Every spring, I get emails from band directors that say something like: "We want a show about dreams. Something powerful but also delicate. Maybe some contemporary elements? We're open to anything."
That's not a brief. That's a vibe. And vibes don't translate into shows that work for your specific 67 kids on your specific football field with your specific brass section that's heavy on mellophones and light on everything else.
I've been on both sides of this. I've sent vague briefs to arrangers and gotten back music that technically matched what I asked for but completely missed what I actually needed. And I've received briefs as a composer that gave me nothing to work with—then watched the director get frustrated when the first draft didn't read their mind.
A custom marching band show is a significant investment. The brief is where you protect that investment. Here's how to write one that actually works.
Start With Constraints, Not Concepts
Directors love to lead with the concept. "We're doing a show about the ocean" or "We want to explore the idea of time." That's fine—concepts matter—but they're not where your show designer brief should start.
Start with the stuff that will actually shape the writing:
Instrumentation. Not just "we have a full band." How many trumpets? Do you have a bass trombone or are you covering that in the euphoniums? What's your front ensemble setup—do you own a vibraphone or are you renting marimbas? If you have 3 alto saxes and 1 tenor, say that. It changes everything.
Skill ceilings. Be honest. If your lead trumpet tops out at a G above the staff on a good day, your arranger needs to know that before they write screaming Bb climaxes. If your battery can handle book 4-5 but your pit is mostly first-year players, say so.
Timing. How long is your show window? 7:30 for UIL 5A? 8-11 for BOA? This isn't a detail—it's the architecture.
Budget for licensing. If you want to use a recognizable pop song but can't afford a $3,000 sync license, that's a constraint your designer needs upfront. Don't fall in love with a concept built around a track you can't legally use.
Tell Them What Success Looks Like
This is where most briefs fall apart. Directors describe what they want the show to be without describing what they want it to do.
A marching band commission isn't just music—it's a competitive tool, a recruiting vehicle, and a teaching document for an entire season. Your show designer needs to know which of those matters most.
Are you trying to break into finals at a specific contest? Say that. Are you rebuilding after a down year and need something that makes kids feel successful early? That's a completely different design philosophy. Are you a consistent finalist trying to push into that top-3 conversation? That changes the risk tolerance of every musical choice.
I had a director tell me once, "I want the kids to cry at the end of the closer." That's actually useful. It tells me the emotional payoff matters more than technical fireworks. It tells me we're building toward something specific. Compare that to "we want something moving"—which means nothing.
Include the Stuff That Seems Obvious
Your show designer doesn't know what you know. They haven't seen your field. They don't know your kids learned a jazz run last year but have never done a company front. They don't know your color guard is eight rookies and one age-out.
Include:
Show history. What have you performed the last 2-3 years? This prevents accidental overlap and helps establish your program's identity arc.
Visual vocabulary. What your kids already know how to do versus what you're planning to teach this season.
Props and equipment. What you own, what you're willing to build, and what's off the table.
Grid or audio references. If there's an existing show that captures something you're after—even a moment, a texture, a mood—share it. "The opener feel of Broken Arrow 2019" tells me more than a paragraph of adjectives.
The Brief Is a Living Document
Write it down. Send it as a PDF or a shared doc. Don't do this over a phone call where half the details evaporate by the time the designer starts writing.
And revisit it after your first design meeting. Good show designers will ask clarifying questions. Add those answers to the brief so everyone's working from the same playbook.
The best custom marching band shows I've been part of—either as a director or a writer—started with briefs that took 30 minutes to write but saved dozens of hours in revisions. The worst ones started with "we're open to anything."
If you're thinking about commissioning a show for next season and want to talk through what a strong brief looks like for your program, reach out. I'm happy to help you get clarity before we ever talk about notes on a page.