As we should all know, the music we're performing on the field is an entity of sorts -- it breathes through its phrases, the percussion provides its heartbeat, and the melodies, harmonies, and tempi express its feelings. We, as musicians, should strive to make the music feel as alive as possible to our audience. To do this, we must breathe with the music, feel its pulse, and sing its emotions to the people in the stands (and the press box). While we're busy marching formations on the field, we must also keep in mind what the music is doing, and to do that we must listen.

We've all heard our directors ask for "more". More what? Sound? Maybe. Emotion? Probably. Harshness? Perhaps. It all depends on what the music calls for. Look back at your music frequently, even if you have it memorized. Even though you have all the notes up in your head, and, most likely, a general gist of what the dynamics and tempi are, there are so many subtle qualities of the music you can help bring out if you always keep in mind what's happening with the music and how it's breathing. Listen to a recording of the music in its original setting -- hear how a professional band or orchestra performs the piece. Pick out your part, and follow its line throughout phrases, sections, and throughout the work.

Then, listen again, several more times -- see how your part fits in with the whole. Do you have the melody? Or do you have some sort of harmonic line -- a canon, close harmony a third below the melody, an inner voice, a bassline, or a countermelody? Then, listen again -- listen to the pulse of the music; get the tempi in your mind; listen to the accelerandi, rallentandi, grand pauses -- listen to anything that happens in the music. You could even ask your director if you can borrow the full score (or, better yet, a condensed score) to see what's going on in all the other parts.

Dealing with Arrangements from Orchestral Works

With most shows nowadays having a more classical flavor, much of the repertoire used for marching band today comes from orchestral standards. A lot of shows are from the Romantic era (composers like Ravel, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, and Mussorgsky), and many are from contemporary repertoire (like Shostakovich, Copland, Stravinsky, and Gerswhin). Also in the contemporary vein is an ever-growing body of great concert band standards, with Grainger, Gillingham, Alfred Reed, Holst... the list goes on -- the most important thing is to listen to the original and hear what's going on.

If your part is transcribed from another wind part, there shouldn't be much of a problem. Listen to how your part sounds in the original recording, and transfer that to your playing as best you can. Since most bands don't march double reeds, their parts have to go somewhere -- any of the upper woodwinds might get an oboe part. Bass clarinets, trombones, baritones, and baritone and tenor saxophones will most often get bassoon parts, but the bassoon's range is so wide that clarinets or alto saxophones could have some bassoon transcription show up on their pages as well.

If your part is borrowed from a string part, as it often is with saxophones (from viola or second violin parts for alto, and from cello for tenor and baritone), listen to how the strings play; listen to their articulations and releases. Try to copy these into your playing as closely as possible. Don't cut off all your notes as sharply as possible, especially in slower, more emotional passages. Listen to how the strings perform a unison cutoff, and add that into your cadre of playing techniques.

Sharing Parts with Other Instruments

Often, your section won't be the only one playing a particular part. Good arrangers strive to blend the tonal palette they have with the marching band so that it resembles the original sound as closely as possible. You, as musicians in the band, must help the arranger by knowing what's going on with other parts. Pay attention when your director makes a comment on the blend of a section of music. If you're a trombonist, you'll most likely have to blend with the bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, baritone, and tuba lines; if you're an alto saxophonist, you'll share a lot of parts with the clarinets and mellophones. Again, the most important thing is to listen.

If you add these tips to your knowledge of your instrument, and the other sections cooperate with you, you can help make a show that you and your audience won't soon forget.