(Part 3) Top products from r/drumcorps

Here's my disclaimer: if you don't have access to a drum and at least one other person to practice playing clean with, you're already at a disadvantage. No pad feels exactly like a drum and when it comes down to the wire in an audition, what determines who makes the line is usually who can play clean consistently no matter where he is in the line.

Buy this:

http://www.amazon.com/Stick-Control-For-Snare-Drummer/dp/1892764040

No matter where you want to march, it will be your ultimate tool. It will lay the foundation of your playing, and it will give you amazing facility on the drum. Play through all of it. Play through it at every dynamic. Play five lines and crescendo the whole thing. Do whatever you can to essentially turn the thing inside out on itself so that you get as much experience playing things your hands have never felt. The key here is repetition. You want to shed layers so that your hands become so refined that anything you're asked to play is practically second nature.

Once you've played through the entire book ten times, buy this:

http://www.amazon.com/Accents-Rebounds-For-Snare-Drummer/dp/1892764067

Repetition, repetition, repetition. Variation, variation, variation. If something sounds disgusting, practice it until it's beautiful. You need to dedicate substantial time to practicing, and you need to always practice with a metronome. I advise against most phone metronomes, because they tend to be inconsistent. I recommend practicing for 90 minutes and then taking a 30 minute break. Practice consistently. Don't do eight hours one day and then take a week off. Two or three hours a day is ample practice time. You've got to be deliberate and take your practice time seriously if you want to make it. If you're unsure about whether or not you want to march, I'd advise against auditioning because the people who really want it are usually the ones who make the line.

Get on YouTube and check out some different lines from the past maybe three seasons. Listen to as many as you can and see which lines really pique your interest. Then get on Google and look for audition materials (either from past years or current materials). A lot of corps require you to buy their audition materials so if that's an issue for you, you could try another corps. Or you could step up your game, get back on YouTube, try to find some videos of the drumline warming up, and figure out their exercises on your own. Be wary though; that's a pretty significant undertaking.

My best advice is to take initiative, and to try harder than you want to. You'll have to do both of those things if you spend a summer with a corps anyway, so it's better to start now. Best of luck to you.

That is simply a poorly written article.

Dance theory, choreography, and general concepts of contemporary dance are quite well defined and clearly articulated.

In the history of dance, there have been a number of approaches to formalize specific principles and vocabulary, even actual dance notation (Labanotation) was created to record specific choreographic movement in order to be reproduced. The availability of film and especially video made this obsolete.

Ballet is still actually the foundation of modern dance, which introduces variations of technique and extended vocabulary. It would literally be impossible to be a professional performer or choreographer in the contemporary sphere without not only a solid ballet foundation, but other well known principles set out since the Denishawn school (school founded by Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis that is considered the origin of contemporary dance's break with ballet).

Anyway, here are some essential reads that I would strongly encourage anyone that is interested in choreography or staging, especially in the context of marching arts, to read:

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The Art of Making Dances - Doris Humphrey (<<< critical read!)
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Making-Dances-Doris-Humphrey/dp/0871271583

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The Intimate Act of Choreography - Lynne Anne Blom & L. Tarin Chaplin

https://www.amazon.com/Intimate-Choreography-Lynne-Anne-Blom/dp/0822953420/

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Anatomy of Movement - Blandine Calais-Germain

https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Movement-Revised-Blandine-Calais-Germain/dp/0939616572

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Dance and the Specific Image - Daniel Nagrin

https://www.amazon.com/Dance-Specific-Image-Daniel-Nagrin/dp/0822955202

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Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet - Gail Grant

https://www.amazon.com/Technical-Manual-Dictionary-Classical-Ballet/dp/0486218430/

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The Routledge Studies Dance Reader - Alexandra Carter

https://www.amazon.com/Routledge-Dance-Studies-Reader/dp/0415485991

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Every Little Movement: A Book About Delsarte - Ted Shawn

https://www.amazon.com/Every-Little-Movement-About-Delsarte-ebook/dp/B01N1YQQXX/

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What Is Dance?: Readings in Theory and Criticism - Roger Copland & Marshall Cohen

https://www.amazon.com/What-Dance-Readings-Theory-Criticism/dp/0195031970

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The Illustrated Dance Technique of José Limon - Daniel Lewis

https://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Dance-Technique-Jos%C3%A9-Lim%C3%B3n/dp/0871272091/

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There are so many more!

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Also recommended, free OCW course from MIT:

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Dance Theory and Composition

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/music-and-theater-arts/21m-675-dance-theory-and-composition-fall-2003/

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I’ve got a few; 2 you’ve probably heard of and one I had to read for a class:

Enders Game

Band Of Brothers

Begging For Change by Robert Egger.

Robert Egger the DC Central Kitchen and in the book he discusses how he went from owning a club to becoming aware of food insecurities in DC and the inefficiency of how the issue was being addressed. He then founded the DC Central Kitchen that attacked the problem in 2 ways. It trained people to become cooks which gave them a marketable skill and they also learned money management and other skills to help them once they have secured a job. They then used the food that the students made in class to donate to people who need it. The change in the title is a change to how problems are addressed for a more permanent solution as opposed to temporary ones.

It’s a fascinating read and not incredibly long. If anyone is interested in social work, nonprofit, or something similar I would recommend it. /u/druler you would probably enjoy it

https://www.amazon.com/Begging-Change-Nonprofits-Responsive-Efficient/dp/0060541717/ref=nodl_

Side note: if you use Amazon type the word “smile” before amazon in the url and amazon donates a small percent to the nonprofit of your choice. Many drum corps are listed. Ex: https://www.smile.amazon.com/Begging-Change-Nonprofits-Responsive-Efficient/dp/0060541717/ref=nodl_

Edit: my example doesn’t work on mobile. RIP

Great recommendation, thanks!

EDIT: The link if anyone is interested.

Absolute legend for the drum corps world. There's a very, very short list of people who have had as much of an impact on the activity as him. Sending my thoughts to the entire Cavaliers family.

Related side note: there was a book written about 12-13 years ago that's about Mr. Warren and The Cavaliers history called "Building the Green Machine." I discovered and read it when I was first getting into drum corps and it's a fantastic history lesson about both The Cavaliers and the activity as a whole. Definitely recommend everyone here check it out.

Purchase link on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Building-Green-Machine-Champion-Cavaliers/dp/1932714391

Essentially anything out of a Clarke or Kopprasch studies book would be great for a technical etude. I would look in the Pottag horn book for lyrical exercises.

These books are staples in college so it wouldn't hurt to invest early.

Kopprasch

Clarke

Pottag

Not for the Faint of Heart was absolutely fantastic.

Seven Years in Tibet (Cornerstone Editions)

Space Music by Jack Meehan