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arrangements and member retention


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Something that I have been curious about for years.......when a veteran musician returns

to a corps, goes through the first part of the winter and into the early Spring,

and they realize that they are not sold at all on the musical arrangements that the

corps is playing, to the point that they don't enjoy performing them.....and they make

the tough decision to leave the corps......does it happen, and how often??

I am certain that some will say that this decision is wrong and is only self-centered.

Easy to say. However, it is tough to go out and rehearse 10-14 hours per day, give up your

summer, and pay thousands of dollars, to perform a show that you are not into. Another

"touchy" sidebar.....does the member candidly tell the arranger that they believe it

needs redone or perhaps the corps should consider a new piece of music? Again, I am certain

that some will say that a member should never question the work of a staff member or

arranger. Whereas I would agree with that in terms of in front of the rest of the corps

or at rehearsal, I am not so sure that it is inappropriate to politely state their

feelings privately, especially if they can back up their perceptions. Keep in mind

that there are hall of fame arrangers that were talented corps members once, and we

have many arrangers who "miss the mark" each year.

Another tough thing involves other members......the member leaving probably has no

malice, and it's not that they do not want the corps to do well, but friends who are

staying may not understand (especially if they are into the show) and think that they

are somehow being disloyal. Also, others who were thinking the same thing may also step

forward and quit........now, instead of just losing a player, it may be several.

I don't believe anyone should wait until May to do this, and I think that the only

reason anyone should leave after May 1 is illness/injory/personal emergency, or if they

believe that they are being mistreated and it's not rectified.

I know that many corps announce their repertoire quite early.....I think it is

to get their members excited about what they are going to play. However, I am certain

that there have been players who get half-way or more through learning a musical book, and

suddenly realize that they do not like it......at all.

GB

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I know that there were a few alumni (if not more) that decided not to march in 1976 after attending

the first one or 2 Scout camps after the 75 season. They were all asked to come back for show #2

when we had our 2 week camp in late July - and a lot of them did. I certainly don't think there were

any hard feeling from the members who had to march that first show - maybe a little jealousy though.

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I felt this way my rookie year. I kept my mouth shut during the season and finished it, but I respectfully said what was on my mind in a casual conversation later and still got screamed at for not being loyal to my corps. It's a wonder how I marched two more seasons with them before I realized it wasn't the right place for me.

That being said, unless you have a historically crowd-pleasing show that gets people wanting your autograph and pictures the experience is pretty much the same regardless of the music you're playing. If it's not about entertainment, it's about the competitive placement. With the way judging works a show does not have to be entertaining to place well or not.

Edited by MetalTones2012
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This applies to all 3ish years I've marched:

I grew into the music as time went on. I usually didn't really like the arrangements I got at first but as I performed it, the show itself came to convince me that it was awesome and I believed it and I still believe it.

Overall, it helped be gain an open mind and appreciate whatever was put in front of me.

I think if others just wait it out and try to wrap their heads around it they'll grow to appreciate it.

Besides, if the show isn't interesting you, focus on the people around you (that you like) and gain incentive from there.

Edited by Barifonium
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There have been plenty of shows with music that didn't appeal to me when I heard them the first, second or even third time. But they grew on me and by the end of the season, the corps were making them rock the stadium. If shows take awhile to grow on spectators, then surely they can take time to grow on the performers.

A problem is members remember the end of the previous season, when the kinks have been worked out of a show. To go from the end of the season, with the show having benefitted from hours of judges' critiques, to pre-season, when only the staff has been exposed to the show, has got to be a bit of a shock. It's hard sometimes to envision what a show will feel, look and sound like months later, and consequently, it's just too easy to judge and be wrong about the final result.

And even after considering all that, only one show is ultimately going to win.

Members should march because they love the corps they're in, they love the activity, they love the people they're living days on end with and they love the experience and training they're getting. Going into any corps for reasons that require having to love a show before it's even developed just opens up the door to be frustrated down the road.

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Yup, Members quit for really stupid reasons sometimes...

I don't think there has ever been a football player that has ever questioned his coaches or the football plays called in the games played. And we know that parents of players never question the game preparation and the play calling. And certainly no Drum Corps staff member ever took a position with a Drum Corps with high expectations early on, and then realized that his marchers abilities collectively were not quite as good as he or she thought they might be by the time Spring rolled around.

Edited by BRASSO
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I felt this way my rookie year. I kept my mouth shut during the season and finished it, but I respectfully said what was on my mind in a casual conversation later and still got screamed at for not being loyal to my corps. It's a wonder how I marched two more seasons with them before I realized it wasn't the right place for me.

That being said, unless you have a historically crowd-pleasing show that gets people wanting your autograph and pictures the experience is pretty much the same regardless of the music you're playing. If it's not about entertainment, it's about the competitive placement. With the way judging works a show does not have to be entertaining to place well or not.

That's a drastically oversimplified outlook on why people march drum corp. Lots of people march for a lot of different reasons. And no, the experience at Bluecoats is not the same as the experience at Spirit. The experience at Madison is not the same as the experience at Boston Crusaders. If it were, there would just be general DCI auditions, and kids would be placed with a corps. Instead, people choose to march with the corps they think will provide the experience they want. Sometimes that's a chance to compete for a medal. Sometimes its for a chance to entertain. Sometimes (as it was for me) its about learning, not just about music and marching, but about hard work and dedication and how to work as a team. There are as many reasons to march drum corps as there are people who march drum corps.

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Like it has been said here earlier, everyone marches in their corps for their own reasons. It is very much a personal decision. I can tell you this however, the thoughts you describe are universal everywhere at one time or another. I know my age out year in '84 Blue Devils many or us were not very excited about our exit at first. There was plenty of grumbling among the members. That being said, we would never have contemplated sharing those thoughts with the staff. They had their job to do and we had ours. It was never something I would have considered leaving the corps over. The most important thing was the process. Sharing those experiences with the people around me. Perhaps the fact that we are talking about people like Wayne Downey, Jay Murphy and Tom Float had something to do with us keeping our mouth shut too!

Bottom line, trust your staff, stay the course, revel in the experience you share with your fellow members and the season is a success...regardless. By the way, turns out those guys knew what they were doing! We ended up doing OK. ;)

Dan

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after my first season, i originally planned on going to audition with the corps i ended up marching with but chose not to in order to return to where i marched my first summer. at first i wasn't sold on the music but eventually it grew on me. i ended up leaving that corps for the other corps because half of the staff made it clear they wanted nothing to do with me and the majority of my good friends from my first summer either aged out, decided to not march, or went elsewhere. i ended up dodging a bullet

so the music wasn't the problem, it was a people factor.

i ended up basically joining the corps the first day of everydays but i knew i wanted to march there and the atmosphere fit me better as well.

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