This Weekend!!

Just a reminder that the camp this weekend is for:

Color Guard

and

Horn Line

The camp is Saturday, March 1st (9-5) and Sunday, March 2nd (1-6) at Gifford Elementary School.

 Junior Brigade is kicking off their 2008 season this Saturday at Mitchell Middle School (9-5).

I love this time of year!!

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!

Today's marching member "shout-out" goes out to: Carson (bass drum)

Drill Design 101

So what exactly are all of those little dots on a drill sheet?  Could you put a dot on an exact coordinate on the drill sheet and then find the exact spot on the football field?  How do you know how far to move each member between each chart?  Do you have ways of cheating?

So many questions...........here come some answers!

If you look at a drill chart you will see a complete football field that is marked off in squares and yardlines.  We also use the front and back hash marks.  We use an "8 to 5" step which just means that it takes exactly 8 steps (at exactly 22.5 inches each) to march exactly 5 yards.  When we practice basics you will often hear an instructor saying, "1, 2, 3, HIT, 5, 6, 7, HIT".  What the instructor is pointing out when they are saying "hit" is that the members should be between a yard line on count four and back on a yard line by count eight.  We march basics over and over again so that our members can learn what the 8 to 5 step size feels like and so that it can become second nature for them to do.

Ok, back to the drill chart and the boxes.  Each box in the drill sheet grid represents 4 steps.  I can draw a dot anywhere on the paper and then find out on a real football field exactly where that dot should be by simply counting off steps.  A typical drill spot might look like this: Side one, two steps outside of the 40 and 4 steps in front of the back hash.  This may sound Greek to you or to rookie members - but they become experts in no time.  Once the members remember which side of the field is side one or side two all they have to do is figure out where the hash marks and yard lines are and use a 22.5 inch step size to find their spots.

As far as cheating - I do it all of the time!  Even when a form is a curve - I have set points in the form that end up on yard lines and hash marks.  The audience will only see a curve - but the members know where the cheater spots are located when they set up the form each time.  Anything that I can do to make the drill easier to learn and march......I'm gonna do it and the audience will never be the wiser!  I will answer the question about how I know how far to move each member between each drill set next week in the next installment of "Drill Design 101".

Today's marching member "shout-out" goes out to: Jamie (flute)

Tuesday Spotlight on the Staff

Today's spotlight on the staff will be on our color guard technician: Danielle Birkholz.

Danielle is a former marching member of the Lighthouse Brigade color guard and was even rookie of the year in 2002.  She survived three different guard instructors in three years and was one of the reasons the guard began its climb into the upper level of MACBDA color guards - ending with the championship in 2006 and the high color guard trophy.  Danielle graced the field of competition with some amazing dance work and I would always tell Todd, "If you want to see exactly what you wrote for the guard - just watch Danielle".  

As a marching member Danielle NEVER took a break while rehearsing a show segment.  Even if a move was only 8 counts, you could be sure that Danielle was PERFORMING for all of those 8 counts.  It was pretty much a no brainer to hire her for staff last year and it has been a real joy not only to have another former marching member graduate up into a staff position, but to see someone like Danielle have great success so early on in her instructing career.

You may know that Danielle is a student at UW-Stevens Point but I bet what you don't know is that in addition to her superior dance and color guard abilities - she is a terrific singer.  She also LOVES football and even coaches a youth football team!  What more could any guy want but a girl who loves football??!!  If you are not a color guard member - feel free to get to know Danielle at lunch or on a break.  I think you will find her to be one of the nicest people you will ever meet.  I am very lucky to have Danielle on staff again this summer and it is my true pleasure to spotlight her today!

Next week: Steve Lange - percussion technician

Today's marching member shout-out" goes out to: Cameron (snare....finally!!)

Junior Brigade is starting!

The 2008 Junior Lighthouse Brigade is gearing up for another great season!

Recruitment night is this Thursday - February 28th @ 7:00pm in the Mitchell Middle School Cafeteria and Little Theater (enter door "K" off of Mitchell Street).

The first rehearsal is this Saturday - March 1st from 9:00am - 5:00pm at Mitchell Middle School (enter door "F" off of Mitchell Street).

I encourage all students in grades 6 - 8 to join the Junior Brigade and keep our strong feeder program going.  The staff from 2007 are all coming back with perhaps even a few additions.

Don't forget that for the Lighthouse Brigade - we have a horn line and color guard camp at Gifford this weekend (Saturday, March 1st from 9-5 and Sunday, March 2nd from 1-6).  I am looking forward to hearing Dvorak and seeing all of the members again!

Today's marching member "shout-out" goes out to: Chelsea (baritone)

Something really cool!

Here I am watching the Oscars and they have this montage of all of the "best pictures" from 1928 - present.  The cool thing was the music they used............music from "Dragon Heart" (Brigade's 2006 show was the music from Dragon Heart!).  I just thought that was really cool hearing that awesome music again and I wondered how many Brigade people out there heard it as well?!

