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Is it REALLY worth it?


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I'd also like to say that I'm still only referring to the economic piece of the puzzle here. Trust me, drum corps absolutely helped shape me into the person I am today. I'm not denying that for a second. Hell...I marched for 7 years. :tongue:

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to me, it was choosing having local friends vs friends scattered around the country, which I would have no hope of visiting. It was kind of a moot point once I got to the off season and was working my butt off at 30 hours a week in a deli and 17 units in college thus I was therefore kind of a hermit. BUT, on the occasional off-day though, it would be nice to have a larger pick of local friends so I don't have to hope the stars align just right so that I might be able to hang with one of them for a few hours. I've been terribly lonely.

Since I've been injured and can't march this season, I'm going to focus on making more local friends by engaging in some other activity I find interesting... though that's kind of hard to find. The orchestras have all had their auditions. Maybe a job will help me make friends since I had to quit my last one but that's still a "work" (ha) in progress.

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Eh, for some people it's worth it, for some it isn't. I think you make a mistake by trying to quantify the costs or value of any particular summer experience. A life can't be measured on a balance sheet, and you can't know all the factors involved ahead of time. The dollar costs of any particular summer adventure are only a tiny fraction of the details you'd need to know to work this out.

If a corps-aged person wants to get a symphony job, maybe spending a summer doing drum corps instead of taking private lessons would delay the achievement of that goal. Or maybe it wouldn't. Maybe the local principal horn player turns out to be a jerk, and maybe in drum corps you'd meet a contact who could put you in touch with a much better instructor.

Or maybe you commit to drum corps, but you slip and fall getting off the plane for your first day of camp and break your hand badly enough that you have to stop playing your instrument for several months, and during all your newly found free time you discover that your true love is computing actuarial tables, and you go on to an incredibly fulfilling and high-paying job in the insurance industry, whereas if you'd gone with the private lessons over the summer, you'd never have gotten injured, you'd have gotten a poorly compensated job in a third-tier orchestra, and you'd have to have a second job to make ends meet, you'd become an alcoholic and die miserable and alone in an alley when you were 38.

My point is, you can't know, and trying to put a number on decisions like this is not going to give you an answer. If you can afford it and have the time to take and you want to march, then it's probably worth doing. If you can't stand to risk the money or aren't willing to push yourself to your limits, then it's probably not worth doing.

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As a performance major, marching drum corps is a terrible career move. There are good aspects, of course, like learning to breathe and working chops up, but you don't practice your main instrument- and if you do, you're probably not doing yourself a lot of good other than chop time. You'll probably be behind in school, because summer school is almost necessary to graduate in four years. Your private teacher will most likely not be on board, either.

That said, I marched four years and I don't regret it a bit. I would do it all again without a doubt. There are benefits beyond the immediate.

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As for getting a music teaching job, they (some employers) often like to see drum corps experience (some employers will even say top 12 experience) if you're applying for a HS position that has a marching band. I know many educators who did not march corps, who have landed jobs at some amazing programs, and are doing a great job. You don't need to march corps to fill that space on a resume. Heck, I didn't march with a top 12 corps, and I'm still a successful educator, because of what I learned in many arenas.

I marched two seasons, met great people who I am still in touch with, I learned some useful pedagogy, but I didn't consider it to be the end all be all. As a clarinetist, I'm also now a great low brass specialist when I have to be. Drum corps was worth it for me. I'd march again if I had it to do over again.

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As for getting a music teaching job, they (some employers) often like to see drum corps experience (some employers will even say top 12 experience) if you're applying for a HS position that has a marching band. I know many educators who did not march corps, who have landed jobs at some amazing programs, and are doing a great job. You don't need to march corps to fill that space on a resume. Heck, I didn't march with a top 12 corps, and I'm still a successful educator, because of what I learned in many arenas.

I marched two seasons, met great people who I am still in touch with, I learned some useful pedagogy, but I didn't consider it to be the end all be all. As a clarinetist, I'm also now a great low brass specialist when I have to be. Drum corps was worth it for me. I'd march again if I had it to do over again.

Pretty much every Music Ed major I marched with has a great job as a band director now, so yeah, I'd say it's a little worth it. I'm not saying they got those jobs because of their drum corps experience, but it certainly didn't hurt. In my experience, drum corps vets have way more knowledge about the intricacies of the marching activity than the average non-vet has.

