Question...

[SkyRyder_FMM]

What band directors have such a policy? In what parts of the country? Where I live, kids are encouraged to go off to drum corps because it is seen as a way of strengthening the program. The only reason I can think of for a director to prohibit a member from coming back to band camp stronger, smarter, and more skilled because they might miss a week or so of music and drill that a drum corps veteran could quickly master is the ego of the director.

Members like Open Class because it allows them to get as close to the World Class experience as possible without paying the full cost of a World Class corps, paying for travel, or it gives them the experience they need to join a World Class corps in the future. Widening the gap between World Class and Open Class will only hurt Open Class, both in the quality of the product, the experience, and the recruitment. One of the main reasons for the name change was to try to diminish the perception of Open Class being inferior. Cutting the tour would make it worse.

There's also the fact that in some regions of the country, high schools don't get out until around June 15. Corps in these areas already can't start all-days until 6/20 or so... with 2 weeks of all days you're giving these kids a 2-3 week period to schedule all their shows before Finals Week... it isn't feasible.

My daughter experiences many of these problems every year. Last year, the last day of school was 4 days into tour. She missed the first couple of shows, and was only there on weekends for all-days (they called her the weekend warrior). They would not allow her to take her final exams two days early so that she could at least join the corps before the first show.

Tryouts for the fall school programs all occur on August 1st. That is the one and only day you can try out for any and all fall activities, including marching band. If you are not there that day, you do not participate - period. As a result, she cannot participate in marching band or falls sports. I have tried talking to the administration about this every year, and they simply will not budge. They claim they do not want to have thousands of exceptions and accommodations for every kid that has a conflict. It's very shortsighted in my view (particularly when they are scrambling for members on some teams, and there are willing participants that could not join because they missed the August 1st date).

We live in northern Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C.

[euphononium]

to add on to what I said earlier, and to answer your question a little better..

I think that band directors keeping their kids out of drum corps hurts the little corps - like LER - even more than the Open Class corps. Open class corps will always have kids knocking at their doors, while corps like LER, ECJ, LVK, etc., etc., have since folded mostly because of a lack of members. I could have marched LER. Even though it wasn't the full touring model drum corps of Div. 1, it still took up too much time for my director's (and parents' - not that I listened to them) liking. I was younger, school was my priority, I had to listen to them.. I didn't think there was another choice. I didn't have the balls then to say "Hey, I'm gunna go march drum corps, and there's nothin' you can do about it!"

It was like iplaytimpani said.. they won't say you can't, but they'll let you figure out if you want to "waste a summer away from home and not learn anything" or "get better and learn 'more' in our band"

[shawn craig]

If they were forced to choose between the two, the resulting damage should be attributed to a lack of tolerance from the band director and not to the student. I've seen kids come back from drum corps having missed band camp and a week of school. After one week of rehearsals they were ahead of many of the other kids because they just came off of something much more intense. I have never talked to a kid that did not find marching band very easy to pick up after coming home from tour.

The students in our corps were usually the best in their HS bands. If they missed anything any part of camp becuase of corps, yes they picked it up easy.

I meant that because the director made them choose (wouldn't take them back after corps season) he weakened his program.

[golfman1198]

I happen to know for a fact that current BOA Champion L.D. Bell has a no-Drum Corps policy, because I've marched with people who went there.

On a different note, I went through some problems with my band director over missing band camp for drum corps, and in fact lost the position of "horn sargent" for my high school marching band because I picked doing corps. But if I could go back in time, I'd do it exactly the same way. It's so worth it.

[musicpal24]

So, we return to the original question:

Would Open Class corps membership benefit from a tour that ended a earlier in the summer?

[madscout96]

So, we return to the original question:

Would Open Class corps membership benefit from a tour that ended a earlier in the summer?

I don't think so. Because if you ended it on July 31st, or even July 17th, what's do say that'll clear up that many more kids' schedules? Every HS band isn't on the same summer schedule.

