A favorite
hobby of
high school and
college bands, as well as most
drum corps. Involving,
theoretically, a veritable army of
musicians all marching in step, as well as
colorguard who are there to
whack the pit twirl flags and march better than the musicians, thus drawing attention away from any
missteps.
Pit, of course, do not have to march, as
xylophones and
timpani are difficult to lug about.
Marching
commands, used in
drill-downs and while not doing
show, or memorized marching, consist of an
announcement and a
start marker, usually, but not always, "
HUT!" Example: "Squad atten-HUT!" "To the left flank, HUT!" Commands given by an experienced
drum major will be preceded by four clapped
beats to set the
tempo of the command. Each
stressed syllable in the call is a beat, and on the beat(s) directly after the marker, the command is performed.
All commands except "At ease" require
vocal response, unless it is silent drill. The responses are in the form of numbers: "ONE! TWO!" or simply "ONE!", depending upon whether the
command takes one or two beats to perform. The response should be given on the beat(s) immediately following the start marker.
Positions
Attention
Call: "Squad atten-HUT!"
Response: "ONE!"
Attention position requires feet to be flat and
parallel, back straight, hands in loose fists at one's sides, stomach in, chest out, shoulders back and squared, and eyes above the horizon. No movement is permitted. Feet should not be together, as that position does not have enough
stability, but roughly six inches apart. If instruments are present, they go as parallel to the spine as possible (noting that
sousaphones are difficult to parallel with ANYTHING). All percussion marches with
sticks, even in drill-downs; at Attention, sticks and/or
mallets are clasped in both hands diagonally from left shoulder to right hip.
Parade Rest
Call: "Parade REST!"
Response: "ONE!"
Parade rest is a more
relaxed posture than attention. Slight movement is permitted, but no talking. At the Parade Rest call, given from the Attention position, one steps sideways with the left foot, placing feet at shoulder width. Hands go clasped in the small of the back. Percussion places sticks horizontal to ground at hip level.
Instruments are in "
rest" position.
At Ease
Call: "At ease" "Stand easy"
Response: None (except a possible sigh of relief)
Talking and
freedom of movement abound. Drums get dropped, as does most low brass. However, one must keep one's place and be wary for the call back to Attention.
Standing Commands
These are always called from a position of Attention.
Haces or Hacings
Call: "Left HACE!" Right HACE!" "About HACE!"
Response: "ONE! TWO!"
Haces are stationary turns, used to change the direction the squad is facing. A right/left hace consists of a pivot ("ONE!") and step ("TWO!"). An about hace is a
toed step, then
pivot. To perform a
90 degree hace, twist the foot on the side soon to be faced in that direction from the heel, raising the other up onto the
ball of the foot, and on the second beat bring that foot back to Attention. For a
180 degree turn, bring the ball of the right foot about six inches to the left of the ball of the left, crossing right leg behind left, and on the second beat pivot on the balls of the feet. Haces should never twist the body gradually, so everything from the knees up should remain in
alignment. Care should be taken by
bass drums in close lines.
These can be called from Attention, while
marking time, or while marching.
Horns Up
Call: "Horns UP!"
Response: None
Consists of bringing the instrument from Parade Rest or Attention position to about an inch away from the
mouth (or
drumhead, or
keys). This can be signaled in all sorts of ways, such as a drumroll, or a specific
whistle pattern, and is generally assumed when the drum major's hands go up.
Horns Down
Call: "Horns DOWN!"
Response: None
The instrument goes from
attack mode to a position appropriate to the current state, be it Attention or Parade Rest.
Dressing
Call: "Dress right DRESS!" "Dress left DRESS!" "Dress center DRESS!"
Response: None
This is a two-beat shindig. The first beat is a
Horns Up, and the second is a turn of the head
45 degrees towards the direction indicated. One should always know when he/she is center, or left, or right of center. The person in the row being dressed to remains facing
forward. Immediately after this, the players should subtly dress to the left/right/center, or adjust their alignment so that they line up with the designated
row.
Marching Commands
Note that care must be taken in all movement situations to keep the lines dressed. Use peripheral vision. Never dress the the person behind you, unless you have 360 degree vision.
Mark Time
Call: "Mark time HUT!"
Response: Varies, usually none
Marking time is marching in
one position, necessary when practicing marching commands in a relatively
small space as well as keeping the beat while keeping position in a set. On the
first beat after the start marker, lift the left foot. On the
second beat, plant it down and start marching in place. This is somewhere beween a position and a march.
Percussion should not lift their knees nearly as high as other instruments or they'll bash their
harnesses; keeping toes on the ground is often sufficient. This can be called while marching or while
halted.
Flankings or Flanks
Call: "Left flank, HUT!" "Right Flank, HUT!" "Rear, HUT!"
Response: "ONE! TWO!"
Flanks are marching turns. Rights and Lefts consist of ("ONE!") taking a step in the desired direction with the same foot and ("TWO!") bringing the other foot to join it, and continuing to mark time. The "HUT!" for a left flank is called on the left foot downbeat, and the right foot for the right flank. A rear flank gets a step forward and a pivot on the balls of both feet. This is the only way to turn sharply in a parade situation.
Halt
Call: "Squad HALT!"
Response: "ONE! TWO!"
Halts will be called on the
left foot, so the first beat is planting the
right foot wherever it would be if the march or mark time was continuing and the second is planting the left right next to it. Attention is the
result.
Forward March
Call: "Forward MARCH!"
Response: None
Start,
go,
move. First beat on left foot, eyes kept above
horizon, walking straight. This is the most basic of basic, excepting Attention. Beat is kept in the heels. Body
above waist should be motionless. March can be speeded up or slowed down by changing
step size. Normal steps are 8-to-5, or eight steps to five
yards.
Backwards March
Call: "Backwards MARCH!"
Response: None
Rise up onto toes and march backwards. Beat is in the toes. Again, body above waist is motionless. 8-to-5 takes more practice here. It is considered permissable to poke someone in the back with a
stick or instrument if they are marching too fast in
rehearsal, but not
performance.
Traverse March
Call: "Traverse LEFT!" "Traverse RIGHT!"
Response: None
This requires keeping the
torso pointed towards the front, while the legs point right or left and
march that way. A 90 degree twisting at the waist accomplishes this. This not only looks neat, it keeps the more directional instruments facing the audience. Percussion in harness cannot twist like this, and must march
sideways, left foot crossing behind right.
Special Commands
Silent Drill
Call: "Silent Drill!" "Cancelling Silent Drill!"
Response: Silence
No vocal response for any commands. Generally
standing orders during parade.
By the Numbers
Call: "By the Numbers!" "Cancelling By the Numbers!"
Response: None
By the numbers is a way to
divvy up the commands between beats. When a command is issued in By the Numbers, the drum major will
call out the command, and then the beats: "ONE! TWO!" Until the beats are called, no movement should take place, and unless Silent Drill is on at the same time, the squad should
echo back the beats while performing them. By the Numbers goes on hold during marking time and marching, as delays between beats are common. However, it is not
cancelled, and many a player has been caught out in a
drill-down like this.
Looking back, this is way too long and should have been a lot of little nodes. But it's done now.