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Post by band4me2009 on Apr 29, 2008 13:14:12 GMT -5
HEy!
My name is Michael Turner, i am the Drum Major of the "Fighting Scots Marching Band" in Laurinburg, North Carolina...
I have been thinking, and i really want to get some ideas to make band camp a little more fun and interesting. I have heard storys of having "drill downs" and creating competition, and i have implemented those ideas and they work very well, but i would still like to hear about what YOU may have done with your band as a way to make Band Camp more successful and interesting....
-thank you !
e-mail me back !!! or if you just want to have a fellow Drum Major to talk to...
mike_trumpet_09@yahoo.com
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Post by trumellotonium on Apr 30, 2008 22:06:45 GMT -5
Granted it was at our middle-school mini-camp, but one particularly hot day we brought the many tired middle-schoolers over in front of a shed near our practice field and got them all lined up to take a group picture. The camera person counted down 3... 2... 1... and right before he took the picture, our director busted out of the shed with a hose on full blast and soaked all of them.
Random fun events like that, especially on particularly slow-moving days, can keep spirits up and improve overall progress.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2008 20:10:17 GMT -5
I think I am going to do that to our freshman, trumellotonium
Offer candy to the best block of a particular set, as in the one that stays in step the best. Tell them that if they get a particular set before lunch, you'll dismiss them early.
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Post by fluttietuttie on May 6, 2008 16:39:27 GMT -5
Line everyone up as if they were doing a march-off. Then come from behind with WATER BALLONS!
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Post by sousalover on May 26, 2008 18:03:26 GMT -5
we play games every day. like do you love your neighbor? tag and other just kiddie games it helps to break tension from a bad rehersal. we normally do it right after lunch going into music rehersal. it gets kids to know each other better and to use some extra energy that everyone seems to have AFTER marching for 3 hours
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Post by trumellotonium on May 26, 2008 22:34:57 GMT -5
frisbee and hacky-sack were the two favored pastimes at this past weekend's camp.
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Post by mthsbandrocks on May 27, 2008 15:46:26 GMT -5
well last year's sumer marching camp our band director let us run through the sprinklers. since our practice field is right next to the football practice fields, they were getting watered so he told us we could go run through it. it helped because we had to run a far way to get there and it also cooled us off.
also one time the band parents brought up popsicles. that was really good. :]
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Post by brassdancer on Jun 5, 2008 21:29:20 GMT -5
Something unrelated to band camp things...
Have coordinated days such as:
Twin day
Color Day (each grade has a color)
Pirate day
Halloween Day
Crazy Hat day
It breaks up the monotony that band camp soon will become, TRUST me.
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Post by mthsbandrocks on Jun 6, 2008 20:48:58 GMT -5
well i just went to mini band camp today and my DM told us every friday practice, we get in a big long line and give the person infront of us a massage. it felt really good after marching. it was a really good idea.
we also did a drill down. aka, marching band simon says. it was pretty fun cause i was like the only "new marcher to the school" left with all the section leaders. :]
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Post by fluteaphonist on Jun 6, 2008 22:10:43 GMT -5
We get like a rookie rock from our old field and we give it to the best freshman or person who just joined up that year every day. we also have the spirit stick and we give that to the section that was behaved the best who worked the hardest and who showed the most spirit for that day. and this year we are having an adopt a freshman where the seniors and some of the juniors are partnered with a freshman and they have to hang out with them and just get them to know what band is all about.
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Post by Horn man on Jun 6, 2008 22:46:34 GMT -5
What our band does in order to work on marching style and posture is we have a march off at the end. The section that wins gets an ice cream party  |
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Post by gibson on Jun 7, 2008 12:55:01 GMT -5
Lets see... my band is fun yet serious... so we know how to have fun while still getting work done...
But maybe to stive to get more done have an evening activity every night. Something for the band to look forward too. Like one night we'll do a movie night... then a game night. Hoping to change it to a scavenger hunt this year. Then we have a skit night. Every section has to come up with a skit. It gets really funny and really interesting and entertaining. Just some thoughts.
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Post by 1frodos1 on Sept 7, 2008 18:45:23 GMT -5
Random ice cream
Onday after a really hard practice,my section had been problematic and had done a lot of punishments so i had to deal with them at sectionals.
I explained that they must either not remember the rules or have the attention span to follow them so i worked on both.They had to march basics(circle dril,box drill,8;s and8;s) while chanting the rules and expectations at the fieldshow tempo.If they got off during each drill they had to run a lap in step in a block.After nearly an hour they were hot and tierd and ready to kill me.I then set them at attention horns up and put my camera to vidieo on a stand and walked off.When i returned 5 minutes later they looked ready to cry or kill.
I had brought back a cooler with ice cream and all the makings of a sunday for them.While we ate i explaind that marching band was like this,It was hard and sweaty and made you want to cry but at the end you got a sweet reward and you knew that you can do more than you thought.
That night at rehersal the flutes got released first because they did so well during practice.
Although i was mean, object lessons are good for young band members and you should teach them during band camp
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Post by altoclarinets on Sept 8, 2008 20:00:53 GMT -5
^ Nice life lesson there.
We have crazy theme days and incentives. I think one of the best ways to make band camp work in principle is to just be positive as much as possible. Caveat: No matter what you do, there *will* be people who will hate you just because they need to hate. Trust me. Thankfully they don't hang here so you can come talk to us if you ever find yourself in a vat of bad tudes. But you get more flies with honey than awfullness or however it goes.
Edit: I am by no means saying to be afraid to say it sucks when it does! Just come at it with a good, "i can handle this" attitude.
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Post by clarinetlover on Oct 21, 2008 19:16:20 GMT -5
Our band camps are actually really fun, even though we are serious, too, of course.
We have theme days: twin day, pirate day, bright colors day, sprit day, etc.
On one day, the graduated seniors from the year before come back and start a water balloon fight.
We have march offs. The last one to make a mistake wins... I don't believe they get a prize but it sure is a big competition.
Songs and games to warm up. (Button factory song, writing alphabet with feet, arm circles the size of raisins and beach balls and *fill in the blank's* ego...)
And a biggie: Squad Wars.
In order to help underclassman with drills, a pair of upperclassman each get a group of underclassman and they create a marching routine. They are SO entertaining, and they are actually good marchers. Squad 7 did a Seven Deadly Sins theme... it was hillarious. Squad 9 did a James Bond spin off. One squad had it's members dress up like the drum majors and band directors and basically make fun of them. Two squads joined up and did The Dark Knights vs. The Jokers. (Included face make up for everyone... including all the drum majors, cuz you can leave them out!)
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