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Only if you stop listening after creep

I really liked Spirit of Atlanta's show. No wonder so many people want to audition. Fighting their way back to Finals was pretty amazing.

Brandt Crocker will be the first man to have his living head preserved in a jar (a la futurama) so he can announce forever.

I'd say you should work on a few things especially, and they are very basic: 1) Basic tone production - Some people can play fast, loud, and high, but they don't sound good doing it. So sit down (or stand up!) with a tuner and make sure you're centering your tone. Make sure that people will enjoy hearing you play. If you have a private teacher, talk to him/her. If not, talk to your band director, because your bell is pointing at him/her all day! They'll have some good advice for you. 2) Initial articulations - Also known as initial attacks, attacks, the first note, etc. What's the most important note you will ever play? The first note! What's the most important part of the first note? The articulation! Every day, practice in a room where you can hear yourself clearly (this may actually be harder to find than you think), and just play some short attacks. The progress from short attacks to longer, and longer, and longer, and finally just air attacks with a long note. Don't use a metronome for these, and exhale fully after each one so that you can start the next one with a clean breath. If the articulations sound "split" or "uneven", then there's some work to do there. Concentrate on always having your air either moving in or out. Never hold your air in, or "lock" your throat up in between inhaling and exhaling. If done right, this will help your response immensely. But it could take a while to get the hang of it, so stick with it! 3) All other articulations - Practice them all! Tenuto, attacks, marcato, staccato. You'll have to use them all in drum corps, so get a head start. You can only become a better player by starting early. 4) Flexibility - Also known as lip slurs. So many hornline exercises are built on these, so it will be good to walk into an audition already having some experience with them. Do these with a tuner in order to make sure you stay relaxed through the whole exercise. If you tense up, the pitch will go out of tune. You'll find exercises like these just about everywhere! If you don't have any, I have a packet of trumpet lip slurs that I use on euphonium and give to students of every brass instrument. PM me and I'll send it to you. So get these 4 things reasonably down, and they'll LOVE you at your audition because you'll be able to do everything you're asked for. Happy auditioning!

HA!!! And another big HA to this statement.

As Executive Director of DCPI, Drumcorpsplanet.com's own fantasy drum corps league, I'm proud to announce that registration for our seventeenth season is now open! All DCP members are invited to participate in our free league. Registration is simple- just go to www.drumcorpsfantasy.com and click on the Registration link, or follow this link to go directly to the director registration page: http://www.drumcorpsfantasy.com/index.php?option=com_comprofiler&task=registers Our season begins in mid-January and runs through early March. I hope you can join us for what's sure to be another outstanding season!

Hello folks, I'm Mel. I reside in Southwest Missouri. I attend Missouri State and I'm in the 360 member PRIDE Marching Band as a member of the battery. It's been a dream of mine to be in this band since 5th grade. I am currently a member of Gateway Indoor (rookie awwww yeah). It's really neat being a part of an ensemble whose instructors inspired me to pick up drum sticks just by watching a simple Youtube video. We're going to be doing great things. I haven't marched drum corps yet, but I'm sending a video to the Bluecoats within the next couple weeks. They are my dream corps and it'd be neat to be a part of that my first year. Thanks for reading! Come check out any of the ensembles I'm part of at a show near you!

Or... Drum corps will be the main event at the Super Bowl. NFL teams will be the halftime entertainment.

I have the complete legacy collection and the finals DVDs from 2005 forward. Ordered the Blu-Rays for 2011. Lots of old VHS recordings of the PBS broadcasts from the 80's and 90's - No longer own a VHS player though.

I bought this raggedy challenger in 2007. I stripped it, sanded it, and stained it. I had a local drum shop do the clear coat for me because I don't have the skills to make it look professional. I use the Ludwig silver dot and a standard Ludwig snare side head. As much as I love my Yamaha SFZ I have to say my challenger sounds better in every way. It spends most of it's time covered in plastic (like my SFZ) but it gets much more play time. Best of luck finding more of these. I truly believe the Ludwig Challenger to be the best sounding marching snare ever made!

This; but concentrate on the quality *while marching box drill at various tempos*. This is an extreme *marching* activity where sound quality has to be adjusted to swift movement playing havoc on your embouchure and breath control; very rarely will you do the old-school park-and-bark. BUT FIRST, I agree with Michael Boo; get a physical check-up prior to doing anything very strenuous, and get medical advice (from a sports minded medical professional) on a physical training program.

