So, one of my contributions to the resurrection of the Archbishop Ryan Marching Band has been a Leadership Workshop series that I've led now for the past two years. I firmly believe that for a band to gain success and maintain it over the long term, you must invest in student leadership.
Personally, I can't stand the George Parks Drum Major Academy. I attended it as a student and got very little out of it. Sure, it's fine for the typical band geek drum major who needs to be a cheerleader for their band...but it didn't teach me how to be a good drum major for MY band. If I wanted to learn how to toss a mace or conduct like a robot or win a march off (biggest waste of time ever) or get turned down when I asked girls out...then the DMA would have been perfect. I, however, conducted with a baton. I wanted to learn to be a good and effective leader. I wanted to be treated like the ambitious young man that I was....not a kid on some sort of summer band camp trip.
I absolutely didn't want the kids from Ryan to have to attend this, so I created my own thing. I figure that I've been a drum major for 10 years...1/3rd of my LIFE. I should know something about it.
...and so the Leadership Workshop was born. I truly feel that our investment in time and resources in order to build a stable, enthusiastic, and powerful leadership corps at Ryan has been the single biggest factor in our rise from the cellar to the (near) top of the competitive mountain in our circuit.
We wrapped up our workshop last night, and it was great to see the students' brains melting while trying to conduct. It's fun to watch them in small groups developing team-building exercises and solutions to discipline problems. I especially enjoyed watching them act like dogs and elephants in our little "acting exercise" to help them break out of their shells. Silly? Yep. But how can you be an effective leader without a sense of humor...especially about yourself?
There were video sessions, lectures, group work and discussion, command calling, saluting 101, conducting, etc. We require all students auditioning for any officer position to conduct in their audition. This includes color guard positions. It's fun to watch them start to understand what conducting is all about, and how it can help them on the field. I always wished that someone had explained it to me when I was a freshman.
"Okay, Chris...so there are 4 beats in a measure right? Right. Now, on odd number beats you'll be on your left foot, and on even number beats you'll be on your right foot. Got it? Good. Now, the drum major gives you all of that in his pattern: down, in, out, up. On down and out, you're on your left, on in and up you're on your right. Got it? Good."
Easy as pie. Now I have half the band understanding that concept, including color guard, and they'll help the younger members get it. I also want to make the point that I can get anyone to conduct....and conducting has NOTHING to do with what it takes to be a good drum major. Drum major auditions that require the candidate to stand in front of the band and conduct the Star Spangled Banner or anything like that is completely missing the point. Anyone can work hard enough to develop a readable, good, solid conducting pattern. We want good, moral leaders who possess the developed leadership qualities that not everyone has. We can help them with that, but I can't make them care enough or be selfless enough or learn how to roll with the punches and take the kind of abuse that a drum major takes over the course of the season. I can teach them ABOUT it and give them pointers on how to deal with all of the BS...but it takes a very special kind of person to stand up there and have the entire program rest on their shoulders.
Some schools don't need or want drum majors like that. Many schools put very little responsibility on the shoulders of their leaders. We're a little different, I guess. I expect the world from my leaders. I want them to feel the pressure of knowing that if they don't do their job, the entire band will suffer. Life is full of pressure like that, and that's an important lesson that is lost on many children today. They grow up so sheltered in many ways, and overexposed to things in other ways. Band is a great way to teach them important life lessons, how to deal with it, how to make moral decisions for the betterment of the group...not always for the individual. It's the ultimate team sport.
So...what we've been able to develop at Ryan is a generation of leaders who have taken it upon themselves to change the culture and climate of the organization from negative to positive. They have taken the group from 14th to 2nd in a year through will and action. We, the staff, have facilitated it...but without the action of our trained and motivated leadership taking OWNERSHIP of the band, we may not have a marching band any more.
They understand that, too...and it's becoming quite the honor to hold an officer position. The sense of entitlement that many students have is left at the door when they come to rehearsal. Here you have to earn everything...every point, every great moment in the show. They have exceeded our expectations, and we have rewarded them with an even harder show. The decision to perform Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and Firebird Suite was not made lightly...and would have never been made if we didn't have complete faith that the leaders in our band would take the massive responsibilities that a show like this requires of the performers, and run with it. We know that we will teach the show once...and they will then practice at home so we can rehearse it at school. If that happens, this will be a show for the ages, and something they will truly be proud of.
We could have given them an easy show that we know they would have competitive success with (i.e. last year's Italian Opera show). OR...we could challenge them and actually teach them how to play in multi-meters, strange key signatures, modal passages, rhythmic and violent movements. Yeah...I like the second option.
If you never challenge them, they will never succeed. I think high school students are amazing as far as their energy and ability to thing and process information. Most students are rarely challenged in class or anywhere else in their life. Our band is where they can come to be challenged...to feel a sense of ownership in the organization...to work with a team to accomplish some pretty amazing things. Hopefully they take these lessons with them when they leave.
Now...we're off into officer auditions for the next two weeks. This will be interesting and hard with so many good, qualified, and motivated candidates.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
The latest
Well, it seems that there are people out there actually reading this blog! I skipped a week, and I had quite a few people asking what happened! I apologize for the missing week, but it was necessary.
I've been looking for a new job for quite some time. I enjoy where I work and I like what I do...but I make crap money doing it, and have since I started. A few weeks back I got a call from a technical staffing agency seeing if I wanted to interview for a position as a business analyst with a healthcare company. I'd basically be doing the same thing I'm doing now, but for about 10K a year more money. Um...OK! So, I interviewed last week and got the job!!! I submitted my letter of resignation immediately, and I spent the rest of the week transitioning my duties and accounts that I work on...SO, I was really busy and unable to get a few moments to jot down my thoughts on last weekend.
I start the new job on July 5th. I'm looking forward to the new challenge, and the increase in salary. Now, maybe my fiancé' and I can start saving money and go on a nice honeymoon.
So, a lot has happened in the last two weeks in drum corps. We finished the show last weekend, which is great for us. We've gone out with the entire production completed for the first competition maybe once in the time that I've been there. On top of that, the guard has work for the entire show. Some of it is changing, but every count of the show is currently covered with work. That's amazing. This past Sunday we did our run-through in uniform tops and hats, and it was messy, but readable...for the most part. I think some people freaked out when they couldn't recognize the people around them. That usually happens. I wish some of my fellow members dealt with adversity a little better, but there really isn't anything I can do about that.
...and that's been the theme of my season so far. It's like the prayer: "Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
There are plenty of things that I have the ability to change and have an effect on with this drum corps, but there are even more aspects of the corps that are completely out of my control. I cannot force someone to show up to rehearsal. I cannot make someone care. I cannot learn someone's music for them or make them learn it.
