Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Help I am a Marching band bassline caption!?

I was wondering what are somes good tips and rules to give my incoming freshmen.Help I am a Marching band bassline caption!?
did she not see the word ';bassline';?





anyway, watch your freshmen when they march. if there are a lot of them, have other upperclassmen watch them too (ex: i'll watch freshmen A and B and you watch freshmen C and D). give them advice on what they could do better. be friendly, helpful, and patient. don't pile on advice, otherwise they will feel overwhelmed. maybe 2-4 comments per practice would do fine. remember to be encouraging!





also, let them know the basic ground rules (don't talk when the instructor is talking, don't play unless you are told to, etc.). however, do not be afraid to get to know your freshmen. this can be very new and akward to them, and a friendly face and laughter will make it a lot more comfortable.





If anyone is having trouble with music, offer to hold extra sectionals (maybe come to practice an hour early?). remember to focus on technique and memorization, which will be the newest areas for your freshmen.





give them a list of stuff that they will need for band camp. it will be very helpful, especially if none of them forget their waterbottles and lunches and you can prevent any fainting.





if you want, schedule some time where you can hang out with your bassline and get to know each other without the stress and heat of practice. try swimming, a movie night, a sleepover, a picnic, a campout, whatever.Help I am a Marching band bassline caption!?
RULES:


1) BE ON TIME!!! Like what Dr. Lee said in Drumline...'; You're on time if you're 10 minutes early. You're late if you're on time.'; Tell them to be ready before the scheduled time so that they can get their drums on and find their spots on the field.





2) NO TALKING!!! When an upperclassman, section leader, or instructor is talking, you shouldn't be. When you're out on that field, there is no talking unless you have a question. You miss a lot of info runnin your mouth instead of taking in the instructions.





3) KNOW YOUR MUSIC AND DRILL!!! Nothing's worse than going out to play and you have no clue where to march or when you're suppose to play or move. They should take their music home to practice and run their drill over and over again until they know it forwards, backwards, and blindfolded.





4) DISCIPLINE!!! Learn your place and limits in the band. Don't overstep your boundaries and disrespect those who have authority over you. They're there to help, not to take any crap from rude members. Give respect to get respect.





5) HAVE FUN!!! Marching band is hard, no doubt. And even though you're supposed to be disciplined and well-behaved, there is still time to play around and have fun. On bus rides, breaks, games, and competitions, you can do all kinds of things. Play games, listen to music, etc. We play football when we're waiting for the results to tally up. We give nicknames to people. Our section leader is called ';Mouse';. Get to know them a little and encourage them to continue with music.





TIPS:


1) The weather can be pretty unpredictable at times. Make sure that they're prepared for all kinds of situations. Sudden rain showers, freezing cold, super hot, etc.


2) During band camp, wear the appropriate clothes. Shorts and t-shirts, NO FLIP FLOPS or SANDALS, tennis shoes, hats. Bring sunscreen and bottled water and/or gatorade/powerade to rehydrate. If they feel sick or is about to faint, move them to the shade. Not into the a/c cause it can make them sicker.


3) Keep their drumheads towards the stands so that the people can hear their drums better.


4) It's Left Right Left. lol


5) Keep your eye on the drum major. He/She controls the speed. Always look at them.


6) If they need help with music drill, schedule extra practices after school or make their weaknesses the focus points during class.


7)If you can't see the drum major, find someone close to you who is really really good at keeping tempo with him/her and watch their feet.


8) If you drop a stick, keep going. DON'T STOP!!! One of the instructors will pick it up. Keep moving your hands cause it'll look like you still have a stick in you hand.


9) Communicate with your section. Use facial expressions and such to tell each other stuff. Like to get into set position or to move around.


10) Second in a row: HAVE FUN!!!
Well to help keep them walking in a straight line explain the rows as graph paper to give them a mental note of how the lines intersect and where they need to be.





To help them with their horn angles tell them to look right above the top of the person's head in front of them that way their chins are up and hopefully their bells too.





Other than that, they need to KNOW their music. WELL. and just make sure that they're having fun and have pride in what they do.





Best of Luck!

No comments:

Post a Comment