We had a great couple of days this weekend with the percussion section.  At our next camp in March - the plan is to be able to perform the intro and first movement together.  This is outstanding because it will only be MARCH!!  It's going to be a good season, let me tell you!  The street beat is almost "street ready" and the front ensemble is playing an original composition Patrick wrote just for us.  We are all really excited and we almost wish it was June already!

Don't forget that this week we have the Junior Lighthouse Brigade recruitment night (Thursday, February 28th @ Mitchell Middle School - 7:00pm) and two rehearsals this weekend - Junior Brigade (Saturday, March 1st @ Mitchell Middle School - 9-5) and Lighthouse Brigade - horn line and color guard - Saturday, March 1st (9-5) and Sunday, March 2nd (1-6) @ Gifford Elementary School.  See you there!!

Today's marching member "shout-out" goes out to: Nolan (alto saxophone).

Thursday Rookie Tip of the Week

When we have marching rehearsals - why do we do so much with "basics"?

Don't tell this to anyone.....but back in the day I HATED basics.  I am sure if you ask Matt or Guy or Todd or Danny they will admit the same thing - that doing basics is not the most fun thing in the world to do.  However, I am sure they will also tell you that during any basics block - they worked super hard and took everything they were doing very seriously.  I know I did in Regiment!  What we all realized early on is that the real purpose of basics is not just to teach you the marching style our organizations used - but to get so good at doing the basic marching techniques that they became second nature....a habit.  With a good basics program - the field show will be better and we will score better.  It simply all starts with basics and building good habits right away!

Some directors make the mistake of spending most of the day cleaning drill or working on music.  I believe that a large chunk of the day should be spent doing basics, which then carries over into drill cleaning.  Who wants to watch a drill that is being marched poorly by the members?  When I judge marching bands I am able to tell within a few seconds not only the marching style the group is going for - but also what kind of a basics program (or lack thereof) they use.  Brigade has long been known for very strong marching and playing technique and this plays into our hands.  It doesn't matter how big or small a group is when judges are looking for good, solid marching technique.  If you are ever wondering why Matt and the visual staff keep harping on the same stuff over and over - it is because when we start performing - we want to march and play better than anyone else out there.....and it all begins during the winter when we start teaching....you guessed it: basics!!

I understand that basics can become a drag sometimes (believe me, I have been there!).  What I always did when basics started to become a real chore was to just max out my marching style and strive to do everything as perfect as I had ever done before.  The cool thing is that when a bunch of people start maxing out their individual marching performance - it spreads throughout the band and before you know it - I have more marching execution trophies to put up in my band room!

Rookies - take basics seriously and practice them at home.  You can always practice standing the correct way or holding your instrument up 10 degrees while you memorize your music.  You can find some space in a basement and practice moving forwards and backwards as well as those fun slides!  The best compliment you can receive is someone telling you that, "you walk funny" because they see you walking with your heel hitting the ground first and your toes pointed up to the sky!

Today's marching member "shout-out" goes out to: Les (quints)

Rex is writing drill already!!

Yup - you read it correctly - I am starting the drill writing process and it is not even March, yet!  Everyone needs to be extra nice to me from now on because I have the power to make your own personal drill easy or a nightmare - simply by moving my little step size spacer just a little bit when I come to your drill spot!  BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

My plan is for the Intro of the show to be sketched out so that Todd can get a head start with his color guard writing.  I'll be at the percussion camp at Gifford this weekend and I plan on setting up shop in the cafeteria with my trusty drill writing tools and lots and lots of drill paper.  If you have ever wondered how I go about designing drill - here is an inside look!

It always begins with the music - everything we do is based off of that.  The first thing I will do is create a chart that will break down each movement of the show into musical phrases.  Each phrase is usually 16 counts, but there will be times when a drill move may only be 8 counts long or some strange ones that might be 17 counts with a move 16, halt 1 sequence or something like that.  My drill chart will also include which instruments have the melody or need to be featured as well as any special considerations such as a soloist.  The chart also includes very detailed guard instructions from Todd including what kind of equipment the ladies will be using and where he thinks they should be placed for a guard feature.

Often times in drill writing, the design takes a back seat to me just getting everyone where they are supposed to be.  Don't be fooled by trying to find a pretty drill picture - the real job of the drill is to get the members from point A to point B.  The movement IN-BETWEEN the drill charts is what I am really going for.  Unless the members are halted for a long period of time - the drill charts only last one count.  Maybe I'll start a "Wednesday Drill Design 101" post!

So - be nice to the drill writer.  Making me mad will have you running from chart to chart while your neighbors are easily marching charts with 8-5 steps and are laughing at you.  Also - don't ever be a JDW!  If you don't know what that is - come back next Wednesday for my next "Drill Design 101" post!

Today's marching member "shout-out" goes out to: Marci (battery)