Color Guards of Marching Bands

Color Guards are an integral part of High School and College Marching Bands. They are the "visual musicians" who interpret the music and theme of the show through dance, dramatics, props, and traditional color guard equipment.

Most marching bands are scholastic groups where color guard is one of the sections in the band along with brass, woodwinds, and percussion. Performers may be male or female, but in marching bands the color guard tends to be predominantly female. The group begin rehearsing in the summer to prepare for the fall performance season. The summer often includes a week or more of "band camp" where the group has extended rehearsals to learn their show. The color guard often have extra rehearsals to learn their routines on their own in addition to ensemble rehearsals with the whole band.

The Marching Band begins performing in late August, early September, and will perform at football games, parades, music festivals, and marching band competitions. The season usually ends in November, but the group will continue to perform for various events throughout the year.

Competitive Marching Band Associations

Bands of America
Florida Marching Band Coalition
New England State Band Association
Tournament of Bands
US Scholastic Band Association
Western Band Association

Color Guard members add to parade performances