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Saxophone to Baritone! [Personal Log]


Fourzi

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Week 9 Update:



Yikes! It's been three weeks! I've been so busy that I forgot to post to the log but have no fear, I have been practicing.



  • Buzzing - I've been letting this one go, but it's still going well.
  • Free Buzzing - Okay :( Will do more work
  • Long Tones - Excellent. I can actually feel and hear myself warm up.
  • Pedal Tones - So much better. Playing with more of the wet part of the lip helps
  • Note Entrance and Release - Solid as ever
  • Tonguing - Dang this is going good. I guess it's nearly a direct transfer from sax. No issues in the slightest. Double tonguing isn't so bad either.
  • Lip Slurs on the horn - Going swell. Still getting the hang of slurring without the use of my adam's apple (Less throat assistance, more muscle movement).
  • Dexterity - Ring finger could be better.
  • Double Tonguing - :)

I've memorized 3 of 6 pre-game tunes. The show music is in now. I'm in for a doozey.



Going to look at the Blue Way packet today and maybe even try to learn some of my favorite Bluecoats licks. Imitate until you make it, I suppose! Having tons of fun



Update next Thursday!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Have you considered Crossmen in San Antonio? They are in Texas which would make initial participation easier and less expensive. I'm just assuming their camps are in San Antonio.

I transitioned from Alto Sax to Baritone then Baritone Bugle my Senior Year of High School and joined Sky Ryders back in 1985. I just took some lessons with the best Trumpet player in our band, played for a marching band season, went to the Winter camps and made the line. I picked Sky Ryders because they were the closest Open Class Corps. Back then the big boys were called Open Class.

I marched for the 1985 Season were we came in 15th and again in 1987 were we came in 12th.

I could be wrong but your going to be going up against some monster players trying to get into Blue Coats especially as how they won this year.

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Have you considered Crossmen in San Antonio? They are in Texas which would make initial participation easier and less expensive. I'm just assuming their camps are in San Antonio.

I transitioned from Alto Sax to Baritone then Baritone Bugle my Senior Year of High School and joined Sky Ryders back in 1985. I just took some lessons with the best Trumpet player in our band, played for a marching band season, went to the Winter camps and made the line. I picked Sky Ryders because they were the closest Open Class Corps. Back then the big boys were called Open Class.

I marched for the 1985 Season were we came in 15th and again in 1987 were we came in 12th.

I could be wrong but your going to be going up against some monster players trying to get into Blue Coats especially as how they won this year.

A lot of this is true. The Crossmen are a viable option for anyone looking for a start in drum corps for actually marching. But, it is my firm belief (take it for what it's worth) That rookies should go to the camp of their dream corps for a couple of good reasons. 1, they're going to want to march there someday, so it helps to see where they are on the spectrum; and who knows, they just might make the cut, I'm friends with plenty of vets whose rookie years were in Crown, Coats, Cadets, even one in BD (the A corps). And 2, even if the rookie doesn't make the cut, they still got the experience and instruction on how to move up in their placement. Meaning now they have an idea of what the staff is like, how intense things are, etc. My two cents, read it for what it's worth. :thumbup:

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  • 4 months later...

Week 31 Update:

 

 

 

Holy cow it's been a while. Figured I should give one more update just before the new year!

I'll go ahead and scrap all the progress stuff and just talk about what I've been up to.

Since my last post, I marched a full season with my college marching band on the baritone. I held up pretty well as a matter of fact. My goal was to not be the weakest link and in my opinion, I was probably one of the stronger ones! Learned a lot of music during the season, learned a lot about marching thanks to my section leader having just come back from a season with the Colts. I'd even call myself a baritone player at this point.

I also just wrapped up my first semester of college in music education. Let me warn any of you reed players that want to learn brass for DCI: DON'T NEGLECT PRACTICE ON YOUR PRIMARY INSTRUMENT. For every minute you spend on brass, you need to spend a minute and then some on your primary. I learned this the hard way because my sax playing has stagnated and I'm having a lot of problems because I've been so focused on DCI. That being said, it's nothing I can't handle. This is not to discourage anyone from doing it because I definitely recommend this experience, but make sure you hold yourself accountable.

Now, onto the drum corps stuff. I have attended 3 camps so far, all in succession. I went to the Houston Crossmen camp, the December Guardians camp, and the Crossmen callback camp. Results:

  • Crossmen - Callback, technically. They give everyone a callback, so I wouldn't really count this one. They do however separate into red and black team, black team being the better team, and I was put on black team.
  • Guardians - I received a contract at the first camp. I definitely don't feel safe though. I can tell Guardians expect a lot from their brass players and I will definitely be working to keep that spot!
  • Crossmen Callback - I was called back a second time to attend the January camp. This is good because at this camp, they did cut many people. That being said, they also handed out a lot of contracts so I'm still fighting.

I'll be attending the Guardians January camp in a couple of weeks and the Crossmen January camp the week after that. My hope is to get contracted by Crossmen, but even then it would be a tough decision because I really enjoy the staff and atmosphere at Guardians. And not to mention, the Kanye show is HYPE. Regardless, I will be marching this summer, which is SUPER exciting. 

To you fellow woodwind players, let my experience be your inspiration. YOU CAN DO IT. Pick up that horn, hit up the practice room, and go check out your local corps. One valuable thing I came to realize during this process is that drum corps is about ensemble sound. You don't have to be some Euphonium virtuoso to make a drum corps. You have to know what you're doing, blend to an ensemble, and work your butt off.

 

 

Update next Thursday!

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