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#192095 - 07/25/09 05:24 AM
THE master "help me im auditioning" thread
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Registered: 09/24/03
Loc: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Post's Karma Value: 38
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Ive seen many individual threads in individual forums, posted around. In fact it happens ALL THE FRIGGEN TIME!!! I figure we can create one resource with lots of information about the experience (not dates and crap that is easily found by google). General tips and such are welcome, specifics better. If you audition(ed), please post your experience with a group, give your age, instrument etc. then give us your thoughts, how it was run, what you think they were looking for, anything that will help another user. here are things Ive posted in the past about auditioning universal truths about auditioning. 1)show up 2)be more prepared than anyone else there. If youre not youll get cut. 3)Relax, nerves wont help you play well. that's it. the details will work themselves out it you do all of that. when I auditioned for 2006/7 [RX], The top guy had been in the blue coats for 4 years,and X for 2 the two guy was in the cadets 04, and GLP for a bazillion, the three was the hole and the 4/5 guys where 2 and 4 year vets. The 3 hole was being shot at by 6 guys, by the end of day one, there were two guys left. of those two both had marched top 12 drum corps, combining for 6+ years of world class experience and one of those was the techs brother. I decided to graduate college instead of go to Europe. the line was set by camp two after I conceded the spot.
Expect those types of guys to show up. And to compete against them.
They don't look at sheer talent because they don't need to. It should already be there. Every person in that line can split singles easily, jazzers, etc. pretty much anything they want. In the words of sparling #1. "If you can split, it we will".
that being said X has a very specific vibe about it. they are good, and they know it. Yes, there are parties, and yes they can get out of hand, but work is work, regardless of how much milk you had the night before, or with breakfast. you should be able to fit into that. Those guys aren't there to win, they're there to be bad butts, drum well, have a good time, and winning is a result. Auditioning is for people that get cut. - a super cadet to remain unnamed. I got cut 3 times at world class corps before I realized I just needed to be out there. Granted the first two times I had no business being there but anyway...I marched two seasons of open and 4 in world. Probably could have gone to world right out of the first season, but decided open was the way to go that year. 1 year of corps ANYWHERE is better than none. If you happen to make your first choice congratulations, you're in the minority. if not, the best way to prepare for the next year, is to go march somewhere else. I teach 3 world class groups between WGI and DCI when I look at auditionees at the first camp, all i do is make notes about where their weaknesses are. I then tell them that, and see if they are better next camp. If so by how much. I look for preparation. does this kid know the music, or does he KNOW THE MUSIC. and there is a difference. I look for maturity. I look for mental strength. I look for his social skills. notice how very little of this pertains to what you can and cant play. The reason for that quote is because you aren't given a spot. you earn it. Effectively, taking it from the other guys hand. Don't give them a single reason to cut you, and you get a spot. They don't take the best 9 guys, they take the 9 or 10 or 6 who can do it. If they don't get 5 bass drummers who can do it, theyll cut everyone else and keep looking. About a top level world class snare line: usually There's 3-4 holes in a snare line. expect 70 (or more) kids to show up for the snare line. 40 of them have no business being there. 20 have a remote shot, and 10 will have a real shot. on if its worth it (where the director wouldn't let the member participate in marching if DCI'd: Knowing what I know now, If my band director had said that, I would have said "that's cool see you in concert band".
I can see her POV, but when it comes down to it, after a summer of drum corps, you're so in tune with excellence, learning the band show just won't be that hard, even if you were "that guy". I would hope that she sees how much better it would improve her group in the long run.
What will be hard is the adjustment going from DCI back into band. it takes a couple tries before you're used to it. on what to know before going into a camp that no matter what drum corps is always spelled with an "s"... even in singular. on how to make money to pay for corps: on marching while in high school/ conflicting scheduals when I was in high school, the school woulnt let me out early and the corps was ok with me missing the first 2 weeks of move ins provided i was there on the weekends, but it was division 2 so its different than a top 12 or even top 17 group.
On the school end of things I didn't do as well on the finals as I would have liked but, passed classes and don't regret a thing. My band director refused to let be a section leader, even though I was center. I had to miss all of band camp to march drum corps, and one year I had to miss the first football game.
So its not always win win, best thing to do is talk to all teachers, your principal or vice principal, and the corps directors and the caption head, to find out who's willing to give what where, then make it happen.
