Jump to content

Full Time Careers in Drum Corps?


Ch1k3n

Recommended Posts

Hello!

So I have been thinking about what I want to do for my career when I grow up, and since I love Drum Corps, it would only be natural for me to want to have a full time job working with corps. I would love to do some sort of instruction, I really would like visual and maybe help out with music, but I don't really know if this would be a realistic job opportunity, as I'm sure most of the instructors are volunteers.

I would love to work on a personal level with a corps, and was just wondering what type of schooling I would need so that I could have to chance to.

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well... you need music and visual instruction skills, which primarily, you can get in drum corps.

There are probably some staff members that make enough on the summer and the marching band circuit, but most of them probably have 2nd jobs (often in education so they have their summers off to tour).

Yeah that's what I was thinking. So do instructors get paid? Or are most of them volunteers?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So do instructors get paid? Or are most of them volunteers?

I think there are many, if not most, that get paid, but I have often heard a saying that nobody gets rich doing drum corps. That's why many are educators as well, as other posters have mentioned, and why many are involved in the fall and winter circuits.

I'm curious to know how many volunteer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Probably the only people that make a career out of it are the show designers themselves. The best of them can make really good money writing for drum corps and high school bands. But it takes a ton of skill to break into the business and make it to the highest levels.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Probably the only people that make a career out of it are the show designers themselves. The best of them can make really good money writing for drum corps and high school bands. But it takes a ton of skill ...

Indeed. The one DCI show designer I (slightly) know spends the other two-thirds of the year as a theatre designer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think some admins at certain corps work full time year around. But from the design/instructing part... no. Even the best designers make their bread and butter off of other circuits. In that way, it is possible. There are several designers that designer for DCI, WGI and marching band as well as make extra bread off of judging.

Edited by TubaJon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always wanted to make my way up the ranks.

I love teching. Music and visual.. I've done it all. And I know I would be good at the drum corps level.. I guess I have to just start making myself more visible. I just have other priorities right now.

But being a marching band arranger, and drum corps brass arranger might be a my dream job. If I could make enough money

I don'r know. I digress. I ####ed enough #### up... I gotta work myself out of this hole first before I can actually do what i want to do.

However being a GM at a high volume Wawa is a great career choice. Seriously. #### being a teacher.....

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...