Kurtzweil Designs Articles

In the last installment of this series, we discussed basic design elements with regard to staging and spacing as well as common demands placed on the performers. In this edition we will cover various techniques for dictating the viewer’s focus to various parts of the stage.

Now that we are fairly comfortable with the basic nuts and bolts of getting your performers onto and moving on the field, it is important to become aware of your audience and specifically, where you want them looking. There are many instances when you will want to call special attention to a specific area of the stage. It may be a specific section of the band proper has important melodic content, a musical or visual soloist, percussion, wind section or guard feature or a myriad of other reasons. Designing into your drill design a specific focal point makes your design appear more systematic, logical and easier to view. If you are writing for a competitive ensemble, it will also directly impact scoring from the standpoints continuity and general effect. Below are a few examples of common focus building techniques. Though these techniques can be used effectively alone, the impact generated from them is enhanced by utilizing two or more simultaneously.

1. Framing
   Creating a focal point by outlining an important feature or section is a highly common technique used by most drill designers. Page 12-13 is a good example of framing. The clarinets, saxophones and trumpets wrap the flute circle and pull around it as the circle moves back field.
2. Velocity
   Using different velocities or foot tempos is another method to call out a particular section of drill. Because the human eye will first pick up the fastest moving objects in its field of vision, the most effective use will be to make your featured section move faster than the lesser important elements around it. However, other common methods include moving an element in half-time or having that element remain static (“parked”) while other elements move around it.
3. Density
   Like the fasted moving object, the eye will also gravitate toward the most dense object(s) on the stage. Because of this, place a feature section into a solid or mass form while the remainder of the band proper is in anything but solid.
4. Color Guard
   Perhaps the most obvious method of drawing attention to a particular part of the stage is to stage color guard inside or framing that space.

Before we begin to discuss the drill design specific to this project, we first want to establish common compositional techniques used by all drill designers. These techniques are used individually and often in conjunction with others.

1. Linear – straight line patterns either in verticals, laterals or diagonals.
2. Curvilinear – Curvilinear patterns are combinations of arcs (parts of circles) or curves (parts of ovals).
3. Single Line Manipulation – Single Line drill puts elements into a single line that is flexed and pulled to create patterns. The Cadets are best known for using this single line drill for their trademark “whiplash” movements.
4. Follow the Leader – pulling elements around an established form from a single dot.
5. Arcs – Using parts of circles.
6. Mass form (blob) – pulling elements into a solid form without establishing any linear connection.
7. Solid Form – Pulling elements into tight vertical and lateral lines. Can be in many shapes but the most common are blocks and wedges.
8. Diffused / Random staging. Similar to mass form but spacing between elements in much greater. Also known as scatter drill, a diffused set establishes no recognizable patterns or shapes.

Basic Staging

When writing for a band, the visual elements you offer are important, but don’t forget that marching band is first a musical activity and that the sections of the ensemble should be staged in such a way as to give the most visual impact without impeding the musical presentation.

The Power Zone – The area of the field between the 35 yard lines and from the front sideline to the front hash is commonly referred to as the Power Zone. A drill designer will place his strongest voices (brass) within this space to get the most volume impact from a particular moment in the show. In many cases, the drill designer for a small ensemble will keep the entire group in this space for the duration of the show.

The Winds

• In general, try to keep like voiced instruments and similar musical parts together. This keeps the musical ensemble tighter and also presents a cleaner line for the eye to view forms.
• Staging winds for the marching band is usually the opposite of the way a concert band is set up. Unless the woodwinds are directly featured musically, I prefer them to be staged behind the brass. As they project less than the other brass instruments, I also like to keep the basses more toward the front of the ensemble when possible. This keeps the pyramid of sound more intact.

The Percussion Battery – As we all know, the drum line works as the metric pulse that holds the marching ensemble together. It is important that the staging demands placed on a drum line match well with the strength and maturity of their playing. A strong drum line that has played together for some time can handle many high level visual demands placed on them and manage to drive the show well from any where on the field. Younger, less experienced drum lines need to be handled with more care to ensure good ensemble not only with in the line but for the band as a whole. Below are a few simple suggestions to keep in mind when writing for a young drum line.

