News

Congratulations to the eight diverse Marching Arts Apparel Designers who competed in the StylePlus Next Designer TV summer competition in collaboration with GPG Music! 

We provided twelve field shows for the GPG Digital Design Studio Challenge. Competitors had to create four pieces each: a band top, a tunic, a unitard and a flag design. In addition to providing the shows, owner and composer Steve Martin served as one of the three judges for the segment, along with StylePlus host Vance Anderson, and Phantom Regiment Drum Corps’ Stephanie Chavez.

The twelve shows were Alcatraz, Babylonia, Blueprint, A Brave New World, Cleopatra, The Coven, Fire and Ice, Macabre, Pathways, Pyramids of Egypt, MYSTery, and Twinkle. 

“We love the cohesion of using grounded design principles to build a visual look based on the elements of the music,” Martin said. “It’s also important to simplify the challenges for band directors. We enjoyed collaborating with StylePlus Digital Design Studio to provide directors with a comprehensive musical and visual concept and theme.” 

The overall winner of the challenge was Umarin Patamasank who provided the best designs for the Egypt and Mystery shows. Other contestants who placed for their show designs include:

• Milo Bezuidenhout: Pathways
• Marissa Brennan: Blueprint
• Julian Fajardo: Fire & Ice, Twinkle  
• Lexi Revis: A Brave New World
• Ethan Sanders: The Coven, Babylonia
• Allison Wyant: Macabre, Alcatraz

GPG Music will offer 31 pieces of apparel and accessories from the competition for the Fall 2022 season. For a sneak-peek at the winning designs, binge-watch the GPG Digital Design Studio Challenge and compare the apparel designs to the music of each show. Which is your favorite? Look for spring announcements when the winning designs for marching apparel and accessories will be available.  #GPGMusic #StylePlusBand

Efficient drill learning can be one of the most valuable time-savers during a marching band rehearsal and season. Teaching your students the process of learning drill will make them more independent on the field and allow for faster-paced rehearsals and a higher-level visual product. Take the time with your entire ensemble to go over the basics of drill learning early in the season:

• How to read a coordinate sheet and/or drill chart 
• The language you and staff will use during a rehearsal when discussing drill
• The different markings and measurements that are always present on your rehearsal field (hashes, numbers, inserts, center X, tick marks, even props and tarps)
• How to set up a coordinate (dot) on the field
• How to make adjustments to forms, before, after and during reps
• The desired pace and routine for rehearsals involving drill (i.e quickly resetting, check before you relax, etc). 
• Teach a routine to the drill learning process (i.e sit down once you have found your set, stand with feet together facing the front to check forms, stay at attention after marching from one set to the next so staff can check the form)

Even if your group doesn’t start learning drill until after band camp, don’t wait to teach drill learning! You can use old drill or write practice drill for your ensemble, so they get the experience of going through the learning process. (You might even be able to get your drill writer to write a couple of practice sets for your group to learn during band camp). 

Teach your students to be more self-sufficient on the marching band field this season and reap the benefits of faster-paced rehearsals!

Unfortunately the pandemic is not over. New variants such as Delta continue to disrupt communities, not all of our young students are vaccinated yet and some schools or parents are still cautious about exposure even with vaccination. We’ve figured out how your school can utilize the Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund to purchase performance safety gear and equipment for your ensemble and we've made it easy for you to access Musician’s PPE. For those playing brass or wind instruments, we know mask use is the most effective when combined with bell covers and or instrument jackets, which are also available such as Clarinet/Oboe/Bassoon Jackets. Let's keep everyone safe out there!

For our TMEA Marching Arts family, the TMEA Executive Board created the Elementary Music Instructional Support Program to support elementary school music programs throughout Texas. The fund is up to $800,000 in grants. TMEA staff will administer the program this fall to allow TMEA member elementary music teachers (grades PreK - 5) to purchase music, equipment, instruments, instructional software, and other educational materials. To apply, elementary music teachers must obtain a PDF quote from a TMEA approved vendor, including GPG Music, as we’re TMEA Sustaining members and we exhibited during the 2020 and 2021 TMEA Conventions. We look forward to supporting you.

Have you received the green light for marching band in the fall from your administration? Are you struggling to plan for band camp and the season because your students have gone over a year without doing marching band? There are countless directors in your situation, we have suggestions for getting you and your students more prepared for the upcoming season. 

