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music iconArticles in this section focus on the musical aspects of Marching Band.  Simply select the category below or check out the most recent articles listed below!

If you would like to see a topic covered in this section please e-mail: jeff@dynamicmarching.com

Recent Features

  Mellophones – French Horn or Mello Mouthpiece?
Feb 24, 2011
French Horn MouthpieceObviously, the French horn is extremely difficult to play while moving so most marching bands will use the marching French horn, mellophone, or the alto horn as the marching equivalent to the horn.  Which one you should choose is itself an entirely separate story so I will focus on the mellophone here since that is what most Drum Corps have been converting over to as of late.  The biggest challenge is what to do about the mouthpiece.  If you are lucky enough to have spare trumpet players that will be converting to mellophone for the marching season this is less of a problem but if you are like most bands (and myself included back in the day) you will have several horn players playing this instrument during the marching season while still trying to develop as a horn player during concert band.  So do you use a standard mellophone mouthpiece, alto horn mouthpiece, or go with the horn mouthpiece with an adaptor to fit the leadpipe?  There is a huge variety of opinion on this just as a disclaimer and there are pros and cons to each choice.
  New Projects!
Jan 27, 2011
Dynamic Marching DVDsWe take pride in providing innovative ideas for band directors.  In the near future we plan to take it to the next level with must-have DVDs on brand new topics.
  Creating Visual Effect: Comparing Apples to Oranges…or not
Apr 14, 2010
apples-orangesIt is common belief that when a band does poorly in the GE caption, it is because the judge "just didn't like our show."  "We played jazz and he's a classical guy." "Our small band can't compete with the larger one.  The "dirty little secret" of General Effect is that none of that really matters. Judges are not trying to compare apples to oranges.  They're just judging fruit.  The GE sheet can be thought of qualities common to "good fruit".  In other words, qualities of effective shows (regardless of size, source material, etc...)
  What to Listen For in Music... Ensemble
Apr 14, 2010
listen-to-musicEvery music educator has a drum that they beat day in and day out. Not the literal drum, as many of us are simply not gifted in the percussive arts. (If you're like me, hopefully you've avoided having your inadequacies caught on tape - pray you keep it that way). The ceaseless campaigning I am talking about boils down to our central mission as a teacher - the undercurrent that guides, nuances, and directs our efforts in what we do. For some it might be musicianship, others it might be precision, others still might champion facility and technical prowess. All of these are hugely valid, as they are all essential aspects of music-making and should be expected of every student on whatever level they personally can achieve.
  Chord Exercise "A" by Richard Saucedo
Jul 6, 2009
Chord Exericse "A" is a challenging chord progression written by Ricahrd Saucedo and featured on DYnamic Music:  Volume 2.  This chord exercise will take a long time to master, but really will help your players to learn to listen to intonation and balance in consonant and dissonant chords.
  IT
Jun 26, 2009
Michael McIntosh explains what "IT" is - pertaining to General Effect(GE) and the pageantry arts.
 
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