Marching Terminology
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Attention:
At attention, the feet should touch at the heels and toes. The body should be tall with the head held
high and the eyes focused straight ahead.
The shoulders should be held up and back, and
the arms should be holding the instrument in the correct carry position,
defined below. There is no talking in
the attention position. Instrument Carry Position: The instrument should be help in front of
the body, with the arms forming a 90-degree angle at the elbow. With the exception of saxophones, the mouthpiece
should be held at eye level.
Saxophones should hold the instrument parallel to the ground, the neck
and mouthpiece pointing upward. For
all instruments, the elbows should be held away from the body so that the
instrument is approximately eight inches in front of the body. Parade Rest:
In the parade rest position, the feet should be placed shoulder-width
apart, with the right foot remaining in the original drill position (the left
foot slides outward at the parade rest command). The upper body should be straight but
relaxed, with the instrument held comfortably in front of the body. Playing Position:
Flutes/Piccolos: The instrument is parallel to the ground and
held so that it forms a 90-degree angle with the outer part of the right leg. Clarinets: The instrument should be held out at a
45-degree angle with the elbows held away from the body. Trumpets,
Trombones, Mellophones: The arms
should be held as they are in the carry position, with the instrument
parallel to the ground. Tubas: The mouthpiece should be aligned with the embouchure,
and the right hand should rest on the valves. Drummers: Sticks should be held at the normal playing
position. Cymbals: The cymbals should be in front of the body
in playing position, parallel to the sides of the body. * Elevated horn
angle is a position in which the instruments (except for flute, piccolo,
and clarinet) are held up an additional 15 degrees from the original playing
position. “To the box” means that the instrument’s bell should be held
angled to the press box. In this
position, flutes should raise their chin so that the eyes and head are
focused on the box, and clarinets should raise the bell 15 degrees up from
the original playing position. Horns up:
The command will be “Band Horns Up” in three counts. The response is “Out Up,” where the
instrument is pushed slightly away from the body on “out” and moved into the
playing position on “up.” Horns Down:
The command will be “Band Horns Down” in three counts, and the response
is “And Down.” The movement should be
the opposite of the horns up command; the instrument should be removed for
the embouchure on “and” and should return to the carry position on “down.” Mark Time: MT – The feet are together so that
the heels and toes are touching. Only
the heels will move while marking time; the toes will always remain on the
ground. At the command, “Mark Time
Mark,” the heel of the left foot should be raised one inch from the ground on
the “and” of the beat. On the “and” of
the next count, the right foot should do the same. The feet should alternate, with the heels
only moving on the “and” of each count. Halt: The
command for a halt is “Band Ready Halt” in three counts. The band should respond “Step Close” with
the right foot taking one step on “step” and the left foot returning to the
attention position on close. Left Face:
On the command “Band Left Face” the band will respond “Step Turn
Together.” On “step,” the right heel
will be placed directly in front of the body.
On “turn,” the player should pivot to the left on the ball of the left
foot and the heel of the right foot.
On “together,” the right foot should return to the attention position,
with both the toes and heels touching. Right Face:
On the command “Band Right Face” the band will respond “Step Turn
Together.” On “step,” the left heel
will be placed directly in front of the body.
On “turn,” the player should pivot to the right on the ball of the
right foot and the heel of the left foot.
On “together,” the left foot should return to the attention position,
with both the toes and heels touching. About Face:
On the command “Band About Face” the band will respond “Step Turn
Together.” On “step,” the right heel
will be placed directly in front of the body.
On “turn,” the player should pivot 180 degrees to the left on the ball
of the left foot and the heel of the right foot. At the end of this turn, the weight of the
body should be balanced evenly on the balls of both feet. On “together,” the right foot should meet
the left foot to return to the attention position, with both the toes and
heels touching. Chair Step:
The chair step should be broken down into four segments, beginning
with the feet in the attention position.
On the first beat, the left heel should come up from the ground to a
position where toe is pointed and still in contact with the ground. On the second count, the leg should be
raised to the point where it is just below parallel to the ground, and the
toe should remain pointed with the ankle locked. On the third count, the toe should return
to the ground, still pointed and not yet in the original position. On the last count, the ankle should be
“unlocked” and the heel should return to the starting position. This process is then repeated with the
right foot. During the chair step, the
upper body should be held in a straight, supported position so that the
movement of the legs does not cause the player to sway back and forth. Forward March:
FM - Beginning with the
left foot, the player should place the heel straight in front of the body,
lifting the foot only slightly off the ground. The foot should then be rolled forward from
heel to toe, creating a smooth gliding movement. In glide step, the ankles should cross on
the “and” of each beat. The feet
should remain parallel to each other throughout the entire motion; the feet
should never be placed one in front of the other during glide step. Backward March:
BM - Begin by elevating the
body so that the weight distributed evenly on the balls of both feet. The left foot should move first, with the
player moving the toes backward by lifting to foot slightly off the
ground. The weight of the body should
be pushed of with the foot that is not moving. As with the glide step, the ankles should
cross on the “and” of the beat. At a
slow tempo, the foot can be rolled from toe to heel; at a faster tempo the
player should stay on the balls of the feet during throughout the entire
step. Right Flank (RF)
and Left Flank (LF): On event counts, a right or left flank
should be made by pivoting in the direction of the turn on the right
foot. On odd counts, the same motion
should be used, but the player should pivot on the left foot. Instruments will always face in the
direction of the move. To The Rear: TTR – The player should do an about face
on the last count of the move, always turning to the left. Instruments will always face in the
direction of the move. Oblique (right (RO)
or left (LO)): Using the same technique as with a right of
left flank, turn 45 degrees in the direction indicated. March at a 45 degree angle, then return to
a forward position on the last count of the move. Instruments will always face in the
direction of the move. Slide Left (SL)
/Slide Right (SR): This move is similar to the flank; a slide
is executed by moving the feet to the right of left while keeping the
instrument and the upper body facing the sideline. In other words, the feet and the hips
should face the “new” direction, while the shoulders and instruments remain
facing the “old” direction. Turns: Lturn/Rturn - In a turn, the player should mark
time while slowly turning to the right or left in either 4 or 8 counts. Flip Home (FH)
/ Flip Away (FA) / Flip In (FI) / Flip Out (FO): The player should
perform a flank on the right foot in the direction indicated. Home =
the home sideline Away =
the away sideline In =
toward the 50 yard line Out =
toward the end-zone Float to Position:
FTP - The player should adjust
his or her step size so that the full number of counts is used to get to the
next position on the field. The step
size should remain equal throughout the entire move (ex. The player should not begin with very small
steps and then expand them in order to compensate for the first few small
steps). Follow the Leader: FTL - Each player should follow the path of the person in front
of him, keeping the shape of the form as he moves in the new direction. Change of Direction: COD -
This technique is used to move from a forward motion to a backward motion
without a pause in between. On the
last count of the forward march, the weight should be distributed evenly on
the balls of both feet. On the “and”
of the first count of the next move, the right foot should take the first
step backward. The right foot will
never move on count one. Point to Point:
The player should use a 22.5” step size to move to his or her next
position, only taking the number of steps necessary to complete the move, and
mark time for the remainder of the counts.
For example, if the move is 16 counts and the player needs to take
eight 22.5” steps to get to the next chart, he or she should move for eight
beats, then mark time for the other eight. Ready Front:
On the command “Ready Front,” the instruments should be returned to
the carry position and the head should turn back toward the front. |
