Relics Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Madison tends to always have lots audition for the hornline. Bluecoats certainly will being where they placed. So practice your pieces, study how they march, take direction well, and whatever you do, don't accept one of those "alternate" positions. Get a spot, or go to a corps that you can get a spot so you'll march the show, get better, and then come back to audition again. Don't underestimate the benefit of being an alternate at a top 5 corps. From the perspective of my experience with Crown, time with their excellent brass staff is well worth a season as an alternate. It also will serve as a demonstration of that attitude and work ethic mentioned earlier that is critical to success in the activity. An alternate not only has to know all the music, but will likely be asked to step in to different spots in the drill with short notice. They are extremely valuable to a medaling corps. As far as numbers go, returning vets aren't guaranteed spots, but they are a known entity and will be hard to unseat. They will take a rookie that is teachable (as demonstrated by listening and continuous improvement at each camp) motivated, and interacts well with the staff, volunteers and other MM's before someone with DCI experience thinking they're God's gift. Go to your dream corps and fight for a spot. Your best chances are where there are a lot of age-outs, regardless of the number of auditionees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 (edited) There have been some good suggestions, do not worry to much about numbers. If you do many of the things others are saying it will work for you. If offered an alternate spot and if this is your dream place to be then I say consider it because many MANY members throughout drum corps dont make it past the early camp or everydays as some call it. Make yourself stand out, in a good way . One other suggestion. MONEY, if you come with money in hand or tuition ready for the corps it can hold some weight or be a deciding factor. Money has destroyed some corps , or lack of it but if they see you are that serious. It certainly will not hurt.AGAIN, make yourself stand out in a good way and be memorable. Good Luck PS: just for the record , I do auditions ( judge them ) every year for decades already Summer, fall and winter. Just an FYI Edited August 13, 2015 by GUARDLING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStainGlass Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Went to a bluecoats camp that had about 50 trumpets and a Blue Stars camp that had 50 trumpets. I assume that you arr from the midwest so those camps will all have more than their other camps. I assume after all the camps Stars are around 100-125. Every year Madison is always looking for trumpets up to the first show of the season not sure why. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCBlue Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 It'll be easy to only think about music and practice your butt off--which is certainly necessary. But it's necessary to be visually/physically prepared as well. Up until this past year, good players at the Bluecoats have been able to get away with poor marching. When I auditioned, I was elated to hear Fanning say that marching would be a larger part of the audition process than ever before. In addition to basics, we learned some sample drill, and had to play an excerpt from Tilt along with it. During both basics and sample drill, the staff is testing how fast you can learn things as well as how well you follow instructions and adapt. One of the best moments of my visual audition was when a staff member asked what my dot was from two sets before and I spat it out with no hesitation. Additionally, they may quickly go to fast tempos and big steps. No matter how good or bad you think you look during these times, always act like you're the best marcher in the room. They notice kids who take challenges and perform well. And as said many times before, don't worry about numbers. Plenty of kids will show up but you'll have no idea how many are auditioning just for experience, and you won't be able to assess the skill level of others--it's needless worrying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeDz Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 Any young person considering auditioning should print out the first two pages of this thread and memorize everything like it's a part of the audition materials. The advice contained on those pages was sincere and helpful.... and no fighting, bickering, or homers..... just useful insight. Bravo ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarchRDie4 Posted August 14, 2015 Author Share Posted August 14, 2015 A BIG thankyou to all who contributed to this! To answer what some of you had inferred- yes part of the reason for me asking this was to see my chances, but not all of it. I really just have no concept of how many people audition for those specific groups (since those are who I'm looking at), and I was just interested in the numbers..: it's more trivial for me than it is trying to "see my chances". Anywho; I really appreciate all the positive and helpful comments that everyone posted. My first choice is Bluecoats. I went to their "interactive experience" which was basically an audition camp without the individual audition; it was super informative, I learned a lot about the cores specifics, got my face in front of a lot of the brass techs, and just soaked up a ton overall. I loved every second of it and had no complaints other than having to walk up and down the HUGE hill to get from housing to the field every morning (but hey thats childsplay compared to daily PT). We rehearsed, warmed up, and performed in a horn arc with the actual core. Being able to