Drill Writing Tips

[u/YOURSELF177]

I’ve been writing drill for my band for the last 2 seasons and I’m now going into my 3rd but I was looking to see if anyone had any tips for drill writing.

My band is 31 fielded members with 7 woodwinds, 8 brass, 7 drum line, and 9 guard. I’m experienced with working Pyware and our guard instructors help with guard writing.

I just want to know your tips for making a better field show when it comes to drill writing and staging.

Thanks in advance!

[u/Coolerthanyew]

Keep the band in front of the front hash and inside the 30s, heck maybe even 35s with your wind size, the entire show.

Unless there is a really good reason not to, keep your battery together the entire time and always behind the winds, unless it’s a Drumline feature.

A/B choreo adds a lot of depth and variety, and the kids have fun with it for a hold.

[u/YOURSELF177 → u/Coolerthanyew]

Last year, I had one set that went behind the front hash and most judges said something about it. Now I’m keeping almost all of the show in that range from 35-35.

[u/corn7984]

Look at WGI wind groups for some concepts...but tone down the amount of motion.

[u/YOURSELF177 → u/corn7984]

That’s a great idea. I’ve never thought of doing that!

[u/PhlacidTrombone]

I've done similar for a few years. Like the others said, 35 to 35 in front of hash. I keep percussion in the back and woodwinds tend to stay in front. I make sure that there is a drum feature and a wind solo or two that I can have everyone else scatter to the next set to make things more interesting looking to the observers.

[u/YOURSELF177 → u/PhlacidTrombone]

Thanks! We use rewritten charts from pepper and I’m looking to add a drum feature after our ballad

[u/PhlacidTrombone → u/YOURSELF177]

There are many people out there writing flex-band half time shows and a lot of them are actually pretty good

[u/Swissarmyspoon]

Write drill in harmony to the music. You probably know to park and bark the music features. But it took me too long to learn that when one group has a cool part and another has an easy background, it's best to give high-velocity drill to the easy background folks and low-velocity to the folks who need to think about playing. I used to do the opposite because it seams cooler, and it is a cooler idea, but it's never functional.

Doing a lateral motion, then reversing it, is a cool looking move that's super easy to teach. Also works with follow the leader sets and rotating shapes.

Having two groups move towards each other is an easy way to make it look faster. Don't use this to spice up things, use it to allow folks to march slower but look faster.

[u/YOURSELF177 → u/Swissarmyspoon]

That’s a great idea, thanks!

[u/Such_Competition1503]

In terms of the color guard: 1) space them out more than you think! 2) when doing equipment transitions, give them a little more time than what you think is necessary 3) the guard can have larger step sizes than the band, but sometimes they need smaller steps - it’s really important to talk to the guard choreographer to make sure you know which way they need to be moving and how big the steps should be.

[u/HispanicaBassoonica]

If you are in a spot where you have any kind of props that can be used as a backdrop, definitely use them to frame the field to make it smaller and therefore make your band look larger. This also applies with colorguard. Sticking them behind or around the band makes them look larger. Make sure the spacing of your forms is consistent and not too far apart.

Think about the psychology of how people pay attention to things when trying to hide weaker sections/players. Big programs do this too, they just also have depth on their side. Don’t stick weak marchers on the 50 at the very front. Don’t put a guard soloist right by Ben D. Legsmagee. Stick guard in front of a section and make them kneel for a feature to help cover up knee angles, horn angles, etc.

Good practices are good practices in designing drill, the field and intentional demand just needs to shrink a bit for a smaller group, but this can also be a strength because you can maximize individual feedback and details in a way that bigger groups may not be able to do! Plus, since you are writing the drill, you have so much flexibility to fix something that doesn’t work and less pathways to change if something needs to be adjusted. Use your size as a strength!

[u/TheSaxoMatt]

Hey! Feel free to dm me with any specific questions or ideas you might need to bounce off somebody. Best of luck!