gmencontra Posted May 10, 2006 Share Posted May 10, 2006 Correct me if I'm wrong but my interpretation of the original question is that this corps does not have many experienced "Drum Corps" veterans among it's membership OR staff. It is more of a college marching band trying its best to be what it thinks a drum corps should be. If that is indeed the case, then the answer is not a simple one at all. That is really no problem at all. If someone wants to learn or educate themselves on "how to act", start with going to a rehersal. What do drum corps folks do that a marching band doesnt? Go visit a DCI rehersal or two. What does a top 5 corps do that a non-top twelve corps do? (probably not much more than execution) Or do what I always tell our membership. ACT AS IF...... act as if you just won DCA or DCI or Ted's drumcorps circuit. The emotion of that will improve your persona the next minute. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmyq Posted May 10, 2006 Author Share Posted May 10, 2006 Correct me if I'm wrong but my interpretation of the original question is that this corps does not have many experienced "Drum Corps" veterans among it's membership OR staff. It is more of a college marching band trying its best to be what it thinks a drum corps should be. If that is indeed the case, then the answer is not a simple one at all. I think that is somewhat the case. We have drum corps vets, and most of us try and lead by example, but I was looking for more of an answer. I was thinking about organizing viewing sessions of past DCI shows so that people can get a better grasp on what the activity really entails, something more educational that "do it how the vets do it". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 Maybe, depending on your location, you may want to take a field trip to watch another corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmyq Posted May 11, 2006 Author Share Posted May 11, 2006 Maybe, depending on your location, you may want to take a field trip to watch another corps. That's a VERY good idea. I wanted to go to a Renegades rehearsal, but I think that might be a little wierd for some 'other' folks. Also, I think that many corps have an easier time with this as their pool for members has a broader spectrum of age outs close to their locations. This just isn't neccesarily the case with us - although, I'm definately no expert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironlips Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 Mr. Stanton understands the question. Just think "Suncoast Sound". One sure way to learn about any given activity, especially one that involves performance and work ethic, is to immerse oneself in the culture. In this instance, visit the rehearsals of other corps. Most of them are perfectly comfortable with this. Go to as many shows as possible and observe how the best corps perpare to perform. Talk to members. Develop relationships. Drum corps is one big tribal entity and you are one of the branches, albiet a new and possibly remote one. You will be welcomed by the others, even though you are a potential competitor. Listen to the CDs, watch the videos as a group. Go to the Countdown shows, read Drum Corps World and invest in the 2- volume Encyclopedia of Drum and Bugle Corps. Jump in with both feet. Don't worry, you'll swim. Nor is it required that every single member of your group do this, just enough to achieve critical mass. That nucleus will then act as missionaries to the others because they will have the zeal and the spirit and that, my friends, is contageous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CozyChopsCom Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 Mr. Stanton understands the question. Just think "Suncoast Sound".One sure way to learn about any given activity, especially one that involves performance and work ethic, is to immerse oneself in the culture. In this instance, visit the rehearsals of other corps. Most of them are perfectly comfortable with this. Go to as many shows as possible and observe how the best corps perpare to perform. Talk to members. Develop relationships. Drum corps is one big tribal entity and you are one of the branches, albiet a new and possibly remote one. You will be welcomed by the others, even though you are a potential competitor. Listen to the CDs, watch the videos as a group. Go to the Countdown shows, read Drum Corps World and invest in the 2- volume Encyclopedia of Drum and Bugle Corps. Jump in with both feet. Don't worry, you'll swim. Nor is it required that every single member of your group do this, just enough to achieve critical mass. That nucleus will then act as missionaries to the others because they will have the zeal and the spirit and that, my friends, is contageous. Ironlips, Sagely put. If only more were willing to go the extra laps to learn the history, to observe, to ask, to soak it in. Subscribe to DCW. Read "A History of Drum & Bugle Corps," both volumes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellrks Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 (edited) I think that is somewhat the case. We have drum corps vets, and most of us try and lead by example, but I was looking for more of an answer. I was thinking about organizing viewing sessions of past DCI shows so that people can get a better grasp on what the activity really entails, something more educational that "do it how the vets do it". My drum corps experience is from a long time ago when there was a huge difference between what drum corps and marching bands (high school or college) were doing. That difference has shrunk to almost nothing now so maybe it's not as big a transition as I originally thought. The best answer I can give is to hire experienced drum corps people to instruct your corps and then do everything they say. These instructors don't have to be top 12 drum corps instructors, (although it definitely helps). They can be current or past members of a top 12 corps. The key is to have people instructing you that have already been where you are trying to get to. Still, there are no guarantees. I taught two drum corps which had similar characteristics to your's. Spirit of Atlanta and Suncoast Sound. Spirit was in it's second year of existence and was full of talent (avg. age was probably 19) yet was very inexperienced to the ways of big time drum corps. The infusion of talented, experienced staff helped accelerate the progress of that corps tremendously. Suncoast Sound was similar to Spirit in that they were founded by high school marching band people but the avg. age in 1982 was probably 16 or 17 and the corps was still more like a marching band than a drum corps. After taking 13th that year the corps attracted more talent and the avg. age jumped to 19 in 83'. Still the "mantra" of how to do drum corps takes time and no matter how hard you try to accelerate that learning process, there is no substitute for experience. If you don't already have it in your staff and membership, you will have to learn and grow your corps together and hope you can retain members from one year to the next so that you can build on what you have accomplished. Edited May 14, 2006 by Russellrks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted May 14, 2006 Share Posted May 14, 2006 here's another idea...not only go see other corps, but at the right time, either ask their staff questions there or send emails. also try to catch clinics. i'm no Hopkins fan, but about 10 years ago i sw him and the corps do a clinic on ensemble rehearsals...what to focus on and what to leave for marching or music blocs. also had the chance to see Dan Delong do a clinic on percussion technique and how to apply the stuff played in warmups to the show. again a great resource. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin4057 Posted May 14, 2006 Share Posted May 14, 2006 Mr. Stanton understands the question. Just think "Suncoast Sound".One sure way to learn about any given activity, especially one that involves performance and work ethic, is to immerse oneself in the culture. In this instance, visit the rehearsals of other corps. Most of them are perfectly comfortable with this. Go to as many shows as possible and observe how the best corps perpare to perform. Talk to members. Develop relationships. Drum corps is one big tribal entity and you are one of the branches, albiet a new and possibly remote one. You will be welcomed by the others, even though you are a potential competitor. Listen to the CDs, watch the videos as a group. Go to the Countdown shows, read Drum Corps World and invest in the 2- volume Encyclopedia of Drum and Bugle Corps. Jump in with both feet. Don't worry, you'll swim. Nor is it required that every single member of your group do this, just enough to achieve critical mass. That nucleus will then act as missionaries to the others because they will have the zeal and the spirit and that, my friends, is contageous. Great responce. I couldn't have said it better. I liked the "Tribal entity" part. LOL I think that the music selections are extreemly important in a drum corps performance. I understand that the difficulty of the music is important in the judgeing, but the audiance has to be given careful concideration. Any drum corps, has to strive to touch their audiance. You want that music to bring a lump to their throut or make them jump out of their seat. You especially want to make that audiance walk out of that stadium whisteling your music. VERY IMPORTANT! If you cant do that then you've lost. It doesn't matter what the judges say. The recognisability of the music can be very important. But if it's not something the audiance knows at least make them cry or make their heart pound with excitement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVQuesty Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 ...and if that doesn't work, hit 'em in the head with a stick :lolhit: You said you would never speak of that! b**bs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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