• Performing Assignments - Your students are more than likely tired of doing playing assignments from this past school year, try encouraging them to perform for an assignment instead! Your students are more than likely excited about the upcoming marching band season and ready to perform again. Help your students start out the season with more confidence by asking them to perform before they even get into uniform. Start with short and simple visual assignments coupled with easy music selections from your warm-up routines or show music to help your students focus on the simultaneous demand of marching and playing. You or one of your staff members should make a video explaining and giving an example of the assignment for the ensemble to watch. If you get a good response from the assignment, start increasing the level of demand both visually and musically. This will also allow you or your staff to pre-teach some visual and playing techniques to your ensemble before you get to rehearsal. 
• Mini Camp Rehearsals - If your district allows for summer rehearsals, try planning a few optional rehearsals for your students to attend. Students that are really looking forward to getting band to marching band will for sure be there! You can not only help these students out with playing and marching but also using these rehearsals to sample what level your ensemble is going to be at for the coming season.  
• Student Leadership Training - strong student leadership is always important in a band program, this year will be no different. If you have not already, schedule a day or two to meet with your leadership prior to band camp to help get them prepared for the upcoming season. You may need to rely on them even more this year depending on your ensemble’s ability level, using this time to teach your leadership some teaching techniques will benefit you and your entire ensemble once the season starts. 
• First Year Band Camp - for members that have never done marching band before, coming in on the first day with all the returning members can be a little intimidating. Hosting a 1-2 day First Year Band Camp will help your new members feel more comfortable joining the whole ensemble when band camp starts. This is also an excellent opportunity for your leadership to work on their teaching skills and meet the new members of their section. 

We hope your marching band season is successful and memorable for you, your staff, and your students! See other ways GPG Music can help you #InspiretheNextGeneration here https://www.gpgmusic.com/custom

To celebrate the marching arts and to #InspireTheNextGeneration, we created this video working with ArborGlyph and First Tracks Productions. Look for it as part of our sponsorship of Drum Corps International (DCI) at Lucas Oil Field Stadium and on their FloMarching live-streaming programs. 

Special thanks to Damonte Ranch High School Director of Bands Christi Blahnik, GPG Music Director of Business Operations (and Wolf Pack Marching Band instructor) Spencer Hannibal-Smith, GPG Music composer/arranger (and high school and middle school band instructor) Kyle Zive and all of the students who participated in its creation: 

• Andie Scarborough

• Axel Garcia Vega

• Brant Luevano

• Brennan Kincannon

• Chevelle Moore

• Clara Kidd

• Elizabeth Westerlin 

• Emily Hudson

• Heidi Wilson

• Iris Josephson

• Jillian Szostak

• Joseph Valenzuela

• Kade Collins

• Kaitlyn Green

• Lindsey Horan

• Ryan Noriega 

• Sarah Bennett

• Shaye McMillen 

• Skyler Bunn

• Wyatt Wilburn

The video features Immortal by Steve Martin and Zeke David.

Maestro Musings

As many schools are developing plans for the upcoming school year for in-person learning, music teachers are looking for music for their ensembles to learn to play. If you’re struggling to find a show for your marching band or a piece for your concert ensemble, below are a few tips to consider when looking for music for your students to play this fall. 

Keep your ensemble's musical strengths and weaknesses in mind. Always think about the younger, less experienced performers in your group so they can feel a sense of achievement after working on their part for some time. Picking slightly easier music is always a safe choice, especially for those ensembles coming off a year of distance learning. To challenge your more experienced players, look for music that has multiple parts per instrument, features specific sections, or features soloists. 

If your group progresses faster than anticipated, you can keep your students engaged by covering finer musical detail, adding more music to your ensemble’s repertoire, providing solo literature for your students, or giving your ensemble additional visual responsibility. Always select music you’re confident you can teach to your ensemble, and you know your ensemble can achieve. Coming back from distance learning is going to have its fair share of obstacles for students; getting to make music together should not be one of them.

Help #InspireTheNextGeneration with new and exciting (but achievable) music for your students to come back to.

Accent

Last week we released the sixth episode of StylePlus Next Designer TV unveiling the first part of GPG Digital Design Studio Challenge. This weekend, binge watch episodes six through twelve to learn which contestants are in the lead designing the best costumes and flags for twelve GPG Music field shows. The designs are in and judging begins! The judges provide critique and feedback to the designers across the last several episodes. The panel includes StylePlus TV host Vance Anderson, DCI Phantom Regiment’s Stephanie Chavez, and Steve Martin of GPG Music. Tell us what designers you think will win on our Facebook or YouTube channels.  #GPGMusic #StylePlus