Simplifying a Marching Band Show Before Assessment
You direct a 64-member high school marching band with three weeks until state assessment. The three-movement show has one unresolved section: 32 counts of drill in movement 2 that the band has never marched cleanly. The closer's 16-count percussion feature is performance-ready. Instrumentation is 10 woodwinds, 34 brass, 12 percussion, and 8 colorguard; only two horn players are available, and the score contains an exposed four-part horn soli in movement 2. The assessment rubric weights ensemble timing, marching precision, and general effect. You have four 90-minute after-school rehearsals and one stadium rehearsal. Three seniors will miss the first rehearsal for a college visit. The drumline captain is recovering from a wrist injury and can march but cannot play tenors. The principal asks whether cutting movement 2 would be safer than risking a sloppy performance.
1. Recommend whether to cut movement 2, simplify the drill, or keep it intact. Use the assessment rubric and rehearsal constraints to justify your decision.
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I would not cut the entire movement. Cutting a third of the show would weaken general effect and disrupt the program's architecture, while the unresolved 32 counts are a timing and precision risk. Instead, I would simplify that 32-count section to 16 counts by removing a lateral slide and reducing body-facing changes, while keeping the final 16 counts that set up the closer. For the exposed horn soli, I would rewrite the four-part texture for the two available horns and add one trombone or alto saxophone to double the lower line. That preserves the soli's function without pretending the missing horns exist. The rubric rewards clean timing and marching precision, so a simpler visual phrase that the band can march confidently is worth more than an ambitious phrase that produces phasing and interval errors. The percussion feature stays intact because it is already performance-ready.
2. Build a four-rehearsal plan with time allocations that addresses the senior absences, the rewritten soli, and the drumline captain's injury.
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Rehearsal 1 (90 minutes): 10-minute warm-up; 30 minutes sectionals on the simplified 16-count drill without the three seniors; 20 minutes teaching the rewritten horn soli; 20 minutes percussion feature; 10-minute standstill music run. Do not attempt a full run without the seniors. Rehearsal 2: 10-minute warm-up; 25 minutes full-band music rehearsal of movement 2 with metronome, focusing on the soli entrances; 25 minutes drill at half tempo with the seniors integrated; 20 minutes closer; 10-minute recording review. Rehearsal 3 (stadium): 15-minute warm-up; 25 minutes transitions into and out of movement 2; 25 minutes full marching run with the percussion feature; 15 minutes video review; 10-minute reset. Rehearsal 4: two full run-throughs with assessment-style stops only for safety, then 15 minutes of individual section fixes. The captain marches cymbals or bass drum and does not play tenors.
3. How would you communicate the decision to the principal and to the drumline captain so that both understand the rationale and the remaining risks?
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To the principal, I would give a one-page rationale: the show remains three movements; the 32-count phrase is reduced to 16 because the rubric rewards timing and precision; the horn soli is rewritten for the actual instrumentation; and the closer remains intact. I would name the remaining risks honestly: the rewritten soli needs cleaning, and the first rehearsal loses three seniors. I would avoid promising a superior rating. To the drumline captain, I would explain that the injury does not remove them from the performance, but it changes the assignment: they will march cymbals or bass drum, and a section leader will cover the tenor book. I would ask them to help clean the percussion feature from the front side of the field and document the substitution so the assessment staff sees a planned adaptation, not an improvised fix.