If you're an educator or a performer, you're more than familiar with this question:

"Are you listening to the drumline, or are you playing with the drum major's hands?"

Trying to determine where the ensemble should focus their listening at different points in the show can be one of the most challenging aspects of the marching arts.

The listening environment changes throughout the show because of drill placement and the music. Sometimes, the melody is staged on side 1 front. Sometimes, the pit may have the melody. Then, it may be a drum break on side 2 near the hashmarks.



Show designers are always trying to balance the creativity of the drill along with its functionality. But giving the ensemble good listening environments throughout the show is difficult. Sometimes, there's just not much you can do, and you end up where the source of tempo is in a very difficult placement on the field.

That's why two Microsoft Excel enthusiasts and drum corps alumni, Andrew Rogers and Brad Sparks, collaborated to create a spreadsheet that allows you to visually map out sound delay on a football field!

In the file, you start by identifying your tempo focal point, whether its a metronome or battery, and then enter the tempo and error subdivision. The spreadsheet then automatically re-colors the cells to create easily identifiable zones so that you can see which performers should be playing with the drum major's hands, listening points, and whether they should be slightly ahead or behind those focal points.

Follow along as Andrew explains how the spreadsheet works. Then click here to download the spreadsheet.

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