Advice for the future

[BrassKicksArse]

I'm sure most of you have WAY more life experience than me, so I'm going to see what you all think. I've currently decided to stay at the community college I've been attending to finish my associates, since it is offered to me at no charge. In doing this, I can now afford equipment to help prepare for some big music schools I have in mind. However, being a huge fan of drum and bugle corps, and this being my last eligible year, I'd also love to do that. The adult in me is saying to purchase my gear, and use this summer to really get my audition material perfect, but the kid in me says to live "my dream". On top of that, my 2002 Honda Civic si is starting to show some age. at 205k miles, I'm starting to look for more reliable replacements. If I participated in drum corps again, There's no way I'll be able to make that happen. Ultimately, I'm my own person, and this will be a decision of my own, but I'm looking to see what people who have been in a similar situation have to offer in terms of advice.

[b.williams]

Go be a drum corps person and don't major in music.

[MaryAnn]

It depends on what you can do later as well as you could do it now. I went into music, found it not a good fit, and my "later" was an engineering degree. Worked out very well for me, and I did better getting that degree at an older age (30s.) Your "later" doesn't have to be immediate, as mine wasn't. Food for thought anyway. What you want out of life can change over time, sometimes just a few years, sometimes much longer.

[mikebmiller]

You only live once (except for John Snow). If you want to play drum corps, play drum corps. You won't need your Honda for that. Have fun!

[bort]

What is your career goal?

[zac.spurlin]

Enjoy your youth... You will age out of drum corps and won't be able to do that again. Personally I think we (as a society) get hung up on this timeline of graduating high school and then going to college and graduating in four years... Honestly in 10 years in won't matter what year. College will always be there but drum corps won't. Don't get me wrong you can make some personal decisions that impact that but use the fall semester to prepare and transfer a semester later if you need more time to prepare. My $ 0.02

[BrassKicksArse]

Thank you all for the replies so far, I've taken them all to heart. As for my career goal, I'm adamant about playing professionally, as well as teaching. Something akin to a running a tuba studio, or the likes. The biggest thing holding me back right now is gear. I'm working with a 3/4 BBb and a 3/4 CC, in terms of my own gear. I'm about 2000 short of what I'd need to cover tuition for drum crops this summer, but with a whole summer to work, I'll be put in position to buy both a good contrabass and bass tuba. I think part of me fantasizes about the idea of drum corps, but with the direction it's been going, it's turning into more of a theatrical display, versus a wall of sound. I know I'd be happy with finally owning decent tubas, but I'm not sure if the whole drum corps experience will be worth the set back, in terms of personal practice and money. I've marched a year already, and I'm thankful for that, but I'm now leaning towards moving on and getting my adult life started. Regardless of the outcome, I appreciate everyone's advice and perspective.

[Watchman]

Do drum corp.

Don't worry about the car. Drive it till the wheels fall off.

Seriously think about the "adamant about playing professionally" thing. It's way overrated in my opinion.

[mikebmiller]

Cool to see someone saying they plan to work to buy the stuff they need. I got flamed on FB for suggesting that a guy who wanted to go to some summer festival get a job instead of starting a gofundme page.

[WC8KCY]

I say go for drum corps, too. If you end up pursuing a Music Education degree down the road, this experience could prove valuable.

205K miles isn't all that bad on a Honda Civic--if it's not rusting, you should be able to get many more years of service out of it; I've had two Kias and a Ford Ranger run over 300K and it was rust that eventually sidelined them, not mechanical issues. New struts and suspension bits can do wonders to make an older car feel more youthful. Additionally, a newer car--or even a brand-new car--may not be as reliable as what you already have; last year, I traded in a 2011 model that I owned since brand new; despite my impeccable maintenance, it had spent well over 30 overnights at the dealership awaiting repairs.

There's also no need to upgrade both of your tubas at once, and I'd be inclined to be very deliberate about replacing the second horn once you've purchased and become absolutely familiar with the first. Perhaps you'll find such a complete solution with the first tuba that you won't want or need a second tuba in a different key.

[zac.spurlin]

Bloke- as someone who worked in higher education for 13 years I can say you are right on and described the environment nicely. It has become a world of
Adjunct professors.

[Watchman]

I would say nowadays it's almost "easier" to get an orchestra position than it is a top "non adjunct" studio job.

When I was in school, there was one studio professor who was not a very good player, or teacher. If we wondered out loud how someone like him got a job at our "best in the state" university, the answer would always come back to: "well back in the 1970's, he was one of four people in the country with a DMA."

A situation like that would be unheard of today. People who get "best in the state" university jobs these days are typically Godlike players, often on more than one instrument, are minor/major celebrities in their fields, and have spent years cultivating an image/brand.

At least with an orchestra job, all you have to do is play some easy tuba excerpts better than 135 other tuba players, am I right?

