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Desperately Seeking Someone


OMH

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Urgently looking for a private corps-style snare drum instructor in the Baltimore, Md area.

I am serious about getting quality instruction for my 17-year old son.

A little background on him:

Played snare in local NFL marching band two years.

No marching band at high school. Director not interested.

Played cymbals last last for Div.II corps, to get experience marching.

Has been to a few independent summer clinics (Smith-Walbridge with Mike McIntosh)

Worked/working with a few local "set" and "orchestral" instructors, but none ever marched.

He has tried out for the last two years for Div.II, and has come VERY VERY close.

At this point he reallys needs a Former or Current MM to help him with the specifics of corps-style snare drumming to get him over the top.

Even if you are not in our immediate area, we will come to you.

This is the hardest working kid you will ever meet.

He is (and has been for the last several years) ON FIRE about succeeding in this.

This is not just Dad talking; I'm a college-trained percussionist and former snare drummer myself, and I know the difference between passing interest and true passion.

Interested parties can contact me at DaveOMH@yahoo.com.

Thanks for your time.

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Just a suggestion - if he's just missing the cut in Div 2 - why not go to a Div 3 corps and play snare there?

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Just a suggestion - if he's just missing the cut in Div 2 - why not go to a Div 3 corps and play snare there?

The individual talent found in DivII corps is comparable to the more-competitive DivIII corps given similar rehearsal schedules. If you pull a random snare drummer out of Yamato and a random snare drummer out of Blue Stars, you'll probably find their abilities and training pretty similar. Supposedly, the essential difference between DivII and DivIII corps is size (if there is an implied or perceived talent gap in addition to the requisite corps-size, that would make having DivIII corps compete directly with DivII corps for placement that much more unfair). Since DivIII lines are smaller to accommodate the smaller brassline (mind you, the size of the brassline is the biggest determinant in selecting a corps' drumline size, and in II/III we all know how hard it is to find lots of brass players), you might find it even harder to make a good DivIII line. I recall my corps' audition camps and being astounded by the number of people trying out for snare. Since we averaged between 17-19 horns, we never had more than four snare spots. Trying out for those four spots were sometimes more than 20 auditionees. If only some of those cuts were willing to pick up a brass instrument, how things might've been very different; but most ended up sitting out the summer. I feel sorry for drummers and how hard it is for them to make a drum corps, even in DivIII.

There are other options. You could send him to a lower-tier DivII/III corps. You could send him to a DCA corps (if he can't make any of the east-coast DivII lines, I suspect he wouldn't make Bucs or Bush either - try sending him to Skyliners, they run a good program). Still, best of luck finding a tutor! I live in NoVA and marched in Eastern PA, so I know plenty of people in between. I'll ask around to some of the drummers I know, and I wish your son the best!

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The individual talent found in DivII corps is comparable to the more-competitive DivIII corps given similar rehearsal schedules. If you pull a random snare drummer out of Yamato and a random snare drummer out of Blue Stars, you'll probably find their abilities and training pretty similar. Supposedly, the essential difference between DivII and DivIII corps is size (if there is an implied or perceived talent gap in addition to the requisite corps-size, that would make having DivIII corps compete directly with DivII corps for placement that much more unfair). Since DivIII lines are smaller to accommodate the smaller brassline (mind you, the size of the brassline is the biggest determinant in selecting a corps' drumline size, and in II/III we all know how hard it is to find lots of brass players), you might find it even harder to make a good DivIII line. I recall my corps' audition camps and being astounded by the number of people trying out for snare. Since we averaged between 17-19 horns, we never had more than four snare spots. Trying out for those four spots were sometimes more than 20 auditionees. If only some of those cuts were willing to pick up a brass instrument, how things might've been very different; but most ended up sitting out the summer. I feel sorry for drummers and how hard it is for them to make a drum corps, even in DivIII.

There are other options. You could send him to a lower-tier DivII/III corps. You could send him to a DCA corps (if he can't make any of the east-coast DivII lines, I suspect he wouldn't make Bucs or Bush either - try sending him to Skyliners, they run a good program). Still, best of luck finding a tutor! I live in NoVA and marched in Eastern PA, so I know plenty of people in between. I'll ask around to some of the drummers I know, and I wish your son the best!

You're right about the competitive level. And I think it's probably the same at ALL corps for drummers.

By the way, the BUCS drumline was SMOKIN' this year. I saw them at the spring preview, and they were awesome THEN! They were DEFINITELY upper-tier Div.I caliber.

It's funny yu talk about picking up a horn. One of the Baritones for "MY" corps this past summer was the drumline captain at that person's high school. The member actually became, over the course of the summer, pretty darn good on the horn. Better than some of the "real" horn players, I'm told. I just wish I could have been there for THAT fall band camp......."hey, look at my paradiddle horn technique". :)

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This is not just Dad talking; I'm a college-trained percussionist and former snare drummer myself, and I know the difference between passing interest and true passion.

Perhaps in that sentence is your answer. Have you tried working with him, or do you not want to try and teach him just because of parent/child interest? If you can, I'd say work with him yourself. The advice you can give him may mean more to him than if it were coming from some stranger he barely knows.

If you're set on getting him private lessons with someone else however, try going to the local high school. I'm sure the director there would be able to give you the names of a few people who can help him. Or try contacting the corps percussion caption head and see if he knows any people that can help.

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Perhaps in that sentence is your answer. Have you tried working with him, or do you not want to try and teach him just because of parent/child interest? If you can, I'd say work with him yourself. The advice you can give him may mean more to him than if it were coming from some stranger he barely knows.

If you're set on getting him private lessons with someone else however, try going to the local high school. I'm sure the director there would be able to give you the names of a few people who can help him. Or try contacting the corps percussion caption head and see if he knows any people that can help.

I remember the first time I started calling about drum lessons. The first guy I called was outside HIS SON'S instructor's room. Even though he was capable of instructing his own son, it was better for the son to get lessons from a "stranger". Somewhere in there is the reason kids won't clean their rooms even when told to do so REPEATEDLY.

Seriously, he is beyond my ability to instruct him. The whole reason for my post is that I'm trying to find a CURRENT marching member (or recently removed) so that he can get specific guidance to what is required for today's corps scene.

I'll have to ask him if he asked the caption head from his corps. I'm sure he did, but I don't recall his response.

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You might also want to post in the percussion forums, and also over at www.drumhard.com.

Drumlines.org as well may be a good start.

Good luck!

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