Many books and articles have been written explaining how
to play your instrument with good tone quality, proper articulation, and good
intonation. Very few words have been written how to achieve similar
fundamentals of marching & movement. In many marching programs all over the
world, marching fundamentals are taught in the early summer, the drill is
learned in the late summer/early fall, and the "show" is put together
and performed soon after. At that point, the show is given to the audience and
the judges saying, "Here we are... We have worked very hard... What do you
think?" In this article I would like to suggest we work backwards - to
look at fundamentals of movement in a whole new way. Let's look at the judging
sheets and design a fundamentals program that drives your group to maximize the
score on those sheets.
Visual judges use a "rubric" to determine a
score based on criteria that are clearly spelled out. On one such rubric a
typical description might be, "The performers consistently display a
defined style of movement." If you replace the word
"consistently" with never, seldom, or always it can place a group in
various boxes that correspond to a score. Great groups will always display a
clearly defined style in all situations. In addition, the top boxes of these
rubrics, i.e. the highest score, mentions "The performers consistently
display a refined style of movement." How can you use these sheets to make
your group better?
Define: What is a defined style? In my opinion, a clearly
defined style is one that addresses seven major fundamentals.
Posture: Each individual displays the same definition of
how to carry his or her body. This mainly refers to the relationship between
the shoulders, hips, and ankle bones, both when standing and while on the move.
Forward Marching: Each individual displays the same
style of moving forward. This applies to the straightness of the leg, the
placement of the heels and toes, and the position of the feet in between steps.
Backward Marching: Each individual displays the same
style of moving backward. This applies to the straightness of the leg, the
placement of the toes or balls of the feet, the degree of height off the
ground, whether or not the heels roll down to the ground, and the position of
the feet in between steps.
Beginning of the set: Each individual begins movement
from a dead stop with the same muscle usage.
During sets: Each individual understands that from set A
to set B there is a defined path, step size, and tempo.
End of the set and transition to next set: Each
individual displays an understanding of how to stop moving ("the
close") and how to change effort into a new direction. This change of
direction can be a smooth "roll-through", a toe-down
"point", or a sharp "pivot" of the feet.
Instrument Carriage & Shoulders: Each individual
carries his or her instrument the same way and uniformly carries the shoulders
with respect to the hips and the front sideline.
The actual style that is chosen for each of these
fundamentals is not a factor in the judge's decision of whether or not that
group has a well-defined style. For example, the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps
and the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps use completely different styles of
forward and backward marching, but each displays their chosen style at the
highest level. Through lots of great teaching and hard work, each performer
clearly understands that style and uses it during the show. An audience member
may not understand the specific differences, but can easily tell that they are
"good marchers". After a style is defined, it is up to the performer
to refine his or her performance of that style.
Refine: What is a refined style? If you have ever watched
a professional athlete and thought "Wow, (s)he made that look easy",
then you understand what "refined" means. It is a style of movement
that uses all of the elements of a defined style plus that "X"
factor. Qualities that lead to this refined style include, but are not limited
to:
Poise
Confidence
Display of the style in all step sizes and tempos
Display of multiple responsibilities (a difficult drill
move while playing a challenging musical phrase)
Extended periods of extreme demand
Use of multiple styles (ex: using a different style of
movement for legato passages)
Jazz running
Body, dance, and choreography
Plan of Action:
Write down your style of movement in every minute detail
and make sure that you and your staff agrees and they all understand it the same way.
Be a "life-long learner." Just when you think
that you have it all figured out, it is likely that you could still do better.
Even the best teachers bring in consultants and other teachers to make them
better. Hire a consultant... Write down
a list of the marching bands and drum corps that you admire the most and go
watch a rehearsal or talk with the directors... Buy resources that will help you
learn - for instance, the Dynamic Marching &
Movement DVDs.
Use many fundamentals drills, preparing your students
for any situation that they might encounter in the actual drill sets. Don't get
stuck using "box drill" all the time. Make up your own drills in a
block or in "across the floors" or ask experts what they use.
Jeff Young is President and CEO of Dynamic Marching and frequently writes articles and teaches clinics on marching, movement, and visual instruction. For a more complete bio please visit our consultants and clnicians page here.