I can inspire them (or try to); I can try to keep hot, intense rehearsals positive and productive. I can be prepared. Etc, etc.
This is kind of a new perspective on things for me, and it's something that I've been doing a lot of personal work on for some time. I swear that I have ulcers from this drum corps...I'm so passionate about it and I care about it and the members in it so much, that I have had a tendency to get a little "worked up" on occasion. :) I guess if caring too much is a fault, I'm guilty as charged and should be hauled away.
So, if it seems as though I'm not as emotional as I've been, it's not because I care less. I'm just trying to focus my energies in the areas that I am able to help, instead of worrying about all of the things I can't change.
Back to the drum corps...we found ourselves another drum major, which is a huge relief. Emily Fleck marched 3 years with the Crossmen, one of which as their ADM...so she has experience, albeit junior corps experience, which is most definitely different than DCA experience. She "gets it", though, and that's REALLY hard to find. Being a drum major is not an easy, nor is it an incredibly exciting job 90% of the time. You spend a lot of time standing around searching for ways to help, things to do, etc. You spend a lot of time "running the bok" (another name for the famous "Dr. Beat" and "Long Ranger" combo), and generally staying in the background. This is especially true if you're not the head DM. It's even MORE especially true if you're a rookie who is not the head DM! I know...that was me in 1996 as a 19 year old rookie ADM for Laurie Nielsen-Hall. You feel like an outsider. You feel like you're not really contributing sometimes. You feel lonely and a little nervous to screw something up. She gets all that, and knows the game...and knows how to enjoy being a drum major. That's important, and as I said...really hard to find. She'll have no problems getting in there and getting her hands dirty with the corps, and I'm really, really glad to have someone I can trust on the backfield and side field podiums. She's not someone I'm going to have to baby-sit or worry about or build from the ground up, like some other drum majors I've worked with. I'm glad she's here, and I'm looking forward to a summer of being badass drum corps rock stars, which...if you've seen Bush DM's before...is how we roll.
So, with Emily in the mix, a lot of ensemble issues with the drill are beginning to clear up. It's important to have her on side A for parts 3 and 4 of the show, because the tubas are blind on their left side, and a lot of the drill for the last half of the show has them on that side of the field...virtually unable to see me. Part 4 is especially rough, because there is no battery percussion contribution for the first minute or so...and the tubas carry a lot of the burden of maintaining the tempo, due to the fact that they are the only consistent downbeat. So, being able to see a conductor there is paramount, and we now have that.
The weekend was pretty good in most respects. We picked up a few new horn players from NYC, which is nice. They all play well, which is also nice, and they all seem like polite, respectful young men who just want to play. Rides are becoming an issue for our large NYC contingent, but hopefully the drum corps is able to deal with that and make it easier for them to get where they need to go. It's part of the responsibility of recruiting from a city like NY where many people just don't bother with cars. This falls on the list of things I can't control, so I'm not worried about it. With a larger horn line, a nearly full drum line (1 tenor spot open that will be filled this coming weekend), a huge guard with one opening, and a pit that is getting better every weekend...it was an impressive looking drum corps for most of the weekend.
The dress run-through was better than any chunk of show we ran during ensemble rehearsals all weekend. It was better than the standstill musical run through we did on Saturday night as well. It wasn't as loud or as clean, due to the fact that the corps received a pretty sound beating all weekend and was dead tired...but they held onto the tempos really well...and the show held together without any major hiccups. The communication between me and the battery improves every weekend, and we still have a way to go. The show is mind melting, as I've stated in early posts for reasons I've expanded on in other posts...but the corps is growing more and more confident with every rep. I'm excited to hit the field and start performing this in front of people...see how it flies.
It's difficult to retain perspective from one season to the next. For instance, I have no real idea how good or bad we were at the first show of last season...or the season before that...or before that. I don't know where we stand up against first show Bushwacker corps of the past, because I only really remember finals...where we ended up. Intellectually, I know that there were parts of the show last year that were a bag of crap at the first few shows...ditto with 2005 and every year before that. I know, intellectually, that our shows are always sloppy at the beginning of the season because of the level of difficulty that we program into our shows vs. that of our competitors. But I don't remember it. I can't hear or see it in my head...I can only tell myself these things. The thing with being a part of a DCA corps, and a talented one, is that we've all been there before (in one way or another), and most of us really understand the differences between dirty, readable, and clean...and we KNOW we're not clean! We WANT to be clean NOW, though...and that's just not going to happen this early in the season. This show is no walk in the park visually or musically...and the two put together...forget about it!
You have to keep things in perspective, though. We vets have to keep telling ourselves, each other, and our newer members that this is how it goes in Bushwacker-land, for many reasons:
1. We start out sloppy, but energetic...and energy and performance go a LONG way.
2. Two or three shows into the year, our scores jumps 5-8 points every weekend for a couple weeks.
3. We plateau for a week before August, as the last minute changes and bells and whistles are added to the show.
4. We surge in August and start knocking off corps one by one.
Every single year, like it or not, this is how it goes. Why? Many reasons. Our shows are flat out harder than nearly (if not all) of our competitors...but of course they'll tell you otherwise. :) ...and that's fine. Our shows are designed to peak at the end, not at the first show. It could also be for many other reasons...maybe we're not the most efficient rehearsing corps in the world. Maybe we learn slower, but retain better than some other corps. Maybe it's because we rarely ever go out early with a full drum corps. It's a lot of reasons and none of them bad. None of them I can control, so I do what I can to help get the corps to where it needs to be for show #1 and just take it one show at a time. We're only going to be as good as we're going to be, and ultimately that's up to every single member and staff member to decide individually....because we all have a hand in it.
This coming weekend in Bridgeport, we're going to go out there and there will be people who don't know much drill at all, probably standing at parade rest on the sideline for most of the show. That's fine, because they're going to get in there and they're going to help us succeed. There will be people out there marching who are not completely confident in their drill, work, music, etc. In fact, I will venture to guess that every member on the field will have at least one moment of doubt during the course of the show. I will tell you, with absolute certainty, that every single member, including myself, will be tired as hell by the end of Part 3.
That is the moment where we will find out who the 2007 Bushwackers are...for better or worse. After Part 3 I will turn around to the audience and bow (because you WILL be clapping, because Part 3 is amazing!). In the span of those few seconds between songs, every member (including yours truly) is going to make a decision in their mind, whether they know it or not. The choices are simple:
Choice 1: I am exhausted, so I'm going to play it safe and the end of the show will be flat.
