I'm sure those of you in high school are very excited for tryouts for this coming fall. Most of you probably have tryouts within the next few weeks. For those of you trying out soon a few tips.

1) PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE like a mofo before tryouts

2) Practice warm-ups not just screwing around

3) Buy some magnum sticks and build chops fast

4) Memorize the warm-up packet before tryouts or if you get it at tryouts memorize it ASAP

I'm a freshman and we have tryouts starting wednesday and tuesday is orientation. I'm really excited Gimme some tips though, I made this little list for other people also. I think a seperate thread should be made, the ultimate tryout thread with a lot of tips and people can add to it

I need some tips for tryouts though.

I'M VERY VERY VERY EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure there are tons of threads like this, but I'll give you my very best tip for tryouts...


practice concentrating.


I know it sounds strange, but something that took me by surprise when I first tried out for a drum corps was not being able to concentrate 100%. Look at a clock and tell yourself that for the next ten minutes, you will do nothing but play a certain exercise over and over, not breaking set, not anything, and NOT LETTING YOUR MIND WANDER.

Anyway, hope that helps before some mod closes this :P

The biggest piece of advice I can give you:


Relax.


I've seen people who have been on the line for years go in to tryout, tense up, and lose their spot.


Also, practice,practice,practice,practice,practice and practice some more.

LAME.
I wish we could get started as early as you guys. We don't have drum camp until July 10th, and Band Camp until sometime in August.

we have orientation tuesday tryout wednesday and next tuesday and wednesday and then final placements thursday of next week

my tryouts went a course of like 3 weeks, but only on wednesdays, cuz thats the only day my instructor his there. we got the final results last week. 3 snares 5 bass 2 tenors 2 cymbals, biggest i've seen the line in forever.

but anywayz just relax dude don't go in there all tensed up cuz u think so and so might have a chance of beating you out for snare or whatever it is u wanna play. cuz that happened to me cuz i knew this other dude had a better chance of getting tenors over me. but the instructor put him on snare and presto im on tenors.

but everything that has been said above including what u said are good ways to prepare

I'm trying out for tenors, their are a possible of 3 spots. I've got a good chance other people trying out are: a junior who just started playing music this year and played auxilary. a wind player witching to drums, a 8th grader that played 3rd bass, and a freshman that didn't march they will all be a year older next year of course. the junior and wind player are the top 2 besides me. Everyone says I'm gonna make it and I think I will so I'm not worried I think I'm better than them

sweet dude..i talked to my instructor the week tryouts ended after everyone else had left to see what he was considering me for...and he told me i would more than likely be tenors so i walked in that band room the following week knowing i was safre...sounds like ur in the same boat ...just keept it afloat dude

What are magnum sticks?

They're another name for Vic Firth MS-4s or Dennis DeLucia's old stick when he was with VF. They're really heavy so they naturally build chops pretty fast. But remember, you have to work to build the chops using the right sticks only helps

I try out in a few days. I will be a junior next year, so hopefully I make it after last year where I got cheated out of the spot.

Well, this is off topic and off topic at the same time. Do you think it is better to hand out a tryout piece a month or a week before the tryouts. A month gives students adequate time to learn the piece and perfect it, but it also gives a student enough time to learn only that piece and make it seem like they have talent (but don't). However a week shows who is practicing, who can learn the piece with speed and accuracy and who can perform under pressure. A week also assumes that everyone in the drumline has time to learn the music. Where do you stand? I personally think a week is better. A month just gives kids with no talent a long time to work out all the problems and more or less BS the piece.

i agree with you..1 week

I COMPLETELY AGREE!!! 1 WEEK but their should also be a mini-solo sight read last day of tryouts i think

Our tryouts were yesterday... it was sad, i think I was the only one that practiced. I'll probably get tenors again... was hoping for snare XP Results go up later today.

to JoeGrinstead:
Your tips are great, but one thing I disagree with is the Magnum sticks thing. I believe it is best to practice with the sticks your d-line uses.

And to Anyone:
Also, though some of it pertains to just quads, there are some excellent tips on playing drums in general in the Q-Bible, by Mike Stevens. Particularly his statement on the "Nirvana" state.

I completely the q-bible really is the quad bible, and the magnum sticks i've heard both sides this is just my opinion

Understand what criteria your line is looking for. For instance (this is probably true for most lines) but stick heights are critical to playing. And this happened to a snare last year, be sure you hold the stick the right way no wandering fingers

Yeah, today was final placements and i was happy. They will post the layout of the line tomorrow. I was on tenors the entire time, so i was happy.

There are only two working stands so i used a carrier the entire time and i think it made me look better. Everyone tells me I'm going to make tenors so I'm pretty sure I did.

We got a new marching snare drum today and it is a white Pearl ffx i believe, it's really small like a wedge drum, like for indoor. That good drum makes me wanna play snare like i used to. Our drum captain Derich was saying if I make snare we're all getting really good binders for our music but then he said i probably won't because I'm the best tenor player, so I was like sweet!

I only got one corrective comment today it was just to play lower cause I was beastin' lol. We should be getting Blue Stars drums next year because of our connections (or rather this year i guess) I wanna get the other drums we would get new that are just like blue devils but it sounds like we're just getting plain white ones from blue stars.

I also helped everyone he put on tenors know the part for the temperary warm-ups for tryouts (like pre-warm-up warm-ups lol) and had everything done before he asked.

Yesterday I had a snare pad and sticks for someone to use because we didn't have the Pearl snare. So I come over prepared so I think I'm on his good side.