How many 14-15 year olds do you know march? How many 18-19 year olds?
plenty, most division ones wont take a 14-15 year old, so for them to march in D2/3 is much less expensive. think $500 for everything. you can earn that bagging groceries at kroger two days a week. There are also scholarships that come into play. I donate a good chunk of a tour fee to someone every year, maybe its one of my students, maybe its a donation to the general alumni fund... organizations with heavy alumni involvement usually have no problems finding donations for a kid that couldnt do it otherwise. Ive bought corps jackets for my friends who barley afforded to get there. and for new guys who cant afford them now. At madison $1600 flat rate, no move in fees uniform fees or camp fee... though there was a $50 one time registration fee for the boy scouts- which can be waived if you're already a boy scout. I honestly didn't pay full fees at other world corps I marched. bring about $25 in quarters for laundry days, and an extra $100 cash for free days and misc expenses. there are lots of ways to cut expenses for free time/laundry too. share quad washers, buy a big soap at the CVS, instead of the powder one load for a 1.50, you can get 12 loads for 3.50. stuff like that I think I spent 500 total over the whole summer in D3. Unrelated to the actual corps, you also have to get clothes for tour, toiletries for tour, luggage if you don't have it, an air mattress and suitable bedding if you don't have it, and you need cash or a card to carry for incidentals on tour.
Air mattresses are for kitty cats. for real. they cause more problems -physical and logistical- than they save. get a camping mat. not including luggage, you can spend $30-$100 on random things, and clothes all you need are 15 white hanes and two-three pairs of section shorts 15 pairs of socks, shoes. one set of free day clothes.
And yes you can get cut for posting stupid things on a forum.
RE: auditioning for multiple competing groups Do you guys really think he can audition for all 4?
yes. As long as there are no conflicts within each ensemble.. many groups have two or three weekends that you can audition in. some start in october, others in november. some PIO/PIA groups wont even start until January. Lastly the fact that MCM's members say they will be coming back, doesnt mean they all Can/will... and if Patty is right about his age, he has a few years to go. And can meet and greet with the staff so they know who he is and the type of work he does if/when a hole opens up. Possibly even mid season. A friend of mine tried out for the 02 cadets and made it... it was between him and one other guy... TA said the only reason he took him over the other guy was becuase he had some Drum corps expierince and had an idea of what he was getting into. his expeirence was the americanos, little ol d3... moral of the story, March marion, reap benifits.. dont march, lose benifits. your choice (but if i were you I wouldn't even think about giving up the opportunity) Not to mention that there no way you'll get as good by staying home and practicing, as opposed to playing 10 or more hours a day with instruction, for 3 months straight.
FOr those of you who made it...and i guess those of you who didnt... you can still get cut if you start slacking off. There are still plenty of people out there who will take your spot if you dont have your stuff together every single camp. for those of you that this does happen to, or if you wont be getting a contract from 1st choice, dont sit at home and prcatice... I guearenttee no matter how much you practice at you house, youll get much better marching in a d2 or d3 corps than you ever will on your own... that said it also prepares you mentally, for the upper eschelon of corps. So go out and find a place. then come say Hi to me at some show were both at.
or me DCI isnt about the drumming at all... its merely a huge bonus to the friends I make, the places I get to go. Ive been doing it for 4 years, I wish I had started even sooner. theres an inherent understanding of each other when you meet other people who marched. Especially those you marched with. And those who marched before you in your corps.. when i was on my way to camp, I stopped at the belvedere oasis on I-90. and an older man stopped me. he had marched in the 88-93 scouts. his words were. "I couldt do the things you guys do now. youre brining the scouts back to the old days, back to glory." I felt a connection with this man. who i had never met before, we only spoke for about 10 minutes. yet Ill always remember him. It made me realize that what we do in the summer is somthing bigger than ourselves. that when youre a part of a corps, youre a part of history.
Here's a couple of good threads to read (please dont revive them): http://www.drumlines.org/threads/ubbthreads.php/topics/176283/1.htmlhttp://www.drumlines.org/threads/ubbthreads.php/topics/175328/1.htmlhttp://www.drumlines.org/threads/ubbthreads.php/topics/174557/1.htmlhttp://www.drumlines.org/threads/ubbthreads.php/topics/171216/1.htmlhttp://www.drumlines.org/threads/ubbthreads.php/topics/167665/1.htmlhttp://www.drumlines.org/threads/ubbthreads.php/topics/157124/1.htmlhttp://www.drumlines.org/threads/ubbthreads.php/topics/156437/1.htmlhttp://www.drumlines.org/threads/ubbthreads.php/topics/90842/1.html If you want more, I guarantee its there. All you have to do is use the handy "search" feature.