Choice 2: I am exhausted, but I am going to go balls to the wall for the next 3 minutes and give it everything I have and more.
So far, this drum corps has leaned more towards Choice 2 when faced with it. That was the case in the run through on Sunday evening. Last year's corps would have opted for Choice 1 more often than not...at least early on. This corps seems to be learning how to fight, even though I'm not sure they realized that they're fighting.
You learn a lot about yourself in drum corps. One of the most telling moments...a "look in the mirror" moment is when you've been beaten all day in rehearsal, you're hot, you're tired, you're in uniform in front of a stadium full of people, and you're 3 minutes from the end of an 11 minute show.
In that moment on Saturday, the real 2007 Bushwackers will reveal themselves....and if it's dirty as hell, but the corps goes for it...I'll take whatever placement we get, because it will tell me that down the road, this drum corps will not be denied...because we will out work you, out perform you, and we will fight for every point.
This weekend isn't Bush vs. Cabs and whoever else might be there. This is about Bush vs. Bush, and learning about who we really are as a drum corps. I'm very much looking forward to that moment. If you're in the crowd on Saturday night, you'll know exactly what is going through my head...and at the end of the show, you should be able to see it on my face what kind of an answer I got from the corps.
Go Bush.
I've been looking for a new job for quite some time. I enjoy where I work and I like what I do...but I make crap money doing it, and have since I started. A few weeks back I got a call from a technical staffing agency seeing if I wanted to interview for a position as a business analyst with a healthcare company. I'd basically be doing the same thing I'm doing now, but for about 10K a year more money. Um...OK! So, I interviewed last week and got the job!!! I submitted my letter of resignation immediately, and I spent the rest of the week transitioning my duties and accounts that I work on...SO, I was really busy and unable to get a few moments to jot down my thoughts on last weekend.
I start the new job on July 5th. I'm looking forward to the new challenge, and the increase in salary. Now, maybe my fiancé' and I can start saving money and go on a nice honeymoon.
So, a lot has happened in the last two weeks in drum corps. We finished the show last weekend, which is great for us. We've gone out with the entire production completed for the first competition maybe once in the time that I've been there. On top of that, the guard has work for the entire show. Some of it is changing, but every count of the show is currently covered with work. That's amazing. This past Sunday we did our run-through in uniform tops and hats, and it was messy, but readable...for the most part. I think some people freaked out when they couldn't recognize the people around them. That usually happens. I wish some of my fellow members dealt with adversity a little better, but there really isn't anything I can do about that.
...and that's been the theme of my season so far. It's like the prayer: "Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
There are plenty of things that I have the ability to change and have an effect on with this drum corps, but there are even more aspects of the corps that are completely out of my control. I cannot force someone to show up to rehearsal. I cannot make someone care. I cannot learn someone's music for them or make them learn it.
I can inspire them (or try to); I can try to keep hot, intense rehearsals positive and productive. I can be prepared. Etc, etc.
This is kind of a new perspective on things for me, and it's something that I've been doing a lot of personal work on for some time. I swear that I have ulcers from this drum corps...I'm so passionate about it and I care about it and the members in it so much, that I have had a tendency to get a little "worked up" on occasion. :) I guess if caring too much is a fault, I'm guilty as charged and should be hauled away.
So, if it seems as though I'm not as emotional as I've been, it's not because I care less. I'm just trying to focus my energies in the areas that I am able to help, instead of worrying about all of the things I can't change.
Back to the drum corps...we found ourselves another drum major, which is a huge relief. Emily Fleck marched 3 years with the Crossmen, one of which as their ADM...so she has experience, albeit junior corps experience, which is most definitely different than DCA experience. She "gets it", though, and that's REALLY hard to find. Being a drum major is not an easy, nor is it an incredibly exciting job 90% of the time. You spend a lot of time standing around searching for ways to help, things to do, etc. You spend a lot of time "running the bok" (another name for the famous "Dr. Beat" and "Long Ranger" combo), and generally staying in the background. This is especially true if you're not the head DM. It's even MORE especially true if you're a rookie who is not the head DM! I know...that was me in 1996 as a 19 year old rookie ADM for Laurie Nielsen-Hall. You feel like an outsider. You feel like you're not really contributing sometimes. You feel lonely and a little nervous to screw something up. She gets all that, and knows the game...and knows how to enjoy being a drum major. That's important, and as I said...really hard to find. She'll have no problems getting in there and getting her hands dirty with the corps, and I'm really, really glad to have someone I can trust on the backfield and side field podiums. She's not someone I'm going to have to baby-sit or worry about or build from the ground up, like some other drum majors I've worked with. I'm glad she's here, and I'm looking forward to a summer of being badass drum corps rock stars, which...if you've seen Bush DM's before...is how we roll.
So, with Emily in the mix, a lot of ensemble issues with the drill are beginning to clear up. It's important to have her on side A for parts 3 and 4 of the show, because the tubas are blind on their left side, and a lot of the drill for the last half of the show has them on that side of the field...virtually unable to see me. Part 4 is especially rough, because there is no battery percussion contribution for the first minute or so...and the tubas carry a lot of the burden of maintaining the tempo, due to the fact that they are the only consistent downbeat. So, being able to see a conductor there is paramount, and we now have that.
The weekend was pretty good in most respects. We picked up a few new horn players from NYC, which is nice. They all play well, which is also nice, and they all seem like polite, respectful young men who just want to play. Rides are becoming an issue for our large NYC contingent, but hopefully the drum corps is able to deal with that and make it easier for them to get where they need to go. It's part of the responsibility of recruiting from a city like NY where many people just don't bother with cars. This falls on the list of things I can't control, so I'm not worried about it. With a larger horn line, a nearly full drum line (1 tenor spot open that will be filled this coming weekend), a huge guard with one opening, and a pit that is getting better every weekend...it was an impressive looking drum corps for most of the weekend.
The dress run-through was better than any chunk of show we ran during ensemble rehearsals all weekend. It was better than the standstill musical run through we did on Saturday night as well. It wasn't as loud or as clean, due to the fact that the corps received a pretty sound beating all weekend and was dead tired...but they held onto the tempos really well...and the show held together without any major hiccups. The communication between me and the battery improves every weekend, and we still have a way to go. The show is mind melting, as I've stated in early posts for reasons I've expanded on in other posts...but the corps is growing more and more confident with every rep. I'm excited to hit the field and start performing this in front of people...see how it flies.
