When people ask me the best way to improve their Marching Band, I tell them to improve their concert band. Better musicians who play their instruments with great skill are the best way to improve the sound and effect of any marching program.
But ask me for the Number TWO way to improve a marching band and I’ll tell you to create and support a Winter Guard program.
So many times I sit at marching band competitions in the Fall and think “IF ONLY” this group had a good color guard. A talented guard can cover up a multitude of problems or deficiencies. And the easiest way to create effect in a show is to utilize a talented guard.
I had a band one year that was one of my weakest groups. We played okay but it was not a strong set of musicians or marchers. But I had Lisa Andriese as my guard instructor and the guard was one of the best in the state. At one point in our show the band literally stood in place for at least a minute and a half while the guard ran and danced and performed all over the field. Not a single judge commented or even noticed this, and at the moment when one judge finally said “I think it’s time for the band to move”…well, that’s when the band DID move. I felt like a genius of show design, but the real geniuses were Lisa and her talented guard girls.
Winter Guard is the time when skills are taught and improved, and the guard members get valuable hours of rehearsal and performance time under their belts. Winter Guard teaches PERFORMANCE in a way that it’s hard to accomplish with just the Fall guard. Each member is right there, “In the face” of the audience and they must learn to project and perform.
It can take a lot of planning and some extra fund-raising, but any resources put toward the Winter Guard will benefit every single member of the band. Hire a terrific guard instructor, spend time helping them find rehearsal space, give them the funds they need, and then watch your marching band improve by miles!
