BLENDING FORM AND FUNCTION . . . is the primary role of every designer. Have you ever heard the term “seamless” design on an EA tape and wondered what they meant? I’ll tell you. It means that there is a constant flow of events that lead from one to the next without any awkward breaks [...]
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 [...]
As a General Effect judge, I am of the opinion that GE is the best caption on a panel, but I guess every judge feels that way about the caption they specialize in. What makes the GE caption so awesome is that the criterion assesses the overall program. It is the only caption that takes [...]
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 [...]
This will make your guard program better, I SWEAR! I had planned to cover this topic later in the series, but knowing that many guards are already starting their winter programs, I thought discussing it now might help prevent problems later on. One of the most common failures in all of color–guard–land is the dreaded [...]
“What the heck is Ensemble Analysis anyway?” Many people (Guard Instructors) ask me this question and it baffles me. It seems so obvious to me. How can people not get it? Apparently, I’m in the minority here. So, I’m going to try to explain it over the next several months along with thoughts about how [...]
Few other words evoke such a visceral reaction. Sweaty palms, increased heart-rate, feelings of entrapment, loss of control, arguments with family members or partners into the wee-hours of the morning… and now your band director? Seriously! You were hired to put on an epic production of guardliness not crunch numbers. Isn’t that what the sallow-skinned [...]
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 [...]
In early December, I had the privilege of interviewing Karl Lowe for the WGASC education webinar series. While there were certainly many nuggets of color guard gold that came from him during that interview, there is one in particular that I found to be especially compelling for this time of the year. I really appreciated [...]
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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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