Get Inside The Box — And win!
Randy T. Gilmore
I recently saw a comic depicting a boss pointing at a subordinate saying, “You get back to your cubicle and start thinking outside the box!” Other than being an obvious oxymoron, you can… Read More...
"First Thoughts"
The 2011 Wyandotte Marching Chiefs show is entitled "Heroes & Villains". This year, the Wyandotte design team was struggling a bit with the concept development and asked me if I had any shows that I wanted to write.… Read More...
Techniques for Drawing Focus
Scott Kurtzweil
Sounds of the Desert
Music: Lawrence of Arabia, Sandstorm from Hidalgo & Caravan
In the last installment of this series, we discussed basic design elements with regard to… Read More...
Preparing the Marching Show Visual Design
Scott Kurtzweil
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.… Read More...
Show Concept and Design Clinic 2007
Scott Kurtzweil
Banddirector.com was gracious enough to ask me back again this year to provide another series of articles related to show concepts and design. For the 2007 installment of this online… Read More...
RESEARCHING YOUR BAND - Pt. 2
If working with a new marching ensemble, the first step in putting together a successful field show is to research the program as much as you can. For me, this information gathering is done through three… Read More...
Common Design Elements - Part 3
At this point we have gained all of the pre-design information that we will need to put a successful product on the field.
· We know that our band has a strong history of musical excellence and… Read More...
Writing With a Musical Purpose Pt. 5
Sccott Kurtzweil
A good visual design should always take work in conjunction with the music book. Not only is it important to match drill pages to the musical phrases but also match the score in… Read More...
More Musical Interpretation / Drawing Focus
Show Design 2007 Pt. 6
Scott Kurtzweil
Welcome to Cuba provides the designer, as well as directors, a myriad of challenges. The Afro-Cuban rhythms present the young musicians with plenty of… Read More...
Teaching & Cleaning
Scott Kurtzweil
The complete drill package for Sterling Heights High School is now complete and it is time to begin working with the students to get the designs on paper transferred to the field.… Read More...
When writing for a new band, it is integral to the success of the program to gather as much information about the band’s history, style and strengths. Another key factor is to establish a strong understanding of the expectations of not only… Read More...
Drill Design Preparation
2009 Drill Design
Scott Kurtzweil, Kurtzweil Designs
Before we get into the particulars of the actual design for the 2009 Notre Dame HS Band, let’s take a few minutes to go over the design preparation that I… Read More...
I try to stay an entire semester ahead in the form of planning. I don’t really have time to do this, but I certainly do not have time to have my planning go awry. I have found that when making plans months out, if I see the need to make… Read More...
Last fall, at the end of my first Marching Band Season, Steve Martin and I sat down to talk about what worked and what didn't with regard to the design of Reno's 2011 show. Part of the problem was that the Band Director job at Reno had been… Read More...
For this final installment, we are looking at the remainder of our opener. Our show follows the same formula of 99% of other marching programs in that the opener ends with a coda like re-cap of musical themes restated tutti and up tempo. Read More...
