Every director hits this exact stretch of the season: the show runs, but you still need to improve your marching band sound before your first contest. Your first football game is behind you. Your first contest is around the corner. You can perform a good two-thirds of your show without anyone running into each other. So far, things are on track.

There’s just one problem. Now things have to actually get better. They have to look better, and they have to sound better, and they have to do it in a hurry. In fact, it’s not okay anymore just to recognize the song. The song has to sound good too.

So what do you do?

I spent some time with Marching Roundtable host Tim Hinton talking about exactly this. These are experiences I had year after year as a band director. Now, as a full-time composer, arranger, and educational consultant, I get to help band directors everywhere discover the techniques and philosophies that tackle this problem. And it really isn’t complicated.

Take a listen to the conversation below. Specifically, you’ll come away with several ideas you can put into rehearsal today.

Why This Is the Hardest Stretch of the Season

Early season success is a low bar in the best way. Drill sets resolve. Notes get closer to correct, and a band that could barely make it through the show in August can run it clean by the second or third rehearsal in September. Overall, that’s real progress, and it’s worth noticing.

But recognizable isn’t the same as good. Once the fundamentals of “getting through it” are in place, the work shifts from coverage to quality. That means intonation across a cold field, dynamic contrast that actually registers from the box, and phrasing that makes the drill mean something instead of just filling space. I’ve written before about the fastest way to make your band sound better, and the short version is that this shift rarely needs new material. Instead, it needs a different kind of attention to the material you already have.

That’s the stretch a lot of programs get stuck in. You’ve memorized the show. The drill is clean enough. Still, the sound isn’t where it needs to be for the first contest. My rehearsal tips for marching band go into more of the specifics on managing that stretch of the calendar.

What Tim Hinton Brings to the Conversation

Tim Hinton has been writing and designing marching shows for nearly four decades. He works as a composer, arranger, and consultant for programs across the country today. Before that, he spent a decade teaching public school band at Dunwoody High School in Georgia. Earlier still, he marched with the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps in the early 1980s.

He hosts the Marching Roundtable podcast through his site, Marching Arts Education. In it, he talks with directors, designers, and consultants about the practical side of running a program. That’s the perspective he brought to our conversation: not theory, but the specific moves that move a band from “gets through it” to “sounds ready.”

How to Improve Your Marching Band Sound Without New Drill

None of this requires a new approach to rehearsal, just a sharper one. My rehearsal strategies for marching band shows cover the broader framework I use across a season. The ideas Tim and I discussed fit inside that same framework. Specifically, we aimed them at this point in the calendar, when the goal is sound quality rather than coverage.

A useful way to think about it: balance, blend, and intonation are a package deal, not three separate fixes. NAfME’s guide to balance, blend, and intonation makes that case well for concert settings. The same logic holds outdoors, even with the extra variables that come from wind, spacing, and amplified low brass. Still, fixing one of the three in isolation rarely holds up once you add the others back in.

Timing is part of the picture too. I’ve written separately about ensemble timing in marching band shows. It connects directly to how a show sounds from the stands. In fact, a band that’s rhythmically tight reads as a band that sounds better, even before anyone touches tone or intonation.

Listen to the Full Conversation

Tim and I get into specific, implementable ideas in the episode itself. So, you can hear the full conversation on Marching Arts Education.

Big thanks to Tim Hinton for the invitation to join him, and for everything he does to advance education in the marching arts. Also, if this is your first time hearing about his work, the Marching Roundtable podcast archive is worth a look. It’s the same kind of practical, director-to-director conversation, episode after episode.

If you found this useful, I’ve also talked before about the story behind my career as a composer on a separate podcast appearance. It covers more of how I ended up doing this work full time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Tim Hinton?
Tim Hinton is a Tampa-based composer, arranger, and marching band consultant. He has nearly 40 years of experience designing shows for programs nationwide, and he taught public school band at Dunwoody High School in Georgia for a decade before moving into full-time design and consulting.

What is the Marching Roundtable podcast?
Marching Roundtable is a podcast Tim Hinton hosts through his site, Marching Arts Education. It features conversations with directors, designers, and consultants about the practical side of running a marching band program.

When is the right time in the season to focus on sound quality instead of drill accuracy?
Once a band can run its show with consistent drill and minimal collisions, usually a few weeks into the season. From that point on, the most efficient rehearsal time shifts toward tone, balance, and phrasing rather than continued cleaning of formations.

Do balance and intonation problems need separate fixes?
No. Balance, blend, and intonation function together. For example, adjusting one, such as raising a section’s volume, can undo the gains you made on the others unless you address all three together.

Does marching band sound improvement require new drill or music?
Not usually. Most of the improvement available at this point in the season comes from how you rehearse existing material, not from adding new content.

Where can I hear the full conversation with Tim Hinton?
The full episode is available on Marching Arts Education, linked above.

Evan VanDoren is a composer, arranger, conductor, and former high school band director. Ensembles across the United States and beyond perform his music. In addition, he works with band programs to create music and marching band productions that highlight the strengths of their students and programs.