones and a bassoon. Refer back to points nine and 25. Practically all music publishers
now offer music for limited instrumentations.
35. Where's the beat? Remember, the pulse for count one is found in the left heel. That's what hits the
ground first. Stress it.
36. Make your situation work. The name of the game is "what you do with what you have." Don't complain
about the instruments you don't have out for band. Work with the instrumentation you do have. That
may mean rewriting a line that features flutes and saxes instead of lower brass. It can be just as
effective, and maybe more interesting.
37. Don't hide the woodwinds. One of the biggest drill mistakes bands make is in the placement of their
woodwinds on the field. You wonder why you can't hear the flutes and clarinets? Often they're found
in a pretty arc 12 steps behind the back hash mark with a wall of brass shaped like a bullet in front of
them. Where are the woodwinds placed in your concert band? Why did you put them there? What's
the difference if they're on a football field or in your band room? Woodwinds need to be placed on the
field properly to be heard. Period.
38. Bands with fewer than 50 players should be careful placing wind instruments behind mid-field. Also,
try to limit spread formations that go past the 35-yard lines. Lastly, company fronts built with eight or
more steps between band members don't work. Sorry.
39. Go one set "and one." A good teaching tip when going from set to set is "and one." That means,
march from set one to set two, and then take one step in the direction of set three. It helps with body
facings, weight transfers, and overall directional change. It also helps students learn the flow from set
to set.
40. And then what happens? In Little League, we were taught: "If the ball is hit to you, what are you going
to do with it?" The same holds true when marching. If my next drill set takes eight counts, then I better
know where I'm going next by count five. This concept of four counts ahead helps students anticipate
and remember where their next drill set is. Their marching style tends not to be timid because they
are thinking ahead and know where to go next.
41. What will work for me? There are a thousand ways to teach drill. Unfortunately, many of these involve
the time-robbing task of re-teaching. Hopefully it won't take you years of aggravation to find out what
works best for your situation. Consider the following when planning your drill teaching strategy: A.
How long is band camp? Two weeks (10 days), one week (9 a.m. to 10 p.m.), eight to noon? B. How
many actual teaching days are there in camp, not counting the picture guy and shoe guy and the
Tombstone Pizza guy and the Marmalade Queen Parade? C. How many sets are in the drill? How
many are hard? How many are easy? D. Do I teach all of the drill first and then add the music? E. Do
I teach the whole band at once, or break it up by sections (brass, woodwinds, guard)? F. How many
of your students have never learned drill before? G. Be careful what you teach on a Friday. That will
be the first thing you will need to review on Monday. Many directors use Friday to simply review and
clean what they have learned for the week.
42. Asymmetrical vs. symmetrical. In terms of design, both are effective. I have found the asymmetrical
forms are often easier to clean and march because they are not a recognizable or definite shape. A
triangle may take you 30 seconds to design, but three months to clean. Be cautious of drill designers
who write too many "obvious" shapes for you. It's difficult for students to hold those three perfectly
 straight lines of a triangle on a 32-count rotation, too. Thirty seconds to draw vs. three months to
clean.
43. When teaching a pass-through to your band, try these steps:
A. Line up the "backward" and the "forward" groups at the point of the pass-through.
B. Set the interval of the pass-through.
C. If possible, pick an exact count that the pass-through will occur on and be there.
D. When teaching and cleaning, the folks marching forward are responsible for "directing traffic" for
the group backing up. While practicing, tell the folks backing up how to adjust their marching angle to
make the form hit properly.
E. Practice running the pass-through to the point where the groups meet, then march back where you
came from (see Point 29). Also, practice from the point of the pass-through to the new set.
44. A game I play at the end of a basics session is "Simon," based on that annoying game with the four
colored lights. This is also a great way to incorporate all of the different marching techniques you
have covered so far. Here's how it goes:
A. Tell the band you will start with one command (let's say forward eight).
B. Then add another command to it (forward eight, mark time eight).
C. After you've got several commands in a row, practice them. The idea is to teach your band how to
learn drill.
D. After the first five or six moves are down pretty well, add some more.
E. Also try having the band verbally repeat your command after you say it.
You: "Mark time four.
The band: "Mark time four.
You: "Forward 16.
The band: "Forward 16."
And so on.
45. Marching is nothing more than synchronized walking, with some adaptations for instruments and
style. Don't break things down too far, or you'll have your students questioning something they have
been doing their whole lives - walking! I stress the following:
A. Plant the heel. Get the toe as high as possible (to make room for the heel to land).
B. Have the ankle bones pass on the "and" of the count.
46. When teaching a slide left, push the shoulder forward, pull the right shoulder back. Do the opposite
for a slide right. The more flexible your students are at turning at the waist, the easier it will be on the
shoulders.
47. When setting and cleaning a circle, have everyone point their toes toward the center of the circle.
Adjust the interval, then check the backs of the heels. They actually set the area of the circle, not the
body. Turn on the right heel to the front.
48. Clean up the loose ends. Make everything as uniform and standard as possible, from how the hats
are worn to how the instruments are held at attention. This takes up very little time, and shows
discipline and attention to detail.
49. Intelligent people understand the need for discipline. If you or the drum major call the band to
attention, explain what it is you want to happen. No one talks, no one moves, head up, etc.... Are you
going to accept several students moving at attention? Talking at attention? Address what you want
from day one. Stick to it. Actually, when you think about it, discipline sets the tone for your band
before you even play a note. Most people can tell a disciplined group by how they walk to the field,
how they come off of the buses, how the uniform is worn. It's also a pretty good indication of how they
are going to play.
50. You can't do everything. Look for qualified, mature staff people to work with your band. Make sure all
staff people understand exactly what you want, then let them do their job. Even Superman lets others
help!