ask questions and talk with people in it was super valuable and really cool. As a bonus to that, I got a free copy of the 2015 trumpet audition packet and I use that as my daily warmup and technical practicing. Some of the exercises have been used repeatedly over the years, so I'm thinking that a few of the audition pieces for 2016 will be the same. I am going to fight for a spot, really, really hard. I'm the kind of person who if I genuinely like something, I'll go above and beyond in whatever ways possible to be able to do it to the fullest. I could be wrong, but if I was asked to self-assess, I would say that motivation, work ethic, and/ or determination won't be my downfall. I'm committed to practicing what I need to, continuously strive to improve in both playing and marching, and attempt to do what I can even at this point that will help me go above and beyond and stick out. I contacted one of the brass techs and sent him a recording of me playing a few of the audition exercises from 2015 and asked for critique. I am friends with and have ways of contacting a few of the trumpets from the 2015 hornline should I ask questions. I have a friend who just aged out with Bluestars who I go to with questions/ needs for helps. The point of me writing this somewhat lengthy paragraph was not to show off or brag by any means, I wanted to give everyone a little bit of a better picture of who I am. I really trying to be my best to give myself the biggest shot possible, since I will be auditioning as a rookie. Once again, I appreciate everyone's awesome information and support; a lot of what people had to say was above and beyond what I had originally asked for. I really appreciate the time and thought that everyone put into their responses. This was really cool, having this thread be my first on the forum, to have it turn out the way it did. Thankyou! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCBlue Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 To answer what some of you had inferred- yes part of the reason for me asking this was to see my chances, but not all of it. I really just have no concept of how many people audition for those specific groups (since those are who I'm looking at), and I was just interested in the numbers..: it's more trivial for me than it is trying to "see my chances". To answer that side of the question simply, I assume you're going to the Ohio camp since you mentioned the thing at Denison. It's going to be packed. There's going to be a ton of people shoved into a medium sized school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStainGlass Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 I also forget to say it's not about how many people that audition but how many vets return. 99% of the time vets will be taken over rookies. Seeingthe amount of age outs is a good indication of spits open. In 2013 bluecoats said they had about 18 vets coming back so everyone was competing for like 8 spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsfever Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 Corps vary on what they emphasize for auditions. Some may place a greater weight on playing on the move while others may lean on the playing ability on a one-on-one audition. My suggestion is make a good friend with someone who is in the corps you wish to audition for and utilize that relationship to help understand exactly what your desired corps may be looking for. No matter what the emphasis on performance, get yourself visually ready as well as playing ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Holland Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 (edited) Here's the thing about these "alternate" spots. If vets aren't guaranteed a spot year to year, neither are alternates. You pay money, and practice sometimes, and wait for someone to go down. You get stuck with the garbage work, and you pay for it. The corps themselves have stated that these positions are fundraisers for the corps. So you may get in the drill, sometimes for a show or two, sometimes a season, sometimes not at all. I honestly think if you're going to spend thousands and thousands of dollars for this activity, make sure you actually do the activity. All staffs of the top 15 teach pretty much the same activity. The talent and show design is what separates one corps (medaling or not) from another. So standing by, waiting for someone to go down, and paying for it is ludicrous. If you don't make the cut, don't let them drag you along. Go to some place where you'll be in the drill, playing and moving everyday. Then take that experience back to your dream corps and you'll have a much better chance. That's my $0.02. Don't underestimate the benefit of being an alternate at a top 5 corps. From the perspective of my experience with Crown, time with their excellent brass staff is well worth a season as an alternate. It also will serve as a demonstration of that attitude and work ethic mentioned earlier that is critical to success in the activity. An alternate not only has to know all the music, but will likely be asked to step in to different spots in the drill with short notice. They are extremely valuable to a medaling corps.As far as numbers go, returning vets aren't guaranteed spots, but they are a known entity and will be hard to unseat. They will take a rookie that is teachable (as demonstrated by listening and continuous improvement at each camp) motivated, and interacts well with the staff, volunteers and other MM's before someone with DCI experience thinking they're God's gift. Go to your dream corps and fight for a spot. Your best chances are where there are a lot of age-outs, regardless of the number of auditionees. Edited August 14, 2015 by C.Holland 1 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.