Drum corps for a tuba player

[tuba114]

Well it’s that time of year when drum corps auditions take places. As a tuba player I don’t want to march a corps that just puts all there contras in the back and tells them to play whole notes. I’d like to march a corps that will challenge me as a musician. Right now I am leaning at Phantom Regiment and the Blue Devils. As a tuba player do think those would be good corps to march.

[ai698]

Don't forget two top 12 corps in your area- Spirit and Carolina Crown. They're not too shabby and will challenge you, also.

[tubajoe]

Well it’s that time of year when drum corps auditions take places. As a tuba player I don’t want to march a corps that just puts all there contras in the back and tells them to play whole notes. I’d like to march a corps that will challenge me as a musician. Right now I am leaning at Phantom Regiment and the Blue Devils. As a tuba player do think those would be good corps to march.

BD and PR are great groups. Dont settle. Go for it and make the commitment. If you dont make it, dont give up -- go somewhere else and get some experience (a lower 6 DCI, DII-II, or TOP DCA corps) then go back and audition for PR or BD again the next year. PR and BD have very different "vibes" about them, but they are both top of the heap. Do it.

[THE TUBA]

I live in the same county as the Carolina Crown's base of operations (York County, SC), and the Crown (correct me if I am wrong) has had their "Everydays" (band camp) at my high school (Clover High) for the past four years, excluding the summer of '04.

The Crown has been steadily improving over the last three years. Although their position in finals did not improve from last year to this, the corp was much better. The Crown's head brass instructor (Matt Harloff) was at one point the brass director of Blast! (correct me if my information is faulty). He is also the band director of Avon High School in Indiana, a consistant BOA Grand National finalist. His younger brother, the trumpet instructor, was a trumpet soloist in Blast! (the bald guy who decends on a chair). Their mello teacher was the Drum Major of the Phantom Regiment in (I think) 97 and 98. Their contra tech marched with the crown in the late 90s (I think).


Some stuff about their contra line:
The Crown marched 12 contras last year; at the end of Everydays, the corp's VP of operations told me that he expects about eight of them to return next year. They had two contra co-section leaders last year: Mike Larkin (I think)and Brad some complicated S word. Unless they get a new hornline next year, they will be using their King contras again.

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Also look at the Cavaliers, Santa Clara Vanguard, and the Bluecoats. The Cavies' contra lines always a good sound, most likely due to their Yamaha contras. Don't overlook the Bluecoats either. Their brass arranger always writes in some sweet contra parts.

*I think Pat Sheridan helped at one of the Phantom Regiment camps last year- that alone is worth joining.

Whatever way you decide to go, good luck!!!

[Leland]

Go check out Crown. Seriously.

When I saw them this summer, I was amazed. I hadn't yet heard who was teaching them, so I was thinking, "Holy cow, when did they learn how to play so well?!?" They were damn loud, but as us corps geeks can tell, it was a good loud -- great blend of timbre, balance, intonation, everything. You couldn't hear which of the kids had more or less talent than the rest. The TV broadcast can only barely represent how good they sounded.

Cavaliers have been playing well over the past six years, and BD & Phantom always have a good ensemble sound. Wayne Downey writes some slick contra parts -- he knows how to voice the horn. I think Jimmy Steele is still working with Spirit's hornline -- he's a lot of fun. And, yes, Bluecoats play really well; they place well in brass (top 5-ish in horn scores) but were often held back by drum & visual scores (which were taken care of last year).

I mention scores & placements only because they're a good indicator of how well a hornline plays. When you check out the criteria on the judges' sheets, you'll notice that the top box (the high range of numbers for a subcaption) lists everything good about ensemble playing -- person-to-person intonation & blend, dynamic control, recovery from mistakes (or absence of them), stuff like that. When a corps scores well in brass, you can guarantee that they earned the number.

[Sean Greene]

As a tuba player, I would recommend you look
at Madison Scouts. I never marched drum corps, but I know their contra "coach". His name is Ian Melrose and he is a great teacher and serious tuba player. Anyone who marches in Scouts will finish the summer knowing what it takes to play really well. Ian rocks.

Sean Greene

[hurricane_harry]

i know the boat your in, im auditioning for PR next week. bluecoats have a great line, but if you going for any top 12, you have to be able to march. cause they'll get a million guys that can play, but the question is if they can move and be just as musical. good luck, you'll have a great experience marching any DIV I dci.

[Leland]

cause they'll get a million guys that can play, but the question is if they can move and be just as musical.

The bigger question is if they'll LISTEN to instruction and work hard.

It's no use to have a marching god who's a prima donna and won't listen to the techs. Might as well give someone like that a bus ticket home.