*bump!*

Agreed. For the past 3 years, our lead mello line has had almost only (very) mature marchers and we never got called out for not being able to achieve a certain drill set. Indeed, it seemed at times like the most difficult moves were reserved for us (and tubas)!

Welcome! I studied under Scott Cameron and Jerry Hoover at NMSU many many years ago. It must be a great organization with those two in the mix!

Agree with Boo. Get a checkup with a doctor. Also, agree with getting in shape to prevent injury. Doesn't have to be anything extreme, but you should be able to comfortably jog a mile or two without feeling like you're going to die. And I'll let you in on a little secret. While you may look at DC kids and see people that do things that normal humans shouldn't be able to do, they didn't start out that way. Most of the kids I've encountered with my daughter's corps the past two years are pretty average when they start out. Where they are way above average is drive, determination, and toughness. Regardless of what level they began the season, they all come out the other end as BAMFs. So don't stress too much about being a top notch player or a triathalon level athlete. Just having your chops and body in reasonable shape is good enough. But be mentally ready to work harder than you ever have in your life, be humble and do what the vets do, keep your head down and mouth shut and absorb all of the teaching the instructors, and most of all, be ready to "figure it out", whatever that may be, and you'll be fine.

I can't stress this enough, (being of kindred body mass and more than just "chunky"). Please see a doctor and make sure your heart is strong enough to undertake a strenuous physical fitness campaign. And if you get the okay, imaging yourself in another year or two for inspiration. Drum corps is the greatest experience I could recommend to a young person, but it's not worth risking your health over...just in case you have a condition that has been undetected. Good luck!

I gave you a green plus to cancel the red minus someone gave you. Why on earth would someone do that in response to the positive note you wrote?

Never having to abide by a "No checking your text messages or voicemail during rehearsal" policy, because they didn't exist. Sharing the Sunday paper on tour. Lining up for the pay phone (some were even ROTARY DIAL), and hoping you brought enough change. Rehearsing at night in Platte, South Dakota, on a field lit up by the headlights of cars and pickups owned by younger local residents who then sat or stood on them so they could see the color guard better. Looking across the rehearsal field and remarking how much we look like background dancers for Flock of Seagulls ("And I raaaan...") what with our hair and all. Wearing Dolphin running shorts, and looking good in them at the time (I was a three sport athlete in high school and ran competitively in 10K races in college.)

So I decided to pull out the 1993 Legacy DVD earlier today and there are two things that have bothered me since the collection came out almost ten years ago. 1. There is an old saying when calling sporting events that you sometimes need to just let the game breathe and more or less let the game and crowd showcase the emotions of the environment. I was there in 1993 and still to this day the Phantom show was one of the most intense crowd reactions that I have ever witnessed. (Three standing ovations) However, with all the shows from 1974-1999, you never really get a sense of the crowd reaction at the end of the show because there is the super quick fade out. I have never cared for that edit and would rather have not had the vignettes to allow for more room on the disc to show the crowds. 2. If you were to watch a movie or taped sporting event, you would not watch that movie in reverse would you? Why then do they still to this day release the DVDs in a 1-12 format? Perhaps why then did they not give the option to view in reverse? I wish they would have been the broadcast style format with the chapters included for individual shows. Perhaps if there is ever a Blu-Ray release these two items will be addressed.

Cannot agree more, especially 1980.

Black uniforms with red and white stripe would be sick as hell, especially with green aussie. So pretty much if they all wore the DM uniform that would be sweet.

I can not wait to see Pride, Zydeco and SCV. Those three are on the top of my list to see. But I am really interested in what Onyx and Braddock are going to do this year. What kind of show are they going to come up with? A crowd pleasure or just something strange again? I am really hoping that First Flight and Ars Nova get the credit they deserve. I also really wish that NEI would somehow make an appearance soon.

It's thought for anyone to come out in Year One with a full corps, no matter who you are. I have no doubt that C2 will be "full" by the second or third year though.

Most underscore/underplaced hornline-Bluecoats. I did not feel that cadets or cavaliers played or sounded better than them. Most surprised to give a standing-O to this season-BD. Thank you for being more audience friendly this year. Keep it up Most underwhelming-SCV. I hyped on this show due to its theme and storyline idea but it just lacked everything I had hoped for minus drums. Most RCC like-Crown. I would've preferred more Rach over Rock. The amount of gimmicks reminded me of RCC as well. Most likely to have a Guard trophy soon-Phantom. Need I say more? Most likely to make finals next season-Academy. Most underplaced colorgaurd-Bluecoats. I do believe that that guard was 6th place or better and not 10th like they had been getting at big shows.

