I will be a HS senior next year, and I am applying to be a drum major. I’ve been passionate about wanting to be drum major since my freshman year. My band directors only hold up that’s stopping me from being drum major is that I play a brass instrument, trombone, and he wants us on the field. Does anyone have an idea on how to try and convince him otherwise?
this is my senior year and my first year of being drum major. i was woodwind captain last year so i have some experience on leadership but does anyone have advice for leading the band/conducting??
Hello, I am going into my third year in college, and I am a tech at 3 different high school band programs, in addition to being a drum major at my roughly 280 person university band. I am concerned for my hearing for obvious reasons so what kinds of hearing protection would you recommend? Any brands or specific products would also be much appreciated!
Over this past weekend I learned that I got assistant drum major for my band. Super exciting right? Well it turns out that it seems to be more of a title and that i will still be marching a majority of the time. Our BD decided to try something different and split into a “red band” and “blue band,” with red being more competitive and blue being the more classic side of marching band. So we have two separate shows, everything is in disarray, and I won’t have a clue about whats going on until like July. I’m apparently supposed to both play and conduct in the red band which sounds pretty cool but at the same time I don’t see a problem with me conducting the whole time. I shouldn’t complain because after all I did get the job and this means that I will probably be the head drum major next year. Anyways I’m super excited for this season and to have some more normal marching band in my life again!
I’ve been selected for this year to be drum major at my high school. However, I want to see what traits/characteristics you would look for in a drum major. May you guys just say general things you look for in your drum major, or current/former drum majors what you do to be successful?
Warning this is kinda long.
One of our drum majors last year (same grade as me) was craptastic. Her conducting was illegible and she has zero people skills. She only showed up when absolutely required and did not help out at all.
I have worked my ass off this entire year to get the position and get her OUT. I have shown up to every fucking concert, 6th, 7th, 8th, and high school. I didn’t have a first period so I came early to school and taught the sixth grade, conducted for them, and acted as a role model.
The ‘drum major’ never showed up to help or even meet them, then she has the fucking audacity to show up at the end of their concert and tell their parents how they have worked hard all year when she didn’t even SHOW UP for a single rehearsal. SHE DOESNT EVEN KNOW THEIR FUCKING NAMES.
All year I have cleaned the band hall and organized, learned my music, learned to conduct and march (winds and percussion marching). The ‘drum major’ doesn’t know how to percussion march or do a correct horns up. She made half the band want to quit because they couldn’t tell what beat she was on or what she wanted.
Finally auditions came up and I did great. The thing I am pissed about is that our director didn’t want to “make anyone sad” (‘drum major’ has a history of having breakdowns when things don’t go her way) so instead of fucking demoting ‘drum major’ our director decide to keep the current ones and add me.
‘Drum major’ does not deserve that position and it pisses me off that she still got it because our director didn’t want to deal with another one of her breakdowns.
If you stuck around to the end, thanks for reading and any advice is welcome.
Hello,
I'm currently trying to get into the Ph.D. program at DILA (Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts for Buddhist Studies) but currently I have very little information regarding their doctorates program. I've emailed them and asked for their pamphlet regarding graduate studies, but only got information for their Masters program. They told me that this year they are not accepting international students for their Ph.D. program due to the pandemic. But that's all the information I received.
Has anyone attended DDM's Ph.D. program or even their undergrad studies? If so, could you please let me know whether their classes are shared inquiry or lecture based? Also if their classes are all taught in mandarin or combined with both English and Chinese? Thank you.
As a bit of background, I am a beginner drum major and currently know most of the basic mace commands. Most of what I learned comes from mace manuals published online by the RSPBA and RDMA. All of this information has been put to practice on my own.
Recently, I joined a pipe band who was interested in me filling in as their drum major for parades and as a snare drummer during competitions. Having a drum major was new to all of us; I myself haven't really used the mace in a band setting, and the band had never had a drum major before so this was a learning experience for everyone. That being said, we ran through some of the basic stuff, going from marching to the halt, the cut-off for the music, and counter-march.
