Customer Profile:
The Challenge
For Nicholas Hufnagel, assistant band director at Montour High School outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, clear communication and consistent timing are essential to successful marching band rehearsals.
With 20 years of experience instructing drum lines at the high school and college levels, Nicholas is accustomed to balancing multiple responsibilities during rehearsal. He often needs to keep time for the drum line while simultaneously demonstrating techniques and providing hands-on instruction.
During full-band marching rehearsals, another challenge emerged: making his voice heard across the field.
“I'm forced to try to project my voice over top of everyone. So, the entire band can hear my instructions, hear directions, and usually by the end of the first week, I'm losing my voice” says Nicholas Hufnagel.
Nicholas needed a way to communicate clearly across the field while maintaining the freedom to move around and work directly with students.
The Solution
Nicholas incorporated Anchor Audio's Megavox 2 with a wireless headset microphone into his marching band rehearsals.
The portable amplification system allowed him to move freely around the field while his instructions remained audible to the entire band. The Megavox 2 also provided another important benefit for drum line rehearsals: a consistent, amplified metronome.
Previously, Nicholas would hold a block in one hand and a drumstick in the other to keep time for the students. With the Megavox 2 playing the metronome, he no longer needed to physically keep time himself.
“Having this speaker playing a metronome allowed me to free up my hands, be more hands-on with my instruction, and also ensured that we were playing in consistent, perfect time.”
The Results
With clear voice amplification and a consistent metronome, Nicholas was able to spend more time actively instructing his students rather than focusing on projecting his voice or manually keeping time.
The wireless headset also gave him the freedom to roam the field while maintaining clear communication with the entire band.
Most importantly, Nicholas saw a noticeable difference in his students' progress and the band's performance.
“These products made a huge positive difference in our marching band's performance this season in comparison to seasons prior.”
He also noted that his students recognized the improvement.
“Even my students would agree that this season with these tools, they've improved on a much higher level than in years past.”
A Game Changer for Marching Band Instruction
For Nicholas, the combination of portable amplification, wireless voice communication, and a reliable metronome transformed the way he was able to work with his students.
“Having these was a complete game changer for me.”
Whether leading a drum line rehearsal, teaching marching technique, or directing a full band on the field, Anchor Audio gave Nicholas the flexibility and clarity he needed to focus on instruction.
“I truly couldn't recommend these products more to any marching band, drumline, really any ensemble that's looking to level up their performance and also along the way make instruction go a lot more smoothly.”
Click here to hear Nicholas Hufnagel share his experience using Anchor Audio at Montour High School.