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Why should the age have anything to do with it? I have no problem with a corps carrying an alterate all year, provided the kid knew what the expectations were when they joined..

I'm also curious to know about payment for alternates. I know that one corps told an alternate that they would not have to pay any tour fees/tuition unless and until they began to march a spot, which leads me to blieve they were probably not getting any horn instruction, or rehearsals during the day. Another alternate that I know of paid the entire tour fee, but also didn't get in any rehearsing during the tour. I guess it really depends upon the corps, but I thought there would be a little more similarity across the board.

Just curious about the corps that carry alternates. Do most of them have alternates with them on tour? If they do, how are they utilized? In other words, do the kids play at all, or get any marching time on the field during rehearsals? I would imagine that the corps staff would obviously want their kids who have the spots practicing in those spots all the time so they can improve. But if the alternates never get to practice, how do those kids learn drill so quickly if they need to jump into a spot on short notice? I also heard that some groups have kids "on call" back at home. That takes some dedication!

>> There were a few weeks a year or so ago when there was a rumor here in Northern Virginia that the Crossmen were moving here. That would have been awesome...though Texas seems to be working well for them too! I think this area could definitely support a Division 1 corps. Within 4-5 hours of the DC area, there is JMU, ECU, West Chester, University of Delaware, Penn State and several other college programs that have good music programs and large marching bands. There are also plenty of counties in the area, both in Maryland and Virginia that put out some very good concert and marching bands at the high school level. The only drawback, at least in Virginia, is that the schools don't typically get out for the summer until at least the second week of June, and some even later. BIG negative for the high school kids who want to march anywhere.

That is great advice. When my oldest was starting to look at music programs, I just emailed the studio teachers at the schools she was interested in attending. They all replied back quickly and with their availability for setting up weekend visits/lessons. She was able to see the campus, have a lesson with the instructor at each school. In some cases, the instructors made other music classes available for her to attend as well. She observed a music education class and a conducting class at one school, and sat in on a wind symphony rehearsal at another. Your private lesson teacher is typically the one person you will deal with on a weekly basis (or more) for the entire time you are at the school, so I think that relationship is the single most important consideration when choosing a school as a music major.

If you aren't sure you have to stay in state, you should check out James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. It has a great music ed program, a large marching band, but isn't a huge campus. The school is about 15,000 students, but the campus seems smaller. The music program itself is probably somewhere around 300 majors. I went through that program and have one there now. Oh, and several of the kids there march drum corps. :)

Switch Scouts with Pacific Crest and then switch Cascades with Crossmen, and I agree with these slots.

I was just looking at the recaps, and it looks like everyone was kind of all over the place. Blue Devils and Santa Clara were obviously 1 and 2, but they were splitting the captions. After those two though, 3-6 were split up among just about everyone.

>>>Thanks. A little history helps put things into perspective! ..

Looking at last night's recaps, I would think it would be tough to really figure anything out! They were sort of all over the place from the scores the night before. GE was up overall, but GE Music was down over 2 points...Visual was up, even the guard, but music was down all across the board. The recaps showed they were actually in 4th place in some things last night, but also 7th in some. I think this show has alot of room to grow and I am cautiously optimistic that the kids will pull it off.

The above is a great point, and after reading it I went back and looked at the recaps. Spirit's visual appears to be one area that is holding them back. I would think there are things that they can do about that as the season progresses. But that does make me wonder about something. Having never marched, I have a question about what happens when there is one particular area/group of a corps that scores lower than others. When that happens, how does it affect the climate/unity of the corps as a whole? I would hope it would not cause any dissention or lower the morale in the group as a whole, but that everyone would work together and shore each other up. Then again, I also realize this is a competitive activity and everyone wants to see their scores rise each night. Anyway, just a question about which others who have marched may be able to provide some insight.

>>>Absolutely!! I do believe that it is an obvious assumption that most corps and corps members want to make finals...and move placements up year to year. But I also know there are those out there who do this not for the ring, but because they love it. My daughter is marching her first year with a group that may or may not make finals (depending upon whose posts you read), but anytime I've talked to her while she has been on tour, she has been nothing but positive and has been talking over and over about the things she has learned, and the other kids she has met...not once has SHE said anything about scores. Of course, this isn't a top 5 or 6 group either. Scores are great to have. Being a parent at home, I've been relying on the postings each night to feel like I'm keeping up. But there are defintlely LOTS of kids out there who are doing this because they love it.