YES!!!

"I'm all alone. I'm rolling a big doughnut and this snake wearing a vest..."

Well Bruckner, that's because you've been dead for over 100 years.

I volunteered at this camp, and my ears are still ringing from it! I was a 2011 rook-out of this corps and I'm so proud to see such an amazing start to the season. Me and several of my ageout friends were there, yelling, screaming, crying...it was awesome! And just for clarification/confirmation, our ageout class wasn't as big as you might think. ~15-20 in the hornline, and ~30 total. That being said, not everyone is going to be able to make it back for various reasons, so we're looking at maybe half the hornline open (I've heard we're making it bigger than the 72 we fielded last year). As for the show concept, I'll wait for the organization to post more details, but I will say that it makes sense as the next step in entertainment and Spirit sultry after film noir. 2011 was a magical year for us, but the design team is not losing any steam for 2012.

Please see my explanation above.

In Soviet Russia, the answer to all questions is taught in schools as... "George Hopkinsov Lenin ".

Grumble, grumble, #####, ####, moan....

In Soviet Russia, controversial ideas think of George Hopkins.

But in Soviet Russia, the tuba would play Boris, so I'm guessing Boris would be sticking out of the tuba bell instead. Geez; we all need an off-season hobby.

Shouldn't that be; in Soviet Russia, DCP follows KGB?

i'm glad you're proud of your drum corps. lol

I know this thread has been dead for a long time, but I figured I'd post about how it went haha. I made it, and couldn't be happier Thanks for all the advice everyone, it really did help. Can't wait for spring training!

Most "welcome back to being the corps some of us really missed you being": The Cadets! That show was fresh, it was basic, it was entertaining, it was engaging, it was fun, it was thrilling; all the things the Cadets used to be brought back to a new age!

Most hype- THE MADISON SCOUTS! I guess I would have to agree with you and the others that keep bringing the over hyped stuff up here... but. If that means running to your seats to make sure you did not miss the show is the MOST hype than so be it. To each and everyone that was involved in that 2011 product, be proud... I was at about 10 shows and championship weekend in 2011, people WERE running to get to there seats... running. I dont call that hype or being over hyped... I call it being a must see product! Just like how we talked about it, all off season. THE MADISON SCOUTS - A Must See Product! Good Job Men, keep up the good work. Cant wait to see where you all take 2012! I for one am not going to miss it....BRING IT! PEACE!

In Soviet Russia... well lets just say that's not water in the water jugs... just something that might look like it.

I hope it's straight ahead Christmas with all the great music that every fan knows. No one's really done it. That will be entertaining! Don't give us obscure Christmas music that only drum corps fans may recognize as remotely connected to Christmas. Can't wait for this show!

Most underrated drumline: Blue Stars Most impressive feat of the season: Cadets drumline redoing drill after losing a snare later in the season Most surprising that I liked: Blue Knights (loved the percussion feature with all the Drum and Fife style stuff) Most ANNOYING part of the season:Not having all the corps full performance on the DVDs, and DCI misleading us the fans before purchasing! (even though I still would have bought the DVDs had I known before hand about the edits)

:MODERATORS: This is the same video that is posted on The Cadets web site and their You Tube All Access page. I'm posting it here for easier access. Honestly, I've always hated "We Need A little Christmas". I just can't stand the song BUT... I like what The Cadets have done with it. And I can't wait to hear what they do with "Do You Hear What I Hear?". I never pictured that tune as an opener.

That's a d'bag post.

Believe me, it was worse when you played baritone! Been there, did that (twice).

LOL......BRAINS, BRAINS, BRAINS would be the only narration. Not to mention more blood on the field than Phantom 2008.

so in other words, like the last few years...those playing don't move much, and those not playing do all the movement?

Ref. post #36 ( I suspect I was pressing send about the time you were typing). It's all good.

Me thinks you leaned a bit too close to the cymbals......psssst, it was a spoof.

As a Crossmen alumni I wish you the best of luck! Hopefully you can be part of something great, and be there when we return to the Top 12 once again.

Easy to say when your horn weighs two ounces. . . OP: definitely spend some time holding the horn. You'll really set yourself apart from the other auditioners if you can look like a ###### all weekend holding the horn without breaking. Perhaps silly, but definitely true.