• Keep the battery together at all times. Young drum lines often rely greatly on the few strong players within the section to hold things together. Along these same lines, try to
  • Establish your center and end snare drummers and keep them in the same order whenever possible. Many drum sections are set up with their strongest players in these positions to keep them set. Also, many drum lines are taught to watch or listen in to the center snare.
  • Bass drum lines may be inverted but never change their order. Bass drum parts are usually written to walk up and down the section. Changing their order can cause too many ensemble problems with in the line.
• Though you need no longer write basic “elevator” drill where the drum line simply marches up and down the 50 yard line, do try to keep the battery staged between the 30s and near the back of the ensemble when ever possible. This helps lesson the chance of side to side phasing within the ensemble and also makes the wind sections feel more comfortable hearing a strong rhythmic pulse at their backs.
• If the band for which you are writing has sideline percussion, try to keep the battery forward of the back hash. Pushing the drum line too far back field can cause serious timing issues with the pit and will force the marching battery to play ahead of the beat to correct the problem.

Spacing

The space between performers dictates clarity of your form development and also musical impact. Though these can be changed with in a show, below are a few rules of thumb that I try to follow when writing.

Percussion:

• Snares – 2 Step
• Tenors – 3 Step
• Bass Drums – 4 Step
• Cymbals – 2 to 4 Step

Winds:

• Tubas
  • Sousaphones – 4 Step
  • Over the Shoulder – 2 to 4 Step
• All Other Winds – 2 to 4 Step

Guard:

• Weapons / Dancers – 4 to 8 Step
• Silks – 4 to 12 Step

Step Sizes:

Although step sizes will vary form position to position, below are a few of the most common

• 8 to 5: Comfortable for all sections.
• 6 to 5: More velocity. Only slightly larger than the step size of the average person.
• 5 to 5: Larger than average step size. Should only be used for short periods and at moments that are not musically challenging.
• 4 to 5: This is a standard “jazz run” step. Use only for short periods and moments that are not musically challenging. Avoid using this step size with tubas, bass drums and tenor drums.

While keeping these simple guidelines in mind, let’s begin to map out our show and start putting dots on paper.

I. Degree of Demand (Grade Level)

Before sitting down to design a visual package for a particular ensemble, I like to review video of its previous three years of performances. From these I can gain a wealth of information including performance and design techniques with which the students are already familiar and an over all sense of performance quality both for individual sections and the band as a whole.

Like most band music, a drill design can often be graded based on the demand that it places on the individual performer and the ensemble as a whole. In fact, many designers will grade their designs on the same 1 to 6 scale that is usually associated with band scores to make for an easy correlation. Also, like in choosing music for the band, it is important to purchase or create a drill design that offers the students the opportunity to grow while at the same time accenting your ensembles strengths while drawing attention away from its weaknesses.

For example, I have found that when it comes to visual design, the two most important sections to keep in mind when writing are the battery percussion and color guard. We will get in to the specifics of how to handle these sections in the next installment.

II. Design Concepts

Designing a show that will resonate with your audience is nearly as important as designing a show to fit your ensemble. If you are writing for a program that traditionally marches a Big Ten style half-time show, the last thing you may want to design is an extensive free-form moment complete with dancing mellophones. Conversely, if your audience includes judges, it is also important to write a show that is going to maximize your potential score in both composition and execution.

III. Dissecting The Musical Score

Prior to plotting that first page in Pyware, I will sit down with the entire program staff and break down the score into phrases . This final pre-design meeting ensures that all of the design team is on the same page with regard to phrasing and also gives me insight into necessary staging throughout the program (This is especially true with regard to the color guard as staging for them is critical based equipment, costume changes, etc.) The final result of this meeting is a phrasing spreadsheet (see below). This spreadsheet lays out not only count structure but also…

• Important Instrumentation – Staging important voices in the music book is as equally important as the type of movement you are designing. When staging, keep in mind the size and projection abilities of the instruments you are staging.
• Score Texture – The thickness of the voices in the music book has a big impact on the visual presentation of that book. If the voicing is fairly exposed, open up your staging and allow the eye to relax. If the texture is very dense, stack you layers vertically. This will add focus to the visual book but also make for a more homogenous band sound.
• Velocity – The speed of the visual development should match the rhythmic and harmonic tempo of the piece you are interpreting.
• Color Guard Staging Plans – Working with your guard designer should give you a good idea as to the type of work he/she is planning. Keep in mind the “reach” of the choreography (i.e. – a silk on a 6 ft. pole allows much greater visibility than a body only phrase).

A good drill design is one that puts all of these various elements of the marching ensemble together into one cohesive package. The success of this combination is directly related to the show’s logic and flow, the comfort with which your performers will present the design, the reaction of your audience and, if a competitive band, your G.E. score (both visual and musical). We are now ready to start putting dots on the paper.