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I believe that drum corps is worth the expense, and it offers something that other activities cannot. I also believe that people who march are in it for more than just the opportunity to make music. Travel, working together to perform a show, making friends, and being more independent are just some of the reasons people march. If we want to see the value, just look at some of the people who post on DCP. They marched 40 to 50 years ago in some cases and they still relish it and relive it. I say this as a long time drum corps fan and someone who wanted to march with a corps that traveled and competed nationally.

Now, if I put on another hat as someone who works with young people and is currently hoping to start a band program at an elementary school, it is difficult to justify the minimal expenses involved to people who do not get it. Multiply those costs by about ten for a drum corps, and you've completely lost people. Raising money for any kind of arts program has challenges. Even raising money for sports programs is a challenge. Try raising money for lacrosse, hockey or even football equipment and chances are you'll hear all you need for soccer is a ball.

In the 70's and 80's, we lost all kinds of drum corps from the great and phenomenal such as 27th Lancers and Bridgemen to the local corps with about thirty members, perhaps not as much talent but made up for it with heart, dedication, and a love of what they did. We'll never get that back. If it's decided it's not worth the cost, and lose the remaining corps, it will be gone forever.

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I believe that drum corps is worth the expense, and it offers something that other activities cannot. I also believe that people who march are in it for more than just the opportunity to make music. Travel, working together to perform a show, making friends, and being more independent are just some of the reasons people march. If we want to see the value, just look at some of the people who post on DCP. They marched 40 to 50 years ago in some cases and they still relish it and relive it. I say this as a long time drum corps fan and someone who wanted to march with a corps that traveled and competed nationally.

Now, if I put on another hat as someone who works with young people and is currently hoping to start a band program at an elementary school, it is difficult to justify the minimal expenses involved to people who do not get it. Multiply those costs by about ten for a drum corps, and you've completely lost people. Raising money for any kind of arts program has challenges. Even raising money for sports programs is a challenge. Try raising money for lacrosse, hockey or even football equipment and chances are you'll hear all you need for soccer is a ball.

In the 70's and 80's, we lost all kinds of drum corps from the great and phenomenal such as 27th Lancers and Bridgemen to the local corps with about thirty members, perhaps not as much talent but made up for it with heart, dedication, and a love of what they did. We'll never get that back. If it's decided it's not worth the cost, and lose the remaining corps, it will be gone forever.

most successful HS programs ( at least the many I have been with )dont rely on school or board of ed money...a few of the programs I have been with are in the hundreds of thousands budget ..some not so much but all make their own moneys..I think its nearly impossible to get a school or board to buy into such a high budget

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Drum corps is mostly full of upper middle class white kids now... not that that is bad, it's just reality. Obviously, the lower you are on the socioeconomic ladder, the more you are giving up. If your parents can toss $4K towards drum corps, then the individual marching doesn't have to give up as much.

But, they still have to give up the chance to work over the summer, and the chance to build their resume. Marching drum corps can also make you take longer to graduate, if you have to work during the year to support yourself and can't take as many credits, can't take any credits over the summer, etc.

Marching DCI allows me to still stay involved with HS marching band, which I enjoy. That said, my primary source of income comes from elsewhere, and giving up the opportunity for internships during undergrad is extremely costly if you are looking to enter a competitive field. Ultimately, I had to get a graduate degree (still finishing my thesis) and did 4 internships in grad school. Two came with permanent job offers, but I wasn't having any luck without the internships on my resume. DCI is not a useful thing to have on your resume if you aren't going into Music Ed.

Is it worth it? Only the individual can decide that for him/herself. Everyone weighs various aspects of the equation differently.

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As a performance major, marching drum corps is a terrible career move. There are good aspects, of course, like learning to breathe and working chops up, but you don't practice your main instrument- and if you do, you're probably not doing yourself a lot of good other than chop time. You'll probably be behind in school, because summer school is almost necessary to graduate in four years. Your private teacher will most likely not be on board, either.

That said, I marched four years and I don't regret it a bit. I would do it all again without a doubt. There are benefits beyond the immediate.

As a private teacher and 5 yr marching member ..... I totally disagree with this. It's much more than chop time.... it's brain time as well. If you TRULY have a good staff, you will learn a ton more than breathing and building chops. You should be learning nuance, shaping, proper articulation, style variations and much much more. Not to mention if you have a good staff, you'll learn how to listen and what you're listening for. It's not all about breathe DAH and press the right buttons at the right time. If that's what Bb F has done to drum corps (not teaching kids how to properly play)then it's a crying shame. Personally, I don't buy it. Not for the majority of corps anyway.

Granted, talent levels are much higher now .... but this should still be a TEACHING activity and not a CLEANING activity.

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