Members korgan Posted January 5, 2009 Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 Here's an update. I got called back for the February audition camp, which is this coming weekend. My ride bailed so now I'm sending a video in to see if it will be worth my money to fly. Got this video up just earlier tonight. Tell me what you think! I'd really appreciate it. [YOUTUBE]Nyyo4mb3mp4[/YOUTUBE] Howdy everyone. Its drum corps audition time. I went to my first audition back in December, got the jitters, and bombed it. Now on to my second audition in late January. I've got to send in a video first with some of their exercises, and something of my own. The Flam Control video here is what I'm thinking of adding. The stick heights look weird because of the camera angle, but please, and feedback is good feedback. I'm planning on auditioning for the Colts, for those who are curious. Alright DCI (and non-dci folks), tell me what you think. I'm 19, so I've only got one more year after this one... Thanks in advance! [YOUTUBE]YpasS0dD800[/YOUTUBE][YOUTUBE]mWC6pxHveFM[/YOUTUBE] Apologies if the video doesn't work. Here's the link until I get it working, just incase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Carminemw Posted January 5, 2009 Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 Good playing but I think you're gonna need more snap. It's good to be relaxed, but all militaryish type snare drumming needs quickness and accuracy and a ton of snap. Sticks up and snap to close... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kabaalk Posted January 5, 2009 Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 Elbow in, less dancing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members korgan Posted January 5, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 Carmine - what an honor. Looking at this, I am really relaxed compared to who I see on the field. Never really seen myself other than in a mirror before. I'll try to slim down the "flowy-ness." Thanks for your input. Kabaalk - I'm guessing you mean right elbow? I'll try to pull it in, not sure how well it will work. Obviously I'm hangin' way out there at sticks in. I need to re-tape when I haven't worked all day and see if that improves. Thanks both, and ones to follow. I'll keep on working, maybe post some new ones in a few days to see how things are coming along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SkiAz4Free Posted January 5, 2009 Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 Nice chops man, and the flam exercise is nice. My only advice would be to NOT record it on a real-feel for your audition. Put it on a drum. Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thomas G Posted January 5, 2009 Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 The Colts are taught by Jeff Queen, so if anything, you are a bit too relaxed for his technique. If you want to make The Colts, then a more rigid technique is required, as funky as that sounds. Jeff Queen is an interesting man. Try talking to him, too. He's a little strange, if you ask me... My comments would be to work on better definition between your taps and your accents. Work on REALLY defining 12 inches and 3 inches. That's the sort of thing he looks for. Also, if you want to fix that elbow thing, try raising the drum (or pad, or whatever) up a bit. The Colts play with their drums a bit high. I think the best thing you can do right now, other than practicing the eff out of your audition material, is to go to youtube and study their videos, preferably the most recent ones possible. Make your hands look like theirs. That makes a surprisingly huge difference. Best of luck to ya! Your playing really does look good (a lot of things were much better than me, flam drags in particular) so be confident, but don't get cocky. A good rule of thumb is to always expect the worst when auditioning for a World Class DCI Corps. Next season, come over to Arizona and audition for The Academy with me! Be sure to let us know if you make it in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kabaalk Posted January 5, 2009 Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 Relaxation is good, you've got solid extension. From there, it's a lot easier to train crisp preciseness than from some stiff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thomas G Posted January 5, 2009 Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 Relaxation is good, you've got solid extension. From there, it's a lot easier to train crisp preciseness than from some stiff. *sigh* Unfortunately, that's not how Jeff Queen operates. That's the biggest reason I would never march Colts, Blue Devils, or the like. Too rigid and stiff. I'll stick with the relaxed approach of SCV, Academy, and Cavaliers, thankyouverymuch. That being said, though, The Colts have sounded awesome the past few seasons and even though I disagree with their technique, the cleanliness is very much there, which is what the judges look for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kabaalk Posted January 5, 2009 Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 Yeah, you'll have to excuse my ignorance. I marched bass, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thomas G Posted January 5, 2009 Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 haha. Awesome. Where did you march? