The Making of a Marching Band Show: Drill

Let me share with you the magic of drill.

The music is important, but what makes the show visually spectacular is the steps, the pictures drawn on the field with people, the movement and intricacies of getting musicians from one place to another all connected to the sound.

Who can do this? If I took a bunch of people and put them on a field and told them where and when to move and tried to create a beautiful dance, I would fail. Completely. But there are minds, wonderfully fabulous minds that can listen to music and place individuals on the field to make the spectators oooh and aaahhhh. Drill.

If you haven’t looked at the drill sheets, GO LOOK. TELL YOUR MUSICIAN TO SHOW YOU. Then ask them which little dot is them. You know those small specs.

All those dots…those are musicians and the Xs are color guard. The little squares indicate props. AND THIS MEANS SOMETHING TO THEM.

Pages and pages of tiny spots. Every step ready to be memorized, ready to be performed. Get from one place to the next, moving smoothly, moving together, taking exactly the right size step to land in the perfect position.

Dots on graph paper that will translate to a gorgeous show.

Drill. You can’t have a show without it. But the fact that someone can think this up and put it on paper and link it to the music, boggles my mind.

Next week, week two of band camp happens. Guess what all those talented musicians will be doing…

DRILL.

All the drill. Giving those little dots life. Moving from one place to another over and over again until their feet know where to go.

And…

MUSIC.

Playing each phrase over and over until their fingers know it by their little finger hearts.

ISN’T IT AMAZING!?!?!?!?!! It’s just like magic to me, though my daughter calls it work. It is magic what can happen when one puts in the work.

Marching band season approaches. Are you ready?

#bandcamp #drill #Marchingbands #practice