Jeff Ream Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 And if they'd march plates again, there could be even more spots available. Fascinating information H, thanks. And I'll agree with Ream; a top-5 corps director who responded to an email of mine last year made this very point. My budding snare drummer would do well to learn matched-grip as well and play on mutli-pads. "There's a great value in a kid who can play more than just snare. Maturing on multis and playing snare later is ideal. Every hotshot drummer wants to play snare. They call them "the front line" for a reason." When I thought about this for a while I started noticing proof. Ever seen a parade line led by tenors or basses? In my day, our line changed twice by mid-season and, one year, we brought in a "quads" player two weeks before finals. dion't count bass. bass books these days require mad chops, and then the timing stuff on top of it. problem is once people get a taste for bass, they stick with it 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skajerk Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Percussion, guard, brass, in that order. Percussion is the obvious choice because of sheer numbers. Guard is next because it is so individually exposed. The horn line is very far down the totem pole from those two. I was with you until you added "very far down the totem pole from those two". 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcmello09 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 (edited) either guard or percussion just by the numbers. 150 total with over half usually being horns. i'm terrible at math but i think the odds are against non hornline members hardest in my opinion? tympani or set Edited February 7, 2012 by wcmello09 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euphman89 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Brass is difficult to get in to only if you want to also be playing the horn too. Most places, especially if it's late in the season, will just have someone fill a hole by marching and not playing (or playing a series of whole notes on impact chords). As long as you've got marching chops and the ability to perform well on tour, you can get a spot as late as the San Antonio show on tour (though that is stretching it). In regards to glory: yes, Cadets show this year was exactly what I had in mind when creating that response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4T Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 As far as the poll choices go, Percussion hardest, Guard not quite as hard, Brass least hard. This is based mostly on numbers, since a hornline makes up about 50% of most corps, guard around 25% and percussion about 23%, if each section ages out the same percentage of members each year, the percussion section will have the least spots available. Percussionists trying out for one section are less likely to simply be moved to another section if they can't cut it (especially in regards to pit to battery and vice versa) whereas guard folk going for weapon line may only make the flag line, or a trumpet auditionee may be asked to play mellophone. Add to that what others have already said about the 'cool' factor of being in a snare line, and percussion is definitely the most competitive section. This is probably even more apparent in some of the smaller corps that struggle to recruit a full hornline, but have relatively no problem finding folks for the battery. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Brass is difficult to get in to only if you want to also be playing the horn too. Most places, especially if it's late in the season, will just have someone fill a hole by marching and not playing (or playing a series of whole notes on impact chords). As long as you've got marching chops and the ability to perform well on tour, you can get a spot as late as the San Antonio show on tour (though that is stretching it). In regards to glory: yes, Cadets show this year was exactly what I had in mind when creating that response. Oh boy is that the God's honest truth. I knew a guy one time that was in a corps with about 40 brass (or so I thought). When the season was over I told him that I thought they sounded pretty good, and without batting an eyelash he said "Yeah, we made a lot of noise for 28 horns". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckham Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Absolutely percussion. Especially when you consider that in a typical 8/4/5 batterie there may be some years in the elite corps where only one or two spots may really be available to rookies as the rest are filled by returning vets. IIRC, going into the 2008 season The Cavaliers had 7 of their 8 snares returning from the 2007 season and they ended up just going with those 7. That level of experience on the line plus the awesome book made for one rockin snare line! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old skool drmmr Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Absolutely percussion. Especially when you consider that in a typical 8/4/5 batterie there may be some years in the elite corps where only one or two spots may really be available to rookies as the rest are filled by returning vets. IIRC, going into the 2008 season The Cavaliers had 7 of their 8 snares returning from the 2007 season and they ended up just going with those 7. That level of experience on the line plus the awesome book made for one rockin snare line! No they had at least one rookie that I know of that year. Must have been an injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I would go with percussion as well. It's the hardest to get into because per capita it has the most kids clamouring every year for a spot. The selection process must be a nightmare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotorCityMusician Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 What if we break down brass into sections because i know mello section are pretty small compared to trumpets and baris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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