Corps-Style Marching

Since the late 1970s, corps-style marching has replaced so-called "Big Ten-style" marching as the dominant technique classification among competitive high school marching bands. Its rise to pre-eminence among high schools, along with modern drum & bugle corps where it has always been dominant and a small but growing number of college bands, has raised the demand for instructors well-versed in all facets of technique, and familiar with all the variants of the general style. This book is geared towards:

  • The instructor who wishes to gain a greater understanding of the stylistic and physiological concepts behind corps-style marching, and to understand the variants which he may be asked to teach but was never exposed to in his own performing career
  • The performer who wishes to pursue an understanding of what he is doing beyond the instruction provided to him by his visual caption staff.

Contents

Authors & Contributors

This book has been written and edited by those listed on the Authors & Contributors page.

Part 1: Technique

  1. Principles
  2. Posture
  3. Body Carriage
  4. Horn Carriage
  5. Horn Movements
  6. Commands
  7. Mark Time
  8. Timing and Tempo
  9. High Mark Time
  10. Forward Step
  11. Backwards Step
  12. Crab Step
  13. Flanking
  14. Sliding
  15. Direction Change Technique
  16. Step Sizes

Part 2: Parade Marching

  1. The Block
  2. Dress and Cover
  3. Maintaining Spacing
  4. Turning Corners
  5. Timing

Part 3: Drill Marching

  1. Basic Formations
  2. Coordinates
  3. Form and Interval
  4. Dress, Cover, Set, and Guide
  5. Maintaining Forms
  6. Maintaining Tempo
  7. Odd Meters

Part 4: Appendices

  1. Construction and Use of a Foot Guide