Design

The visual package of a marching show consists of far more than just moving people around a field while they play music. There are many components of visual and drill design which need to be recognized to ensure the success of your marching band or ensemble.

Before I continue, let me ask you something.
Have you ever heard or asked this question-

"How do these bands that always do easy and boring
shows keep scoring higher than us at contest?"

Sound familiar? Over the entire course of my experience in the marching scene, that is probably the number one question I hear asked by students, band directors, parents/crowds, and even school administrators. Can you guess what the most common answer is to that question? I bet you already know - "Because they're clean". Okay, yes, that is part of the reason, but the real answer is a little more complex. Let's explore this phenomena and see if we can answer the question above.

The Formula

Over years of personal experience observing drum corps, marching bands, and winter ensembles, I have begun to notice rules that all the most successful groups share. I call these rules "Elements". "The Formula", is what I call the process of combining the elements to your marching band or indoor ensemble.

The Elements

Show Concept

First step in producing a show is deciding what the show will be. This starts with either music, or an idea for the theme of the show.

-The Thematic Show-

You can go with just an overall theme for a show like a color, a mood, genre of music, or a combination of those. These shows are usually more on the crowd pleasing side and allow more freedom throughout the season to add or change ideas. These are the shows I generally recommend because if you, the students, and the crowd understand what you're doing, so will the judges.

-The Story Show-

This one is obvious. A show that tells a story for your audience. This is by far, the biggest trap most bands fall into! The danger of this show type is ending up with a blurry, confusing, and awkward production. A story show concept has to be bulletproof from start to finish. All components of the design much be set in stone before you teach one note or drill chart. A good story to pick is one that can be told through music as well as visual and the story you want to tell needs to be simple and easy e.g. "Good vs. Evil" or "Light vs. Dark". The rule of thumb for a story show is; if your grandmother was in the audience would she be able to explain exactly what the show was about?

Music Selection

The heart of any design, by far the most important element. When listening to music remember that while it may sound cool as source material, it may not sound right on the field. First, is the tempo appropriate for your group? Around 160 is a good target for almost the entire show excluding the ballad section. Second, variety. The music should have some sort of impact every 30-40 seconds through the whole show. While repeating themes is good repeating the same music is not. Music should be scored fairly thick, one example of a piece that sounds beautiful and powerful on the stage which ALWAYS falls flat is "La Fiesta Mexicana - Mass" By Owen Reed. Although I've never heard it done right on the field, you could easily takes themes from it and weave it through the arrangement of the entire show giving people that sense of "did I just hear...?"

-Arrangement-


If you are lucky enough to have an arranger in house or one to hire, this is where the show begins taking life, although buying stock arrangements is also a great option for saving money and getting a tested product. Either way you go the most important rule here is to pick music that is EASILY PLAYABLE by your band. I can't stress this enough! By choosing music that is just at or below your bands ability is smart because the students aren't sitting in a band room playing, they will be marching and moving, wearing a uniform, performing in front of thousands of people, and the more comfortable they are with the music the more they will PERFORM rather than just play notes. A good arranger or arrangement will take music that looks easy on the page and make it sound complex when all the sections are playing. Another key is to NOT to have your winds playing more than 2/3 of the entire show. This gives your visual designer a chance to regroup or setup and execute effects which can't be done while playing. It also gives your battery and front ensemble a chance to shine while allowing the winds a chance to catch their breath.

Storyboard

The Storyboard is an element which doesn't take much time but will save you vast amounts of it through the design process as well as the entire season. Once you have the arrangement you'll be using sit down with your whole staff and plot out what will be happening at each measure (or groups of measures) through the show. Work out how the band will get onto and off of the field, how the show will be counted off. Describe basic staging and visual ideas like color guard flag/equipment, Woodwind feature, drum breaks etc. If you're doing a Story Show then the storyboard has got to be nailed down before you teach your first step.

Visual Design

Visual! My favorite part, obviously. In my opinion, the visual side of the show is what really brings it to life and connects with the audience. Visual also seems to be the one element most band directors are least comfortable with.
My drill design process always follows the same rules and process. When I write my first priority is the music, everything visual must allow the students to perform the music without being degraded by too much movement. Like the music, I always write variety into the visual portion of a show which reflects what's happening musically. Staging is next, being sure that the instrumentation is where they need to be to sound their best. I also avoid spreading the ensemble out so much that there is phasing across the field. Color guard staging is immensely important for both visual and music scores. Guard incorporation is a huge part of bringing their visual impact to the show. Color guard makes up the majority of your visual score so they must be showcased that way. Guard transitions are nearly as important as the work they do, a distracting or awkward transition can actually hurt your scores worse than bad marching technique. Finally, Drill design should follow the same rules as the music. The drill should be easy to teach and clean, it needs to be well within the bands performance level so by the end of the season you're not having to re-write to accommodate the students but only having to fine tune the production and polish the show.

Teaching The Show

This element should be the easiest to achieve if all the others have been completed first. By having the entire show written you will know exactly how the show will be put together. Your students can tell if you are lost of disorganized even if you try to pretend you're not. Knowing all the answers and showing confidence in the product you are giving them will translate to confidence in your students. Set an overall timeline for learning the show with goals for each major performance. Goals will keep everyone on task and give them something to work towards. Also try to set short term goals for each month and week through the season, like "by the end of this week we need to have opener music memorized and get the first 15 pages on the field for the game Friday". I also suggest having a show meeting before starting drill, sit the whole band and staff down, listen to the music, watch the drill and explain the storyboard in general. By giving the band the knowledge and understanding of the production they will be learning will result in great "buy in" and excitement. The idea is to unify the band to accomplish this goal of performing at the highest level possible.

Final Thoughts

Now, I know this all sounds like common sense, yet I find that if this Formula is followed it always results in success. Just because the show design may be easier than what you're used to doesn't mean it has to be boring. This is where a talented arranger or drill writer really shines. I skilled designer can take something that seems simple and transform it into something truly amazing. It's about efficient use of everything the band is doing. Finally, when at contest, you are judged on what you do perfectly, not what you attempt. Judges will reward groups who are achieving at a high level more than a group who is struggling to pull off something out of their ability. A band's confidence will translate from field level all the way to the box, and once the students have experienced that feeling of success they will push to be even better. Remember, this activity is all about entertainment, and watching any performance where the stars are struggling is uncomfortable for everyone.

Give your group a taste of success and they will instantly be addicted. Once they know the incredible feeling of accomplishment, they will rise up to become something great!