_________________________
Kanye West: the world's best troll.
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#192128 - 07/26/09 12:24 AM
Re: THe master "help me im auditioning" thread
[Re: paradawhat]
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Registered: 02/12/08
Loc: Yup
Post's Karma Value: 26
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I guess I'll take the first shot and post my info about it. This past year I auditioned at Capital Regiment (Columbus, OH) originally on tenors. I felt good going into the auditions, beat the music to death every day since I got it back in early October. The first night was a good time, they threw us all in the GYM where everyone was hacking at pads, drums, the floor, anything. Meeting everyone and realizing that there are people just as a good as good and better then you (let's just face it, if your a BAMF at your highschool level, things start to get boring when people can't keep up) and are as passionate about drumming as you are. Anyhow, they took us into the sectionals the first night and we didn't do much of anything, just got an idea of basic things. (sticks out, rest, etc) We then got sent out to snack and into the GYM to hang out until lights out, everyone was padding it up, just having a good time.
The next day we played ALL day. My personal experience was not so great. I let nerves get a hold of me right away, and instantly looked like I had never touched a set of tenors before in my life. I was confused when licks were changed, and thrown off by switching from small to big block tenors, and I did the worst thing, panic. I only got worse, so I decided to go the bass room. Needless to say, I had no bass experience (just a general idea of how it worked) and just couldn't hack it with the other kids, so I was cut.
The staff was great, they were more concerned with looking to educate then they were concerned with looking to snag the best players right away and start building the line. Everyone was friendly, and in a good mood. One of the best experiences I have ever had, and I can't wait to go back this November. I know I won't freak out this time, and I can't wait to see what will happen.
Bottom line, audition for corps folks. Even if you don't want to march or don't plan to, just going to the audition is an amazing experience in it's own.
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#192136 - 07/26/09 01:22 AM
Re: THe master "help me im auditioning" thread
[Re: warboy]
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Registered: 09/24/03
Loc: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Post's Karma Value: 27
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physically, they poorly support your lumbar region which can lead to back pain. same concept as when you sleep on a crappy regular mattress. a camping mat on the floor cushions ans supports. logistically, you roll into a gym ,and lights out is in 15 minutes. people go to the bathroom, brush their teeth, and do other crap, by the time they do that, the lights are out. these people then proceed to inflate their air mattress which for everyone to do take an additional 10-15. at 4am they sound like jet engines. especially when there are 30 of them. some people have the auto-ons which re-inflate throughout the night. kids with leak drag them around to an outlet when they deflate, so you get run over by vinyl, or kicked by the dragger. they take forever to pack back up. I was on gym cleaning crew one year. the slowest people were those with air mattresses. so you kept me awake and now your slowing my down from my job. they take up too much room under the bus. there is a rule 2 bags. kids would completely ignore that, they would have their 2 bags AND a mattress. I could have my entire area from wide open sleep and chill ready, to pack in a bag moving to a bus in under five minutes. I could unpack it in less. no noise no time wasted, no one pissed off. I once to a my knove and slashed 15 holes in a kids airmatress 1/2 through tour because he was an offender of everything thats wrong with air matresses. AND he was that guy. in everything. complained all the time. he was a head case, and was the guy at the front of the bus that would yell every time he was gamed. I was given an extra mile of running after ensemble every day for a month. best decision of the year.
Edited by Insomniac (07/26/09 01:23 AM)
_________________________
Kanye West: the world's best troll.
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#192156 - 07/26/09 08:05 PM
Re: THe master "help me im auditioning" thread
[Re: Tory]
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Registered: 04/08/09
Loc: Michigan
Post's Karma Value: 4
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If you need one, get a Coleman.
Wait to buy one until you know if you need one. There are plenty of corps that don't even allow kids to take them on tour for the reasons already stated. I'm not planning on taking one next year. It really is too much of a hassle. Wait, are you saying corps don't let kids take air beds on tour? I'm talking camping mats. That's a good story  Do you have any specific models you think work best? + a sleeping bag, 1 mid weight blanket, and a pillow = win I'm wary of a self inflating pad, in the couple of hours I spent looking at them, I saw a lot of negative reviews just because they wouldn't inflate. Do the self inflating beds work solely on pressure laws and not have any form of pumping required? Just curious, why'd I get negative carma for that post? It was a simple question.
Edited by warboy (07/26/09 08:11 PM)
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I wish I could put it to use..maybe after I go to finals the spark will be there again
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