A Guide for Band Directors

1. A Guide for Band Directors

2. Making intonation perfect is time taking and a combined effort by an individual as well as a group. It could be tricky for band directors to guide or anchor their musicians and setting the band up for better sound. Here, we have a few tips to guide band directors who work on this skill. Often, people discuss about consistent intonation issues in marching bands. So, why it happens? What are the reasons? The band members may have problem with clarity of articulation, may be they don’t understand rhythms well, etc. Now, being the director of your band, what are you doing to address this issue? It’s probably going to be challenging, because, marching band show music, performance of members and ensembles should be in a parallel line. So, what to do? Let’s have a look. Give emphasis on listening to peers: When a member has good ability to tune an instrument and listen to peers, there will be proper intonation. Musicians should get to know their instruments and practice enough on their own.

3. Be specific while guiding: Some band directors are not able to give proper instructions regarding better intonation skills. In order to counter this issue, you have to be as specific as possible. Instead of telling a musician to listen better, ask him/her where to listen and why. It will have better impact on performance. Make it a focal consideration: You know the importance of intonation in a marching band. Now, it’s important to make sure that it is a priority from day one of rehearsals. If you want to enhance the skill of your musicians, you must have to give consistent stress on it. Focus on practice and make it as a focal consideration. While directing your band, prepare a plan for rehearsals and decide how much time you actually have to work with. You may have different marching band show ideas and you may be preparing for an upcoming show, but you know, your musicians should never struggle with intonation. Let them know their instruments inside and out.