[nabs-l] Marching Band

Thu Sep 4 02:18:28 UTC 2014

Hi, Johnnie,

It's great that you're marching!  Marching band can be very
challenging to figure out alternative techniques for, as it is a very
intense physical activity which requires a blind person to also
exercise their spatial awareness.  To give you a background on my
experiences in marching, I am also a clarinetist, and began marching
with my high school when I was in the 8th grade.  I marched for 5
seasons with them, then for two more years with the band at my
college.  In both groups I have found some things that have worked for
me, some ways to approach working with section leaders and directors
to make everything work a little more seamlessly, and ways to even
adapt the drill so you can independently read it.  I'll tell you what
worked for me, and feel free to ask questions or contact me off list
if you would like more information.

I had a pretty rough start to marching band myself.  My director had
never had a blind student in the band before, and I was not the most
coordinated kid.  Being one of the only middle school students invited
to play with the high school, I was also very intimidated by my older
peers.  I was lucky to get a great senior section leader, who was next
to me in every set.  We were a competition band though, so a lot of
our drill required me to move in curved lines, make different shapes
with the band for our sets, and be very attentive to where I was going
so I could line up with others.  We were hesitant to use a guide or a
tether, because we were worried judges would take off points.  I'm
sure we would have used a guide if we had to, but I was able to
develop techniques that allowed me to work without one.  If you do opt
to use a guide though, I'd see if a staff member could do it rather
than another member of the band.  I recommend this for several
reasons, mainly so the sets don't have to be totally rewritten to
accommodate the hole that would be created by pulling a band member
out of the sets they already have.  Also, having a staff member out of
uniform stand behind you sends a clearer picture to the judges.  It is
much easier for them to focus on the band and forget about the staff
member behind you than for them to question why two people in the same
outfit are marching one behind the other.  It's less likely that the
judges will assume something is wrong, because judges who have never
seen a blind person in a marching band will probably not pick up on
the reason for the guide from where they're sitting and while they're
focused on their score cards.

If the section leader is unwilling to work with you, that is
definitely something to bring up to the director.  A section leader's
job is to assist the people in their section, and even though this is
a different kind of situation from what most section leaders will have
to work with, it's still their job.  You don't have to taddle on the
person because that certainly won't fix the problem, but maybe the you
and the director can brainstorm some ways in which your section leader
can better help you.  Perhaps they're just unsure of what to do or
feel overwhelmed, so they're hesitant to do the work.  I can say from
experience though that the first year is when the foundations for the
techniques is laid, so having a section leader on board with you can
make all the difference.  I'd also see if you could find some other
members of your section to help out with different tasks.  For
instance, though my section leader helped me to refine my technique in
that first year, I asked other members of my section to help when she
wasn't available to read dot sheets or to check my horn angle.  This
shows the section leader that the responsibility isn't totally on
them, and lets them know that although their help is valuable to you,
you are taking ownership of your own learning and are willing to seek
other sources.  Other upperclassmen in the section should be willing
to help you with other things as well.

Learning slide steps just takes a while for any rookie to master,
because you have to get muscle memory.  Even veterain marchers need to
review it at the beginning of every season, and most bands review it
throughout the year because tapes will show sloppy shoulders, awkward
horn angles, and other issues that need to be fixed mid-season for
continued improvement.  You are definitely not alone in struggling to
slide.  What really helped me to get the hang of sliding was to have
my section leader guide me as I marched sideways.  They gently put
their hands on my shoulders, and follow me as I march.  They'll apply
pressure on the front or back of my shoulders to keep me from sliding
forward or backwards as I go sideways.  This exercise can get your
torso used to twisting the correct way, and once you get the muscle
memory marching in slides should be much easier.

Listening to those around me has also been a big help.  It will take
practice, but after a while you'll start to focus on what those around
you are playing.  After a while in band I would be able to use the
people on either side of me as beacons, so I knew if they sounded
farther away than usual, if our line was continuing to move in a
particular direction, etc.  You should also know this information from
your dot sheets, but the sound is another tool you can use to help.

For reading documents independently, my college marching band director
and I came up with a really great system that works wonderfully.
Instead of giving me a dot sheet along with the band, he will email me
my coordinates, which I can braille onto index cards.  I can punch a
hole in the top right corner of each card, and slide them onto one of
those metal rings.  The ring is easily clipped onto a belt loop, or
can hang on my right thumb while I'm playing so it doesn't get in the
way of the keys.  This is great because I don't have to rely on others
around me to look at my coordinates.  It takes a little more time to
braille out the cards, but you can put multiple sets on each card so
they'll fit.  Be sure to label the cards with the sets that they
contain to make finding the set you need faster.  Having that bit of
freedom in rehearsals is so worth the extra time.

