Some dvds, primarily, use a simple walking motion. This is done to conform with military regulations regarding marching and uniformity.

Many bands use some variation of the glide step, also known as the roll step. This step involves bringing the heel gently to the ground with the toe pointed up, and then rolling forward onto the toes before lifting the foot (or walking on the ball of the foot with heel elevated when backwards marching). This style is a direct mitation of drum and bugle corps. It gives the drill a fluid and smooth appearance, and allows for better control of the difficult formations and various styles of music played by those bands which roll step.

In addition, walking in place allows for a much broader range of tempos to be performed; the proper execution of a roll step will give a player marching at 40 beats per minute the same smooth tone as a player who is marching at 180. The roll step allow for much better control of the upper body, and better control of the air support needed for playing. The proper form prevents the wind player from bouncing and moving around unnecessarily, thus producing an unstable tone. Marching percussionists generally use a roll step exclusively, as drum harnesses (especially in the case of marching snare and tenor drums) make a high step impossible.

The high step is used by many colleges and universities such as all the Big Ten Conference bands, the University of California- Berkeley Cal Band, the University of Southern California Spirit of Troy, and The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band, as well as most Historically Black Colleges or Universities. Some secondary schools that have deep tradition in their marching band also utilize a high step. And some bands, such as the Auburn University Marching Band and the Kansas State University Marching Band use both high step and glide step, depending on the situation.

Variations of the high step

* In one high step, the band member rolls his or her foot out to the toe, bending the knee. The knee then locks, and the leg is lifted out in front of the marcher before it is put down in the new position.

* Another high step involves bringing the foot up to the inside of the leg to the knee before coming down and forward. Some bands may refer to this as "tucking" and others as "ankle-knee".

* An older high step involves the lifting of the knee with legs directly in front, thighs parallel to the ground, and toes pointed downward. When the leg is elevated, there should be a 90-degree angle with the body and the thigh, and a 90-degree angle with the thigh and the shin. The leg is then lowered, and this is repeated with the other leg. This is informally referred to as the "chair step". This is also the style for many HBCU bands.

* Another, very physically demanding, style of high step marching is extended high step. This version requires the thigh to be parallel to the ground (perpendicular to the body) with the lower leg extended outward at a 45-degree angle from the body (135-degrees from the thigh), toes pointed downward. The leg is then driven quickly back to the ground while the other leg repeats in this fashion. At the same time, the upper body swaggers 22.5-degrees left or right of center with each step. The Ohio University Marching 110 is an example of a band performing this step.

The most important part of this style of marching is known as "stop action", which means all movement ceases momentarily at the apex of each step. This requires a band to have a great deal of stamina, but is effective visually. This style is common among most marching bands of the Big Ten Conference (e.g., Wisconsin, Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan, etc).

Marking time

When a band is not moving, the members may mark time, or march in place. The step used usually resembles the step that is used for marching forward, though mixing a high step mark time with a roll step march (or vice versa) produces an interesting visual effect. For a typical mark time, the foot is raised to the ankle bone of the opposite leg. The toe should not come off the ground and the knee shouldn't come out much past the still-straight leg.

Some bands mark time by bringing their feet all the way up to their knee, this is also known as high-mark time. Some bands practice marking time during concert arch with the toes coming off of the ground in order to give the marcher a greater sense of marching while actually standing still. The heel should hit the ground on the beat. Some bands forgo marking time and instead come to a complete halt when not marching. Traditionally, the drumline would put their feet in a V-shape and lift their feet fully off the ground a few inches. This is to avoid hitting the drums.

Changing direction

When band members are marching in one direction but want to focus their sound in another, they may rotate their bodies at the waist, so that only the upper portion of the body faces in the direction of play. This is known as "shifting" or "sliding". Percussion players, whose large drum harnesses often prevent them from twisting their torsos, and sometimes tuba and sousaphone players, will instead use a crab step when moving sideways. During a crab step, the musician crosses one leg over the other, either marching on the toes or rolling the foot sideways. Percussionists may also substitute roll step when their instruments would interfere with performing the high step.

When certain band members need to change the direction in which they are marching (sometimes called the "line of march") while facing the new direction, a "flank" is used. Flanks have their history in military maneuvers and are executed so that the entire body will face the new direction. This provides a definite sense of change rather than the more fluid slides.

Backward marching

A back march may be used when the band wishes to move in the opposite direction from where it is projecting its sound. There are several ways to back march, one of which is to walk backwards, putting each foot down and rolling from the toe to the heel (the exact reverse of the roll step). Another variation involves marching on the toes, dragging the toe of the moving foot on the ground or simply walking backwards on your toes. Some people feel dragging the toes gives better balance, while others feel lifting the toes gives better balance. Using peripheral vision to align oneself to formations or field markings is even more important during backward marching.

Staying in step

Even when marking time, it is often considered good form for all band members to stay in step—that is, step with the same foot at the same time. A large majority of bands step off with, or start marching on, the left foot, the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps being one exception. Staying in step is generally easier when the band is playing music or when the drums are playing a marching cadence.

When the band and percussion are not playing, rhythm may be maintained in a variety of ways: a drummer may play clicks or rim shots, the drum major may clap or use a wood block, a drum major or band member may vocalize a sharp syllable like "hit", "hut", or "dhut" (the latter is usually characteristic of the drum line, and often said before playing in the rhythm; dhut, dhut, dhut-dhut-dhut-dhut [one, three, one two three four] ), or band members may chant the military call of "Left, left, left right left". Band members may count the steps of the move out loud so as to keep the entire band together. Typically most moves consist of a number of steps that are a multiple of four. This is because most marching band music is in the time signature of 4/4. Even-numbered time signatures like 4/4 aid in staying in step because they assign odd-numbered counts to the left foot, and even-numbered counts to the right foot.