Lessons Learned from the Drum & Corps Activity - By Glen Allan Tuomaala

The Fall marching band season brings great endeavors and challenges to band programs across the country; the most important being the musical education of the student performers. Within this long musical training process of teaching musical technique, interpretation and memorization band directors often face a thick wall of resistance once the ensemble begins moving and playing together on the field. High caliber music ensembles suddenly face new problems of blend, balance and ensemble once they take their first step and being to move and play at the same time.

With decades of experience and competition drum and bugle corps teachers have had the time and motivation to being to solve this challenge of movement and music. Many of the rehearsal procedures advocated by current world champion drum and bugle corps were regionally merely experiments by experts in dance and movement who worked in combination with the horn and percussion teachers on their staff. What is shared here is really the "tip of the iceberg" when it comes to the philosophical and educational application of movement for the drum and bugle corps, but sincerely a step in the right direction for any high school marching band program in their journey to musical and marching excellence.

"You will only play as well as you can march"

1. POSTURE AND POISE: The first step of any comprehensive visual program begins with the definition and uniformity of posture and poise for both wind and percussion musicians. It is the responsibility of every staff member to reinforce an accepted pattern of posture "head to toe" from the very first day of rehearsal. This is where an intense level of "attention to detail" will pay off later in the season. Compose a simple check-list for the musicians to evaluate themselves in terms of: foot position, instrument carriage, head, shoulders, etc. that will be appropriate to the overall style or tradition of your ensemble. Posture is achieved first at a stationary level and then reinforced while moving; first without instruments and then with instruments. Be aware that the more relaxed the musicians are when moving the better their sound will be when they begin playing.

Inspiration can be easily gathered from staff members or even local community artists with experience in teaching body awareness in everything from ballet to yoga. Most drum and bugle corps enjoy the advantage of having a movement specialist on staff who teaches basic ballet skills to all of the musicians during the Winter rehearsal camp season.

2. START: The most important step is the first step. The first step of an individual move tells the audience: where you are going (direction of movement and step size), when you’re going to get there (tempo or pace), and how you’re going to get there (style of movement).

First step exercise: Observe a successful drum and bugle corps warm up before any competition and you will see a sincere emphasis on honing the feeling and response of the first step of every move. It should not be uncommon to see the first step of motion rehearsed dozens of time in a single visual warm-up when so much of the musical success depends on that execution in front of an audience. Practice and perfect the timing of the first step at multiple tempos both forwards and backwards on a daily basis. Isolate the first step and identify the balance point of the body in relationship to the contact point of the left heel and right toe (when marching left foot dominant).

3. END: The second most important step is the last step. The last step of an individual move tells the audience where you have been (past direction of movement), and provides visual closure (and often preparation for the next movement). The most common mistake in the last step of a move is a loss of tempo or formation. Remember: the last four steps of a move say a great deal about the proficiency of the marching ensemble.

4. STYLE: How your musicians move from one point is what is generally considered as style. Marching styles are different from state to state and band to band, but uniformity of style should not. Whether your marching ensemble is a show band, high step, or corps style is secondary to the uniformity of the entire visual picture ("Walking" or "shuffling" is not considered a style of organized movement). Are they all moving in the same way at exactly the same time?

"Practice Like You Perform, Perform Like You Practice"

1. MARKING TIME: A simple, yet under-appreciated, need is for the student performer to mark time to everything from sectionals at band camp to indoor music rehearsals later in the season. The more correct repetition of movement that the body has the better your chances of success on the field.

2. SCALE STEP-OFFS: Once the ensemble is proficient at marking time indoor music warm-ups and rehearsals may include "Scale Step-Offs" where the first note of every measure or scale includes a step forward followed by marking time. This is repeated for the next measure or scale in reverse. There are endless variations on this exercise that you and your students can experiment with during the season.

3. TRACKING: Set the band in a parade block at the end of the field or on a running track and alternate singing and playing large segments of the show while marching. Many ensembles also perform horn accents and holds while tracking unless the show is overly complex. Tracking is most effective when done early in the season.

Become creative. The more levels of visual awareness that the student musicians can achieve in concert rehearsal, the more realistic the actual performing environment. Superior quality on the field is really a combination of excellent musicianship with all of the fundamental movement skills to provide the necessary vehicle to play and march at the same time. Few ensembles will really achieve their total potential by focusing all of their efforts on just one of these two factors. The most successful ensemble are creative in their approach to the blending of music and visual concepts throughout the season.

"Marching in time is not an option"

1. SILENT MARK-TIME: The general advice for marching ensembles is to listen for tone quality and watch for tempo. Using a silent mark-time command (often just a measure of common time conducted by the drum major from the podium) assists in the long term training of the ensemble to watch for the tempo and take responsibility for internalizing it on their own. This method takes time for the ensemble to embrace, but also has the potential to increase the attention level of rehearsals since the student performer must watch the drum major for the silent mark-time.

2. SPEAKING THE SUBDIVISION: Learning how to internalize a consistent tempo is perhaps one of the most difficult skills for marching ensembles to achieve. Basic awareness begins at the level of the eighth note and can be introduced in combination with a silent mark-time by having the ensemble speaking the eighth note prior to their entrance, or during every rest. The longer the note, the more they must subdivide in tempo.

3. PERFORMING BY SECTION: A personal favorite during the drum corps season is to perform short and long segments of the show with only one section playing; such as just the soprano bugles or just the bass drums. The mere introduction of this exercise awakens the student performer to their responsibility to play every note all of the time - particularly in larger ensembles where memorization of music is a priority. I have also seen this applied to individual musicians with positive results. It is also an effective exercise to also isolate and identify musicians who still need to perfect their marching style and remove that "feet in the bell" type of sound when marching.

4. DISTANCE REHEARSAL: Select the one page of drill from your show that is the most expansive or complex and warm-up the musicians in this formation on a regular basis (both musically and visually). Obviously it will create new timing challenges early in the warm-up process, but it will also provide the opportunity to sensitize the musicians to the unique environment they perform in prior to both playing and marching.

5. REMOVE THE DRUM MAJOR/CONDUCTOR: More than one drum and bugle corps has marched without a drum major in the past decade with success. Removing the drum major/conductor from the tempo leadership role that they often provide is a true test of the individual progress of a marching ensemble.

THE VISUAL HANDBOOK

"Almost any well-designed method correctly applied will create successful results over time"

It is surprising to be invited to teach or write drill for a regionally recognized marching band program, request a copy of the visual handbook and receive a "blank stare" of wonder. Individual marching styles may vary, but their internal procedures must be written down for the benefit of the students and their director.

More than often a marching band will hire a qualified set of assistant teachers one season and a totally different set the next. What was taught one season becomes incorrect the next as a new philosophy of assistant teachers adopts what is most comfortable to their individual philosophy. A visual handbook with clear definitions of attention, parade rest, horn angles, forwards and backwards marching style, etc. will set the stage for the continuity of your visual program from year to year and help to correct this common problem.

Unlocking musical potential is a wonderful journey of discovery regardless of whether the ensemble stands, sits or moves across a grass covered field on a cold Friday night. With the priority of creating music coming first and foremost it is my hope that these tools and strategies will assist you and your staff in taking that next step in building and refining the musical ensemble that moves.