Short and Sweet Tech Sayings

[Wagsdrummer92]

so i was teaching middle school kids marching basics this week and i told on of the kids to "Get up on her toes" well she then thought that ment literally on the of of her toes like a ballerina, she fell while crabbing so i've had to re adjust the saying "on your toes"

what phrase do you think would be more effective?

[LaKings2012]

so i was teaching middle school kids marching basics this week and i told on of the kids to "Get up on her toes" well she then thought that ment literally on the of of her toes like a ballerina, she fell while crabbing so i've had to re adjust the saying "on your toes"

what phrase do you think would be more effective?

When you break down the technique and tell them that up on the "platform" or on the balls of their feet, that should be synonymous with telling them to get up on their toes. I guess it's just like the warnings on grocery bags that say "don't put this on your head". People have done it, so now they need to clarify that you shouldn't do that. I think you might wanna take a similar approach lol

[rufusthethird]

Dont f*ck up.

[Wagsdrummer92]

so i was teaching middle school kids marching basics this week and i told on of the kids to "Get up on her toes" well she then thought that ment literally on the of of her toes like a ballerina, she fell while crabbing so i've had to re adjust the saying "on your toes"

what phrase do you think would be more effective?

When you break down the technique and tell them that up on the "platform" or on the balls of their feet, that should be synonymous with telling them to get up on their toes. I guess it's just like the warnings on grocery bags that say "don't put this on your head". People have done it, so now they need to clarify that you shouldn't do that. I think you might wanna take a similar approach lol

yeah i didn't want to say "Balls of your feet" because with middle school kids if you say "Balls" they lose all focus, but platforms is definately what i was looking for thankyou

[Timn69]

Be anal with your beads.

[Wagsdrummer92]

Be anal with your beads.

haha... that's great

[FunkyIndigoNights]

"Again!"
"NO!"
"Quick like bunnies!"
"JOHN!"
"MIKEY!"
"TIMMY!"
"Stop humping your boyfriend Olen."
"You guys suck."
"You guys have been working hard today. Tell you what, take a whole minute and get some water."
"Last time....... AGAIN!"

[FCHSsnare2011]

*beep*. nuff said.

[Timn69]

While marking time to demonstrate how and why... "See my feet, you have to play with my feet. I want you to play with my feet."

[lesterroyer]

"Again!"
"NO!"
"Quick like bunnies!"
"JOHN!"
"MIKEY!"
"TIMMY!"
"Stop humping your boyfriend Olen."
"You guys suck."

This

[edgar.gallegos09]

"last time means we are doing it a million time until it gets clean, so last time"

[cunninghamkid]

"three clean reps and we'll pack it up"
*three clean reps later*
"ok last time... for good measure."

[drumer93]

Figure it out.

[nochops94]

Figure it out.

i lol'ed haha

[TheseTenors]

"No it's doo gat doo doo gat doo doo gat doo gat doo doo gat doo get doo plat!!!!!!"
"Well that sucked do it again"
"Chill Gene (Hack)man" i use that lol
"Hmmmmmm........ nope"
"We will march 2 basses and a tenor if this is not clean"

[Buranri]

"snares, that was the least entertaining thing I've seen since the first time I watched Friday on YouTube"
"(snare), you looked like you were inseminating a female gorilla"

[JLbluefan09]

I used "shut up" a lot last fall. Haha

[tropicalgrunt4]

"dont play with pubes in your diddles"

[Randall112]

"Snares, quit making popcorn and listen in."

[cthefisch]

"Have you ever seen the movie airplane? That's how I feel right now"

[JLbluefan09]

Me-"I want the astronauts in space shuttle Atlantis to see your toes!"
Quad player-"Atlantis is an underwater city..."
Me-"I want those people to see your toes when you're crab stepping."

[Mr.Jsquishy]

the more u put into it, the more you will get out of it.

[billc36]

"Dammit!"

[anduder]

(after a bad rep) "...alright, see you guys at finals."
"(insert rudiment here)s are good for you. They're like musical brussel sprouts!"
"Get the attack."

There's plenty more... but that's all I can of right now.

[ZachHarston]

Here's a few that I've added to my vocabulary over the last few years:

-Aggressive feet.

-Think less of the notes on the page, and more about the spaces between them. (In regards to timing)

-Push the phrase towards the right side of the page (when a certain passage is slow)

-Keep your head above water. If you feel lost, take a deep breath and remember your immediate goal, and that is to make the next rep better.

-I (the tech) am giving you information that will make you better. If you are not listening, you cannot get better.

-Nothing I (the tech) do or say to you (the ensemble) will make you worse. Everything I say or do is said/done with your best interests in mind.

-This music is essentially a matrix of notes. If you place every note within that matrix in its EXACT place, you will be playing correct.

-Think about firing a laser pointer through a peep-hole in someone's front door. That is the mentality you need to play this passage (usually with long/fast rolls).

-Right now on a scale of 1 to 10, I'm getting an intensity level of maybe 4 to 6. We need to be redlining at a 10+ at all times.

-(In the same breath as the previous quote) You have GOT to practice intensity at rehearsals, all of the time. If you practice at a 5 on the intensity scale, then bump it up to a 10+ in a performance, you WILL change the way you play, and execution is now a crap-shoot. You MUST practice at the same intensity that you will perform.

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I could really go on for hours with phrases/sayings that have struck chords with my kids. In essence, though, you need to always be ahead of your students in the mental game. If you use a certain phrase too much, it becomes cliched to them, and the phrase/saying loses it effectiveness. As instructors it is crucial to stay persistent with bringing new/fresh approaches to our students to keep them engaged.

Thoughts?