Lower level corps need horn players too

[bluecoats88]

I wish people would realize it is very fun and gratifying to be in a lower placing corps where everyone decides to stay and the corps grows and gets better because you didn't lose your talent to upper corps,

I started my DC career with a corps that had just come off a year where they placed 31st.

We got 33rd my rookie season, folded my second season. Came back and had 12 members at an early winter camp. Hung on to field 40 horns that summer and finished 29th. got 28th the next year, only lost 2 members to a top twelve corps and picked up a lot of new talent, finished 15th that summer. Again only lost 1 person to a top 12 corps, picked up more talent and got 11th that year and the next.

So I went 7 years with a corps and moved up from 33rd to 11th. It was a lot of fun helping to grow a corps and being a part of a nucleus that stayed with the corps instead of jumping ship for the big boys. Will never forget the 1st time we started beating corps like Phantom, VK, Cavaliers, Sky Ryders, Star, Crossmen, Freelancers, Boston, and Souncoast Sound for the 1st time as we moved up the ranks.

So don't just go march with an established winner, where you'll just be one in a long line of members who marched finals with the corps, go out and make a smaller corps better and help them climb to making finals for the first time. Believe me it's really worth it and a hell of a lot of fun.

[JimF-LowBari]

So don't just go march with an established winner, where you'll just be one in a long line of members who marched finals with the corps, go out and make a smaller corps better and help them climb to making finals for the first time. Believe me it's really worth it and a hell of a lot of fun.

IMO, any corps having problems recruiting (especially the non-finalists) need to rethink how they market their corps to potential members. Not sure how they are doing it but every potentil member has reasons for wanting to march and hoping not all are win... win... win... I joined the local corps after it got back on the field and we got killed for the first few years until we built up to fairly consistant Finalist status. Big problem is in Sr corps you had the luxery of staying with a corps for a few years until DCI and costs back then were a lot less. And my reasons for marching basically just to continue playing the horn after year$ of le$$on$.

No idea of the answer but going outside "business as usual" should be considered.

Edited November 22, 2010 by JimF-LowBari

[AlexL]

Why; you ask why??? Here is why many WC "cuts" do not audition for OC corps'!

Audition Fee: $100 (payable at the audition)

Camp Fee: $500 each (payable in 5 installments of $100 per camp)

Tuition Fee: $2000 (payable in 5 installments of $400 per camp)

Total: $2600 to perform one season with ........ Forte

Add costs of travel to it too, if theyre going some distance to camp.

Many of us marched in 'lower tier' WC or OC corps. We know there is a quality experience there. However, its certainly understandable that some may view it as '3000 is worth it if im with the best of the best, but im not willing to shell that much out somewhere else'. I at least understand it. Especially if going to another corps, that they may know less about (lower corps usually arent as well marketed) involves a decent sized travel expense as well. Often potential members are also weighing these costs against the costs of not working all summer and\or taking summer classes to get through college quicker. For some, the experience at a top level corps justifies it, and a lower one doesnt, its a personal decision. Often that 3000-6000 (including travel and lost work costs) is the cost of 'living a dream'... and if your dream is crown.. somewhere else just may not cut it.

[JimFoster]

This is an age old problem in drum corps. I grew up in the Chicago area and marched with a (at the time) Class A 60 corps. Despite being in such a populated area, we were always small. In our "area" we had Cavaliers, Phantom Regiment, (later on)Star of Indiana and to a certain extent, Madison Scouts. None of these exceptional organizations were "bleeding us dry" of members. They simply had more successful programs. I seem to remember Jeff Fiedler and the Cavaliers also providing logistical and financial help in putting on our home show in Dalton, Il. back in the 80's. Mr Fiedler, being the class guy that he is, preferred to remain quiet on this and expected nothing in return. No public displays, no "see what I did for them" notes anywhere, etc. Just a classy move by a classy guy in a classy organization. We were not a "feeder corps" for the Cavaliers. They had the Cavalier Cadets. A prime example of a much bigger, more successful program giving back to the community.

[2000Cadet]

If my kids had marched I would have pointed them to a "lower tier" corps such as Surf or Raiders. Having march in a finals level corps I didn't gain more out of then if my HS band toured. While the level of instructor was great the thought of getting into finals wasn't a big concern.

I would want my kids to have fun. Since thier not going to be music majors its more about the experience. As a parent I try to teach them loyality which is a forgotten quality in the activity.

Sure, loyalty is a pretty forgotten quality in the activity these days, but I think corps need to do everything they can to keep a person's loyalty to that corps. I personally am not going to pay to stay in a corps that does not do what they need to keep me loyal to them year after year. I'll go elsewhere. As much as we hate to admit it, money plays a huge part in this and I would not to pay to stay in a corps if I felt like I'm not getting the most from that experience.

I see on peoples sigs that they marched with Surf, then Crossmen, then a championship with the Cadets. Then write how much they love the Cadets. Was marching with Surf and Crossmen so bad? I would rather stick with the corps that gave me a chance and help them grow. But thats just the way I was raised.

I know your comments weren't referring to me, but I just thought I'd bring up a few points. I commend you for keeping that attitude about loyalty. While I appreciate the fact those corps gave me a chance (but I also worked hard for that chance) to march with them and make them better, it has a lot more to do with giving someone a chance. We can go back and forth about morals and ethics when it comes to drum corps, but the fact is you have to do more than give a person a chance to gain a person's loyalty. If that person doesn't feel like he/she is getting the most out of that experience, they will leave. That's the reality of it. Now I personally will not talk about talk publicly about why I left Surf and Crossmen, but I had my reasons which I'm sure many people do who have been in the same position.

[kansasDC]

Sure, loyalty is a pretty forgotten quality in the activity these days, but I think corps need to do everything they can to keep a person's loyalty to that corps. I personally am not going to pay to stay in a corps that does not do what they need to keep me loyal to them year after year. I'll go elsewhere. As much as we hate to admit it, money plays a huge part in this and I would not to pay to stay in a corps if I felt like I'm not getting the most from that experience.

There is still quite a bit of loyalty in drum corps. Some corps have been holding onto members for four, five, even six years and have grown significantly in the last seven or eight years because of it.

[2000Cadet]

There is still quite a bit of loyalty in drum corps. Some corps have been holding onto members for four, five, even six years and have grown significantly in the last seven or eight years because of it.

True, that applies to many corps (upper and lower).

[CuriousMe]

I don't think we can assume members want to march in bigger corps solely to Win, Win, Win. If someone can only afford to march X amount of seasons, I could understand that they may want a specific level of challenge as well. Not that smaller corps have easy shows, but there is often a different level of challenge between the bigger and smaller corps.

Now, as I've mentioned before, all but one of my corps changes were due to the group I was in at the time folding. The other was my parents call (I was 11 or 12 yrs old).

As far as the idea of staying where you started out of loyalty...well, that only works if that corps is continuing to meet your needs. The first corps I marched in had a hornline of 8 members and at 10 years old, I was no where near the youngest member. I can not see that group meeting my needs as an 18 year old.

[Bari-Player]

A lot of top corps don't [CUT] in November, but would rather give comments and see how the student progresses with comments before [Cutting] them in December or even January. After being invested in a corps for 3 months (plus practice time for prior to November) I can understand why they wouldn't want to audition anywhere else after that.

[mcjordansc]

Blue Stars might have 170 horns showing up at camp, but they do not all get cut. Many will decide they cannot afford it financially, cannot dedicate the time it takes, do not want to put in the effort, etc. If the Blue Stars or any corps had 150 brass openings, they could not fill them from the 170 kids who auditioned. A few will go to other corps, but many will simply fade away.