To cut things short before I end up writing a whole novel for this post, I'd like to get in contact with other drum majors who have experience working with a band to ask in more detail how certain mace signals work in a band setting.
TLDR: I know the basic mace signals but have never worked with a band before, any tips and advice would help greatly.
I am trying out to be the next drum major for my school's band, and all of my friends insist I will make it. Does anybody have tips for staying calm and not stuttering during a TV interview? They will do a mock interview as part of the audition, and I have a lot of trouble staying calm. It's the only thing that I know I can easily screw up.
I want to play drums. I know I theoretically don’t need drums to get started, I got a couple of pads to practice with, but would like to know if there are opportunities for me to practice with a drum set when I go back in the fall. Also, if you have additional resources for someone learning to play drums with no musical background, I’d appreciate. Thank you!
I don’t know if this is the right place to be asking, but I have my assistant drum major interview tomorrow with my band director, the current head drum major, and the current assistant drum major. Does anybody have any tips on how to nail my interview? I have already done my conducting portion of the audition so this is the final step. I appreciate any tips!
Edit: Just got done with it! Results should be out by the end of the week...Thanks for the advice those who commented!
Another edit: I didn’t get the position 🥲. Oh well. Sometimes you win, sometimes ya learn. Thanks for the advice regardless!
Background: I’m an old fart who marched in the 80’s, was drum major in ‘86, marched DCI in ‘90, staffed a few bands after corp, and am now an announcer for major competitions in my state. I’ve said for years that it’s impossible to have a great band with a bad drum major, and it’s impossible to have a bad band with a great drum major. Thoughts? I’ve watched countless bands over the years and always watch the DMs closely. I think too many directors pick the best kid they can find, but maybe don’t develop the skills enough. Honing a drum major properly pays huge dividends for the band in my opinion.
I am a junior but it’s only my second year marching as I was a rookie sophomore year. I love my band, even though we are tiny, and during a football game my friend made a joke that put me as the drum major in the future. Fast forward one and a half years and I auditioned for drum major. It was me, another junior, and a sophomore who auditioned and the other junior was a shoo in as we usually have 1 male and 1 female (btw this isn’t an attack on her, she’s way more qualified for the position than me). I just got notice today that I’m gonna be drum major and it is way too surreal. I’m so happy and I can’t believe that even though I feel as if I am still a “new” member (with covid making it seem as if I am still in my first year), I earned this position. Congrats to everyone else who secured leadership positions and to those who didn’t, don’t worry about it. The title is not a definition of your character. Thanks for listening to my rant.
Hey, guys. I'm a sophomore, and I want to audition for drum major for junior year, but the only thing is: I don't have a car. I already told my band director about it, and he said that is fine as long I can find rides and do all the things (show up to rehearsals, come early, leave late, etc.). I was thinking maybe the other drum major could gives me rides whenever I needed one, and I could pay them in return as long as I'm not annoying. I really want to be drum major, and I don't want to regret not auditioning because of something I can't really help. Can someone please provide some guidance on what I should do? Thanks.
TLDR; I wanna be drum major but no car; help!
help me decide please
I am curious to see how many bands do this. I know it is typically the majority upperclassmen and then a lower class, but was just wanting to see if anyone is in a band like this.
hello! for my band's show this season, one of our songs is creep. it's one of my favorite marching band pieces and i love that i get to conduct it for my last year, but im not entirely sure what i should do for the "fancy stuff." i just found out a few hours ago and havent had time to really flesh out conducting it and dont have the score yet, but i just love the song so much so i wanna get a head start lol. any recommendations are welcome :)
Why did you want to be drum major?
I will be a HS senior next year, and I am applying to be a drum major. I’ve been passionate about wanting to be drum major since my freshman year. My band directors only hold up that’s stopping me from being drum major is that I play a brass instrument, trombone, and he wants us on the field. Does anyone have an idea on how to try and convince him otherwise?
