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Appropriate audition pieces?


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Hey DCPers, I need your help! I can't seem to find another thread on this topic so here goes:

I plan on auditioning for several corps this fall and it looks like a lot of them require a 2-3 minute excerpt from a piece of your choosing as part of the audition. What are some ideas of music I can prepare? I'll be auditioning for a trumpet spot.

Also, I've been told the trumpet tends to be a popular instrument at audition camps - what can I do to differentiate myself on those weekends and make the staff want to give me a contract? I'm looking to leave absolutely nothing to be desired.

Thanks in advance!

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Hey DCPers, I need your help! I can't seem to find another thread on this topic so here goes:

I plan on auditioning for several corps this fall and it looks like a lot of them require a 2-3 minute excerpt from a piece of your choosing as part of the audition. What are some ideas of music I can prepare? I'll be auditioning for a trumpet spot.

Also, I've been told the trumpet tends to be a popular instrument at audition camps - what can I do to differentiate myself on those weekends and make the staff want to give me a contract? I'm looking to leave absolutely nothing to be desired.

Thanks in advance!

Before my first audition in 2009 I checked out a mellophone from my high school band to become familiar with in the event all the trumpet spots would be filled. This didn't end up being a problem for me as I walked out of the audition with a trumpet spot, but it may be helpful to have experience on both which will help show dedication to getting a spot.

You mentioned that you want to leave nothing to be desired, but I want you to understand that it is the brass caption head/techs job to find what is to be desired in your playing and make you aware of things to improve upon. How you sink your teeth into those changes and work to improve your playing will be the best indicator of a successful prospective MM. I've known people who botched their audition and we're incredibly discouraged from not getting a contract. This usually went one of two ways: They let it get to them and didn't show up for the next camp, OR they worked their butts off and came back the next camp or even the next year and 100% of the time they got a contract. It may not be the first camp, it may not be the last camp or even the next season, but if you work hard to improve you will almost certainly get a contract. Your dedication to improving speaks much more strongly than someone who nails the audition and gets lazy because they don't think they have to work as hard and end up falling behind the members that are working their butts off as a result.

As far as repertoire is concerned. Most corps have their own audition pieces but may also allow you to play a short excerpt of your own. 2-3 minutes is really pushing it. The staff will be auditioning brass over the course of the camp and no one has time to listen to someone hack their way through an entire solo. What I did was played the theme to Napoli by Herman Bellstedt to display lyrical abilities and the 3rd variation to display technical skill. It took about a minute, and this is important because then you don't have to worry about playing a long excerpt after 2 days of playing your horn 8 or more hours (unless you play that much already your chops will probably be a little beat up come audition time). Also I want you to understand that a good brass instructor will be able to "see through" your playing and isolate issues in your playing despite the repertoire, so choose something you are comfortable playing and know you can perform well. Don't worry about wowing them by flying through Carnival of Venice when the first page of the Kennan may serve you equally well. Work with your private instructor or band director to choose a piece (or short sections/variations etc.) that highlights the strengths in your playing.

Once you have found repertoire that you want to audition with, the next thing you want to do is to hop on YouTube and listen to as many different recordings of the repertoire as you can. Once you have a conceptual basis to outline what you want to do with the piece, flip on the metronome and tuner and start hammering it out. Practice in chunks, and overlap them so that the end of one chunk is past the beginning of the next. This way, when you go to play the full excerpt there should be no hiccups in the transition from one chunk to the next. Once you feel that you have hammered out the notes and rhythms and your transitions are seamless, pull out your phone/laptop and start making recordings. This is important because the awareness of what we hear while playing is often clouded by the focus it takes to play in the first place, and once you strip that away and devote your undivided attention to what you have recorded, issues with timing/phrasing etc. become apparent in a way that you may have previously been unaware of.

As for the audition itself, remember that you are paying a lot of money for top quality instruction from some of the best brass educators in the country and even the world. Many have spent their entire careers dedicating themselves to improving the students they teach. If they have constructive criticism for you (and they will, it's their job), there is no reason to take it personally, they only have your best interests as a musician in mind.

Last thing, and perhaps most importantly, is get in touch with members of the corps you want to march in and listen to their audition stories. Your first camp can be an awkward experience, but if you have an idea of what it will be like beforehand from members in the corps chances are you will be much more comfortable. Immerse yourself in the experience and take in everything you possibly can. Get to know as many MM's and staff as you can, listen more than you speak, and reach out of your comfort zone to go the extra mile. Participating in drum corps is hands down the most rewarding experience I've ever had, and when the time comes it will be for you as well.

Hope this helps!

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Wow. You really went above and beyond with that answer, thank you. I'll have this conversation with my private instructor on Wednesday. Was there a visual portion to your first camp? I'm not exactly sure what to do there since I'm auditioning for so many corps. I've been practicing playing+marching exercises with a generic "cadet-like" straight legged form but I'm not sure how else I can prepare If there is one. Sorry for being so scattered with all these questions, I guess I don't want to mess anything up. My "eligibility clock" is ticking.

