When I was in high school, I found one of my director’s greatest flaws to be that he had no clue about the color guard.  It’s not that he didn’t care, he just didn’t know any of the technical details about guard work. Then in college I made a observation.  Music Education majors were required to take courses in all the major wind instruments, percussion, strings, and a class on how to run a marching band. I noticed that there was no “color guard techniques” class offered. Being an educator in Texas, I found this to be a great void in my education. Color guard should be a top priority for bands all over the country for this simple reason:

If you’re lucky enough to have the budget for a designated color guard instructor, what do you do when this staff member is absent?  It may be that the instructor is unreliable or even just sick.  And it always seems to happen right before a show weekend.  If this happens, will you sit in your tower and ignore the guard?  Of course you don’t want to do that.  They need help, they need direction just like every other section of your band.  If your percussion instructor is out sick, you’d be prepared to give feedback and critiques to your percussion section.  So, the same thing needs to happen for guard.  Otherwise you are destined to lose valuable rehearsal time with a key element of your program.

The solution?  Education, of course!  I saw the need for this skill set before I graduated high school and attended a summer camp on learning guard.  To this day I keep up with the latest trends and techniques from friends of mine during little “private lessons.”  I would suggest doing this as often as you can!

You have a guard instructor, or at least you know someone who teaches guard.  So go learn from them!  Learn your drop spins, carves, tosses, and movement.  It doesn’t take much time to just get a basic understanding of the proper technique for a drop spin or a jazz run.  It’s all about knowing the language so that you can communicate effectively with your membership.

A small amount of time in this caption can go a long way in all levels and sizes of programs.  Your staff will thank you, the judges will notice, and most importantly you will have the respect and attention of your guard.  This is an amazing return for a few hours of work!

Jason Hodges

Used with permission, Dynamic Marching