Paxmaha said:
"When done right it can be smoother than the old style toe-first step. "
Well one would hope so. All too often we forget that the most important idea
of a marching style is to provide the most energy efficient method of
getting from point A to point B. Yes, uniformity is important, and the
determining
factor in deciding what is "the correct" method in a given ensemble, but if
it hinders musical performance, it is useless. Often while teaching marching
technique to bands (at least with my own experience) instructors don't
emphasize enough the concept of using their chosen marching technique to
improve
playing ability while on the move. A big part of that is also emphasizing
upper
body control and aligning the body above a center. Theoretically, it should
not matter what the lower half of the body is doing as long as there is
control in the upper body, sometimes taught as the "musical vs athletic"
halves.
(which can be deceiving as the upper body must be quite athletic no matter
what
kind of playing is being done) This, however, takes time and practice in
developing. Also, many directors are more concerned with looking good than
understanding that if everyone uses marching to their advantage it will
greatly
improve sound, as well as uniformity. I guess that concept takes too much
patience and understanding for some. A lot of the strange marching styles are
kind
of like communism. They may seem good on paper, but when put into action
they are just not practical or take too much to build the needed muscle
support
to make the style energy efficient. One must not forget to use the marching
as a tool to improve playing ability while moving, not a problem or hindrance
that must be overcome.
>From what has been described, the most sense I can make out it is that the
teacher wants to use somewhat of a "bicycle step" type of marching. In drum
corps, which is what a lot of competitive high school marching bands try to
imitate, everyone has variations of "precision marching" but they all have the
same concept of balance and control. Your particular description makes me
think of maybe the Cavaliers (bent knees, but roll step) as opposed to The
Cadets
(straight leg roll step). Others have said most of this already, so I
apologize for redundancy. Maybe try talking to your student to see if she is
making
it a point to control the upper body, keep good breath control, and keep
good body alignment for balance.
The 'toes first' method hasn't been used for awhile, as some have said
already on here. It isn't all that efficient because why would you set the
energy
down on the toe, then actually move the direction of energy backwards as the
heel is brought down. I guess marching could be explained as sort of a
catabolic reaction. The only time that I know of the toe being brought down
first
is when halting in order to stop the forward energy flow, or to change
directions. Anyways, I digress.
The only sensible think I could think of to help you is to see if there is
any way to improve the efficiency of this style of marching by further
understanding the theory behind it. Maybe try talking to the teacher who
selected
this method, and make sure there is no major idea being omitted in the
teaching
of this style. If the importance of control and support is not emphasized,
no marching technique will seem logical. If there is no way to improve upon
the issue, try to get your student to concentrate on better separating the top
part of the body (while still keeping alignment of shoulders, hips, head and
ankles) from the legs...in other words, keep the top part of the body steady
so there is no wiggling or bouncing of arms, shoulders (keeping in mind
slides and facing of course) or head. Also, maybe try having your student
(depending on how high of a priority this issue is) practice this marching step
by
breaking it down into small parts. Take a half of a step and hold it while
holding the horn in playing position. Then take a whole step and hold it, then
a
step and a half, so as to understand tracking and subdivisions, as well as
improving balance...then two steps and so on. Only then can things like 8-5,
6-5, 12-5, backwards marching 3-5 or anything crazy like that be taught
effectively.
I just figured I'd try to help a bit, as that's what I would do in hers or
your situation. However, I am just a student myself, so take my words with a
grain of salt, so to speak.
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