Thanks again Bannedforlife, that does help a lot. I felt like I was shooting in the dark.

Anyone have some audition stories I might want to hear?

Edited by ksampsondavis
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No worries, I am happy to help! It is a fair concern to be mindful of eligibility. With that in mind, generally the first few camps are centered around getting a hornline to utilize the brass technique (most of the visual in brass block boils down to marking time and step-outs) it is not uncommon to have at least 2 visual blocks and a short visual audition (sometimes done in small groups) over the course of your first camp. Now that I think back on it, I was most concerned about the visual audition as well. Most people walking into a camp have some level of proficiency at playing their instrument, but very little in corps style marching. My high school marching band is highly renowned throughout the tri-state region so that helped a little, but honestly the level of detail required for the visual technique was on a different level than I had previously been exposed to. That being said, the visual technique will probably on a different level than anything you've been exposed to, and will take a while to get under your belt.

I look back at the first video I made for the vis staff in 09 and remembered how hard I tried to do everything right but watching it now I can't help but chuckle at how awful it was. It may be frustrating at first, but the good news is that with careful attention to detail you can improve quickly. There are a few things that instantly would have helped me going into my first visual block. The first is posture. If I got a dollar for every time I heard the words "lift and project" from vis staff (and brass staff too for that matter) I could outright buy my own drum corps. Look online for pictures or videos of great brasslines in rehearsal whether it's marching or just standing in the arc. Then find a mirror and make your body do the same thing they do. Keep in mind that while all corps visual techniques vary slightly, concept of posture is more or less consistent.

Awareness of how your body moves through physical space in a designated period of time is extremely important. One thing I wish I knew before my first camp was how little I understood about the space my body occupied. One thing I noticed was that members who were involved with dance prior to auditioning were immensely more successful at interpreting the technique as the majority of conceptual body awareness had already been instilled in them prior to learning the technique. Now I'm not saying you have to go out and join a ballet studio or take an intro to modern dance class, but what I can say is these people were at an advantage as they went into it understanding many conceptual elements required to emulate the technique.

Most importantly is to realize that during those 2 3-4 hour visual blocks at your first camp it will feel like a lot to take in and it's easy to get information overload and become frustrated. After you receive instructions, repeat them to yourself in your head. This will eliminate the majority of mental errors. Immediately after rehearsal is done or right after you're done eating (oh yeah, you will eat a LOT in corps as you can easily burn over a thousand calories each rehearsal) head to the sleeping area, and write down absolutely everything you can remember about the technique and any examples the instructors used to convey the technique. Understand that you probably won't get it down during the first camp, so practicing posture in front of the the mirror (when you learn what a slide is you will want to practice that one in a mirror for sure). After your first camp, if at all possible find a place in your hometown to practice your technique. This can be an empty hallway of your school or college or track or even in the middle of a park somewhere. Record yourself or better yet have a buddy tape you so you can reference your notes or visual manual (if your corps has one) and compare it to what you are doing on the tape and adjust accordingly. It is very important to practice marching with a metronome! Go to the app/play store and download a metronome (the one I use is called Metronome Beats by Stonekick in the Google play store which is a great one and best of all it's free!) then grab a cheap pair of portable speakers (around $10 at Wal-Mart, if not old computer speakers will do fine) and you'll be on your way in no time!

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1. Find out if the corps requires use of a certain mouthpiece, if so get one.

2. Practice your instrument.

3. When you are tired of practicing, go work out. Maximize both strength and endurance. When you are exhausted, go back to step 2. Repeat until audition camp. Repeat even more after you have successfully auditioned

Also, have a good attitude- I have seen it where the auditionee (new word?) who comes in acting like they are the best performer ever to audition. That does not go over well. Don't be that person.

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In my experience the initial audition was actually one of the least important parts of making the corps. Don't blow it off or anything, but it is much more important to keep showing up and improving between camps.

There is a great deal of truth in this post.

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If you slack your practicing in-between camps and do not constantly improve...you will get cut. Trust me I know from experience! You have to improve and get better every single day!

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1. Find out if the corps requires use of a certain mouthpiece, if so get one.

2. Practice your instrument.

3. When you are tired of practicing, go work out. Maximize both strength and endurance. When you are exhausted, go back to step 2. Repeat until audition camp. Repeat even more after you have successfully auditioned

Also, have a good attitude- I have seen it where the auditionee (new word?) who comes in acting like they are the best performer ever to audition. That does not go over well. Don't be that person.

Do you know off the top of your head any corps that have a certain mouthpiece? I think remember Hop saying something about that in a Tuesdays with the Cadets episode.

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Thanks everybody, these are all good tips

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