Harch

"Harch" is the command issued by the Drum Major of a marching band to move forwards, generally upon the left foot. The harch command most commonly issued is "Forward, Harch" meaning for the entire band to move forwards with an about face body.

However, the command may also be issued in show marching for a slide movement in which the top half of the musician's body is pointed towards the audience while the bottom half move towards the side a set number of counts. In this case, the forward command does not apply. The term "harch", rather than "march", is used as "march" may easily be scattered by noise. Also, the term march may be confused with a number of other commands or gestures that include this word.