Addressing Common Problems in Small Marching Bands

The season is over. It went okay. It could have been better. You got frustrated at times. It seems like every year some of the same issues keep your students from getting to the "next level." If this sounds familiar, I encourage you to keep reading and consider making some of the changes suggested below. These opinions and ideas come from observations I make every year while attending marching band contests as a spectator. I hope some of these suggestions are worthy of consideration in your future endeavors.

One thing I hope we can all agree on is that Kevlar snare heads are very loud and very hard for young, inexperienced players to cleanly play together on. It's not the end of the world if you consider using other types of drumheads, but it you desire to have the timbre of a Kevlar head then I think you should consider using less players for volume control and clarity. You should also look at using different sticks such as an indoor stick to help with volume control. Finally, simply insist on lower stick heights. A small band never needs a snare line that plays full 12-inch accents. I saw a band this fall that competed with four snares and no front ensemble members. As you can imagine, the snares dominated the entire performance. If you have an abundance of percussionists, please utilize as many timbres as possible with the use of a larger front ensemble before expanding the size of your battery.

In my opinion, battery percussion should never be staged on the side of the band especially if they are "uncovered," (meaning no one is standing in front of them.) I will carry it a step further and object to bringing them to the front as well, even for a feature. It just takes too long to get them back behind the wind players after the feature is over and, in the meantime, they will overbalance the band and create timing problems with the wind players behind them. Keep them in the middle of the field as much as possible. If you want to feature them, you can still draw attention to them with creative uses of the other performers from any location further back on the field. They don't have to be front and center to get noticed and you will also get a more characteristic tone from the drums when they are staged farther backfield.

If you are performing your music outside, then as much as possible it should be rehearsed outside. It does little good to work on marching band music while sitting in chairs in the band room. As soon as the kids have the notes and rhythms down you need to get outside and rehearse outdoors both in concert arcs and in the individual sets so that you consider how staging affects balance and blend of the ensemble sound. While working in arcs, students should be marking time and a metronome stationed behind the band should be running.

A trumpet projects in a marching band more than any other acoustic instrument. Yet many trumpet players in smaller bands seem to have a "hero" complex when it comes to being heard. You have probably witnessed this scenario repeatedly. The first trumpet part dominates the texture the entire performance. There are two dynamics: loud and overblown loud. At some point, the player(s) tires and starts cracking notes. To compensate they try harder by playing louder, over-blowing and creating additional performance issues. Minimize this problem by re-arranging stock arrangements to offer a greater variety of timbres and dynamics or even look for concert band arrangements of the same music that will likely offer more in the way of texture changes. In addition, make sure your trumpet players understand that they will be heard without playing so loud and insist that they balance the ensemble. One or two players playing louder does nothing to make your band sound bigger, but it WILL destroy all efforts from everyone else to produce a balanced ensemble sound.

Don't be afraid to march fast! Kids can do it and they should. Speed creates energy and velocity to the drill that will keep the performer and the audience engaged. Playing music at around 100 BPM is simply a recipe for boredom--boring to perform as well as to watch. There should be a variety of tempos in your music. Please consider this when programming your show. If you have a small band, it is the slow marching that is the more difficult style to perform than up tempo segments. Slow marching is like slow motion replay. Everything is exposed, so limit the exposure!

Most high school football stadiums are not high enough to clearly see form definition so spend most of your visual time on issues related to technique, body carriage, left-to-right and front-to-back spacing-- particularly in sets that you hold in. While hitting the set is important, poor spacing is much easier and quicker to spot, so correcting issues there should take priority.

Your students need to look as trim and vertical as possible. Not wearing shakos and plumes not only exposes variations in hair color and style but also makes your students look shorter. Ill-fitting uniforms do the same. Pant legs should not gather around the shoes and pants should fit correctly so that they don't appear bulky. Make sure your students are wearing calf height socks of the correct color. Check them in the warm-up before every performance and carry extra pairs with you. Students wearing the wrong accessories stick out like a sore thumb on the performance field.

Finally, don't shy away from demanding step sizes. Don't sell short your kids' ability to perform more difficult drill involving larger step sizes and faster tempos. Your kids will enjoy the challenge. Besides, cleaning tiny step sizes is difficult. The technique is often poor, and many students struggle with it. Small step sizes lead to early arrival at sets, shuffling of feet, and if the tempo is slow many students will struggle with pulse. This will not happen with faster tempos and larger steps. Trust me! Take a chance on it. Being conservative or "playing it safe" is not what it seems. You may just discover that things you thought were too risky may end up being easier than you think.

Making a small marching band sound and look good is super hard. There is no place for a weak performer to hide. If you can get it done, you have in some ways accomplished much more than those who have tons of kids, props, money, etc. to work with. Hang in there and, more importantly, don't give up. Make some plans and, above all, don't be afraid of trying something new. Raise the bar and challenge your kids to perform at a higher level next year. I firmly believe that most of your kids will like and rise to the challenge!

Kirby Swinney graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1982 with a degree in instrumental music education and retired in 2014 after teaching band for 30 years in the Oklahoma communities of Weleetka, Dewey, Choctaw and Shawnee. While at Dewey and Shawnee, both band programs earned their first ever OSSAA sweepstakes award and in 2013 the Shawnee Band Program earned its first ever double sweepstakes award when both concert bands earned superior ratings at the state level contest. Kirby's marching bands were consistently rated superior at regional competitions and were also consistent top twelve finalists at the OBA State Marching Band Championship Contest. Kirby has served as secretary of the OBA Board of Control and also served on the OBA Board of Directors as secretary and president. Kirby has served as band chairman for the Oklahoma Music Educators Association and also served on the OMEA board as band vice-president. Kirby joined the Palen Music Center team in OKC in 2014.