I am thankful to have the opportunity to see many marching bands from the press box as an adjudicator and also as a consultant.  Sometimes there is a lack of meaning to the musical products and the way the performers are communicating the information. Why?  Should the marching band season be any different than any other time of year? Sure there is lots to do, really too much to do in the time allowed, but I am convinced many of us go at it all wrong.

When the word competition gets thrown into the mix our minds get crazy, our brains get muddled and we tend to do things that we think are helping but really are hurting. Its like playing high notes on a trumpet. Our brain tells us to tighten up, grip the instrument really hard and take a shallow breath. Those are all direct opposite to the things that we should do to be successful.  If we are not consciously grounded to the correct thoughts and information, we will not remember to do the things that are good for us, even though they don’t necessarily feel natural.

It is my belief that in order to be successful during the marching band season, the music has to mean something to our performers. The performers must understand the musical score and how their part works with other parts. What note of the chord are they playing and how does that note affect the overall sound, tuning and emotion of the total package? Who has the melody and what is the musical phrasing of that melody. What emotion are we trying to evoke out of our listeners through our beauty of phrase and tonal color?

Not only does the music need to mean something, but while we rehearse it we need to educate through it. It is so tempting to turn the metronome on with that loud irritating beat, and rep sections of the music over and over until both the director and performer become numb to what is being heard and played. The more hollow reps, the less the music starts to affect everyone involved. The sparkle gets lost and the beauty of the entire process is tainted.

The less time we spend repping marching band music, the better the marching band music will become.

Now that is a scary thought. Can you imagine? It is October, you have 3 competitions left and there is so much to do, and because of the competitive nature of the activity, or brains are driving us to do more reps and spend more time on the program. That is what feels natural, but I am suggesting to vary the time spent throughout the day to include other things that feed your students both musically, mentally and emotionally. Work on great repertoire with your students during the school day. Work on chamber music and listen to orchestral scores. Talk about chords and music theory and the way professionals play and articulate. Get your students thinking. Listen to originals of your marching arrangements and what professional players are doing to evoke emotion and work other musical pieces that help focus on these details. Work on chamber music and solo playing. Feed your starving students and through the education process you provide, everyone will get nourished.

Always think about the student musicians and what is best for them. It is easy for us to feel like doing more on the marching music will create better music, but for me, sometimes the more time I spend on something, the worse it gets. I can remember auditioning for the United States Marine Band and spending months on the same music. The audition did not go well for me, and from that experience I learned to spend less time on the actual music and more time learning and growing as a player and musician. When I auditioned for the United States “Pershing’s Own” Army Band, I made the finals and I am convinced it is because I spent less time focusing on the audition rep, and more time educating myself.

Does it scare you to spend less time on marching music during the competitive season? If so, why?