I think the secret to learning how to march for anyone is just finding
what methods work for them.  I'm very sensitive to changes in
lighting, so for the first year or so my biggest struggle was refining
my technique so I could still continue to march when we were marching
into a setting sun and I couldn't see anything, or if I was having a
bad visual day and everything had a halo.  I had to learn how to
accommodate for altered depth perception, to not being able to guide
to my right and to not being able to guide at all in certain lighting
situations, and to realizing that even if I am precisely on my dot,
the important thing is to go where the band goes over where you are
supposed to go, even if you know that it is wrong.  Every person is
going to find some technique that works for them, so I would encourage
you to stick it out at least for this first year to see how you like
it.  Marching band can be really rewarding once you figure out the
tips and tricks that work for you, it just takes a little while to
find what they are.

Feel free to email me off list with any other questions you might have.
Kaiti.

On 9/3/14, Miso Kwak via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> What Marissa pointed out is how I marched my competitive parades.
>  From my experience, the guider method works perfectly well with parades
> and certainly adaptable with field band which Johnnie's school seems to
> be doing.
> Side steping or also known as sliding is also possible and can be done
> with the guider.
> My high school did not heavily march field shows (mostly competitive
> parades) but I have done basic field band including forward marching,
> sliding, and backward marching with a guider.
> Teather is a possible option but based on my experience, is not the
> best option because each uniform is structured differently, so not
> every uniform is conveniently built for attaching the teather.
> Also, if your high school band is marching in a competitive field show,
> it will not serve well for the band's performance as a whole. You may
> disagree, but I don't think participation of a blind student should
> serve as a down side for the band as a whole.
> If your band is performing only locally, teather can work out given
> that you are able to utilize it with your uniform and you have people
> who are willing.
> In terms of finding a guider, I would recommend a student who is
> willing and is a good marcher but not necessarily the strongest
> musician. This will serve greatly for both you and the band.
> However, this may not be the best solution depending on the size of
> your band, type of band, style of the show, etc.
> Lastly, if your band is competing, your band director should be able to
> get appropriate paperwork stating that the band has a blind student if
> that is necessary.
> Best regards,
> Miso Kwak
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Marissa Tejeda via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> To: johnnie Jean duran <johnniejduran at gmail.com>; National Association
> of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wed, Sep 3, 2014 3:49 pm
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Marching Band
>
>
> Hi,
>
> Do not quit.  I am in marching band and have been for thre years
> now.  We do not do drills and such, but rather, move forward as
> one.  I suggest talking to your teacher.  Explain to him or her
> your problem.  My teacher, stands behind me with his hand on my
> shoulder, guiding me.  It's very easyly worked out and if people
> ask, we just explain that I cannot see and they understand
> immediately.
>
>
>  ----- Original Message -----
> From: johnnie Jean duran via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Wed, 3 Sep 2014 12:40:11 -0700
> Subject: [nabs-l] Marching Band
>
> Dear NABS Members,
> For 3 years, I've always had a passion for the clarinet.  I was
> first
> clarinet player in my middle school's concert band, and now that
> I am
> in high school, I am taking on marching band.
> Marching band was wonderful, intense but amazing, that is until
> we
> started marching.  I was doing ok with marching forward, but now,
> I am
> doing the slide steps.  These are when your torso and face are
> facing
> one way while you're marching the other way.  I am now
> continuously
> drifting away, and I have no control over it.
> My section leader was amazing at first, she helped me a lot, and
> now
> she is not willing to work with me as much at all.
> Does anyone have any ideas? My TVI suggested a teather, but my
> section
> leader refuses to use it.  I'm stuck, and am having thoughts of
> quitting.
> Please help!
> JJ
>
> --
> Ms.  Johnnie Jean Duran
> 9th Grade Student
> Alameda International High School
> Lakewood, Colorado, United States
> Member Of The National Federation Of The Blind Of Colorado
> (NFBCO),
> The Colorado Association Of Blind Students (CABS), and the North
> Metro
> Chapter of the NFB.
> Facebook: http://facebook.com/johnniejean.duran
> Skype: jj.duran13
> Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jj_duran14
> Voicemail: (303) 552-9683 (Voicemail only)
>
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-- 
Kaiti