Production Value is a term that instructors will often hear from GE judges. It is the aggregate value of music/sound, floor/set design, costumes, color and props all working together to create an overall production value in a show. The key to production value is to marry all of the above elements together in a way [...]
You may remember from my first article that I talked about relationships between the elements of a design. The buzz word for that concept is UNITY, and it’s an important one. In order for a design to be considered successful, all the parts need to come together in such a way that it works as [...]
Being involved in the color guard world, we all know what it is like to be on a budget. Some of you are probably thinking, “What budget? I wish I had money to budget!” This year I needed to allocate more money for flag fabric since we purchased 2 shaded-silk swing flags for each member [...]
I’ve been meaning to post this for a few weeks now, but we all know how time flies during the marching season! This year’s DIY project was a color changing belt. Our theme is “True Colors,” so we wanted the guard uniform change in some way to reflect the color song that was being played. [...]
I have always been a huge believer in collaboration. As a young instructor and designer I was very lucky that in my first few years I met someone who took an interest in helping me learn about the winter guard activity. He arranged for other, more experienced individuals, to work with me and my group [...]
Color guard instructor Amanda Gilanyi from Southern New Jersey has started a new blog for her own reflections and musings on the everyday life of a guard coach. In her article (reposted here with permission) “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” [June 5, 2009] she talks about her process of choosing the perfect [...]
(Article reprinted with permission of the author – first appeared Dec 2008 on www.wgasc.org) In my last article, I wrote about music selection and the importance of choosing the perfect piece of music as a vehicle for your competitive show. This week, I am moving on to the next step in the ladder of show [...]
Reader Rosemarie Heite Molinary shares her appreciation of the new Designer’s Color Kit from McCormicks and explains how this new tool helped her involve her students in the design process.
One thing we always do for our Christmas Parade, is we go to the Dollar Store and get everyone and Santa Hat and paint each guard member's name on their hat. We do this regardless of what uniform we wear for the parade. The girls always look forward to this and they get to take [...]
“Request two sets of fabric swatches if the company will allow. If the swatches are attached to a piece of cardboard, detach one set and leave the other set attached so you can mix and match colors to see different combinations while referring to the attached set for ordering. If the swatches are already detached [...]
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This has got to be the simplest Fun Friday craft project yet! It’ll only take you minutes (beyond gathering the supplies) but you’re sure to put smiles on the faces of your performers! ‘Flag’ Candy Canes Materials needed: Craft Felt Glue gun Sheet of paper Candy cane Instructions: Using the sheet of paper, cut a [...]
Remember in kindergarten everyone would gather around the teacher for story time? Everyone loves listening to stories, even high school kids! In our guard, we have ‘story time’ and it is connected to the development of our team core values. One of our values is to ‘Be good people’ and treat each other with respect. [...]
Materials needed: 20” x 50” fabric 2 x 80” pieces of cording Puffy paints, buttons, ribbon, bows, etc for decorating Cut 20” x 50” piece of fabric (you can alter the size to meet your needs). Fold in ½, right sides together. From top edge, mark 2” down. (Fig. 1) Using ½” seams, sew below [...]
This is a fun activity the entire band participates in! During marching season students create spirit bags for their own sections, for every performance. Spirit bags contain a few treats and some fun baubles from the dollar store (a glow stick, mardi gras beads, lip gloss, etc). Coaches and directors sometimes add a little note [...]
September is typically a tough month for kids since they have so many responsibilities, homework, the social scene of high school, and it can take some time to figure out the balance between life and marching band. It’s always the toughest time for my kids, even when they know the expectations of the guard. Once [...]
This has got to be the simplest Fun Friday craft project yet! It’ll only take you minutes (beyond gathering the supplies) but you’re sure to put smiles on the faces of your performers! ‘Flag’ Candy Canes Materials needed: Craft Felt Glue gun Sheet of paper Candy cane Instructions: Using the sheet of paper, cut a [...]
ON THE WEB: Band Saves Lives and Fundraises at the Same Time
We thought this was an interesting/unique approach to both service and fundraising – check out this New Jersey marching band that saves lives while also earning some money for their program. Win/Win!
ON THE WEB: Podcast about starting a brand new WG program
Episode 47 of the Marching Roundtable podcast series (posted December 12, 2011) is an interview with Tim LeBlanc – a guard instructor from TX who has also been a participant in the CGE community on Facebook – about his experience starting a brand new winter guard at a new school. Check it out! Episode 47: [...]
Remember in kindergarten everyone would gather around the teacher for story time? Everyone loves listening to stories, even high school kids! In our guard, we have ‘story time’ and it is connected to the development of our team core values. One of our values is to ‘Be good people’ and treat each other with respect. [...]
Budget-Conscious Costume Transformation
Being involved in the color guard world, we all know what it is like to be on a budget. Some of you are probably thinking, “What budget? I wish I had money to budget!” This year I needed to allocate more money for flag fabric since we purchased 2 shaded-silk swing flags for each member [...]
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