Summer Drum Corps - Harmful?

[tubaguy9]

Question for the Corps guys:

Why do you have to use those over-the-shoulder contrabasses? Is it for looks and to be 'uniform'? I have always wondered about that. Sousaphones just seem to be a much more comfortable and logical choice for marching & playing. They sound better too.

It has very much to do with tradition. Trust me, Wade could amaze you with his drum corps history...and honestly, your opinion is that sousas are more comfortable and more logical, with a better sound, but I would disagree greatly. Sure, great sousas might sound better but there are very few of those out there, IMO. There is a different sound from the marching tubas than sousaphones, but it's not nessicarily a worse sound. Plus, it is much easier to blat on a sousa than a marching tuba.

[tubainty]

If a student is trying to decide what to do with their summer and is trying to decide between drum corps and something like tanglewood/aspen/chautaqua/etc. I don't think there is any question which is going to be more positive for their playing!!

I disagree. While a "big name" professional tuba player and other credits like that would certainly be extremely helpful, I would never make such an absolute statement. A good teacher and good colleagues do not make someone a better player. The improvement comes from within the player. If someone is really passionate about drum corps, loves being a part of one, and puts the work in to be the best player they can be, who is to say that it is an inferior experience than a music festival?

This post really got me thinking, I'm still un sure of what I want to do musically this summer. I have been to summer festivals but never participated in any kind of quality marching experience. I know people who have been in quality marching groups (school bands and DCI) and they haven't been as good of players as the people that were my colleagues at summer festivals and camps and things. Is this purely coincidental or is there some reason for this? Has anyone on this board been to both a summer camp/festival such as Interlochen, twood, emf, aspen etc. and something like DCI? How do they compare.

It seems, from youtube videos that I've watched and things that I've read, that DCI groups are very good and seem to be a lot of fun but would I advance as a player as much or more doing that this summer or would going to play with orchestras at summer festivals and camps be a better idea (as I have been doing the past several years). Keep in mind that I do intend to be a music performance major once I graduate in 2011.

All advice welcome,
Davis

[glangfur]

Davis,

I never did drum corps but I've had several friends that did, and I've never heard anybody say they regretted it or wished they had done something different with their summers. My impression from the outside is that the mental and physical discipline cultivated in excellent drum corps are fantastic tools for life, regardless of what professional field you go into.

There are some fantastic orchestral brass players who did drum corps and loved the experience. The most prominent I know are Chris Martin, principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony, his younger brother Michael, who is currently acting 4th trumpet in the Boston Symphony, and Mike Roylance, principal tuba of the Boston Symphony. I'm sure there are many more.

If you are going to do it, I would recommend doing some research and setting your sights on a corps that prioritizes music heavily. The Carolina Crown, for example, is one of the newer corps, and they have made some of the older ones sit up and take notice by how well their horn lines play, with great sound, blend and intonation. They do this through innovative teaching techniques, using Smart Music a lot and emphasizing individual accountability. Their techniques are spreading through DCI to many other corps. I have a student who marched for the Crown this summer, and I couldn't be happier with the work he did under their guidance.