Drew Wilkie

You should be interested in all of the music you play. As far as learning how to read better, read all the notes you see. Doesn't matter what instrument the piece was written for...just play it! Beggars shan't be choosers...

In brass playing, sound IS function. Consider the following... Sound is vibrating air. The sound your horn makes is the sound of vibrating air, set in motion by the vibrating top lip. If there is air in your sound, that means air is passing through lips without vibrating. Air that isn't vibrating is a result of your top lip not setting the air into vibratory motion. Tension in your lips will reduce their ability to vibrate. Tension will put air in your sound. A little logic goes a long way! Instead of worrying about your practice routine, spend your time working on getting everything inside the mouthpiece to relax. Playing in a physically relaxed manner will allow your lips to vibrate with total ease, and accomplish the following: 1) Increased endurance, because you're not exerting yourself 2) Increased range (high and low), because your lips are free to narrow and widen the aperture 3) Increased flexibility 4) Enlarged sound, because their is more vibration occurring 5) Increased dynamic range, because lip response has quickened The list goes on... My point is, the reason why pros make it look easy, is because it IS easy. The more you can relax while playing any brass instrument, the better your playing will be.

We are The Cadets, the name is coupled with the West Point uniform. They go hand in hand, they are one and the same. Derivations of the uniform have been seen in the past two years, but it's still the uniform...we take this seriously, as do the fans and alumni. Some things need to remain sacred...please try to understand this (though I don't expect you will).

Do whatever you have to do to be in the form...which means, USE YOUR EYES. Don't fidget or scratch yourself. Just dress the form, and relax. Keep in mind that there will be a few hundred other kids at camp that are in the same shoes as you, so don't sweat it.

The single most important thing you can do (other than keeping your feet in time), is BE CONFIDENT. If you project weakness, confusion, apprehension, reluctance, or immaturity, that will leave a big impression on the staff. People evaluate us by how we look/act, so make you always stand up straight, don't fidget, don't talk, don't yawn, etc...look STRONG, even if you really aren't. The staff is looking for kids that they think will have a relatively easy time adjusting to life on the road with the drum corps. Conversely, they're looking to cut the kids that look/act as though they'll break in some way or another during the course of the summer. Attitude, character, and physical fortitude are AT LEAST just as important as marching and playing, if not more so. I've seen tons of decent players get cut because they had a bad attitude or just did not project a solid image of physical and mental confidence. Conversely, I've seen many kids make the line that were marginal players, but were physically solid and had a great attitude. So in your marching audition (and everywhere else you go in life), whatever you do...do it with strength and unwavering confidence (oh, and do it in time). If you need an example of unwavering confidence, go watch a Marine in uniform. He/she will be a pillar of sheer strength, and that's the goal you should set for yourself. Cheers!

A "tight" embouchure is exactly what you don't want. Efficiency is the name of the game in playing a brass instrument. Tension inside the mouthpiece, or in the body, will just dampen your sound, range, endurance, and flexibility. Concentrate on relaxing the stuff inside the mouthpiece...you'll be surprised just how little air you really need to play. Consequently, this will also help to solve your leaking problem, as you already have enough innate facial strength to play the instrument well. Less is more, weakness is strength, coordination is everything. RELAX...brass playing is easy!

Hrothgar, do you have any drum corps experience? Your opinions are so staunch, I'd say you've been marching junior corps for 20 years...

From campus, I'm 30 minutes from Cadets camps. From home, I'm an hour and a half from Cadets camps.

Adrian and Mikey-- Yeah...that day/night in Louisiana was epic. We worked our ##### off, in the heat, ice cold rain, through fire ants and mud. The z-pull was pretty interesting for us on the end, mostly because there was a tree between us and Sam.

The bottom line is that every corps is out there doing their best. The guys/girls on the field don't pick the show...they just perform it to the best of their ability. And when it's all said and done, the audience ALWAYS knows who the best corps is each night...just listen to the applause. The judges will say what they will, but the crowd always figures it out for themselves.

As a trumpet nerd that has played almost every single brand of trumpet mouthpiece out there, I think I may be of some use with this particular topic... A soprano bugle, in the context of trumpet playing, is a huge instrument. I know Kanstul's Powerbore is a .470, which rivals Schilke's X4 and Jerry Callet's .472 Soloist model (though the bugle has a much larger bell tail). Therefore, a mouthpiece with some resistant characteristics would be the best choice, especially for lead playing on the football field. A mouthpiece with a tighter throat and/or backbore will help to keep you from blowing your brains out on an already-free-blowing instrument. Some good lead mouthpieces to choose from (for this context): -Bob Reeves 40, 41, 42 series rims (Bob has many different backbores to choose from) -Warburton 5, 6, 7, 8 series rims (Terry Warburton has the largest array of backbores in the business) -Schilke 6-13 series rims (Schilke has a pretty decent lead backbore, their "A" backbore) For soprano players not playing lead, your best bet would probably be Bach, simply because their pieces are cheap and subsequently, easy to experiment with. They aren't very specialized pieces, so they will function just fine for section players on the field. For mellophone players, DO NOT get a mouthpiece that is too deep. Doing so will kill the projective qualities of the instrument, and it will sound very dead. Yamaha makes a good mellophone mouthpiece with a trumpet shank (14F4), that has the perfect blend of qualities for a rich sound that will project with clarity.

To Josh and Frank-- You guys gave me the chills with your words (just got finished telling Gordito...haha). All I can say is that's it's an honor and privelege to be associated with this family. The pride I feel is beyond description. I will do my best to make you all proud. Drop me a message on AOL some time....my screen name is drewwilkie86

Thanks Josh! That means more than you think... I just want to pay respect to the Cabs that came before us, and the soprano soloists than came before me. I really want to "get it right" for every member, every fan, and every little kid that will see this show. I really want to help create a moment that will last forever in the minds of thousands, as well as bring back memories for those that were here before. There are a lot of ghosts in those uniforms, and 60 years of family and tradition...it's vitally important to me, that I do it just right.

Hey everyone...thought I'd introduce myself. My name is Drew Wilkie, and I'm the trumpet soloist in the Cabs ballad this year (Concierto de Aranjuez). This will be my first full year with the Cabs, and I'll be doing so in the upper lead trumpet spot. I've marched junior corps before (upper lead, Cadets 2003), but senior corps, as I've found, is an entirely different animal (in a good way). I'm a 19 year-old music education major at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ, in my fourth semester. To any trumpet equipment geeks out there that might be curious, I use Laskey mouthpieces (70C (legit), 40S* (lead/commercial)). Just a quick question to anyone that was in Harrisburg...am I playing this solo correctly??? I want to make sure that when the season hits, people can close their eyes and hear the same solo from years ago. An echo from the past, so to speak. ANY insight would be helpful from former Cabs, or people that have been around the block a few times and have heard this solo performed in the past. I would like to give credit where credit is due when I play this solo. Thanks a lot!