Drill-writing Philosophy

School bands have a three-pronged origin.  They evolved from military bands, professional bands, and early amateur/school bands.  People often categorize modern-day band shows into two categories: traditional and corps style.  Traditional shows favor the more military heritage in terms of movement styles, auxiliary units, uniform and costume choices, and musical selections.  "Corps style" shows tend to emulate drum and bugle corps, popularized in the band world since the 1970s.

The truth is, that each band is unique to the school and community that it exists in because each group has a different history and different expectations.  To say that I am a "corps style" writer and teacher because of my background, or to say that I am a "SEC band" style writer or teacher because I went to graduate school at Auburn are BOTH wrong. 

A show should be written for the group that is going to perform it and for the setting in which it is going to be performed.  This is a most basic premise in the history of music, yet it often goes ignored in modern marching band terms.

Marching band is not drum corps.  The two organizations are polar opposites.  Each performs for different audiences, in different venues, for different purposes.  There are times when I want to hear the Boston Symphony, and there are times when I want to hear bluegrass or rock-and-roll.  Those usually occur under different circumstances.  The same is true with marching band and drum corps.

Marching band drill should look and sound effective in the setting in which it will be performed.  When I write a show, I visualize the setting and what my perspective would be in that setting and I write from that perspective.

Professional Information