How to Select Marching Band Instruments
A marching band typically has three types of instruments, or "sections": brass, woodwinds and, of course, percussion. Since the idea behind the music is to provide something to march to, the percussion section (or drum line) plays a vital role. When you select instruments for your marching band, think about the style of shows you want to create. Considering what kind of mood you want to set with your shows will help you when it comes time to select instruments.
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Instructions
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Select Marching Band Instruments
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Decide how many overall instruments you want in your band. This may be dictated by the number of band members you have available to you.
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Choose your woodwinds, if you want them. Most bands include clarinets, alto and tenor saxophones, and often piccolos and flutes. Additional woodwinds are bass and alto clarinets, baritone saxes, bassoons and oboes.
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Assemble your brass section. The sky's the limit here, but standard instrumentation calls for trumpets or cornets, B flat tenor trombones and tubas or sousaphones.
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Fill up your percussion section with snares, cymbals, tenor drums and bass drums. You may want to add the optional glockenspiel, a kind of xylophone used by marching bands.
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Obtain catalogs from at least three retailers, either online or in person, and start comparing prices.
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Submit your list of desired instruments to each retailer and see what final price each comes back with. Let them know you are comparing prices so that they give you their most competitive bid.
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Tips & Warnings
Sound quality is an important factor to consider when you select instruments for your marching band. Some bands put a great emphasis on musical precision and tonal quality, while others opt for style and all-out loudness. Bands on the loud side tend to limit their woodwinds or eliminate them altogether. If you want to be loud, focus on brass and percussion.
Marching bands have all different combinations of instruments--the choices are almost limitless. However, there are some basic elements that most bands incorporate. Depending on your budget and the kind of sound you want to create, you can either follow the standard or create your own combinations. The choice is yours.
If the school is buying the instruments for the band, shop around to find the best value. If a store knows you are going to buy in volume and that you may become a repeat customer, they will be motivated to offer more competitive pricing.