Open Class corps' membership might benefit from a tour that wasn't really a tour, but a weekend-only type schedule. Rehearse at home during the week, road trips on the weekends. Corps would have to be more locally based of course, and there would have to be enough corps in each region of the country to support regional shows. In other words, more like all-age corps is now.

[TastyWaves]

This is sadly a little more common than i thought.

I grew up out in California. I went to San Marcos (in Santa Barbara) and we had alot of guys in the local bands were involved in Drum Corps. I wouldnt have ever imagined an environment where students were not allowed or even discouraged from marching corps.

Then i moved to the northeast.

While teaching in Va, Md, Pa and Jersey, I have personally witnessed several programs where this takes place.

Usually the band directors who do this are orchestra centered or conducting majors. I will never forget a few years ago, I had a record 6 kids (in a group two size band) who marched corps.

One day the Band Director I had been working with says "I need to see all of the drum corps people when were done with our meeting".

We had been having one of the worst rehearsals ever that day (even for a bad band like we were ) so i thought he was going to maybe ask for thier help with the younger kids or something..

Instead he chewed them out for trying to make the band like drum corps was run. Not at all surprising I had many of this same argument with this clown and eventually, we agreed to just run our own sections our own way. He actually used to make fun of the kids who would hold "Plus one", Run back to sets, and take 20 second water breaks. He thought it was funny. Anytime he saw a kid practicing on a pad or working on a drill set during lunch etc. "dont you guys have a life... hahaha... my band at ______ State university didnt do that garbage and we were the best band in the country!"

(later found out he wasnt even in the band there.. just went to school there).

I also used to teach a now folded Div 3 drum corps from NJ. The two summers I taught, we only had 1 kid from the town we were in. A town that has 3 big marching bands. The one member we did have was threatened with expulsion from the band if she kept coming to drum corps and eventually she left the band of her own free will. I later found out that the band director in question had once been fired from this drum corps instructional staff. Even worse, some band directors whole-heartedly discourage kids from going to any corps that they havent heard of which in most cases is anyone other than Blue Devils, Cavaliers, and the Cadets.

Alot of the other groups ive seen have this problem simply have the "no band camp, no band" rule which sometimes does coincide with DCI Finals.

MAN what a depressing subject! lol

Band director = #########.

(most of the time.. there are some great ones out there!)

t

[Strongo]

I had some problems with my band director after coming home from Finals in 04. I ended up quitting after being cut from my solo, being undermined, and then publicly denounced in front of the entire band for trying to clarify a turn-around so my trumpets would shut up.

All for missing ONE day of band camp.

The really lame part is that my directors used to march, and never really promoted it.

Edited February 19, 2008 by dare2makemusic

[Piper]

.....2. Rotten attitudes from drum corps kids coming to band. Now this is an unfortunate fact. Some kids come back to band in the fall after having marched drum corps and they act like they're all that and know EVERYTHING and want to tell everyone how to do everything. That is bad for the chemistry of the band, no matter how bad the band is. Drum corps members really need to take a chill pill when the come back to band and not be G-d's gift to marching, and not expect the same level of commitment and drive and excellence that they had in drum corps. Band directors don't like attitudes like that, and I can't blame them.

......

I can relate to that. I never marched band, but while I was in college I dated a chick who was still a senior in high school. The conversation on our first date went something like this :

Her: I used to play trumpet in my high school band and now I'm the drum major.

Me: [thinking I found a common demonitor] That's cool. I'm in a Drum Corps.

Her: Oh, you're one of THOSE!

Me: What do you mean?

Her: You're the most arrogant people I've ever seen!

I think I changed the subject to the price of tea in China.

[B4R1B0N3]

Yeah...

My band director didn't really care if I marched this year but he doesn't want me to miss ANYTHING for camps(I'm going to be missing 2 so far,maybe more depending on when concerts or whatever are). If he gives me bad grades or threatens to kick me out of band, I'd gladly quit for marching corps over the summer. My band director can be a real ######### sometimes lol.

Kinda glad band camp doesn't start til AFTER I get back from tour(I HOPE hehe)

And I really hope I don't become one of the arrogant people because this is going to be my first year and I might have to kill myself if I turn into someone like that.