Posted in: Musical Ensemble by Dynasty on January 16th, 2007 | 0 Comments
The problems marching bands have! And, some general solutions to them.
I think the major problem in general of all marching bands is the variance of motivation. Many marchers don’t show that they have pride on the outside, but on the inside, everyone in marching band has motivation. If they did not have motivation at all, they probably wouldn’t be in marching band. The key is to just care a little, even if “it” doesn’t sound right. On the field, so many people care about what they do and want to be the best they can. It is because of the people who DON’T care on the outside that is holding the band as a whole back. Thus, if the people that are holding the band back just “tap” their feelings in the inside, the band will improve, and will improve constantly.
The first thing that judges look at on the field is form. Form is mainly a result of motivation. If you have better form, you’ll have better everything else in marching. Plus there’s so many positives to having good form. If you have good form, you’ll be in better shape. If you have good form, you’ll look stronger. All of that.
The higher the toe height, the better. Higher “toes” not only make your marching technique look cleaner, but you can also control your upper body more. Many people that think that they cannot achieve high toes whatever they do. This is wrong, because if they try to put one of their feet perpendicular against the wall, they will realize that the toe really can go that high; really, everyone that can put their toe high up against the wall can have the same height on the field. But how? In general, there are two factors to make the difference on the field.
The first factor, being the most important, is landing on the bottom of the heel. Tons of people do NOT land on the bottom of the heel when forward marching, and that is what’s preventing them from maximizing their forward marching technique. Some might think, “Well, if I land on the back of the heel, I might trip or fall!” This widely held belief is definitely not true, as landing on the heel actually improves your balance and control in the lower body. There is a method to check that you are landing on the back of your toe. This involves marching with just the toe up and no roll stepping. As a result, it will be noticed if the person lands on the bottom of the heel or not.