It's difficult to retain perspective from one season to the next. For instance, I have no real idea how good or bad we were at the first show of last season...or the season before that...or before that. I don't know where we stand up against first show Bushwacker corps of the past, because I only really remember finals...where we ended up. Intellectually, I know that there were parts of the show last year that were a bag of crap at the first few shows...ditto with 2005 and every year before that. I know, intellectually, that our shows are always sloppy at the beginning of the season because of the level of difficulty that we program into our shows vs. that of our competitors. But I don't remember it. I can't hear or see it in my head...I can only tell myself these things. The thing with being a part of a DCA corps, and a talented one, is that we've all been there before (in one way or another), and most of us really understand the differences between dirty, readable, and clean...and we KNOW we're not clean! We WANT to be clean NOW, though...and that's just not going to happen this early in the season. This show is no walk in the park visually or musically...and the two put together...forget about it!
You have to keep things in perspective, though. We vets have to keep telling ourselves, each other, and our newer members that this is how it goes in Bushwacker-land, for many reasons:
1. We start out sloppy, but energetic...and energy and performance go a LONG way.
2. Two or three shows into the year, our scores jumps 5-8 points every weekend for a couple weeks.
3. We plateau for a week before August, as the last minute changes and bells and whistles are added to the show.
4. We surge in August and start knocking off corps one by one.
Every single year, like it or not, this is how it goes. Why? Many reasons. Our shows are flat out harder than nearly (if not all) of our competitors...but of course they'll tell you otherwise. :) ...and that's fine. Our shows are designed to peak at the end, not at the first show. It could also be for many other reasons...maybe we're not the most efficient rehearsing corps in the world. Maybe we learn slower, but retain better than some other corps. Maybe it's because we rarely ever go out early with a full drum corps. It's a lot of reasons and none of them bad. None of them I can control, so I do what I can to help get the corps to where it needs to be for show #1 and just take it one show at a time. We're only going to be as good as we're going to be, and ultimately that's up to every single member and staff member to decide individually....because we all have a hand in it.
This coming weekend in Bridgeport, we're going to go out there and there will be people who don't know much drill at all, probably standing at parade rest on the sideline for most of the show. That's fine, because they're going to get in there and they're going to help us succeed. There will be people out there marching who are not completely confident in their drill, work, music, etc. In fact, I will venture to guess that every member on the field will have at least one moment of doubt during the course of the show. I will tell you, with absolute certainty, that every single member, including myself, will be tired as hell by the end of Part 3.
That is the moment where we will find out who the 2007 Bushwackers are...for better or worse. After Part 3 I will turn around to the audience and bow (because you WILL be clapping, because Part 3 is amazing!). In the span of those few seconds between songs, every member (including yours truly) is going to make a decision in their mind, whether they know it or not. The choices are simple:
Choice 1: I am exhausted, so I'm going to play it safe and the end of the show will be flat.
Choice 2: I am exhausted, but I am going to go balls to the wall for the next 3 minutes and give it everything I have and more.
So far, this drum corps has leaned more towards Choice 2 when faced with it. That was the case in the run through on Sunday evening. Last year's corps would have opted for Choice 1 more often than not...at least early on. This corps seems to be learning how to fight, even though I'm not sure they realized that they're fighting.
You learn a lot about yourself in drum corps. One of the most telling moments...a "look in the mirror" moment is when you've been beaten all day in rehearsal, you're hot, you're tired, you're in uniform in front of a stadium full of people, and you're 3 minutes from the end of an 11 minute show.
In that moment on Saturday, the real 2007 Bushwackers will reveal themselves....and if it's dirty as hell, but the corps goes for it...I'll take whatever placement we get, because it will tell me that down the road, this drum corps will not be denied...because we will out work you, out perform you, and we will fight for every point.
This weekend isn't Bush vs. Cabs and whoever else might be there. This is about Bush vs. Bush, and learning about who we really are as a drum corps. I'm very much looking forward to that moment. If you're in the crowd on Saturday night, you'll know exactly what is going through my head...and at the end of the show, you should be able to see it on my face what kind of an answer I got from the corps.
Go Bush.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Lectures
There are few things I have discovered about myself over the years, as I'm sure you can imagine.
One thing that's for sure, I HATE being lectured. I like conversation and debate...I hate someone telling me what I should do, feel, think, etc.
Rules are rules and all that, and if I break a rule I expect to be told how it is. Folks who think their opinion is the rule, though...that's rude and small minded. There are two people in my life who do this constantly. Honestly, I have no room for it.
Future or current drum majors of the world...try not to lecture. Uphold the standards of your organization and hold people accountable for following the rules...but don't lecture unless it's absolutely necessary.
One thing that's for sure, I HATE being lectured. I like conversation and debate...I hate someone telling me what I should do, feel, think, etc.
Rules are rules and all that, and if I break a rule I expect to be told how it is. Folks who think their opinion is the rule, though...that's rude and small minded. There are two people in my life who do this constantly. Honestly, I have no room for it.
Future or current drum majors of the world...try not to lecture. Uphold the standards of your organization and hold people accountable for following the rules...but don't lecture unless it's absolutely necessary.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Good weekend.
Yeah, it was a pretty good weekend for the Bushwackers. The usual "trials and tribulations" aside, the corps is progressing nicely, and the show is really going to bring the house down.
Part 3 in our show, "Great Lover/Times Square" is some of the most challenging music we've probably ever done in a lot of ways. It's not so much the amount of notes, but the control and maturity needed to pull off the complex layering and voicing. It's pretty well written, although in very strange time signatures. For instance, instead of being in 2/4 or 4/4, it's in cut time (which right away makes most non-musician drum corps type's heads explode)...so everything is twice as fast. Then, for fun, bars of 2/4 and 3/4 are thrown in.
What this basically means is that the quarter notes in the 2/4 and 3/4 are REALLY fast, and basically equivalent to the 8th note in cut time. That means that the 2/4 bar is counted like a 1/4 bar and the 3/4 is counted like 3/8. FUN!
For the purposes of this example, C = cut time while + equals "and":
C, 2/4, C, 3/4 becomes, in effect a bar of 4/4 and a bar of 5/8.
or subdivided as 1+, 2+, 3+, 4+, 5+, 6+a (triplet feel)
Very strange...and the 3/4 bars keep moving around in the phrasing, so it's hard to paternize (not a real word, but it means take all of these time changes and turn them into conducting patterns that can be read easily by the members) the whole thing, which is what I have to do. During this part of the show, a trumpet quartet plays a fun phrase with the above C, 2/4, C, 3/4 pattern, answered by the snares in a differently counted phrase. Next, the low brass plays a similar lick to the trumpet quartet, followed by a completely different phrase by the basses, cymbals, and tenors...counted like two 7/8 bars. Then all hell breaks lose.
