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 [...]
It’s a bit ironic that the topic of the article is about hitting a block in choreography, because I have definitely hit a bit of a writing block as of late. So, hopefully this article will inspire instructors as well as this author. First things first…realize that blocks are inevitable, and you are going to [...]
I realize the actual phrase is ‘ready, aim, fire’, but for the purpose of this article I’ve chosen to manipulate it just a little bit to illustrate a point. You see, ready, aim, fire suggests that as an instructor you first plan your rehearsal; second, set goals for the rehearsal, and finally decide how you [...]
“The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.” Denis Waitley I stumbled over this [...]
Chances are if you’ve attended more than one marching band show this fall you’ve seen the new Air Blade in action. In its first year, this alternative choice of weapon has been adopted by drum corps and marching bands across the United States. Now it’s time to design winter shows. If you’re thinking about using [...]
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.
“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 [...]
“Ever watch a mediocre or dirty color guard video on fast forward? Notice how they go from really dirty in regular play, to almost clean in fast forward! Sometimes the key to making your choreography readable or cleaner, is to speed up the velocity. If your guard is adequately trained, speeding up the velocity of [...]
Equipment Transitions can make or break a show. They can be one of the most difficult aspects to design but also one of the most important. A bad transition can stop the flow of your show in it’s tracks, or even distract the audience from very important sections of music or visual effect. However, when [...]
A Music Map is a tool to help you break down your music into logical and manageable chunks in order to be able to clearly see the overview of the show, determine equipment and drill transitions, plan effects, control pacing and evaluate musical ideas and structure. If you are working with a staff of choreographers, [...]
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Special Edition of Halftime Magazine – Color Guard Sectionals
If you’re a regular reader here at CGE then you probably know that we’re big fans here of Halftime Magazine. For those who may not be familiar with Halftime it is a print magazine specifically for the marching arts community. It was founded in 2007 by Editor/CEO Christine Ngeo Katzman and publishes 6 times a [...]
From the Archives: It’s all about Travel Safety
This week we pulled two articles from the archives regarding hotel and travel safety. This is it! If you’re going on an overnight trip this is one of those important moments in your experience as a coach to teach your students something that could serve to keep them safe throughout their lives – well beyond [...]
From the Archives: Can it be TOO clean???
This week’s articles from the archives: A Movement Moment #10: Too Clean? by Cheryl Myers (03/18/2010) Our resident “Movement Chick” suggests that yes… it is, perhaps, possible to be too clean… check out the article to see what she means. The ‘Winterguard Wand’ and Championships by Chris Casteel (06/09/2008) A very important article by Chris [...]
From the Archives: Planning for Championships
Earlier this month we asked for your best advice for planning an overnight trip on the facebook page. If you missed it make sure to look it up and check out the best advice from the community if you’re looking forward to your first overnight championships trip. This week we pulled 2 of our past [...]
Get Subscriptions to Halftime Magazine for only $1.00 each!
Halftime Magazine has a fantastic program we wanted to share with our readers. Directors can purchase a group subscription with copies for every student and staff member of your group for just $1.00 per person, per year. We love Halftime Magazine! And what better way to get your students excited for the next season while [...]
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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