The art of Conducting!! (Drum Major!)

The art of Conducting!! (Drum Major!)​

My Background:
Well, I am currently the Head Drum Major of my High School (Would rather not say which one) , and this is my SECOND year being a Drum Major. I am only a Jr. in High School though, which means I still have a THIRD year of being a DM to go. I have plenty of hands on experience with being a leader and in this case a DM so I decided to write this guide. Literally, my life revolves around band and being a DM. I hope that my experiences and this guide, convince you to give band and marching band a shot, and if you already have, continue band throughout life! (Note the picture below is not me, just a picture of the Drum Major from a Drum and Bugle Corps)



http://www.drummajoracademy.com/_wizardimages/Salute1small.jpg <-- Direct link to picture

Table of Contents

I. Origin of the Drum Major
II. General Information
III. Commands and Basic Conducting
IV. Some Miscellaneous Information

I. Origin of the Drum Major

Well a Drum Major (hence forth referred to as the &#8220;DM&#8221 is the leader of a Marching Band (or Drum Corps). The Drum Major first came to be during the Civil War Era if I remember correctly. Ever noticed how in old history books and cartoons, there would be a Sneer Drum player marching with the army? Well, during war times, there would be a sneer drum for EVERY camp in the army. When the camps went to rest for the night, the drummers would communicate via playing the drums. The first camp would play the part meaning that the camp was ok. Then the second one would hear it, and play his as well. If a camp was under attack, there was a distress message. When there ended up being so many drummers, it was necessary to elect the best one, and put him in charge of all the other ones. That is the story of how the Drum Major came to be. How this eventually moved to college and high school marching bands, I&#8217;m not completely sure, but in any sense, they still LEAD the band.



http://www.1stmichigan.com/images/civilwar_med.jpg <-- Direct link to picture

II. General Information

Field Conducting

- The DM establishes AND maintains tempo throughout an entire performance.
- The DM must be prepared to handle any situation that may arise on the stage (Football Field). Some weird things that have happened before, is the sprinklers accidentally turn on.
- The DM must require the band to maintain a PROPER tempo, and insist that perfection be achieved.
- The DM must LEAD, not follow the band.
- The DM will have to be quick when thinking about multiple things at once, such as keeping tempo and keeping the ensemble together whilst tempo problems arise.
- WATCH THE BANDS FEET! The DM must know the basic principles of sound delay. By the time music is played from back field and it reaches the DM&#8217;s ears, the music WILL be off tempo. If it isn&#8217;t, then you might be doing something wrong. The natural tendency here is to slow down, but you must keep pushing the band forward!
- Use a Metronome. ALWAYS. It will help establish correct tempos. The ONLY perfect tempo there is, is from a Metronome.
- During times of tempo problems, locate the head sneer drum player, and get him into tempo with you. If you can get him (or her) to follow you, the rest of the band should come too. If for some reason it is not fixed quickly, it may become necessary for you as the DM to follow the band&#8216;s tempo during a performance. This is the ONLY time you should ever follow the band.
- In the case of Multiple DM&#8217;s, elect ONE DM to establish the tempo each song. This DM should be your most experienced (usually the center podium DM).

Sectionals, Rehearsals, and Performances

- Be prepared to dedicate a LOT of time to being a DM. You should attend AS MANY sectionals as you possibly can. This is to both maintain a high level effort and to show the band, that they&#8217;re worth the time that they are putting in. It is not always an obligation for you to be there, but it certainly makes them feel worth while if you are.
- During a sectional (unless it is one for the DM&#8217;s) DO NOT take control of it. Let the section leader handle the sectional on their own. After all, it is their section and they should know best. If a Section Leader should ask you to step in momentarily, do so, but encourage them to do it on their own. This will help them in becoming a more effective leader in general.
- Before a rehersal, you should check with your band director on what is to be accomplished. YOU have to be the GO TO PERSON. If you don&#8217;t know, ask. Be effective, not defective. Get an itinerary if at all possible. Stick to that itinerary if available.
- Bring all your supplies including your scores, memorize your music as QUICKLY as possible, and always, BE PREPARED. If the staff needs help, you must oblige to do so and do it effectively.
- Before a performance, you should consider the following things :
1. Make sure the band is assembled properly and is where they need to be on time.
2. Take attendance if needed. (I&#8217;ve never had to do this, because we take roll prior to leaving for the performance.
3. Be ready to call commands out if needed during a performance.
4. Always set the correct example. This includes Dress, Leadership, Punctuality, and Alertness!!