It's very difficult for everyone, especially when I'm still having some issues with the end and I'm not completely able to give the kind of cues and huge downbeats that everyone is used to getting from me for entrances. Everyone is on the hook for counting and being right. It's a little scary, but fun. It's like "extreme drum corps"...but like everything else, we'll beat the crap out of it and own it. There will be no questions...it will just happen, and it will never tear.
We did a parade this weekend as well, which was fine. Generally, I hate parades. It's not the marching in them that I hate, but the entire concept...but the crowd was very nice and very appreciative. It was also short, so Milburn gets an A+ in my book for parades!
The rest of the weekend was an internal battle within myself. In addition to being the drum major, I'm also on the brass and visual staffs for the drum corps. That's all well and good, and I like being useful all of the time...however I need to be everywhere at once, and I am constantly faced with the decision as to whether or not I should, for instance, go with the drum line during sectionals because that's what a good drum major SHOULD do, or do I go with the brass and teach. When Joe Exley (caption head) isn't there, it's a no brainer. I'm with the brass breaking things down and getting results. When he is there, I feel the pull to be a good drum major and do what I need to do to get myself and my fellow members ready to perform.
And here is another lesson that all drum majors should learn. You should spend FAR much more time with the drum line than with the horn line. Why? Who's the pulse on the field? Who is the engine driving the tempo? The battery...not the horns. As a drum major, you should know the percussion music better than you know the wind book. You need to develop a rapport with the drummers and become one of them, whether or not you can actually play their instruments.
A lot of this goes back to the issues of trust and how to keep an ensemble together that I've dealt with in previous posts. So, consequently, I'm always caught between being a good drum major and being a good staff member. Drum major always wins out, especially at this point in the season, because I need to be the ROCK for this corps...I need to be the man, the guy everyone trusts during the course of a show. When they turn from backfield to front field, they need to know that I'm right. When they can't hear the battery on the field and are having issues staying in time...they need to know that, even though it may SOUND wrong to them on the field, that if they follow me all of the sound will come together up front (where it counts!). That's what the job is all about, and with a show as hard as this one, I certainly cannot neglect my drum majorly duties.
That being said, I've been working really hard to take a bit of a different approach as the drum major of this corps. When I'm teaching I am a very patient, fun loving, happy individual who wants to pull the best of you out of you all of the time. When I'm drum major, I'm an intense, competitive machine who doesn't tolerate any BS. At this point in my life, and at this point in the development of my drum corps, I don't think the latter is the kind of man this corps needs on the podium. Do I think that I need to keep holding people accountable? Yes, absolutely...but do I need to scream and yell to make it happen? Probably not.
I don't know...it's a risk. I've been one way for a long time, and it can take new people a long time to get used to me. As much hell as I'll give you for blowing a rep because of a mental error or talking, I'll get just as much fired up when you nail a rep and give me some real drum corps and some real effort. In the early season, though...there isn't much good drum corps to go around. It's rough, it's raw, and I expect finals effort ALL THE TIME. I don't think that's unreasonable...however, I now think that I need to view my role as drum major the same as I view my role as an educator. I need to be patient. I need to have fun with it, while still expecting 100% effort from the members. I need to make them want to succeed, not fear failure.
...and it's not disingenuous. I really mean it, and I really feel that way. It's not some ploy to screw with the minds of the members and trick them into getting better. It's just that I'm older, I'm wiser, and I've been in the activity since 1991. I've seen every educational approach imaginable, and I have a real good sense as to what works, and what doesn't.
As drum major in high school, I rarely yelled...by design. When the officers were assigned, we all met and I assigned roles. Matt Pfieffer, the band captain, was the designated A-hole. It was his job to yell and keep people in line, while I remained positive and full of hype. It was REALLY effective when I did have to yell, because I never did it. People listened, and we had a lot of success, even if Matt Pfieffer wasn't real popular that year. :)
At Bush, it's a different dynamic. I came in as a 19 year old rookie assistant drum major. I was younger than 3/4ths of the drum corps! Yelling didn't fly. As I got older and the corps got MUCH younger (our average age has loomed in the low 20s for years now), I had to be more demonstrative. I had to grab them by the lips and try to will them into submission. Really, all that resulted in was some lonely moments for me, and a lot of confused members. They respected me as a conductor and they drew from my raw energy during the course of a show...but so few had any real desire to get very close to me.
So, now it's time to try a different road. I'm more mature now, and I want people to believe in this drum corps the way that I do. I want them to feel the passion and the adrenaline that I do. I want them to find their inner raging competitive selves and explore that darker side that some of us are afraid to let loose. I want them to have fun, and I want them to want to connect with me. I want to be more accessible, because while I'm the drum major and the leader of the corps...I am a member, just like them. A cog in the machine. A rock on a mountain.
So we'll see how it goes, and if you're a young kid getting ready to assume the podium at your high school...or aspiring to someday...take the sage advice of this aging major. Every member of the group has their role. Some play trumpet, some spin flag, some hit drums...some conduct. Know your role, and respect your fellow members. You don’t become a leader because your director gives you the title of drum major. You become a leader when people want to follow you.
Part 3 in our show, "Great Lover/Times Square" is some of the most challenging music we've probably ever done in a lot of ways. It's not so much the amount of notes, but the control and maturity needed to pull off the complex layering and voicing. It's pretty well written, although in very strange time signatures. For instance, instead of being in 2/4 or 4/4, it's in cut time (which right away makes most non-musician drum corps type's heads explode)...so everything is twice as fast. Then, for fun, bars of 2/4 and 3/4 are thrown in.
What this basically means is that the quarter notes in the 2/4 and 3/4 are REALLY fast, and basically equivalent to the 8th note in cut time. That means that the 2/4 bar is counted like a 1/4 bar and the 3/4 is counted like 3/8. FUN!
For the purposes of this example, C = cut time while + equals "and":
C, 2/4, C, 3/4 becomes, in effect a bar of 4/4 and a bar of 5/8.
or subdivided as 1+, 2+, 3+, 4+, 5+, 6+a (triplet feel)
Very strange...and the 3/4 bars keep moving around in the phrasing, so it's hard to paternize (not a real word, but it means take all of these time changes and turn them into conducting patterns that can be read easily by the members) the whole thing, which is what I have to do. During this part of the show, a trumpet quartet plays a fun phrase with the above C, 2/4, C, 3/4 pattern, answered by the snares in a differently counted phrase. Next, the low brass plays a similar lick to the trumpet quartet, followed by a completely different phrase by the basses, cymbals, and tenors...counted like two 7/8 bars. Then all hell breaks lose.