[windshieldbug]

People who get "best in the state" university jobs these days are typically Godlike players, often on more than one instrument, are minor/major celebrities in their fields, and have spent years cultivating an image/brand.

[THE TUBA]

Although it seems like you're up against a hard deadline with aging out for this summer, you gotta remember that DCA is still a thing and there are lots of all-age drum corps that are actually pretty good. Maybe not as good as the Blue Devils or Carolina Crown, but many still can offer a worthwhile experience for their members. If you're not a big fan of the whole "theatrical display" (and/or amps, voiceovers, vocalists, synths, etc), then DCA may be more up your alley anyways.

If you're $2K short of drum corps tuition right now (in mid-April), do you have a plan to get that $2K before the season starts? Taking out a loan to march drum corps is not a good financial investment. If you can't pay for it, then it seems the decision is already made.

Furthermore, there are many senior corps that mostly rehearse and tour on the weekends during the summer. Tuition is usually much cheaper than DCI corps. It is well within the realm of reason to get a part-time job in the summer and march with a senior corps on the weekends. Work and practice "sit-down tuba" during the week, march during the weekends.

[Jerryleejr]

Without reading the responses Do DCI... I had the chance and didn't, I was able to come back for an alumni performance but would have loved to have had the full experience. You can always catch up, and who knows the experience gained may prove useful...

JJ

[FarahShazam]

Go be a drum corps person.

This. Go to the school where people are gainfully employed at graduation. Because that’s where you learn the technique of Job Getting. No matter your major. Best thing I ever did was go to a college that was putting people into jobs.

But, geeze, please do drum corps. You’ll always remember this. (Didn’t do drum corps but have plenty of friends who did who LOVED IT)

As for funding: there are smaller drum corps that give out scholarships/free. It’s possible to roll a tuba purchase through student loans. I’m not advocating for or against. I know of one person who HAD to do this and it worked out quite well.

[Leto Cruise]

If you want to be a performance major, be a performance major. Lots of jaded guys here will tell you pursuing a music degree isn’t worth it. Might ruffle some feathers but in all honesty these are the guys who gave up too soon. The guys winning jobs aren’t on here. They’re working their *** off pursuing that dream and not talking about it. Best wishes to you.

[Leland]

Go march.

It's also VERY late in the audition season. Which corps still have open spots? Are you going to march the same corps that you did last year?

I marched for six, aged out, taught for three, did college, then got paid. Nobody says you have to be on the same timeline.

(and the 2002 Si in my avatar was what I bought when I finally got paid to play!)

[Watchman]

these are the guys who gave up too soon.

At what point is it "acceptable" to give up? I mean, there's always another audition, so maybe "never" is the correct answer?

I know a guy who's been taking auditions over twenty years, never even advancing out of the first round, who adamantly believes he's going to have an orchestra job one day. He's made some incredible financial and personal sacrifices in the pursuit of this thing that is probably never going to happen. Is this person a heroic or tragic figure?

Now I'm going to tell you about another guy. This guy made the semi finals and finals of auditions all the time. He was always in the mix for a job, but never got offered one. Finally, one day, he's thirty two years old, divorced, living in his mom's basement, and he up and decides to drop it cold turkey. Everybody in his circle is a little horrified. I mean, this guy was so good we thought. In the end though, the fear of becoming guy number one was too much for him to handle. Did he quit too soon? I still talk to him, and he seems to be doing way better now, but man.... he could really play!

Anyway, modern society kind of conditions us to believe the only kind of success that really matters is career success. What we are in our job becomes a part of our identity. For some, it IS their identity. They wouldn't know what to do without it.

What some of us "jaded" guys come to realize is that there is way more to life than playing on an expensive piece of plumbing in the back of an orchestra. It's a fine dream to have, but one that comes with considerable sacrifice.

Is it worth it? You need to decide. Don't just imagine a best case scenario though. For every Carol Jantsch, there's about a hundred people like the ones in my story. You could very easily pursue it for 15, 20, 30 years and come up with zilch. If you did that, it's not like you can push the reset button and start over again at eighteen years old.

So, by all means, be a performance major. However, know going into it that there's an EXTREMELY HIGH RISK of failure, even if you are really good. Not a decision to be taken lightly.

[timothy42b]

I've said this before but it bears repeating.

Don't make life decisions without reading this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Soulc ... 0143117467" target="_blank

Seriously.

There's another pattern not yet mentioned that many of us here follow: enjoy music while we're young - including things like a summer at DCI, band camp, cruise ship, circus -well those gigs are gone, but you see what I mean. Then essentially drop it for a decade or two while we start a nonmusic career, raise a family, etc. Then as we're more settled and start to have more time, take up our instrument again with a new mindset. As an avocational musician our activities are rewarding with much less stress.

Your plan to do DCI this summer fits that approach. It doesn't fit your goal of becoming a professional performer. I've never had that goal so I can't help you with how, but my sense is you can't do both.