III. Commands and Basic Conducting

Vocal Commands
- Must be both short and precise.
- Must have rhythm and Voice Inflection
- Voice Inflection is the difference in pitch during a command. For example, during the command &#8220;Mark-Time-Hut,&#8221; you should start the word &#8220;Mark&#8221; at a comfortable pitch. The word &#8220;Time&#8221; should also be at a comfortable pitch, yet slightly lower than the first pitch. Then the word &#8220;Hut&#8221; should be back at the original pitch where &#8220;Mark&#8221; was. It should go &#8220;High-Low-High&#8221; however not to any extreme. The difference in pitch is very slight, just enough so you can tell the difference in pitch.
- There are 2 parts, the preparatory command, and the command execution
- The preparatory command informs the band you are about begin a command (This can include clapping 4 times in the rhythm you plant to execute the command, which is what my high school does).
- The command execution, is the command itself, such as an Attention command, Dress Command, or Parade Rest command.
- A command typically lasts 3 beats.
- Be loud enough for the ENTIRE band to hear you. It is a common mistake to be unsure of yourself and be too quiet!
- Always know what command you are going to say next. Nothing makes a more embarrassing moment than when you stumble on your own words in front of a 100+ person band.

Basic Conducting Patterns
I&#8217;m not going to dive to deep into this subject (ALTHOUGH VERY IMPORTANT) because every band director has his own preference for the DM&#8217;s to conduct with. So I will just put up some very basic diagrams for how the conducting pattern should move.

Two-Beat Pattern
This is the simplest of all the stroke patterns. It is a straight down and up movement.



http://numbera.com/musictheory/conducting/images/2bt.gif <-- Direct link to picture

Three-Beat Pattern
This pattern is similar to a right triangle. (45,45,90 degrees if that makes it a better picture). You start by going down, then out to the right (or left depending on which hand) and then back up to where you started beat 1.



Picture was made by me in MS paint, there is no link.

Four-Beat Patter
This is easily the most common beat pattern in music and should be an essential beat pattern to learn. You will start by going down for beat one (Just like the other beat patterns already discussed). Then you will move your hands towards the inside of your body. This is where beat 2 is. Then you will bounce the beat back out to the outside, and then beat 4 is at the top where you started beat 1.



http://www.digitalconductor.com/pattern2.gif <-- Direct link to picture

IV. Some Miscellaneous Information

Some Odds and Ends of Conducting
- Always watch the performers FEET to see if the band is on tempo. You must train yourself to not follow what you hear. Time Delay will kill your tempo if you follow the sound instead of watching the feet!
- Always use a Metronome. Enough said.
- DO NOT mark time on a podium. It is just one more thing to concentrate on and can ultimately lead to conducting problems.
- Praise in public, Criticize in private. If you have good to say, say it aloud for everyone to hear. If its something bad, wait until a break or after a performance to address the person it concerns.
- Keep active during the rehearsals. Don&#8217;t let the band think you&#8217;re getting special treatment because you are sitting on your podium while they are setting drill. Get out there and HELP them. It shows that you are both a good leader and CARE about the band in general. Everyone will enjoy you more if you do.

Finally, some closing remarks
- Your primary responsibility is to set AND maintain the tempo.
- The key to get respect from the group is to keep active and participate, even when the activity has nothing to do with your part in the show.
- Being the DM does NOT give you the right to treat Marching Band as a spectator sport. Get into the rehearsal and get your hands dirty (not literally, but metaphorically). Help make your group better, if you don&#8217;t know what to do, ask the band director!!

I would like to thank you for reading my guide and I hope in one way or another it helps you understand band, marching band, drum majors, and the art of conducing better! Best of luck with all of your efforts and I hope one day, you get to experience this amazing position!!

If you want to see a REALLY cool video, I would suggest you watch this. It is a video of Phantom Regiment doing an encore following one of their shows. You can see the Drum Major through most of it.

 

Wonderful guide, nicely written. Lots of information and explained well.

 

10/10
Great guide

 

Thanks. Glad to see I finally have some feedback on this guide. This guide took me quite a bit of time to write. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do even today. Being a Drum Major has literally become my life. It's the best experience I've ever had.