Marching Band Software, Corps Band Stuff, Etc...

[LufkinSectionLeader]

Does your band director use any kind of software to create the drills for the band? (Ours doesn't, because we have a military drill; he writes a drill by hand. Actually, the section leaders do, too, at band camp, which is always fun to watch!)

 

I'm just trying to figure out more about how corps bands work, and what they do, etc. Feel free to give me any extra information on what your band does that might be different than military bands.

 

Military bands (at least ours) memorizes all of their music, does 6 steps to a yard line with the center of the foot on the yard line, we always march forwards, we have to be in straight lines, we can't bounce, we "glide-step"....and other stuff that I really can't think of right now.

 

I know that a lot of corps bands do some of this, and then again, some don't. Tell me what is unique to your band, and all that good stuff!

[Dynasty]

Wow... there is so much!

 

In general,

• All music is memorized
  
• All sets (read below) are memorized
  

Here are some generalities about marching:

• The field is arranged by some variation with a 4-Step Grid. The field I march on has dots on the yard lines for every 4 steps, but nothing in between the lines. 5 Yards = 8 Steps
  
• Marchers are given books with coordinates for each Set. Example:

  2.75 Steps outside Side 1 40 Yard Line, 10 steps inside front hash.

• These spots can be marked with chalk, spray paint, poker chips, or just be remembered -- Whatever works for the kids and helps them learn.
  
• Each of these sets have a certain number of counts. This means that you march this many counts to travel from the previous set to the current set. The step sizes are rarely regular (like 8 to 5) because you move up and down field.
  
• After combining sometimes over 100 sets, holds, visuals, etc, you have your marching show!
  

Most sets have curves in them (versus the strict lines of military marching) Although they are harder to clean, the 'morphing' of one set to another provides cool visual effects.

 

Marching software is abundant. Though I have hardly any experience with drill software, Pyware is probably the preferred software. Using this software, one can write drill for all the students, animate it to see it in action, and then print individual "dot books" for students to get coordinates out of on the field.

 

As for marching technique, it TOTALLY depends on the school and director. A while ago I saw this marching technique guide on the BOA forums. It was published on the Cedar Park HS Band a few years ago. Though probably not up to par with more recent techniques, which change every year, it still has a lot of relevant information.

[Dynasty]

Just a note to everyone, I'm writing this in English class so please feel free to correct me or add-on.

[acsc1312]

Our drill writer uses pyware...it's really easy when it comes to learning drill because we get a copy of the drill (as said above) printed out and we find our letter & number (S1 for example)

[KatzsTheQuadPlayer]

another thing you probably wanna know about corps style is that the bigger programs don't write it in house, they more than likely hire somebody to write their music and drill from an outside party... not all do, but many, nonetheless.

[mnkyman]

^very true my whataburger eating friend

 

 

 

umm...yeah pyware and finale are 2 big softwares

 

pyware being used to write drill

 

finale being used to write music

 

 

like dynasty said 8 steps per 5 yards with a 4 step dot gird going across the field

 

 

 

corps also go backwards and are most of the time facing forward..unless they are doing some type of visual or a visual drill move where u face your set.

 

plus staging is a big issuge when it comes to corps bands..staging meaning...like ww's in front brass behind..and drumline behind that..(not exactly that) but just so that the band doesnt have a musical tear because of where this "part" is on the field.

 

 

umm..of course there is more but at this time im watching tv and cant remember anymore..so if i remember some more ill post it

[Fortisimo]

And of course there are pits.

And there are random visuals, like lunges, laying down, dancing, or something with your arms like our "crucifixion" visual in Wild Nights (not official name, I just call it that). These really depend on your head director and what he likes.

Hmmmm... what else... well, there's always follow boxes and whatnot... oh yeah, hornflashes and stuff...

other than that, some schools use synthesizers... which you know, I guess is all right, but it's really not our style. We like to do all the lifting ourselves, if you know what I mean. And some people mic pit stuff and solos, whihc, again, is not our style. I suppose the pit thing might change though... I doubt it will be next year though. As soon as I get a DVD of our performance at North TEcas I'll upload it so you all can have a look. It's pretty awesome.

Anyawys, other than that, I can't think of anything right now....

Oh yeah, we got Double G's and high E's for the 1st trumpets in our show. That's not common.

[mindfulmusician]

To our Lufkin friend,

It seems that no one has told you, but this site has an amazing media section. I think the best way to learn about corps-style bands (or to learn about ANY style of band for that matter) is to watch them in action. Therefore, I recommend that you go to the media section and check out some audio, and if possible, some video. Among the best are Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill, Westfield, James Bowie, Union, LD Bell, Richland, Marcus, Langham Creek (yes, Brian, I HAVE heard of Langham Creek), Cedar Park, and many others (please don't get mad at me if I didn't mention your band, I'm just thinking off of the top of my head). Please, go check them out - there are PLENTY of good band recordings and videos on this site...for FREE! And, they truly are amazing.

 

- mm

[LufkinSectionLeader]

Thank you; yeah, I just noticed that there was a media section! I'm slow, I guess. I've seen many corps bands, just because our team plays pretty much teams with corps bands. Plus, we hosted 2a contest this year, and I was a judge's assistant and stayed all day...from 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Many corps bands are different, and I was just wondering what was unique to your band, if anything. Thanks for the responses!

 

Also, has anyone heard of Queen City, or something like that? I really enjoyed their band music and their drill at the 2a contest!

[mnkyman]

marching style is defenitly unique to each band

 

some bands have a seperate marching director

(like in our case our head director is very involved with all aspects of the show, but when it comes to teaching the drill, visuals, and marching, it goes to the marching director.)

 

we have a rather large pit section with mics, a couple keyboards, a malat kat, a computer...umm...yeah...miced soloists...a stage...

 

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as for media there is a great selection here and at www.skrampsnewplace.com<<they have video and audio of alot of bands from alot of different years..

there is also a link of it on this sites home page on the left

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some marching shows have themes...a couple themes i can remember off the top of my head: twinkle twinlke little star, into the unknown, video game music, take me out to the ball game

[MisterNick]

While it's true that most military bands learn the drill by hand, Waymon Bullock (former Lufkin director and Drill-Writer for Nac High) invented his own military drill-writing software. While he's still perfecting it, a lot of band directors still prefer to do their own drill-writing by hand.

 

As for glide-stepping, as far as military bands go, that's specific to Lufkin, because a lot of military bands do have a "bounce in their step"; it's a way to tell if everyone is marching in step. If there is someone out of step, their head will "bob" in the opposite way of everyone else.