The Metronome...

[Fata1]

Our school marches on the parking lot and we use stickers to mark our sets. Usually, we learn a group of sets, rehearse it for a few days, and when we start on the next group of sets, we peel up all of the old stickers so the field doesn't get cluttered with dots.

 

Something new this year are red dots that have been painted on the practice field in between yard lines and every four steps. At first, I thought people might rely too much on the dots and get thrown off on a football field but that doesn't seem to be a problem. Our lines this year are infinitely better than previous years.

Edited October 24, 2008 by Fata1

[Skippy]

  takigan said:

I wonder if there are any state-ranked bands out there that don't use chalk or stickers or markers or what-have-you. I figure a lot of smaller schools march on grass because they can't always afford pavement (I use to justify their predominantly sloppy drill with that explanation) but most suburban districts have a pavement field I'm sure.

 

At SFA we didn't use anything to mark our sets. We were just given coordinate sheets, and then we memorized our dots. Then to check, we'd step it off to the nearest hash or visible 4-step tick (we had pavement). Kids can handle it, you just have to teach them how, and start slow.

 

They use another system under the new director though.

[borchnork]

Don't totally quote me on this, but I believe Bell marches and learns drill on an actual field... Idk if they use dots or not though.

[the terminator]

we have an actual field, so we start learning w/ poker chips

[actualgirltrombone]

We used to actually spray paint all the dots on the field, which was an absolute DISASTER at the first game. Now we just have the 4x4 grid with red dots every 4 steps and yellow in between. It's actually helped a lot.

[Dizlilnikkaboy]

From what I heard about bell they actually had diagrams and just found their spot on a field in relation to the picture they had on the sheet.

 

and for the metronome one of the bands that use metronomes, or use to not too sure anymore, would be westfield for a good portion of their games.

[takigan]

So Bell just uses drill books/charts and doesn't set markers on a field?

 

That's crazy hard to believe for a band that has some of the most solid and defined curves and forms on the field I've ever seen.

[pokerface]

  takigan said:

So Bell just uses drill books/charts and doesn't set markers on a field?

 

That's crazy hard to believe for a band that has some of the most solid and defined curves and forms on the field I've ever seen.

 

 

I believe they way Xenon explained how Duncanville learns drill is probably similar to the way LD Bell learns drill. I only can only assume because they both have Brian Youngblood as their drill designer and I know he does drill charts/pictures, and not coordinates like a Michael Gaines might do. Both these bands seem to have had a great deal of ensemble visual success year after year, so it seems to be working for them.

 

I think it also helps to keep a consistent process of how the drill is written, so that a staff can continually improve their approch and become more effecient with teaching/cleaning drill. Again, both these groups have been fairly consistent over the years with their visual consultation.

[GuitarJoe]

  takigan said:

So Bell just uses drill books/charts and doesn't set markers on a field?

 

That's crazy hard to believe for a band that has some of the most solid and defined curves and forms on the field I've ever seen.

 

When we would rehearse on our practice field at Bell, spray paint was used to mark difficult sets. We would find our spots on the chart and Mr. Earnhart would set us from the tower with help from the techs, then have each persons position spray painted with a dot.

 

We used poker chips to mark spots when rehearsing at Pennington Field.

[borchnork]

so if the sets weren't difficult, did you just not paint them and go simply off memory?

[GuitarJoe]

  borchnork said:

so if the sets weren't difficult, did you just not paint them and go simply off memory?

 

Yop.

[borchnork]

That's so interesting. Cus wow... Bells stuff is super clean for learning without markers.

[bluebellbrass07]

I thought we got pain or used chips for every dot...

[treblemaker]

  bluebellbrass07 said:

I thought we got pain or used chips for every dot...

 

pain? I think you meant paint*

[bluebellbrass07]

  treblemaker said:

pain? I think you meant paint*

 

No, I meant pain. They would beat and whip us until we knew all of our dots by memory. Thats why our drill was so clean in 04

[clarinethero]

i really dont care wat bell does. but, dont u have a practice field in a parking lot not on the football field? for us we have our own section in the parking lot with dotswhich is our practice field.only fridays we go and reharse in the football field.

[eNVy]

back to the metronome topic, our band has never used one at a game (for the band) but our drum majors have minimetronomes to listen to the tempo and then count us off. the weirdest thing ive seen metronome wise was one of the bands in area b finals, i think it was haltom, had their drum major clip a metronome on her ear! it was a very odd sight...

[clarinethero]

  Nick VandenBush said:

back to the metronome topic, our band has never used one at a game (for the band) but our drum majors have minimetronomes to listen to the tempo and then count us off. the weirdest thing ive seen metronome wise was one of the bands in area b finals, i think it was haltom, had their drum major clip a metronome on her ear! it was a very odd sight...

 

 

oh..wow..that must be wierd.

[lhstrumpet]

Lawrence Central did that also in BOA semifinals.

 

Gooooo boa fan network!

[borchnork]

  Nick VandenBush said:

back to the metronome topic, our band has never used one at a game (for the band) but our drum majors have minimetronomes to listen to the tempo and then count us off. the weirdest thing ive seen metronome wise was one of the bands in area b finals, i think it was haltom, had their drum major clip a metronome on her ear! it was a very odd sight...

 

that actually just sounds downright painful.