I'm looking to try out for drum major of my high school marching band. Does anyo

Question:

I'm looking to try out for drum major of my high school marching band. Does anyone have any tips on conducting

I would like to know how to put my hands specifically, just small technique tips like that.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: One tip that really helped me was practicing the "snap-back"--that bit of bounce in the hands after each beat. It's the visual representation of an upbeat.

Pretend you're hitting your hand against a piece of very bouncy rubber. Notice how your hand goes toward the rubber (for the downbeat) but then it almost instantly snaps back in the direction it came.

When we're following a conductor, we're actually following the bounce rather than the impact of the beat. (Watch those classical conductors on PBS if you need proof!) It took practice, but the snap-back made me a much better director.

Be sure you practice all kinds of time signatures--3/4 and 4/4 and 2 and all that.

And--have fun! Drum majors rock.