Color Guard: Make Everyone Feel Part of the Show

Marching band membership consists of many different artistic areas: wind players, percussionists and color guard. Today’s shows are creatively richer and consist of increasing pressure to deliver a ‘technically perfect’ performance. This situation can lead to the Program Director’s focus being shifted more heavily towards the success of the wind players, both musically and marching / maneuvering, while the percussion and color guard members are left to practice with student leaders or with hired technicians. If the color guard students are fortunate, they have a designated class period offered during the school day for them to specifically work on developing their technique and choreography for the show. However, the more common scenario that many programs face is that the color guard group only meets during the marching band’s rehearsals, before or after the regular school day. Which leaves the color guard members feeling isolated or worse, not feeling they are a valued part of the marching arts program.

A color guard ensemble consists of many moving artistic parts – dance / movement technique / training, equipment technique / training, choreography for the show (all of which must be memorized from the start of learning it), equipment needs, uniform needs, hair and makeup and truthfully a list of many more details so long it would amaze you! I know firsthand how very overwhelming all of these vital details can be for a Program Director, on top of many other details they need to address for the other wind and percussion ensembles. Unfortunately, it is all too easy and a bit more convenient to inadvertently leave the color guard in someone else’s supervisory hands.

The price for leaving the color guard students to fend for themselves during rehearsals is much higher than you might think. Here’s why. Color guard serves as the visual sound of the marching band performance. What the audience hears should also be displayed visually through the color guard and as is often the case, visual effects from the wind players themselves! Seeing how the music will be visually interpreted by their peers can profoundly influence and enhance a wind or percussionist approach to their musical performance and movement. By simply engaging the color guard members as you do the other ensembles within the marching band, they will feel a part of the community you are building and you will be able to not only maintain color guard membership, but even build passion and excitement to grow it in the future.

Here are some simple guidelines I’ve used in my past to help bridge the gap between Program Directors and my color guard members:

• Address your color guard students at every rehearsal
• Notice and comment when they are improving (in person praise is essential!)
• Comment on the musicality / impact of the choreography to the overall show design so they and your wind and percussion members uniformly share your vision
• Meet with color guard leadership as well as the members to get their feedback and concerns about the rehearsals and overall show performance
• Allow the percussion and wind members to hear you correct / praise the color guard team in person. Everyone can benefit from each other’s critiques.
• Keep the color guard staff well informed of changes in the program (adjustments to the drill, meeting times, added rehearsals, etc.) so they may in turn communicate that to the color guard when you are not able to do so directly.
• Lastly and most importantly, ensure the announcements you make to your band / percussion classes prior to rehearsal, are also shared with the color guard. A lack of consistent communication is the number one disconnect between the color guard and the other parts of the marching band.
• Send a follow up reminder to your members so they can have a reference. With so many details, it's helpful to have a reliable communication platform like CutTime to handle your weekly announcements, events, and so much more.

The color guard works hard to give the marching band the best visual support they can and they want to hear from YOU. Your guard ensemble strives to do their part for the overall success of the marching band and simply want to be recognized as another member of the marching band program and that their contributions to the show help make an even bigger creative impact.

That’s why your color guard is a wonderful opportunity to add members to your band program from the general population of the school and build excitement and recognition for the band program within the school and the community you serve. All together now!