I kinda wanna play snare again, so I was thinking should I practice traditional and matched so I could play tenors this year and snare next? I kinda wanna play both. But then again I wanna get real good at one and do drum corps and join an independent line...

confidence is key. If it says forte don't be shy and play at 4 inches. Secondly lightly grooving to the tryout pieces (not exercises) can be a sign that you are comfortable with the piece and arent so concentrated on the music that you won't be able to march. Thirdly, people at our school usually don't think of this but, mark time. It shows you know where the beat is and a have a sense of timing, which is good. Don't let the judges freak you out. I know at our school, you would think that the judges were serial killers the way they watch you during the tryout, don't let it freak you out.

I made it! I'm happy Do you guys think I should play snare at all next year, should I practice traditional. I really wanna play it especially if we get those drums.

I made it as well! Me and the center snare also are the two candidates for section leader. They usually assign it right away, but with a new instructor they want to see who steps up and takes charge.

My school doesn't have tryouts.

yay for me.

but really the only way to be better than the guy next to you is to practice. 30 min a day could be the difference in wether or not you make it.

I usually practice 30 mins a day or an hour and 30 mins a day

well as long as we're on the subj congrats to u..and normally we don't hold tryouts like the dude above said..normally u have to practice and prove you're the better choice..but this year we did have tryouts..but it went basically teh same way as always..and i made tenors so go me

I usually think its funny how all the good players practice for maybe an hour tops (on the tryout material) and then practice other stuff instead and will make it...Then you see the freshman and sophomores who never practice and expect to develop the chops within a week or two to play the tryout piece. They end up in a practicing fury (which is debatedly good or not) and still don't make it and don't understand why. They don't seem to understand that it takes practice year round to get the spot they want. [/rant]

Back on topic, in our drumline it is usually pretty clear who is going to get what spot. Our BD would never kick someone off an instrument they're already on. I could easily predict who is moving to what spot, our tryouts are more a chance to gauge who is better than who etc...

@ Joe, Congratulations on making a spot on the tenor line!
If you really wanna play snare next year (and your line uses traditional) than i'd say practice traditional as much as you can..I myself am absolutely horrid at traditional but I mainly use matched, hence why I could never make a corps/college drumline on snare unless I started learning traditional.
If you want a greater chance of making a corps on 1 instrument, would be to stay on that one instrument and exponantially grow your knowledge and playing ability on that, thats the best way, but if you want to play snare (also very fun, im sure) than go for it, you will have a sufficient amount of knowledge on 2 instruments than.

It's never a bad thing to be versatile. It's good to be able to play a wide range of percussion instruments (including timp, marimba, tambourine etc...). Just like it's a good thing to be able to play multiple instruments in general when applying to a music college. I would say even if ur are going to stay on quints, learn trad. Im terrible at trad but i am still trying to learn it.

ok, i useed to be really good at it then i stopped because i didn't practice enough so i didn't practice it and kinda forget muscle wise lol

then it should be fairly easy to bring it back...its always easier learning something the second time, especially concerning muscular memory

i agree w/ dude man. always good to be able to do both. i'm also not the best at traditional ,even though its the way i was taught to begin with.
but i still practice it..since marching season's comin up and im on tenors,like yourself. i'm obviously mainly focusing on match at the moment. but once it ends im gonna reverse that and focus on traditional and get 1 on 1 help from my instructor..

makes sense...hey me like you, BASS 2 then Quints

ha yea, other than the fact i was bass 4. lol but i see your point. ha and what do you know we're both about to be a sophmore

lil off topic..but idk about the rest of you guys but i am so ready for marching season! can i get an amen?!?!

I meant the guy behind you lol

is it a bad thing for a high school not to have a tech? Or should i say, is it normal?

again sorry for being off topic.

I haven't practiced much at all on traditional, but i mean to start soon b/c i am one of maybe 2 people in the drumline who doesn't regularly play trad, including the quints...it's kind of disappointing actually...

ha i laughed when the magnums were mentioned because i thought of my friend who uses them to build chops....but he double tapes them o.O

DRUMMING CARPALTUNNEL!!!

Yeah it is kinda bad if you don't have drum techs, try to get people to volunteer for free. Drum techs teach a lot and help setting charts and stuff like that...

oh well still the 3 of us..bass then quints lol...and to the other guy, my line only had an instructor during band camp my first 2 seasons of marching. the instructor we have now we just got in january so. its probaly not uncommon but its better for a line to have one

My line was supposed to have tryouts, but a new instructor came and said the line was set, one of our techs helped him make the right choices, and I'm on tenors =D

haha thats my line backwards...line was pretty much set but then the instructor came along and we had tryouts. good thing too in my opinion cuz idt i would've been put on tenors if he hadn't lol

lol thats odd

u suck dude. we have no stands for any of our drums at my school. but then i can't say anything cuz im the stubborn one thats always still standing there w/ a drum on after everyone has taken theirs off and crap..so i mean w/e

This is actually a bigger thing than most people think. I've seen people cut from college lines, even though they had the chops, because they didn't have all of their stuff memorized.

Yeah, I hated when people tried out for snare or tenor and didn't have the warm-up packet memorized, I was like WTF? I hate it when people like me work their butt off to memorize and practice and other people either don't try hard or don't care, I want to do this after high school and teach but it's hard to be really good when people around you don't give a crap...I get a little annoyed...

welcome to our cymbal line and just about all the freshman on our line.