Leadership in Marching Bands

There is no doubt about it. Good leadership is an essential element and the key component that any organization needs if it wants to be successful.  This is definitely the case for any marching band, whether organized for high school, college, or the community.  Most band directors chose certain individuals who they believe have outstanding leadership qualities to become the drum majors or section leaders.  Drum majors conduct the band and are the main people in charge of the band besides the band director and assistant band director.  Section leaders are in charge of a particular section in the band, for example, saxophones, dance girls, or percussion.  Even though the band directors chose these certain people to be in charge, does that mean that the rest of the band members do not have the ability to be leaders? Not at all.  To be honest, most of the leadership in the band needs to come from the members that do not have a leadership title at all.  This is because the people without a leadership title greatly outnumber the members that do.  If the only people who had leadership qualities were the section leaders and the drum majors, the band would be an immense group of people doing whatever they wanted to do, whenever they wanted to do it without any discipline at all.

First of all, I questioned the dance girl section leader Mary Primm, who is a junior and has been in the Shaw University Platinum Sound marching band for two years just what a section leader should do to show leadership.  She says that being a leader, you have to lead by example, showing discipline, and being of assistance to other members of your section. She also stated that you have to lead your section by being active, listening, and having character traits of being stern but also a motivator at the same time.  Other members in the band who have the ability and responsibility to be leaders are the veterans and the freshmen.  Veterans are people who have been in the band for more than one year.  I asked LaToya Peele, a junior who has played the alto saxophone in the Platinum Sound band for three years just what a veteran could do to show leadership in the band.  She first made the statement that she believes that leadership is very important in a band because without it everybody would be followers and would get nowhere.  She believes that even though she is not a section leader, as a vet she can still show leadership by doing the right thing, such as memorizing your music on time, learning the drill show, and remaining disciplined at all times.  "This is very important because the rookies look up to the vets." LaToya indicated.  So what exactly can a freshman do to show leadership in the band if they are the new kid on the block?  I asked Christopher Parker, a freshman and percussion rookie in the band just what his insight on the matter is.  He first stated that from his point of view, leadership is very essential because if the new people see that there is no leadership or discipline in the band then they will not show any either because they are following by example. He says that things that a freshman can do to show leadership are doing what they have to do without any complaints, practicing without having being told to, and learning everything to the best of their abilities. 

                You do not have to be a drum major, section leader, band director, or hold any title at all to have the opportunity to lead in a marching band. Leading by example is just as important, relevant, and effective as anything someone with a title could do to better a band and make them more successful.  Without leadership any organization will decline, no matter how big or small, so why not continue being successful in everything that we do and show leadership to the people that are looking up to us?