BLOODEVILS Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 (edited) Hello! I am wondering what corps take in first time marchers as drum majors. What is an audition like? How do I prepare? I really want to end up at Blue Devils, Cadets or Bluecoats. But just want some experience. Thank you so much! Edited August 12, 2013 by BLOODEVILS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxingfred Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 (edited) Hello! I am wondering what corps take in first time marchers as drum majors. What is an audition like? How do I prepare? I really want to end up at Blue Devils, Cadets or Bluecoats. But just want some experience. Thank you so much! Probably none but, Try BDB or C2 to get experience or just call the corps and ask yourself! Edited August 12, 2013 by boxingfred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOODEVILS Posted August 12, 2013 Author Share Posted August 12, 2013 Probably none but, Try BDB or C2 to get experience or just call the corps and ask yourself! Sadly BDB and Cadets2 are very far and unrealistic this year. I would LOVE to march BDB; great way to get your name out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccerguy315 Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 are you open to being a marching member? or just a drum major? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOODEVILS Posted August 12, 2013 Author Share Posted August 12, 2013 (edited) are you open to being a marching member? or just a drum major? I would love to be a marching member. I am an oboist however. I am a two year cymbal player and a one year color guard member (I have no prior dance or flag experience, came in to the program trained on rifle, got a rifle spot). I am a trained drum major (I scored very high in the conducting portion of my test, but got tenth in marching as I marched a different style on the cymbal line and had to learn and teach a brand new style.) I am a very strong conductor and would practice at all costs. Edited August 12, 2013 by BLOODEVILS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packetslave Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 I would love to be a marching member. I am an oboist however. I am a two year cymbal player and a one year color guard member (I have no prior dance or flag experience, came in to the program trained on rifle, got a rifle spot). I am a trained drum major (I scored very high in the conducting portion of my test, but got tenth in marching as I marched a different style on the cymbal line and had to learn and teach a brand new style.) I am a very strong conductor and would practice at all costs. Here's the thing: being a DCI drum major is maybe 10% about your conducting and about 90% about your leadership ability. That's why many (most?) top corps only pick DMs from within, and usually from members with several years of marching experience. Back in Ye Old Dark Ages when I marched, there were a handful of corps that recruited from outside (Cadets and PR were two that come to mind), but I have no idea if they still do. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burgerbob Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 I'm reasonably sure only Phantom Regiment still has a conductor that is auditioned from outside the corps. Note that I say conductor, and not drum major- They don't have the same responsibilities, as far as I know. Those responsibilities are carried by the horn sergeants. In most world class drum corps, a member is chosen or is auditioned in some way to be the drum major for the next year. You'll have to march to be drum major, most likely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrownStarr Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Yeah, trying to become a drum major without marching is an extremely outside chance. Sometimes there are special circumstances - for example, Crown held open auditions in 2012 because we aged out both of our 2011 DM's. But even in a case like that, corps would absolutely prefer to take people with marching experience vs an unproven rookie. No matter how much experience you have outside drum corps, nothing can prepare you for being on tour. Period. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaos001 Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 (edited) I'm reasonably sure only Phantom Regiment still has a conductor that is auditioned from outside the corps. Note that I say conductor, and not drum major- They don't have the same responsibilities, as far as I know. Those responsibilities are carried by the horn sergeants. In most world class drum corps, a member is chosen or is auditioned in some way to be the drum major for the next year. You'll have to march to be drum major, most likely. Um, no. Dean, David, and Adam all had administrative duties to carry out; Dean having the most responsibility. He ran rehearsals and acted as a go-between from the staff to the membership. He also conducted part of the end of day meetings and ran other duties as necessary. Regiment only has one horn sergeant who was responsible for setting the corps up and running the hornline when necessary. Edited August 12, 2013 by chaos001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burgerbob Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Um, no. Dean, David, and Adam all had administrative duties to carry out; Dean having the most responsibility. He ran rehearsals and acted as a go-between from the staff to the membership. He also conducted part of the end of day rehearsals and ran other duties as necessary. Regiment only has one horn sergeant who was responsible for setting the corps up and running the hornline when necessary. My bad. My information is from like 2006 so it's probably completely out of date. Thanks for the correction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.