scrappyslap Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 High School Marching Band.In Indiana. Yes I started in high school band in Indiana also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappyslap Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I started in 1964 playing G/D soprano with piston/slide setup. I got pretty good.By the time I left Catholic School, (which didn't have a music program), to go to a public high school, (Penncrest, the site of Archie's show this weekend), I was looking forward to taking instrumental music in 9th grade. School started and I looked forward to the class. I was warming up and hitting some high notes and showing off when the band director came into the first class and called the class to order. I had never had any music lessons and I had taught myself the notes on the staff and values and how to read simple music. I wasn't ready for the fact that most of these kids had been reading music for several years and I got smoked. The band director asked me after class why I wasn't playing much and I told him I couldn't read so well. He told me I played pretty well, "where did I learn that?" I told him that I was in a drum and bugle corps. Then he told me that by the 9th grade students were expected to be able to read music at a certain level and if I was just going to sit there and hold the horn, it wasn't doing any good. I told him that I never really had a reason to read music before and that I would get better fast. He asked if I was going to take trumpet lessons to learn how to read and I told him we couldn't afford lessons. He sat there quiet for a few moments and pulled a gold colored card from his desk. He wrote me a transfer out of his class and told me that when I could prove to him that I could read music at the level they were at I could rejoin the class. I took the card in disbelief and stood there. He asked if I had a question and I asked, "I thought I was going to learn that stuff in this class. That you would teach it." He told me his class was beyond that point and I would be holding the class back if he had to stop to explain stuff to me. I told him I could pick it up and he wouldn't have to stop the class. He told me to stop arguing with him and to take the card to the office and they would assign me to another type of class. Mr. Holland...he wasn't. Really, really soured me on the whole band thing. Then I had to explain to all the other kids why I wasn't in the class anymore. I pretty much told them that the director didn't want to teach me. Some numb nuts told the director that and I got called into the vice principal's office where I was accused of lying about a teacher and got a week of detention. Never got to tell my side of the story to the vice principal. However, everyone in the school thought he was great - a wonderful teacher. The fact that he wouldn't teach me colored my opinion of him and the whole school. what an ######## Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kansan Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 (edited) Started in Public School Band on Sax. (Learned Baritone expressly to join Drum Corps) Introduced to Drum Corps in 1982 by my High School Band Director (Our School name was Olathe South so we did a Spirit of Atlanta style show) We just ate up all the drum corps stuff he showed us and 4 of us Joined Sky Ryders of Hutchinson, KS. 2 in '84, me in '85 and my Sis in '87. Edited September 10, 2008 by Kansan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalieguy Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 An uneventful beginning..starting in 5th grade when our school (inner city Catholic school) started offering lessons on different instruments. Since my new brother-in-law was a former trumpet player, that's what I chose to play. Took lessons and played a couple of small 'recitals' that year, but when the chance to be in a new boys' choir in St. Paul presented itself, my 5th grade teacher prompted my parents to have me audition. After getting accepted, I spent the next 3 years singing and the horn collected dust. I think our dog was the most grateful..no more noise out of the basement. After picking up the horn again in HS (since my voice hadn't changed yet, a boy soprano might have issues with TTBB parts) I put in 4 years with a developing band, starting with trumpet. From there I started on bari, dabbled with french horn and trombone(where I taught myself positions on the slide and transposed the parts into treble clef as I went.) The bari we bought from a classmate is the horn I still play today. Got an invite to check out a drum corps by way of one of my bowling cronies, and on December 1, 1971, I sat in with the group that would become my 'family' for the next 36 years. Along the way having one of my best friends AND my nephew join during the journey. Here I am..still dinking around with my horn, now playing in the mini corps as well, and trying to enjoy myself..Still trying to get my great-nephew into it..he's a trumpet player as well.. Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 (edited) Drum Corps for me,................I was never in a marching band,............although I taught a few over the years........... Edited September 10, 2008 by Gary Matczak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melligene Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Was recruited by the then Meadville Thunderbirds at a high school football game during our band half time show at age 15. Didn't even know what a Drum Corps' was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsksun4 Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 (edited) I started in 1964 playing G/D soprano with piston/slide setup. I got pretty good.By the time I left Catholic School, (which didn't have a music program), to go to a public high school, (Penncrest, the site of Archie's show this weekend), I was looking forward to taking instrumental music in 9th grade. School started and I looked forward to the class. I was warming up and hitting some high notes and showing off when the band director came into the first class and called the class to order. I had never had any music lessons and I had taught myself the notes on the staff and values and how to read simple music. I wasn't ready for the fact that most of these kids had been reading music for several years and I got smoked. The band director asked me after class why I wasn't playing much and I told him I couldn't read so well. He told me I played pretty well, "where did I learn that?" I told him that I was in a drum and bugle corps. Then he told me that by the 9th grade students were expected to be able to read music at a certain level and if I was just going to sit there and hold the horn, it wasn't doing any good. I told him that I never really had a reason to read music before and that I would get better fast. He asked if I was going to take trumpet lessons to learn how to read and I told him we couldn't afford lessons. He sat there quiet for a few moments and pulled a gold colored card from his desk. He wrote me a transfer out of his class and told me that when I could prove to him that I could read music at the level they were at I could rejoin the class. I took the card in disbelief and stood there. He asked if I had a question and I asked, "I thought I was going to learn that stuff in this class. That you would teach it." He told me his class was beyond that point and I would be holding the class back if he had to stop to explain stuff to me. I told him I could pick it up and he wouldn't have to stop the class. He told me to stop arguing with him and to take the card to the office and they would assign me to another type of class. Mr. Holland...he wasn't. Really, really soured me on the whole band thing. Then I had to explain to all the other kids why I wasn't in the class anymore. I pretty much told them that the director didn't want to teach me. Some numb nuts told the director that and I got called into the vice principal's office where I was accused of lying about a teacher and got a week of detention. Never got to tell my side of the story to the vice principal. However, everyone in the school thought he was great - a wonderful teacher. The fact that he wouldn't teach me colored my opinion of him and the whole school. Marty, They should have tied this idiot into a seat and forced him to watch, while you marched with the Buc's. Probably would've given him a heart attack. Edited September 10, 2008 by gsksun4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cabstuba04 Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Started in 1972 with the Dynamics in Oradell NJ. Not as old as Al.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slate belt corpsman Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Sometime during 1960 with the Roseto, (Pa.) Boy Scout Troop 36. And we had straight bugles and most of us competed in a Silver Bugle contest where we had to memorize many military bugle calls - the winner of course got a silver bugle and went to boy scout (camp Weygadt, Delaware Water Gap) camp free for one week as the camp bugler. I personally placed second and got nothing other than the right to have fun, compete against my fellow scouts and make a lifetime of true friends. We had a rather large corps probably around 75 or so! And today maybe only 2 or 3 or those guys are still involved with drum corps - thank God I'm one of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHall Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I started in 1969 with The Royal Coachmen (North Tonawanda, NY) when I was 9 years old. When I got to high school our marching band was a great playing band but couldn't march very well and we only did football games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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