1. Phantom Regiment 2. Cadets 3. SCV 4. Bluecoats 5. Cavaliers 6. Blue Devils 7. Crown 8. Blue Knights 9. Boston Crusaders 10. Spirit 11. Glassmen 12. Crossmen

That part of Spirit's show was probably my favorite "moment" all night at the Annapolis show. It was really beautiful and it sort of snuck up on you too. :) It was definitely brief, but that's part of what made it so nice. It was there and then it was gone...but when it was there, it was very nice. :)

James Madison University Marching Royal Dukes! A very long time ago. :)

I think that if you take out the "members of the corps are merely elements to a grader scheme..." part of #2, then #2 sort of creates #1. Speaking personally, #1 was the reason I wanted my daughter to march. I realized it is a competition, but the bonding, the life experience, the lessons learned were all much more important than the finishing place in August.

I love it all and I appreciate the history and the evolution of the activity over the years. If I were pressed to give an answer though, I would have to agree with whoever said that they liked the guards of the '80s. I loved the guards that used the equipment more. For me, some of those early rifle lines were amazing...they did such physical work with the rifles. The flag lines of the 27th lancers in the late 70's, early '80's were so expressive of the music while actually using the equipment to do it. It just made the visual elements pop out a lot more than the hand positions, facial expressions that are more theatre now. I'm not saying I don't like the stuff the guards do now though. I definitely can see the benefits of that where the music is more subtle and refined now as well. I think I enjoy the DVDs now for that reason...I can see some of the stuff I missed watching it live. Like I said, I just love it all. :)

Probably one of the biggest regrets of my life was not marching. Tired old "family issues" excuse. But I will say that having that hanging over my head all these years has made me more determined than ever that none of my kids will be denied that opportunity should it arise for them. This year will be the first year I have a child marching, and I couldn't be more proud. One of the last things she said to me before she left was that she was doing it for me too! One thing I did learn the past several months though, was that there are ways to make it happen but it takes alot of time, research and effort if you live in an area that is not populated by a corps. I've also come to really respect those kids who do this on their own, with the drive and determination, but not necessarily with the financial backing and support of parents and/or family. There are lots of kids out there making this happen for themselves, and that is something of which they should all be exceptionally proud.

I've been a drum corps fan/follower for almost 30 years, since high school. My husband was never involved in any musical activities growing up. When our daughter became serious about wanting to march this year, she showed him the DVD of this past year's finals. With his daughter in mind, he watched with a different level of interest and now is looking very much forward to the coming season, even getting tickets for a trip to Pasadena! He comes from a sports background and when I've heard him talking about drum corps to our friends, he always describes it as a "sport" and "very athletically demanding". He appreciates the music too, of course, but without the music background he doesn't have a frame of reference for the musical demand of the activity.

I already printed it out and it really IS on my refrigerator!! :)

Wow...my daughter will be marching this summer for the first time. I've been getting my lists together and trying so hard to get all the right "stuff" that I've been really forgetting the bigger picture and this post reminded me so much of what it is all about for her. Thanks so very much! I'm a nervous wreck, but it is alot of nervous anticipation and excitement for her. It's been a long road to get here, but we're here and we are going to do everything we can to enjoy this with her. I'm not sure what to expect as the summer goes along, but I do know that for Mother's Day, my husband surprised me with tickets to Pasadena! As he kept reminding me while I was ruminating on the many things I have yet to do and the "what ifs"..."It's all good!"

I was trying to figure out how I felt about this when I read the above post and saw the word "controlling." It really does sound like a "control issue" to me when I think about it.

I enjoyed going last night. I do wish there had been a few more older shows shown, not because they were better, but just to show the differences between old and new so clearly. Showing the Bridgemen right before Star was almost a culture shock, and I thought that was actually pretty cool to see such differences right next to each other. My daughter, who has only been following the activity for a few years, but already has strong opinions, just kept saying over and over again while watching Bridgemen "What IS this? What are they DOING?" She just didn't get it, but it was a great lesson in drum corps history for her! It led to a very opinionated discussion on entertainment value vs. appreciation for the art and difficulty level all the way home in the car. :)

The school he attended is very large by the county's standards...I believe the graduating classes are about 700-750 kids. Last year two Fairfax County police officers were shot and killed during an ambush on the station, which happens to be very close to the same high school. The young man who killed those officers was also a graudate of the same high school and had also been in and out of local mental facilities for several months. Having said that, I definitely don't believe it was the high school to blame, but rather the mental health system that we currently have. The fact that Westfield High School happens to have been the home of both these troubled young men was just a very eery coincidence...as was the fact that two of the victims also attended that school.