It's very difficult for everyone, especially when I'm still having some issues with the end and I'm not completely able to give the kind of cues and huge downbeats that everyone is used to getting from me for entrances. Everyone is on the hook for counting and being right. It's a little scary, but fun. It's like "extreme drum corps"...but like everything else, we'll beat the crap out of it and own it. There will be no questions...it will just happen, and it will never tear.
We did a parade this weekend as well, which was fine. Generally, I hate parades. It's not the marching in them that I hate, but the entire concept...but the crowd was very nice and very appreciative. It was also short, so Milburn gets an A+ in my book for parades!
The rest of the weekend was an internal battle within myself. In addition to being the drum major, I'm also on the brass and visual staffs for the drum corps. That's all well and good, and I like being useful all of the time...however I need to be everywhere at once, and I am constantly faced with the decision as to whether or not I should, for instance, go with the drum line during sectionals because that's what a good drum major SHOULD do, or do I go with the brass and teach. When Joe Exley (caption head) isn't there, it's a no brainer. I'm with the brass breaking things down and getting results. When he is there, I feel the pull to be a good drum major and do what I need to do to get myself and my fellow members ready to perform.
And here is another lesson that all drum majors should learn. You should spend FAR much more time with the drum line than with the horn line. Why? Who's the pulse on the field? Who is the engine driving the tempo? The battery...not the horns. As a drum major, you should know the percussion music better than you know the wind book. You need to develop a rapport with the drummers and become one of them, whether or not you can actually play their instruments.
A lot of this goes back to the issues of trust and how to keep an ensemble together that I've dealt with in previous posts. So, consequently, I'm always caught between being a good drum major and being a good staff member. Drum major always wins out, especially at this point in the season, because I need to be the ROCK for this corps...I need to be the man, the guy everyone trusts during the course of a show. When they turn from backfield to front field, they need to know that I'm right. When they can't hear the battery on the field and are having issues staying in time...they need to know that, even though it may SOUND wrong to them on the field, that if they follow me all of the sound will come together up front (where it counts!). That's what the job is all about, and with a show as hard as this one, I certainly cannot neglect my drum majorly duties.
That being said, I've been working really hard to take a bit of a different approach as the drum major of this corps. When I'm teaching I am a very patient, fun loving, happy individual who wants to pull the best of you out of you all of the time. When I'm drum major, I'm an intense, competitive machine who doesn't tolerate any BS. At this point in my life, and at this point in the development of my drum corps, I don't think the latter is the kind of man this corps needs on the podium. Do I think that I need to keep holding people accountable? Yes, absolutely...but do I need to scream and yell to make it happen? Probably not.
I don't know...it's a risk. I've been one way for a long time, and it can take new people a long time to get used to me. As much hell as I'll give you for blowing a rep because of a mental error or talking, I'll get just as much fired up when you nail a rep and give me some real drum corps and some real effort. In the early season, though...there isn't much good drum corps to go around. It's rough, it's raw, and I expect finals effort ALL THE TIME. I don't think that's unreasonable...however, I now think that I need to view my role as drum major the same as I view my role as an educator. I need to be patient. I need to have fun with it, while still expecting 100% effort from the members. I need to make them want to succeed, not fear failure.
...and it's not disingenuous. I really mean it, and I really feel that way. It's not some ploy to screw with the minds of the members and trick them into getting better. It's just that I'm older, I'm wiser, and I've been in the activity since 1991. I've seen every educational approach imaginable, and I have a real good sense as to what works, and what doesn't.
As drum major in high school, I rarely yelled...by design. When the officers were assigned, we all met and I assigned roles. Matt Pfieffer, the band captain, was the designated A-hole. It was his job to yell and keep people in line, while I remained positive and full of hype. It was REALLY effective when I did have to yell, because I never did it. People listened, and we had a lot of success, even if Matt Pfieffer wasn't real popular that year. :)
At Bush, it's a different dynamic. I came in as a 19 year old rookie assistant drum major. I was younger than 3/4ths of the drum corps! Yelling didn't fly. As I got older and the corps got MUCH younger (our average age has loomed in the low 20s for years now), I had to be more demonstrative. I had to grab them by the lips and try to will them into submission. Really, all that resulted in was some lonely moments for me, and a lot of confused members. They respected me as a conductor and they drew from my raw energy during the course of a show...but so few had any real desire to get very close to me.
So, now it's time to try a different road. I'm more mature now, and I want people to believe in this drum corps the way that I do. I want them to feel the passion and the adrenaline that I do. I want them to find their inner raging competitive selves and explore that darker side that some of us are afraid to let loose. I want them to have fun, and I want them to want to connect with me. I want to be more accessible, because while I'm the drum major and the leader of the corps...I am a member, just like them. A cog in the machine. A rock on a mountain.
So we'll see how it goes, and if you're a young kid getting ready to assume the podium at your high school...or aspiring to someday...take the sage advice of this aging major. Every member of the group has their role. Some play trumpet, some spin flag, some hit drums...some conduct. Know your role, and respect your fellow members. You don’t become a leader because your director gives you the title of drum major. You become a leader when people want to follow you.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
JUNE = DRUM CORPS
That's right...
hot weather + parking lot + a sense of urgency = drum corps in June.
We're plugging away at the show, and it's going well. We're not finished, but we don't freak out about things like that at Bush. Some other drum corps are finished with their shows, but we're taking our time to do it right the first time. Plus, the show is pretty hard...and we're trying to plug people in as we go along. The goal is to not have to make any major changes once we get into the competition season (something we've had to do many of the years that I've been here)...so that's good.
I like the show so far. It's a good mixture of fast and slow, loud and soft, etc, etc. That's not to say that it's a show of opposites. Quite the contrary. Everything in the show compliments each other very well. The various elements appear to be well coordinated, although that's difficult to tell at this early stage. This year is so entirely different than most of my 12, mostly due to the new design team, so it's nice to have that freshness injected into things...and from a learning standpoint, I have a lot to draw from and a lot to learn from. As an arranger and a show designer myself, every year I try to learn what TO do and what NOT to do from the team at Bush, and it's worked out pretty well. I'm enjoying the new perspectives, and I'm learning plenty about the good, the bad, and the ugly of show design.
