Blasian62 Posted July 13, 2017 Author Share Posted July 13, 2017 9 hours ago, soccerguy315 said: I played saxophone through HS and college. Picked up a baritone after HS, took some lessons, and marched 2 years. If you go for baritone, practice holding the baritone before audition camp. A lot of people will struggle with the weight. Definitely go for Bluecoats, but be open to marching elsewhere first. The best way to get better at drum corps and your drum corps instrument is to do it. You said she is a HS junior. I think she should consider marching a brass instrument senior year. How serious is her flute playing? Would she be open to switching instruments completely in order to maximize chances of marching drum corps? Or is she really committed to flute at the highest level possible? Would be beneficial if she could get some sort of lessons, even if from a good HS student, on basics for whatever instrument she is interested in switching too. Interesting azul played trumpet... props! I think trumpet perhaps the most competitive instrument to make in the hornline, just on the numbers of trumpet players vs. horns / baritones / tubas walking around at a high school. Some people may disagree. I think each year, there are woodwind players in every DCI hornline. It's a lot of hard work but it can be done! Well, she's got the first part on flute right now, and even has a solo in their marching band show this year; I'm not sure if she'd be willing to drop it, but we and the director also thought baritone or euphonium would be the easiest brass instrument to get into and are trying to arrange her to get one to practice in her spare time. I suggested to her that she could/should probably also try at least a year in open class to get more experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 4 minutes ago, Blasian62 said: Well, she's got the first part on flute right now, and even has a solo in their marching band show this year; I'm not sure if she'd be willing to drop it, but we and the director also thought baritone or euphonium would be the easiest brass instrument to get into and are trying to arrange her to get one to practice in her spare time. I suggested to her that she could/should probably also try at least a year in open class to get more experience. I was a percussion major and marched percussion (pre-DCI), but in junior high and high school I played bari sax. In 72 I switched over to baritone in the Cadets. The weight might be an issue, and of course today the people auditioning are far superior to my era. I have a former sax-playing student who is marching euphonium with the Cadets this year. He marched an Open class corps last year as his first time in DCI. I am thinking baritone might be a good place to start. Not sure where you live, but an Open class or a DCA corps might be an option if one is near you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blasian62 Posted July 13, 2017 Author Share Posted July 13, 2017 3 minutes ago, MikeD said: I was a percussion major and marched percussion (pre-DCI), but in junior high and high school I played bari sax. In 72 I switched over to baritone in the Cadets. The weight might be an issue, and of course today the people auditioning are far superior to my era. I have a former sax-playing student who is marching euphonium with the Cadets this year. He marched an Open class corps last year as his first time in DCI. I am thinking baritone might be a good place to start. Not sure where you live, but an Open class or a DCA corps might be an option if one is near you. From Indy and being able to go to finals a couple years has definitely had an impact on her interest in DCI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insideout Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 My kid started on clarinet in 5th grade, moved up to French horn in 8th grade, to mellophone in freshmen year. He is in his first year of drum corp and going into his senior year of HS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Holland Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 We have several woodwind players that come to the Raiders. Flute, Sax, Clarinet, and Bassoon this year in the hornline. They are carrying Mellophone, Mellophone, and Tuba. And doing very well. We've had several WW players move on after a season or two and make Bloo, Cadets, and many other top 12 throughout the years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLBuzcut Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 I was a woodwind who matched guard in drum corps. I know some people may think guard is a fall-back option for a musician, but that's not the way I saw it at all. I chose to match guard. Being a musician actually helped a lot because I understood the flow and intricacies of the music plus I didn't have to rely on counting to keep up with the work. It was basically a choice in the type of performer I wanted to be in the activity. However, it sounds like she's sold on being a musician, which is great. Her experience and understanding of music will allow her to transition to brass, I'm sure. Good luck to her! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HouserCD Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 I played bassoon through high school and college. Allen Kristensen (DCI Judge, Vanguard Snare) was in our high school percussion section. He showed a documentary film to the band about the competitive drum corps activity which was exciting to watch and an inspiration. Since the bassoon is not a marching instrument I was placed in the drum section (double tenor) during football season. In 1976 I joined the Knight Raiders which was being taught by Steve Choarzy (76 BD Snare Tech, 75 Vanguard and Solo Snare Champ). I learned triple tenor and then auditioned for Vanguard in 1978. Fred Sanfords auditions involved sight reading, basic rudimental exercises and repeating passages he would play from memory. I marched with Santa Clara from 1978 to 1979 while continuing to play bassoon through college. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitedj2002 Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 45 minutes ago, HouserCD said: I played bassoon through high school and college. Allen Kristensen (DCI Judge, Vanguard Snare) was in our high school percussion section. He showed a documentary film to the band about the competitive drum corps activity which was exciting to watch and an inspiration. Since the bassoon is not a marching instrument I was placed in the drum section (double tenor) during football season. In 1976 I joined the Knight Raiders which was being taught by Steve Choarzy (76 BD Snare Tech, 75 Vanguard and Solo Snare Champ). I learned triple tenor and then auditioned for Vanguard in 1978. Fred Sanfords auditions involved sight reading, basic rudimental exercises and repeating passages he would play from memory. I marched with Santa Clara from 1978 to 1979 while continuing to play bassoon through college. Alan Pre-Clovis West? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HouserCD Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Yes, Allan and I were in the Leigh High School Band in San Jose, Ca. After high school he studied percussion with Tony Cirone at SJSU. His graduate recital was a piece he wrote for a snare line and performed with the help of Curt Moore and other Vanguard snares. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRacer Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 4 minutes ago, HouserCD said: Yes, Allan and I were in the Leigh High School Band in San Jose, Ca. After high school he studied percussion with Tony Cirone at SJSU. His graduate recital was a piece he wrote for a snare line and performed with the help of Curt Moore and other Vanguard snares. I believe I marched with your younger brother David several years later. I also work with '78 snare RC on judging slates. Very cool about you and Alan too. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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