I'm in a complicated situation but I will try my best to explain it. I am a woodwind player primarily but I am trying to learn mellophone for the purpose of marching in dci one day. My dream corps has been bluecoats since '08 but me being 18 years old and having no dci experience and being pretty bad on mello as of now, that dream seems to be fading (especially now that they're defending champs).
My first question would be what kind of skill level on my horn should I be at before going to any audition camps? I don't want to just show up and waste everyone's time and make a fool of myself. Should I be able to play previous show music? Sightread at a good level? As of right now I'm working on the basics of the instrument but I have absolutely no clue what to work on to prepare for auditions.
Second, if I do get to the point of auditioning, what should I do rookie year? Let's just say for argument's sake I'll march bluecoats before I age out. I heard carolina crown requires previous world class experience or they wont even let you audition. Are the bluecoats the same way? My second favorite corps is phantom regiment, which would probably be a better rookie audition?
Finally, the age out rule states if you turn 22 during the season you are still allowed to be in the corps. Does this mean you can audition as a 21 year old?
Thank you for reading and any advice on anything even if not mentioned specifically above is welcome.