The guard is going to be good. They're chatty, but it's all the energy and excitement bubbling over. They truly seem to enjoy being there and doing this...so I try to not go crazy with the "Shhhh!" and "Be Quiet!" all the time. I want to get to know them, though. I spend so much time with the percussion and brass sections that I don't get to know the guard until later in the season. By that point, they probably just think I'm some jerk who yells a lot. I'd like to change that this year and get to know them earlier so they can think I'm not so much of a jerk who yells a lot...and then maybe they'll keep it down on the field. :)
The battery is really improved from last year. I was very happy when Bob Cizmarik was hired to run the line this year. We're friends from working together at Upper Darby, and I knew that his philosophy and way of doing things would go over well at Bush...after a transition period, of course. Well, it appears that the transition is nearly complete, and Bob has really started to make the Bush percussion section his own. He's passionate and he works fast...and he expects his members to be awake, alert, and on fire during rehearsal. Is there anything wrong with that? :) I guess it helps that most of the line is new this year, because there's not that usual push-back you get from vets held-over from a previous drum staff. It also means that we have 20 or 30 some odd percussionists who come from all different walks of life and all kinds of different programs who have this raging red-head imposing his will upon them. It's fun to watch, because instead of pushing back, the line really is trying for him and is making huge strides. They drum like men and women, and that's encouraging. They're not afraid of the drum. They're not afraid at all...they just drum. THAT is what it's all about.
There just isn't a place in drum corps for fear. Nerves? Okay. Butterflies in the tummy before a performance? Sure...absolutely. This activity is run on adrenaline, preparation, heart, and aggression. You have to live on the edge in drum corps. You have to push it. Drum corps is fun when everyone TRUSTS everyone else around them...everyone knows that if I play as LOUD as I can, that the dudes and dude-ettes next to me are going to do the same damn thing. If I'm told to break character here and rock out...even though I might feel a little silly, everyone else is selling it 100%. If I'm going to attack a tripplet roll played up to my eyeballs, I know that all my brothers and sisters are going to be subdividing with me and it's going to be clean...it HAS to be clean.
Fear + drum corps = last place. Trust me. I know.
So, anyway...it's nice to see the Bush percussion section starting to trust each other and just play drums and march around. The pit is going through a little bit of a transition that put them in a funk for a minute and a half, but they're coming out of it and really starting to hit their stride as well. Rock on.
The brass is going to be better than last year. Yes, last year's brass line won brass by a large margin, and won field brass by one of the largest spreads in the recorded history of the sub caption in ALL drum corps, not just DCA. They're going to be better. The book is harder, but the technique is what makes them what they are. It doesn't get a whole lot better than the program we have at the Bushwackers. With June comes hot weather and long days, and with this often comes drama. It never fails, and I've never heard of a drum corps that hasn't been bit with the drama bug. There are a lot of new people this year who need to learn how to be Bushwackers, and that will come. Some vets would like to see that happen now rather than later, but it's always a process. Everything is a process, and we all grow together BECAUSE of the process. If everyone walked through the doors knowing what it was to be a Bushwacker and how to act like a Bushwacker, and what is expected of a Bushwacker...then would it mean anything to be a Bushwacker? Anyone can wear the uniform and learn the show and call themselves Bushwackers...but it's going through the tribulations of the winter months wondering who is in and who is out, the arduous days of the early summer when you're putting the whole thing together and the occasional baritone player sleeps through his alarm, the bus breakdowns, the lack of showers before shows on only the hottest days of the summer, the lack of sleep, the frustration of wanting to be finished learning and onto cleaning, etc, etc, etc...it's ALL of these things that bond us together, these shared experiences and memories that are forever etched in our minds. For better or for worse, we're all here to kick ass and enjoy drum corps.
Perspective.
With all of that being said, I'm excited about getting on with the show this weekend. I'm excited that we've been picking up new members every single weekend. I'm excited to meet the new people who will show up this weekend. I'm excited to compete, and I'm excited to see how the summer plays out. "Live every day as if it is your last"...because this could very well be my last season as a Bushwacker, and I will not go quiet into that dark night.
I'm not saying I'm leaving...just that you never know what might be around the next corner.
The biggest thing, at this point in the season as the drum major...and really any pre-season (band, corps, whatever)...is developing trust. My members need to trust that no matter what happens on the field, that I am a rock and that I am right. They need to know that if everything crumbles around them, they just need to look up at the podium and I will put them on my shoulders and lead them. It's very difficult to explain how a drum major can hold an ensemble together. Sure, I could get into the physics of holding an ensemble together (speed of light vs. speed of sound, etc), but when push comes to shove and you have 8 tempos out on that field...you as a drum major just have to have it in you to pull it back together...to WILL it back together...to use your eyes to grab their attention, to throw down a pattern with a force that says "I AM YOUR DRUM MAJOR. I AM RIGHT."
Now normally, I don't believe that. There are many schools of thought regarding field conducting, and the one that I subscribe to is that the drum line (as long as they are the obvious pulse pocket on the field), is the true conductor. They are the engine, and the major is a reflection of that...in perfect synchronization with it. Sometimes the major is with the sound of the line, sometimes the major's hands are with the feet of the line...drill depending. All in all, I feel that the drum major and the center snare need to be best buds. They need to exist as one on the field. The rest of the ensemble watches the major and/or listens to the battery, depending on where they are in the drill. It usually works.
In the event of a major ensemble tear, however...the drum major is LAW. He/she has to be, especially if they are good.
All of this takes trust and understanding. We have so many new people this year that it's going to take time to develop that. We have respect...TONS of respect, but not enough trust yet. It'll come. I love this process. One day very soon it will click, and we'll all assume our roles...instead of being 120 individuals worrying about our dots and work/music, we'll be ONE.
Drum corps is the ultimate team sport.
44 brass + 28 battery + 12 pit + 36 guard = ONE
Rant, rant, rant, blah, blah, blah. We're getting into part 3 this weekend, and I can't wait. It'll be VERY strange to conduct, and the "drill" is going to be a lot of neat staging and character type stuff. I hope it works out, because this number is going to be cool. The drum stuff alone is absolutely ridiculous. Ralph Hardimon really went bonkers writing this one.
hot weather + parking lot + a sense of urgency = drum corps in June.
We're plugging away at the show, and it's going well. We're not finished, but we don't freak out about things like that at Bush. Some other drum corps are finished with their shows, but we're taking our time to do it right the first time. Plus, the show is pretty hard...and we're trying to plug people in as we go along. The goal is to not have to make any major changes once we get into the competition season (something we've had to do many of the years that I've been here)...so that's good.
