[Your 2011 "Most" Awards]

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!

Pretty much this, but with the Crossmen

[Auditioning on tuba for Crossmen]

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!

[Crossmen tuba audition]

Hey guys, I posted this in the World Class discussion, but figured I'd also get some good advice if I posted it here, so here it is

I've been super interested in doing DCI, and was planning on auditioning last year, but got sick with mononucleosis and so didn't try out.

I just had a few questions on things like: What the odds are of me making and succeeding in the corps this upcoming season? What are the auditions like? What's the process? Do they to a marching test? What's the music like? Is it very difficult?

I'd appreciate answers to these questions, I don't know too many people that have marched DCI, so I don't have a whole lot of sources of information regarding these things, figured this would be the place to ask.

If any of this means anything, I consider myself a fairly good player. I've played tuba only since 8th grade, but last year as a sophomore I beat two seniors for first chair in my high schools band, and as far as physical condition goes, I think I'm in decent shape, I can do 17 pull ups and can still run a 6 and a half minute mile.

[Auditioning on tuba for Crossmen]

Looks like a question for the Expert!

Thanks for the advice! What you're saying is pretty much what my private teacher has been telling me, which hopefully means I'm on the right track.

Thanks for all the advice so far everyone

[Auditioning on tuba for Crossmen]

Yes. Bb horn. They use Yamaha 202s if you can get your hands on one. If not, any marching tuba should do. If you can't find one, try to get to camp early :). But I know it's often to have a horn rotation going on at a lot of corps at the first audition camps.

Thank you, I've always marched a sousaphone and my director frowns on using contras(for high school bands, not drum corps) so I don't hear a whole lot about them.

I figured I'd probly look a little better if I had a marching tuba of my own and knew how to hold it, as opposed to the camp being the first time, no?

[Auditioning on tuba for Crossmen]

I have been at November and December tryout camps for DCI WC corps for the last ten years. The biggest reason I see for people not returning that play tuba/contra is the holding the horn part. So many people come in that can march weel and play great, but they simply cannot hold the horn up for more than a few seconds at a time. I've seen guys that are six foot tall with tears running down their face while trying to hold that horn. I've also seen 110 pound females that can hold it for five minutes at a time without breaking a sweat.

Biggest advice: Find something that weighs around 40 pounds and is similar in shape to a tuba/contra. Hold it up in front of you like a marching tuba/contra. Start with at least one minute at a time and work up to five minutes at a time. Try snapping it up to your shoulder and back down again. Do this while watching TV.

Thanks for advice!!

So I emailed them, and they said they would preffer I bring my own marching tuba, but not a bugle.

I think they mean bring a Bb horn not a G? I was told that was the difference between a marching tuba and a contrabass bugle

[Auditioning on tuba for Crossmen]

Plus, corps are always looking for contras it seems...

It does seem like that, last year the crossmen were looking for contras all the way into the second semester of my high school.

[Auditioning on tuba for Crossmen]

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.

I've messed around with some contras at my states all state and band master conventions, although nothing really substantial, most schools around here play on sousaphones, including my school :/

Do they supply contras at the camps? The packet said to bring a horn, do they mean marching or concert?

Thanks for all the encouragement guys, it means a lot!

[Auditioning on tuba for Crossmen]

from crossmen website:

Yeah I'm registering tomorrow for the November camp, I just wanted to hear what it might be like from Crossmen vets.

[Auditioning on tuba for Crossmen]

no

Then what is the audition music like? A set of solos or exercises, or both? Do I have to choose a solo of my own to play for them?

[Auditioning on tuba for Crossmen]

Well...as a tuba player, you will probably need to have been in All-State for at least a couple years

I was actually wondering, is the audition music on an All State level? Am I expected to be an All state level player to be considered for selection?

[Auditioning on tuba for Crossmen]

So I've been super interested in doing DCI, and was planning on auditioning last year, but got sick with mononucleosis and so didn't try out.

I just had a few questions on things like: What the odds are of me making and succeeding in the corps this upcoming season? What are the auditions like? What's the process? Do they to a marching test? Is the music very difficult? What's the music like?

I'd appreciate answers to these questions, I don't know too many people that have marched DCI, so I don't have a whole lot of sources of information regarding these things, figured this would be the place to ask.

If any of this means anything, I consider myself a fairly good player. I've played tuba only since 8th grade, but last year as a sophomore I beat two seniors for first chair in my high schools band, and as far as physical condition goes, I think I'm in decent shape, I can do 17 pull ups and can still run a 6 and a half minute mile.