Documents
IHS Band Programs FAQ
IHS Band FAQ (version 2024) one-page PDF
For more details, please check Irvington Band Program FAQ that is still under construction. Please send in your questions and/or feedbacks by email.
How to Perform the Best: shared by Mr. Ben
Hi Marching Band!
This is for JV, Varsity, & Band helpers. Parents, Freshman, and anyone that hasn’t been to a band competition.
This will give you a look at what competition is like. For you first time marchers pay attention to step-off, horns up, diagonals as they approach the judges, rank alignment and guiding/horn angles/posture & hat positions/foot placement & glide step as they pass the judges area. Who do you think is best in their performance of Music, Marching, Colorguard, and Showmanship?
1.Best Color Guard
Uniformity, Work Cleanliness, Musicality with Equipment, Fluidity of Formations, Line of Sight and Staging, Transitions from form to form, & (pride and bearing) Posture/Confidence/Facial Expressions
2.Best Musical Performance
Blend & Balance, Intonation, Cleanliness, Phrasing, Dynamics, Articulation
When we warm up and play before every practice we have a great ensemble sound. I’m sure this is even more true in band classes. Do these groups sound like a wind ensemble as they March down the street and play?
3.Best Marching
Band & Color Guard Lines, Diagonals, Rank Alignment, File Alignment, Consistent Spacings, Footwork / Glidestep, Body Posture, Hat Angles, Instrument Angles, Equipment Angles, Foot Placement, & Consistency of these elements.
When you’re marching without playing it’s a lot easier to focus on marching technique. It will eventually become habit. Whether we do it right or do it wrong, we will create habits. It is important to practice like we perform. Do you see good habits?
4.Best Overall (Showmanship)
The band with the best OOMPH! Which of all these three elements combined and made for the best overall showmanship?
You can see why there are usually two judges to every major category. There is so much to process and observe. A Showmanship Judge is looking at every single element yikes! That’s a lot to pay attention to.
These are the categories in which our bands will be ranked. I’d love to see how the rankings turn out!
I found 4 bands from different years playing “Carry On”, our JV March. They all Play/Perform and March pretty well. This should give all of you a good idea of how the competition step off works and what is expected of you at performance. Hope you enjoy all these good groups!
Looking forward to another great year and I hope you all find these videos helpful!
Mr. Benavides
Golden Valley HS 2007
Rodriguez HS 2009
Granite Bay HS 2010
Lincoln HS 2015
Field Trip Forms
Field Trip forms must be filled out with Student's Name printed.
Please fill out and sign ALL field trip forms whether or not your student will be going to only a few trips.
If you have made donations during the Band Program Annual SignUp on Eventbrite, you do NOT need to pay the bus fee specified on the Field Trip Forms.
If you didn't make the suggested annual donation, please attach a check payable to "IHS Band" to cover the bus fees.
Bus Chaperones: You must sign up on Google Form to become a bus chaperone. If you only checked "Yes I will go to this trip with my child" on the Permission Slips, that does not count. The reason is that Volunteer Coordinators do not have access to permission slips, therefore Google Form is the only data source from which we gather volunteering info. See the FAQ section on the Volunteering page for more info.
Reimbursement Forms
For volunteers who helped order food or supplies for band trips, please contact our Treasurer at bandboosters@ihsvikings.org and use the Check Request Form (PDF or DOC) to claim reimbursements. Please enter your Paypal info if you have one, which allows faster reimbursement processing. Thank you!