Did drum and bugle corps help improve your playing?

[Brad361]

[thefish1]

I was in Drum Corps in the 70's and then instructed for a few years. I believe that it helped me a great deal and made me a better all around player. In my opinion. The two guys from the group "Chicago" were both in Drum Corps, the trumpet and the trombone player. And they seem to play very good. We were much better then any Marching Band, but Marching Band did also help me as a horn player. And we were a top 20 D.C.I. Corps.
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[jmock]

Which corps? And thank you all for the good discussion.

I had a college friend whose primary instrument was violin, but he made the Cadets of Bergen County soprano section circa 1989. Under their instruction his high range increased an octave in a couple months, to usable high G an octave above the staff, and he was being considered for solos.

Pity I lost touch with him as part of the progression from PSU Altoona to University Park...never found out how his season went or if he was still there for the DCI championship title in 1990. His name is Jon Louthian.

Yes, if you have any talent they will find a way to get it out of you.

John
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Kanstul 1500
GR WB Classic mouthpiece

[blownchops]

I did a few years of modern (aged out in 2018) DCI drum corps. My last years were with top tier level corps.

I got a lot better each year, some of that comes from playing 8 hours a day, some of that comes from the exercises we would do and the demands of our show music.

Barring the occasional intern that was a college music major, every music tech I had in my DCI times were qualified, listened and practicing music educators or performer. I had high/middle school band directors, collegiate professors and symphony pros as my musical instructors.

I gained a ton of marching band instructor positions just from having marched corps and my time in the higher levels of DCI was a big factor that got me hired for my first band director job. I made a ton of connections through drum corps that have been really beneficial through my life. I can show my current students my GoPro camera runs and get them excited and show them what they could accomplish, with practice.

In terms of the level of musicianship in DCI, whoever you were talking to has no idea. The level of talent is insane. Many marching members are incredible players. Several of the people I marched with are now full time pros or getting masters and doctorates to become colligate professors. The idea that DCI is just a bunch of people that cant play out there hacking is entirely laughable.

Beyond all of that, my time marching was a blast. I would not trade it for the world.

Ill leave with this little story,
when I auditioned at the university I attended, I asked my future prof about how he felt about his students marching DCI, since I knew he was not a big fan of the activity. I had just got my contract for a multiple time world champion corps and his opinion on his students marching had a big impact on whether I went to school there or not.

He said
"Well, nobody I know has come back worse. Go have fun."
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Bach 37

[James Becker]

My experience is old school, starting in 1972, between 7th and 8th grade. Admittedly, I was a mediocre cornet player when my sister dragged me to a rehearsal. With the amount of playing over that summer I returned to school band a much stronger player.

Though the years I received instruction from some veteran staff that marched in such notable corps as Chicago Royalaires, Phantom Regiment, Madison Scouts, Minnesota Brass, Boston Crusaders and others. Back then, previous music experience was not a prerequisite, but that was quickly changing. Marching bands were just starting to adopt "corps style" marching and programing, especially drumming.

Fast forward, the great majority of players today are band musicians, even music majors with an eye toward music education. Brass arrangers and instructors reads like a who's, from the likes of Boston Symphony, the MET, and Boston Brass Quintet to name a few.
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James Becker
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[jmock]

Thank you for the stories and comments. Again, I'm just trying to teach a snobby player who clearly had a bad experience in high school band that not all marching units play as badly as he clearly remembers. I really appreciate the comments and stories. It's all good ammunition. I'm trying to resist the urge to throw it back in his face, but he might listen when I tell him that Wayne marched Diplomats and other folks have had a nice career as a result of their experiences.

I KNOW DCI offers top level instruction. I've stood 20 feet from their horn lines at DCI East in Allentown during pre-show warmups (but that was 30 years ago) and I was amazed THEN.

What isn't being mentioned yet is that today's senior corps are SO much better than back then. I saw the Hawthorne Caballeros a couple years ago at DCA Championships in Williamsport, PA (for the first time I've seen them since about 1988), and their hornline was so clean and yet still so exciting. I was astonished at the level of improvement from all those years ago. They only finished 6th, but I thought they were the best of the night in terms of still having the excitement of the old days (I know ditching the G-F bugles probably helped intonation), and they had real power like what I used to remember from Madison Scouts and Blue Devils when you practically felt the air move. Also it helped that I did not really "get" the convoluted show concept of the corps above them, but felt like I could still relate to the Caballeros, that not everything had changed.

I have vivid memories of the 1984 and 1985 Caballeros UNDEFEATED seasons. I saw them often then, and they kicked our butts...we didn't even make finals...I love those old hornlines; the recordings (both SR and JR corps) are burned into my head, but I would take that 2019 Hawthorne hornline any day, now. I am sure that even marching in a senior corps today would be quite an education for anyone not willing or able to make the entire summer commitment to sleeping on gym floors or a bus in the DCI circuit.

John
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Kanstul 1500
GR WB Classic mouthpiece

[JayKosta]

[jmock]

Sorry Jay, but I was not able to discern which group was more appropriate to ask the question than this one.

John
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Kanstul 1500
GR WB Classic mouthpiece