Drum major advise plz!

A place for student leaders, drum majors, section leaders, student council members, etc.

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Maestro!

Re: Drum major advise plz!

Post by Maestro! » Mon Mar 08, 2010 6:18 pm

anthony wrote:ok first of all like i said this whole thing does not have to be written formal or anything im not going to cause a whole debate with you like i said befor i was asking for drum major adice not grammer help their is a huge diffrence in writting formal for things like essays or exc. or simply shortining things up for a simple ad. just thought i would point that out 2nd of all teachers have no right to be taking points off of when i am outside of school and its my privet life 3rd of all i am not trying to be argumentive so can you plz cut it out if you keep this going i will stop writing back, thank you.
ZJH wrote:
anthony wrote:
not to be rude or anything but im outside of school i can type how i want i know it doesint look all great but its not like it has to be perfection its good to shoot for it but theirs no such thing with all do respact i was asking for drum major advice not grammer help but i will take that into concideration thanks
"Not to be rude or anything," but this only further reinforces my point.

:| Interesting.

Anthony, if I may give you advice for your audition and also relate to the conversation above.

An audition should always be treated the same as you would treat a job interview. This is true for leadership auditions in school, or professional auditions once you've graduated. When submitting into a public forum for advice, it is possible the person you will be auditioning and interviewing with may read the threads posted in this section and the marching band section. The last thing you want to do when applying for a job is to throw yourself under the bus.

A: Spelling and grammer is HUGE in all aspects of life. Not only does it show the band director that you are responsible in your education, but that you actually care about doing things the right way and not that you are lazy or irresponsible. If you can't spell "advice", you most likely can't commit yourself to learning the book and conducting it to your best ability.

B: Another quick note on spelling and grammer; if you were to submit a resume' to a place of employment, they will know you are professional and a serious individual by your spelling and grammer. No teachers around in the "real world" outside of school, but you have to go to school to get grades and pass. You don't "have" to be at a certain job, you most likely apply because you feel you'll fit best in that job environment. They are the ones that don't "have" to have you on their staff. Relate this to your audition. How much is it that you're wanting to be a drum major, a leader? Your director and staff will not take you seriously if you cannot even take yourself seriously and consider yourself professional in your approach.

C: Lastly, posting into a public forum and making statements like those above towards others that may be trying to help you (or not) is not a leadership quality. Would you talk that way to your fellow band members? Even if there is someone that is difficult to work with or have as a team player; or even if you don't know that certain people talk in a different way, being defensive and argumentive will not resolve your situation and will also be looked down upon by those that have entrusted you to be a liason between staff and band.

Please take this all into consideration waaaay before you even get into practicing your mace work or conducting. You can ask any director, no matter how good you are at what you do, if your attitude is poor you will not be granted a leadership position.

I hope my comments have helped.

anthony
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Re: Drum major advise plz!

Post by anthony » Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:15 pm

ok like i said b4 i was NOT trying to be argumentive , just trying to be polite btw yes polite is the way i would talk to my former peers, and yes obviously i would do my best for auditions as anyone else would, yes true true but if they were reading this they would know how far or how much i would want it,next yes true but If this were my resume i would take more time to do it right and make sure its fine like i said befor this isnt ment to be formal or anything, yes i completely understand things take comitments such as showing up and attending ive been comitted in band scince 4th grade so obviously im comitted, again you make one of many ponts one being attitude i have a great amount of confidence in what i do also just bc its inproper does mean i want this any less i want this just as much as anyone else who is passionate about the things they do, so what, just bc im not the best speller all of a sudden i dont want things or work hard as the next person trying out for this roll. im just as cappable as doing it as anyone else thanks for the criticisim i mean whats life with out any, thanks again
Last edited by anthony on Mon Mar 08, 2010 9:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Drum major advise plz!

Post by ZJH » Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:22 pm

And we all thought the walls of Fort Knox were hard to get through...
"To think idly is to think for the sake of doing nothing, or to think too much on what one has done and not on what there is to do." - San Manuel Bueno, mártir

Maestro!

Re: Drum major advise plz!

Post by Maestro! » Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:41 pm

anthony wrote:ok like i said b4 i was NOT trying to be argumntive , just trying to be polite btw yes polite is the way i would talk to my former peers, and yes obviousely i would do my best for auditions as anyone else would, yes true true but if they where reading this they would know how far or how much i would want it,next yes true but If this where my resume i would take mor time to do it right and make sure its fine like i said befor this isnt ment to be formal or anything, yes i completly understans things take comitmens such as showing up and attending ive been comited in band scince 4th grade so obviousely im comited, again you make one of many ponts one being aditude i have a great amount of confidents in what i do also just bc its inproper does mean i want this any less i want this just as much as anyone else who is passionate about the things they do, so what, just bc im not the best speller all of a sudden i dont want things or work hard as the next person trying out for this roll. im just as cappable as doing it as anyone else thanks for the criticisim i mean whats life with out any, thanks again
You asked for advice to make your audition successful. No one is doubting what you want and you feel those helping you make your audition successful are attacking you.