I like the show so far. It's a good mixture of fast and slow, loud and soft, etc, etc. That's not to say that it's a show of opposites. Quite the contrary. Everything in the show compliments each other very well. The various elements appear to be well coordinated, although that's difficult to tell at this early stage. This year is so entirely different than most of my 12, mostly due to the new design team, so it's nice to have that freshness injected into things...and from a learning standpoint, I have a lot to draw from and a lot to learn from. As an arranger and a show designer myself, every year I try to learn what TO do and what NOT to do from the team at Bush, and it's worked out pretty well. I'm enjoying the new perspectives, and I'm learning plenty about the good, the bad, and the ugly of show design.
The guard is going to be good. They're chatty, but it's all the energy and excitement bubbling over. They truly seem to enjoy being there and doing this...so I try to not go crazy with the "Shhhh!" and "Be Quiet!" all the time. I want to get to know them, though. I spend so much time with the percussion and brass sections that I don't get to know the guard until later in the season. By that point, they probably just think I'm some jerk who yells a lot. I'd like to change that this year and get to know them earlier so they can think I'm not so much of a jerk who yells a lot...and then maybe they'll keep it down on the field. :)
The battery is really improved from last year. I was very happy when Bob Cizmarik was hired to run the line this year. We're friends from working together at Upper Darby, and I knew that his philosophy and way of doing things would go over well at Bush...after a transition period, of course. Well, it appears that the transition is nearly complete, and Bob has really started to make the Bush percussion section his own. He's passionate and he works fast...and he expects his members to be awake, alert, and on fire during rehearsal. Is there anything wrong with that? :) I guess it helps that most of the line is new this year, because there's not that usual push-back you get from vets held-over from a previous drum staff. It also means that we have 20 or 30 some odd percussionists who come from all different walks of life and all kinds of different programs who have this raging red-head imposing his will upon them. It's fun to watch, because instead of pushing back, the line really is trying for him and is making huge strides. They drum like men and women, and that's encouraging. They're not afraid of the drum. They're not afraid at all...they just drum. THAT is what it's all about.
There just isn't a place in drum corps for fear. Nerves? Okay. Butterflies in the tummy before a performance? Sure...absolutely. This activity is run on adrenaline, preparation, heart, and aggression. You have to live on the edge in drum corps. You have to push it. Drum corps is fun when everyone TRUSTS everyone else around them...everyone knows that if I play as LOUD as I can, that the dudes and dude-ettes next to me are going to do the same damn thing. If I'm told to break character here and rock out...even though I might feel a little silly, everyone else is selling it 100%. If I'm going to attack a tripplet roll played up to my eyeballs, I know that all my brothers and sisters are going to be subdividing with me and it's going to be clean...it HAS to be clean.
Fear + drum corps = last place. Trust me. I know.
So, anyway...it's nice to see the Bush percussion section starting to trust each other and just play drums and march around. The pit is going through a little bit of a transition that put them in a funk for a minute and a half, but they're coming out of it and really starting to hit their stride as well. Rock on.
The brass is going to be better than last year. Yes, last year's brass line won brass by a large margin, and won field brass by one of the largest spreads in the recorded history of the sub caption in ALL drum corps, not just DCA. They're going to be better. The book is harder, but the technique is what makes them what they are. It doesn't get a whole lot better than the program we have at the Bushwackers. With June comes hot weather and long days, and with this often comes drama. It never fails, and I've never heard of a drum corps that hasn't been bit with the drama bug. There are a lot of new people this year who need to learn how to be Bushwackers, and that will come. Some vets would like to see that happen now rather than later, but it's always a process. Everything is a process, and we all grow together BECAUSE of the process. If everyone walked through the doors knowing what it was to be a Bushwacker and how to act like a Bushwacker, and what is expected of a Bushwacker...then would it mean anything to be a Bushwacker? Anyone can wear the uniform and learn the show and call themselves Bushwackers...but it's going through the tribulations of the winter months wondering who is in and who is out, the arduous days of the early summer when you're putting the whole thing together and the occasional baritone player sleeps through his alarm, the bus breakdowns, the lack of showers before shows on only the hottest days of the summer, the lack of sleep, the frustration of wanting to be finished learning and onto cleaning, etc, etc, etc...it's ALL of these things that bond us together, these shared experiences and memories that are forever etched in our minds. For better or for worse, we're all here to kick ass and enjoy drum corps.
Perspective.
With all of that being said, I'm excited about getting on with the show this weekend. I'm excited that we've been picking up new members every single weekend. I'm excited to meet the new people who will show up this weekend. I'm excited to compete, and I'm excited to see how the summer plays out. "Live every day as if it is your last"...because this could very well be my last season as a Bushwacker, and I will not go quiet into that dark night.
I'm not saying I'm leaving...just that you never know what might be around the next corner.
The biggest thing, at this point in the season as the drum major...and really any pre-season (band, corps, whatever)...is developing trust. My members need to trust that no matter what happens on the field, that I am a rock and that I am right. They need to know that if everything crumbles around them, they just need to look up at the podium and I will put them on my shoulders and lead them. It's very difficult to explain how a drum major can hold an ensemble together. Sure, I could get into the physics of holding an ensemble together (speed of light vs. speed of sound, etc), but when push comes to shove and you have 8 tempos out on that field...you as a drum major just have to have it in you to pull it back together...to WILL it back together...to use your eyes to grab their attention, to throw down a pattern with a force that says "I AM YOUR DRUM MAJOR. I AM RIGHT."
Now normally, I don't believe that. There are many schools of thought regarding field conducting, and the one that I subscribe to is that the drum line (as long as they are the obvious pulse pocket on the field), is the true conductor. They are the engine, and the major is a reflection of that...in perfect synchronization with it. Sometimes the major is with the sound of the line, sometimes the major's hands are with the feet of the line...drill depending. All in all, I feel that the drum major and the center snare need to be best buds. They need to exist as one on the field. The rest of the ensemble watches the major and/or listens to the battery, depending on where they are in the drill. It usually works.
In the event of a major ensemble tear, however...the drum major is LAW. He/she has to be, especially if they are good.
All of this takes trust and understanding. We have so many new people this year that it's going to take time to develop that. We have respect...TONS of respect, but not enough trust yet. It'll come. I love this process. One day very soon it will click, and we'll all assume our roles...instead of being 120 individuals worrying about our dots and work/music, we'll be ONE.
Drum corps is the ultimate team sport.
44 brass + 28 battery + 12 pit + 36 guard = ONE
Rant, rant, rant, blah, blah, blah. We're getting into part 3 this weekend, and I can't wait. It'll be VERY strange to conduct, and the "drill" is going to be a lot of neat staging and character type stuff. I hope it works out, because this number is going to be cool. The drum stuff alone is absolutely ridiculous. Ralph Hardimon really went bonkers writing this one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
