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Simple Checkpoints
With many percussion rudiments, finding appropriate checkpoints to monitor timing can be extremely useful—more so as velocities increase or during ... -
Cell Phone Cleaning
The first few weeks after your color guard team has learned choreography, the routine is clean and looks awesome. And ... -
Three Pillars of Practice
Two class projects are due. Exams are coming up. Then there’s soccer practice, band rehearsals, track meets. And homework … ... -
One-Stage Attacks
Producing a well-defined initial attack presents a challenge for many brass players to the point that it can become a ... -
Learning in the Lot
You probably find yourself at various times watching outstanding percussion groups during their warmups—in the parking lot at WGI Sport ... -
What Goes Up …
I recently had the privilege of judging the WGI Sport of the Arts World Championships in Dayton, Ohio. For me, ... -
Explore, Expand, Energize
After the excitement of marching season in summer and fall months, rehearsals often become routine when preparing for festival or ... -
Monetizing Music
Articles in the journal from the Toronto Musician’s Association and the website informationisbeautiful.net provide interesting statistics about the impact of ... -
Swiss Army Triplets
Swiss Army Triplets are always fun to play. For one thing, they probably have the coolest name of all the ... -
Occupy CG
The word “occupy” is not one often used in the color guard activity. In fact, the word itself seems to ... -
No Matter What
How many of you would like to be a studio musician, living in a cool city and making all different ... -
Revolutionary Thoughts
We are living in revolutionary times. Facebook and Twitter have been in existence barely more than a decade, yet they ... -
Flame Taps
Flam taps are a favorite rudiment of mine. They involve the use of rebound, making them ideal for fast passages, ... -
The Art of Storytelling
As we jazz run our way into the winter guard season, we find the color guard performer more and more ... -
The Secret to More Sound
The required musical skills out on the marching band field are the same as inside a concert hall, band room, ... -
Sail the Seven C’s
I’m borrowing the title of this column from a book by trumpeter and author Clyde Hunt. It’s apt as I ... -
Visual Preparation
The visual portion of winter percussion has undergone significant change the last several years. To get a sense for how ... -
Flag Handling 101
In my travels this past field season, I have been a bit surprised to see so many guards struggling with ... -
Relieve Upper Body Tension
With marching season in full swing, flutists often suffer from upper body tension and head and arm fatigue as longer ... -
Circuit Training
Circuit training is highly regarded as an efficient and effective approach to physical fitness. Performing a series of short exercises ... -
Paradiddle Paradise
If paradiddles were a food group, they would be the vegetables. Maybe fruit too. Plus the meat and the carbs. ... -
So, You Have a New Instructor?
I recently moved from the West Coast to the East Coast and found myself instructing a new color guard. Actually, ... -
Getting Away
Is it important to have time away from your instrument? Is it important to have other areas of creativity that ... -
Pivotal Action
If you watch a brass player traverse a large interval, you may observe a change in the horizontal angle of ... -
Crash Course on Cymbals
The cymbal line is often one of the more overlooked sections of the marching percussion ensemble; however, it is an ... -
Tips for Student Leader
Some guard programs rely solely on their student leadership to create, choreograph, and clean routines. I can only imagine how ... -
Reed Myth Busters
I just got this new student who’d been playing for four years before he came to me for lessons. Our ... -
Timed Breathing
Timed breathing refers to the rhythmic placement of the inhalation and the quantity of air inhaled. While brass players are ... -
For the Greater Good
Unlike a lot of sections in the band, the percussion section is often very limited regarding the number of positions ... -
Never Stop Learning
One of the great things about color guard is that you can always keep learning, regardless of your role within ...
