Returning to high school band letdown

[FanLib]

I think it's the desire to keep growing that is possibly the most frustrating part. When you feel like you're not progressing or growing because of the quality of your band/guard, that is hard to swallow.

Edited to add: quite possibly, the tone the very young new instructor takes and the differences in how he runs the guard versus the former instructor may be making the situation worse. Besides asking the corps members to think about how they act when they return, perhaps the high school directors/instructors also need to consider their responses to these kids. Surely there is some decent middle ground that would work in many situations.

Edited September 26, 2014 by FanLib

[xandandl]

But growth does happen only because some one else imposes it from outside. It really is a personal thing that one does even despite surroundings. How consistent a performer can I be, can I get along with others, can I discover something new from this teacher/instructor/ band member that I didn't know yesterday? How do I get along with others. (Even in the best DCI corps, not everyone absolutely gets along with others, seat partners, staff members in an entourage of 200 travellers.)

Know it alls are rarely welcomed in any part of life.

Less than adequate bosses/neighbors appear more often than most of us would like. We still have to learn how to deal with this.

No matter how bad you think your unit is, it is a laboratory for you getting better, perhaps in ways you may not yet imagine.

[FanLib]

You are right for sure. But truth be told, this is a teenager whose brain is not done baking yet. Many of them don't see things at this mature of a level when they're 16 or 17. Us older folks realize these things. And thus, my comment about approaching from both sides: corps members AND band instructors.

So aside form corps members "sucking it up" and being the bigger person here, what could high school band directors and guard instructors do better to deal with the situation of a returning corps member in their band?

[JimF-LowBari]

Dino here.... My HS band never competed for various reasons which was cool with me for various reasons.

Had more of band vs DC conflict in college as some of the section leaders and other band members took this "This is the most intense thing you ever will go thru and your life must revolve around MB" which made me laugh. Good thing I was near a DCI marcher who would just shake his head and mutter unprintable comments. I transferred to this college and had three chances to do college MB. Did a once a done as I didn't need the extra BS.... just a diploma.....

Favorite memory was being told to "get up" for a halftime show so I went to a quiet place to clear my head. Some freshman got in my face that I "wasn't getting psyched" as I wasn't doing primal screams like some others. I just stared at him and the DCI member got in his face like there was no tomorrow. Still remember "Hey.... while you were home on the coach ........ Jim and I were COMPETING. How many .... shows did you do." And the .... are unprintable.

Edited September 26, 2014 by JimF-LowBari

[perc2100]

You are right for sure. But truth be told, this is a teenager whose brain is not done baking yet. Many of them don't see things at this mature of a level when they're 16 or 17. Us older folks realize these things. And thus, my comment about approaching from both sides: corps members AND band instructors.

So aside form corps members "sucking it up" and being the bigger person here, what could high school band directors and guard instructors do better to deal with the situation of a returning corps member in their band?

Sit down the returning high schooler and help them realize "HS marching band is not drum corps. There is not the level of talent, and not the level of dedication to achieve and rehearse the way drum corps do. Rehearsing and acting like a drum corps 'know-it-all' will likely turn those students OFF of the activity, and they will likely shut-down: essentially that would make the situation WORSE."

Directors & instructors really have to have the maturity and experience to know how to deal with those students and not make things worse. They can't cater to the over-achieving, talented drum corps mm but can help them be a positive role-model for others. Conversely, they can't overly-push the under-achievers, but instead nurture them to make the entire band better. It's a tricky balance, for sure, and one where the director/instructors and the HS kid need to be on the same page. The HS kid needs to know they're the student and not any sort of staff member at all, regardless of what they might think is best and sometimes that's tricky to get across to kids. But the band director needs to know how to talk to the students to make everyone happy.

It's definitely possible, and for as many "bad" situations/stories I've seen/heard I've seen/heard of great experiences as well.

[jbeatty89]

So aside form corps members "sucking it up" and being the bigger person here, what could high school band directors and guard instructors do better to deal with the situation of a returning corps member in their band?

I marched in a Div II corps freshman through junior year and the summer before senior year marched in a top 12 open class corps. The drill writer actually sat me down prior to that summer and spoke with me about making certain that I wasn't going to be burnt out before band camp. Him coming to me and recognizing what I was doing with my summer and what he expected from me upon my return really helped me adjust my attitude to what it needed to be for the band season. It really was as simple as that.

[perc2100]

I marched in a Div II corps freshman through junior year and the summer before senior year marched in a top 12 open class corps. The drill writer actually sat me down prior to that summer and spoke with me about making certain that I wasn't going to be burnt out before band camp. Him coming to me and recognizing what I was doing with my summer and what he expected from me upon my return really helped me adjust my attitude to what it needed to be for the band season. It really was as simple as that.

That's a great point as well: the HS staff should be proactive a bit. I've seen/heard of DCI staffers doing the same, but IMO it's more the responsibility of the HS director/staffers

[frachel]

My biggest challenge (back in the late 80's) was learning to slow-it-down when back at band camp. I would run to my spot and be ready to go, while the rest were walking slowly. Things like my posture, horn angle and marching technique were much more precise then everyone else's, so I had to consciously work on not standing out - in essence doing "worse" than I normally would, if that makes sense. Just fit in and have fun in a different way - the HS band way, and not the Drum Corps way.

[geluf]

I didn't march until college, and honestly, whenever students ask me about it I offer that advice: wait until college.

Agree or disagree, in my experience it makes a lot of things easier in the long run, *especially* for kids on the younger end of the spectrum. A Junior going into their Senior year is probably the youngest I'd recommend going to a world class unit.

[C.Holland]

the best advice i was given when i went back to high school or college bands was to take the same mental approach to it that we applied to our corps rehearsals.

show up on time, shut up, do your jobs, and take it with a grain of salt. if you're the one throwing unwarranted advice you're just going to make enemies. which doesn't build the team. part of you going away to DCI/DCA is to become part of a team and learn to be a leader and performer. so be the best member you can possibly be, clean your own show to the best of your ability, make other members of your section look great simply by doing your job, and trust that everyone else will do the same. don't worry about what they are doing. if they wanted to be awesome, they'd have joined DCI or DCA. So let it go. And separate them.