No one here doubts your lack of commitment or love for the art. Please stop viewing the posts as that.

And likewise, if you choose to take the advice or not is up to you. Again, no one is asking you to prove it or not. It's a public forum and the posts made are to help you.

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Re: Drum major advise plz!

Post by anthony » Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:55 pm

yeah that is why i said thank you, its not what i was exactly looking for BUT it does help a lot :D
Last edited by anthony on Mon Mar 08, 2010 9:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Drum major advise plz!

Post by ChamberKid209 » Mon Mar 08, 2010 8:28 pm

Another question for everyone. What do you think the drum majors musical ability should be?

Maestro!

Re: Drum major advise plz!

Post by Maestro! » Tue Mar 09, 2010 10:06 am

ChamberKid209 wrote:Another question for everyone. What do you think the drum majors musical ability should be?
This depends on what kind of a program your school offers. Are there theory classes available? Etc.

Also this depends on whether the drum major at your school acts as a student conductor or both the conductor and leader during some/most music rehearsals. Of course, you always have your staff you can consult in terms of where YOU need to be musically before considering the position at your school.

:)

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Re: Drum major advise plz!

Post by dmcoach » Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:51 pm

anthony wrote:k well right now i am a sophmore at golden valley high school and i have been working extreamily hard for D.M i have worked so hard so do you have n e adice for warm ups or websites to look things up plz any advice will help

I believe we read "any advice will help".

At this point, I believe that asking for assistance from a private instructor in your area would be more beneficial as opposed to directing general comments and questions into a public forum. A private instructor would be best with answering any direct questions you might have, and to even show you some examples.

I know of a great instructor up in NorCal, and his name is Andrew Cheung. You should look him up sometime.

:wink:
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Re: Drum major advise plz!

Post by ZJH » Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:42 pm

As much as I would love to teach all over NorCal, Bryan, Merced is a bit out of my way. 8-)
"To think idly is to think for the sake of doing nothing, or to think too much on what one has done and not on what there is to do." - San Manuel Bueno, mártir

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Re: Drum major advise plz!

Post by Capuchino78 » Wed Mar 10, 2010 1:49 pm

"i can type how i want i know it doesint look all great but its not like it has to be perfection its good to shoot for it but theirs no such thing [/quote]



Anthony -- let me give you my 2 cents on this, and trust me, I insist on this from my drum major students as well. (I am particular about who I teach, and I teach very few people now.)

1) Being a good drum major is all about leadership. I do not mean only leadership of your peers, but of yourself as well. I have little tolerance for anything having anything to do with drum majoring being done with anything less than 110% effort. You want people to take you seriously in the drum major world? If so, don't discuss drum majoring or seek help on a board like this in slang, or in internet speak. It reflects poorly on you. Following up on that is my rule of thumb for everyone I have ever taught: If you pick up your mace to practice, you must do it properly: good posture, solid basics, clean hand position and clean stops. Do not EVER pick up a mace or baton to play or screw around. It shows disrespect for the mace or baton, and for the position that you aspire to hold. Moreover, it is the first step to creating bad habits. practice does not make perfect.....perfect practice makes perfect.

2) You asked for a warm up on another list. My basic warm up for my advanced students is the rule of 50's; 50 clockwise prop spins, fifty counter clockwise prop sins; 50 right handed rifle tosses, 50 left handed rifle tosses; 50 left to right hand single rotation tosses done in a clockwise prop spin (with two spins between each toss), and 50 the other way with the other hand; 50 wrist rolls each hand; All of it is done with perfect posture, body control and hand control, paying attention to the free hand on each skill In the beginning with a student I am a bit more lenient, but with advanced students, if you drop, or slip, or I catch mistakes with posture, or free hand, you start again from zero. Its a long, difficult warm up for someone not in shape or not particularly skilled but I find that as you develop wrist and forearm strength through the warm up, it becomes easier, and your spin speed increases.

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Re: Drum major advise plz!

Post by Marianne » Wed Mar 10, 2010 5:24 pm

I just have to put in my two cents over the grammar thing.

You say since this is outside of a school environment, you can do what you want, say what you want and write any way you want to cause there's nobody around to make you do it the right way cause your'e not in school.

Contrary to what it appears you believe, school is not about imprisoning students and inflicting them with untold hideous restrictions on living a real life. School is supposed to be preparing you for real life so you can communicate and function in the real world. You're right, by posting on this board, you are outside of your school environment. You are in the real world now. Your school has done you an injustice if this is how they've sent you out into the real world. Or, more likely, you are doing yourself an injustice by presenting yourself as an insolent child incapable of intelligible speech and basic writing techniques. And even worse having a "screw you" attitiude regarding these shortcomings. As others have already pointed out, being a Drum Major is more about leadership than anything else. And quite frankly, I'm not seeing the words of a leader.

I do wish you all the best of luck in your audition. Sometimes, the quickest way to make a person with potential grow up is to give them the responsibilities in a leadership position. I'm betting if you do make DM , and you do the position proud, you might come back here in a year or two and look back on your posts and just cringe.
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