Stu Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 (edited) Who/what are the "famous three Ms"? Did I miss a cover of People Magazine? (Seriously, I don't know who or what the three Ms are or why they are famous.) An old Cavalier friend of mine referred to the 3 M's as: McCormick, Markovich, and ???. Apparently they are in the Cavalier folklore at some capacity. Also, the Snare Line certainly has a greater mystique than any other battery section: see this link. Edited February 10, 2012 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I agree completely with the sentiment, but there's also the issue of fairness. These days, there are tons of people trying out for tons of positions. The only spots I ever hear about being completely open at an audition camp is rack, and occasionally timpani. Now, say I'm the staff member in charge of a front ensemble audition, and I've got a couple of kids trying out for timpani from day one. Do I really bump one of them because a kid got cut from the snare line and wants a spot somewhere in the corps? That can actually put more teeth into the idea that snare drum is the golden globe of marching percussion, because you find snare cuts all over the rest of the ensemble rather than taking kids who came out for a particular instrument. Why not just have one big snare audition, and place people as they get cut. Obviously not every corps is going to have that problem, but I can definitely see that being a problem in and around the top 12. Its a sad culture, and one that I try to deflate as often as I can as an educator. I was a tenor player most of my marching life, but to be honest with you, I end up paying more attention to a the marimbas than the snare or tenor line these days. I'm hoping what's important in the fairness sense you mention is that the staff looks at who was there from day one for the percussion section, not just a single element of the percussion section. One of those kids that gets bumped from the snare section just might be the best timpanist or rack player available. By the same token, a cut snare drummer may make a lousy rack player and may not know a B-flat from a B-natural on a keyboard. The instructor is ultimately going to make decisions based on what he thinks is the best kid for the line, and that includes unit cohesion as well as performance ability. We all grew up with really fine musicians who were total [expletive deleted]. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrfunkyoyo Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 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. Just because there are about 80 members in the horn line doesn't mean that it's easy to get contracted. In actuality, you are auditioning for a sub-section within the hornline which probably has around 16-24 open spots. Sure, brass players are more interchangeable than percussionists, but it's not as easy as some people seem to be making it out to be. In addition, the talent level of kids auditioning and the competitiveness of the corps both play major roles in someone landing a spot. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Just because there are about 80 members in the horn line doesn't mean that it's easy to get contracted. In actuality, you are auditioning for a sub-section within the hornline which probably has around 16-24 open spots. Sure, brass players are more interchangeable than percussionists, but it's not as easy as some people seem to be making it out to be. In addition, the talent level of kids auditioning and the competitiveness of the corps both play major roles in someone landing a spot. Perhaps we can all agree that it's darned challenging to make any section in any number of corps, and those that do make it deserve to be quite proud. In addition, those that don't make it can take satisfaction in having tried, and hopefully the experience of trying will carry through to other things, if not making it into another corps or that same corps in the future. However, making it into a drum corps is the easy part. Making the most of the experience and keeping up with the challenges of the season is the hard part...and the most rewarding thing of drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumno5 Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Michael Boo' timestamp='1328832307' post='3118685' Who/what are the (Cavaliers') "famous three Ms"? Maybe it's the three guys from the 1961 line? http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/index.php/topic/147316-a-complete-list-of-every-cavalier-snare-drummer/ Regards, Fred O. Edited February 10, 2012 by drumno5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stradivarius Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 You see, I voted percussion because of the number of spots open. But with horns, which will always be the "easiest" to get in, it really depends on the corps you are trying tying to get into. If you were to go for horns with Crown, you have a relatively difficult time getting in. Possibly harder than guard. Still not percussion just because of the few spots available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 (edited) I have to admit that this thread makes me feel my age. When I marched percussion about a million years ago it was kind of a progressive process. You know - cymbals to bass, bass to tenor, tenor to snare type of thing. Today it seems more like a top to down process where a snare drummer might wind up on tenor or a tenor player on bass. I am NOT complaining about that, in fact it speaks volumes about how much more talented the kids are today than we were when I marched. Edited February 10, 2012 by Piper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I have to admit that this thread makes me feel my age. When I marched percussion about a million years ago it was kind of a progressive process. You know - cymbals to bass, bass to tenor, tenor to snare type of thing. Today it seems more like a top to down process where a snare drummer might wind up on tenor or a tenor player on bass. I am NOT complaining about that, in fact it speaks volumes about how much more talented the kids are today than we were when I marched. This post from Piper is perfect!!! It should be read carefully by all who still wonder why the Snare position always has been, and still is, considered the highest position to attain. In the past within DCI, the lowly cymbal player who happened to get good enough to bang a bass, who then developed the skill to tap on some multi-toms, would then, if enough quality was acquired, be able to make it to the pinnacle called Snare. So, is it any surprise that in today's drum corps environment, where this player skill is developed in a scholastic environment, that many drummers would want to play Snare or nothing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TastyWaves Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I would go with Marching Tenors. The average corps has as little as two players and as many as 5 (6 on rare occasions). So if there are ANY vets marching its gonna be tough sledding. Especially in the upper level corps. If Blue devils is marching 4, and there are 3 vets, there are still a few hundred video submissions and live auditions for that spot. Same applies naturally to Bass drum. Snare drum is tough too, but you figure simple numbers are higher. The average upper level corp marches 8 or 9. 4 vets, you still have a prayer with four or five open spots. All sections are tough at the top though. Lets face it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actucker Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I would go with Marching Tenors. The average corps has as little as two players and as many as 5 (6 on rare occasions). So if there are ANY vets marching its gonna be tough sledding. Especially in the upper level corps. If Blue devils is marching 4, and there are 3 vets, there are still a few hundred video submissions and live auditions for that spot. Same applies naturally to Bass drum. Snare drum is tough too, but you figure simple numbers are higher. The average upper level corp marches 8 or 9. 4 vets, you still have a prayer with four or five open spots. All sections are tough at the top though. Lets face it. There are not even close to the same number or auditioning members for tenors or bass as there are snare. I can absolutely understand your math, but the ratio really is usually higher in snare land. There are certainly twice as many spots, but there are usually at least twice as many people trying out, if not many more. Blue Devils tenors aren't exactly a fair comparison considering their reputations for ridiculous tenor lines. I could see that tenor line being more competitive than the other sections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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