markdewine Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Like many youngsters, I occaisionally struggled with self-esteem issues when I was a kid. When I joined drum corps, the acceptance level was great, and did wonders for helping me to grow up and deal with life's emotional issues. I have come to believe that drum corps can help anyone who feels like a nobody to feel like somebody. No need to share details, but just wondering if anyone else was as fortunate as I. (Sincere thanks to ALL of my drum corps friends thru the years) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerriTroop Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 heh. YES. I had decent musical chops before corps. I came out with monster percussion chops after corps and held leadership positions because of the work ethic I learned in corps. Though I work with mostly choral ensembles, I definitely run a tight rehearsal ship thanks to my drum corps experiences. (and also my high school and college choral experiences thanks to some really great directors) I learned to not worry so much about what other people think of you; instead, just do your job and do it well, show respect to others, live with integrity, and don't waste energy whining about stuff when things get tough. And there are other things I won't go into detail about. Suffice to say that 22 years after aging out I am certain, without equivocation, that drum corps changed me for the better, and for that I feel compelled to "pay it forward" through volunteering and sponsorship. Go TROOP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general_tsos_chicken2 Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 ha, cadets 07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glory Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 (edited) Your sentiment is far from unique. I am reminded of a letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal from 1999 when that paper did a Fourth of July weekend feature that began with the Cavaliers and focused on bands and parades at the holiday. That letter speaks precisely to your point: Thank you for the July 2 front-page article about bands and drum-and-bugle corps. Some may take Cavalier Adam Clay's remarks about how "marching with a great drum-and-bugle corps is like marching with gods" as youthful hyperbole. It isn't. I aged out of the Cavaliers 41 years ago. I am in the midst of a successful career in orthopedic surgery (my two daughters are grown and gone), and every bit of it is due to the self-imposed discipline, fellowship, leadership and socialization an inner-city kid without a father received from the Cavaliers organization. There are hundreds of drum corps, of all sizes, around the country. In the smaller corps, one can join without knowing a note of music and learn how to play, march, cooperate and live with others. Competing corps offer the opportunity to travel extensively in semi-reliable buses, sleep in sleeping bags on school gym floors, practice all day in the heat, and have the time of your life. Being a Cavalier is the single best thing that happened to me. And today's members routinely say the same thing. We sometimes try to compare drum corps to sports. Those comparisons usually fall short. They fall shortest when it comes to the activity's capacity to instill values worthy of a lifetime. That's where modern sports have largely under-achieved while drum corps excelled. HH Edited April 30, 2010 by glory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Very true. I don't think I would have survived my first year of college if I hadn't spent the previous summer on the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Like many youngsters, I occaisionally struggled with self-esteem issues when I was a kid. When I joined drum corps, the acceptance level was great, and did wonders for helping me to grow up and deal with life's emotional issues. I have come to believe that drum corps can help anyone who feels like a nobody to feel like somebody. No need to share details, but just wondering if anyone else was as fortunate as I. (Sincere thanks to ALL of my drum corps friends thru the years) I played sports. Made friends. I did Drum Corps. Made friends. After all the years, it is my Drum Corps friends that are there for me today and to whom we still keep in touch. That in a nutshell, sums it up for me anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC oboist Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Like many youngsters, I occaisionally struggled with self-esteem issues when I was a kid. When I joined drum corps, the acceptance level was great, and did wonders for helping me to grow up and deal with life's emotional issues. I have come to believe that drum corps can help anyone who feels like a nobody to feel like somebody. No need to share details, but just wondering if anyone else was as fortunate as I. (Sincere thanks to ALL of my drum corps friends thru the years) My wife is not sure if she would have married the "pre-corps" guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterA Posted May 2, 2010 Share Posted May 2, 2010 Great topic. As a band director with many students who have marched corps over the years, it does seem to bring out a confidence they didn't have before. I have seen it increase activites in students, self respect in students, even raise some grade point averages over the years. I think it is a combination of having an extra large extended family, along with extremely structured disciplinary work ethics instilled over the course of 3 months, and the satisfaction of putting everything on the field every single rehearsal day, and every single performance. Not to mention time management skills that just can't be taught in school settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver_King Posted May 2, 2010 Share Posted May 2, 2010 It didn't do that to me because I feel like a nobody going in and coming out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rootofthechord Posted May 2, 2010 Share Posted May 2, 2010 When I joined drum corps, the acceptance level was great, and did wonders for helping me to grow up and deal with life's emotional issues. This. Great topic. As a band director with many students who have marched corps over the years, it does seem to bring out a confidence they didn't have before. I have seen it increase activites in students, self respect in students, even raise some grade point averages over the years. This too. To the OP: Thank you for posting this thread. I greatly enjoyed remembering my personal transformation from corps (wouldn't even think twice about it now) and reading about others' as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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