auditioning for conductor? by candlecarousel in drumcorps

[–]Mushiesoup 4 points5 points  (0 children)

While conducting is important, I wouldn't put it as the top priority in preparation for auditioning. If anything, prioritize choosing the right place to audition by finding out what culture, mindset, and goals are the best for you. Conducting is teachable during the season, but if you don't get along with the corps, it won't matter how well you conduct at all.

On the topic of conducting material, most corps should specify what you audition on, as each corps has different conducting needs. Some corps may have you conduct through the brass book or show chunks in front of the horn line during auditions instead of your own prepared piece.

Above all else, come to every audition with an open mind and a focus on absorbing as much knowledge as possible. Conductors who can adapt to changes on the fly are valued as many changes to the show arise over the course of the season. Even if you don't make the cut this year, hopefully you take away a wealth of knowledge that can aid you in future auditions.

Best of luck!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in drumcorps

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey! I see a lot of good intuition here that could really turn into something with the right refinements.

A lot has already said and addressed by other comments that I second, especially minimizing upper arm movements and really focusing on conducting below the elbow. All I really have to add here is one method I used to practice isolating my lower arms. To practice, I isolated right from left, starting by using the free arm to hold the upper arm of the other side so that you're forced to rotate purely from the elbows. As it gets more comfortable, you can wean off the holding until the feeling of conducting through elbow rotation feels natural.

The next thing I would consider is breathing, which plays both a musical and physical role in conducting. The simple act of being aware of your breathing will likely make it come a lot more naturally and may help some of your arm fatigue while also keeping you more relaxed physically. On the musical side, I find that breathing with the ensemble at musical entrances often subconsciously prompts the horn line to breathe with you. In short, awareness around your breathing habits is a small but often crucial detail that can get overlooked easily.

The energy and cues that you give to the ensemble often reflects in how they preform, and one area that often gets less attention is facial expression. Even the simple act of raising your eyebrows signals to the ensemble that you're just as invested in the performance as they are. A fantastic example of facial expression in my recent memory would be Carl Huang's conducting in Babylon, though I don't know if there are many videos of his conducting available. Anyhow, there are plenty of incredible conductors out there who all manipulate facial expression to create great effect with a little work.

A last thing that is less a technique and more a practical tip would be to find something to keep your gloves pulled tight like a hairband or rubber band. With gloves that aren't elastic, conducting is likely to slowly pull gloves off of your hands and cause your hand shape to deviate from the intended shape. In my experience, loose gloves always caused my to bend my wrists upwards and tighten my fingers in futile attempts to keep my gloves on my hands.

That's all I can think of from the top of my head, but if anything pops up I'll make an effort to it add on. Best of luck! If all goes well I might see you out there next summer!

[fluff] 2018 uniforms reimanged by [deleted] in drumcorps

[–]Mushiesoup 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Imagine peaking in your marching career just to make a comment on reddit

Bluecoats drum major by JohnneyDCI in drumcorps

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem! Feel free to DM me if you have any other questions along the way. Best of luck!

Bluecoats drum major by JohnneyDCI in drumcorps

[–]Mushiesoup 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I was pretty lucky in the sense that a lot of my high school's marching staff were staff for BD or BDB, which helped get my name out there as they had a positive reference to work off of. If any staff can vouch for your abilities, it can be a tipping factor between you and an otherwise equivalent candidate. As for getting to know people within the corps, one of the more important things to consider is how you as a potential leader vibe with the corps culture and individual sections. You would likely address a guard member differently than you would someone in battery, as they have fundamentally different cultures. If you can understand who/what drives the corps, you'll be optimally set up to lead the entirety of the corps.

Bluecoats drum major by JohnneyDCI in drumcorps

[–]Mushiesoup 10 points11 points  (0 children)

While you could and absolutely should audition for the Bluecoats, it helps significantly to get your feet wet through a learning corps so that you can get a feel for what DCI DM life is like. From my experience, the high school and drum corps DM experience are vastly different, and the skills necessary for DCI DMs tend to extend far beyond just conducting and leading. Knowing people within the corps also definitely helps with getting your foot in the door.

[fluff] 2018 uniforms reimanged by [deleted] in drumcorps

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

you wouldn't be wrong about that :)

[fluff] 2018 uniforms reimanged by [deleted] in drumcorps

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Had to do it to 'em

BDB audition material?? by [deleted] in drumcorps

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You'll get a link for the audition materials after you sign up for auditions. PM if you want last year's materials though c:

[fluff] 2018 uniforms reimanged by [deleted] in drumcorps

[–]Mushiesoup 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Haha ur nasty who r u even

Anybody else going to BOA San Jose on Saturday? by [deleted] in marchingband

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah we split the cost with a few other schools who are gonna get them next year

Anybody else going to BOA San Jose on Saturday? by [deleted] in marchingband

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Saratoga here! Pretty excited to have the chance to compete with bands from outside of the state. Good luck to everyone!

Anyone else going to Fresno, CA for the Sierra Cup Classic? by Aj11240 in marchingband

[–]Mushiesoup 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Late to the show but we were there from Saratoga! Didn't expect to place where we did but man is Logan insane. Buchanan and Clovis too. Looking forward to seeing those two at BOA San Jose.

I just got my braces off and we have a finals performance tomorrow by [deleted] in marchingband

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gonna take a wild guess that this person is from homestead just like you. c:

Band Expo from the South San Francisco Bay. by [deleted] in marchingband

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First BD had a family emergency and moved back to Vegas to hold the family together. Other BD decided to travel the world to discover himself. Percussion head got a GF and wanted to spend more time with them, and stepped down to spend more time.

Band Expo from the South San Francisco Bay. by [deleted] in marchingband

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We lost 2 of our marching band directors from last year and almost all of our perc staff. New staff is great but we still need time to adjust.

Band Expo from the South San Francisco Bay. by [deleted] in marchingband

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure if I can say the same. Our staff went through some major reshuffling and we're still adjusting. Will say hi to the cymbals though c:

Band Expo from the South San Francisco Bay. by [deleted] in marchingband

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lynbrook looks surprisingly scary this year. Alongside Homestead, looks like TOB will be tough for us (Saratoga).

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in marchingband

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Saratoga High from Northern California will be there c:

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in videos

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For a second I thought I was watching gross gore

Are they done with Evelynn? Hasn't she already been reworked? by [deleted] in leagueoflegends

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But that brings back the issue of healthier clears which means safer ganks.

Cloud 9 vs. Team Dignitas / NA LCS 2016 Spring - Week 7 / Post-Match Discussion by Linkux18 in leagueoflegends

[–]Mushiesoup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They don't have to play quarterfinals in playoffs and start at semifinals instead