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members korgan Posted January 5, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 Ski - Thanks! I wasn't sure what to do, but I'll definitely do it on the drum. I just figured that the pad might be less annoying. But drum it is... Thomas - I'm pretty sure that Jeff is with the Troopers this year. Max Mullinix is with the Colts. I could always be wrong. Thanks for the height tip. I know the pad can come up some (those darn non-adjustable counter-tops), but I had no idea that the Colts play a bit high. That'll help me alot - and I'm glad, because I tend to play higher than most, so that makes me feel more comfortable knowing that they do too. I can't find many of their youtube vids, but I'll keep looking. I haven't looked in about a month. Thanks for the help man! I appreciate the compliments, but I know I have a loooong way to go. I'm just hoping to learn alot at the camp, and if I make, that's even better. I tend to be slightly intimidated by the many people that are better than I, but I guess we'll see. I actually considered The Academy because I remembered you talking about it here. Maybe you'll see me next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thomas G Posted January 5, 2009 Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 Well, {censored}. If Jeff Queen isn't there anymore, then take my advice regarding his technique with a grain of salt. They will probably have the same technique (or maybe a similar one) but you never know. The key to making a corps is to show that you can learn fast and be flexible with what you knew in the past. You don't neccessarily have to have better chops than the guy next to you. If you are improving at a faster rate than him, they'll pick you ANY DAY over the guy with ridiculous chops and zero learning curve. Here's some good youtube vids of them, btw: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members korgan Posted January 5, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 I'll try to pick up on their technique from the videos. Thanks for the links! I went to a previous audition with the same thinking... as long as I'm playing well, have a good attitude, and can adapt/improve quickly to the techniques that they want to see, I'll atleast be asked back. Problem was, I had to go a few hours late, and when I got there the techs were working with the same 10 guys that they worked with the whole weekend. By Sunday, I felt like I had adequately adapted to everything that they said they were looking for, while they were still trying to correct the same things with some of the same 10 people. By Sunday, a few of that group were still straggling, but guess who they kept? It was a rather bad experience though... so I guess I shouldn't expect all auditions to be that way. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boomboomdrums Posted January 5, 2009 Members Share Posted January 5, 2009 Good luck in the audition. Couldn't tell for sure due to the light and angle, but it looked kindof like your right hand accents were higher than the left. Sounded OK otherwise. I'd run it by a real teacher who lives, eats, drinks, breathes, and sleeps drumline. It is a whole animal unto it's own. I wouldn't take advice from people on here about how to do on your audition. No offense to anyone, but most drummers on here wouldn't know a kevlar head if it bit them in the ass. Let us know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted January 6, 2009 Members Share Posted January 6, 2009 Nice job on those clips. I wont pretend to know or care what the audition criteria are - the regulars know my stance on rudimental stuff. Anyhooz, just earballing it, the rhythms were very precise and the stickings very even and articulate. The problem I have is the tone was extremely ticky tocky. The left hand sounded like it was played on a second pad. Was it? Make sure your sticks match for the audition. Weight, balance AND pitch. It's still music you know. Tone is everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thomas G Posted January 6, 2009 Members Share Posted January 6, 2009 Nice job on those clips. I wont pretend to know or care what the audition criteria are - the regulars know my stance on rudimental stuff. Anyhooz, just earballing it, the rhythms were very precise and the stickings very even and articulate. The problem I have is the tone was extremely ticky tocky. The left hand sounded like it was played on a second pad. Was it? Make sure your sticks match for the audition. Weight, balance AND pitch. It's still music you know. Tone is everything. Ooh, good call. It's tough enough to get both hands to sound the same in traditional grip, but it's near impossible to do it if your sticks aren't pitch paired. Go to the store and test if the sticks truely match by lightly tapping the shafts on the side of your head. It looks silly, but you can hear the actual tone of the stick much better that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members korgan Posted January 6, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 6, 2009 Thanks BoomBoom, I'll check out the accents. I know I really do need to find someone to help in person, but my resources around here are quite limited. I'm going to try to find someone, though. The two hands do sound different... its the placement of the pad on the countertop. I should have thought of that before I posted a video using that spot. Depending on how I place the sticks and the pad, different sounds occur due to the hollowness and side walls of the counter. 1001 - thanks for the compliments, or rather, the encouragement. That's something that I need! Despite the location of the pad, I'll definitely go back and make sure that I'm using pitch-matched sticks, because only God knows how many pairs of those I have... no telling whether the two I grabbed were actually a "pair." Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted January 7, 2009 Members Share Posted January 7, 2009 Even Firths don't come perfectly matched so keep track of the good pairs. Put perfect matches in a vault. If you get into orchestra or concert band those pair will become treasured instruments. That out the way, unmatched sticks can still be used for creating counter rhythmic textures. So don't abandon your way of doing things. Listen for the music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stark Posted January 8, 2009 Members Share Posted January 8, 2009 I almost regret not playing snare anymore; whenever I look at college/corps players, I realize that I was really good before I stopped. Anyway, raise the pad up a bit; it looks too low for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members korgan Posted January 10, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 10, 2009 So the consensus is to raise my playing surface. I'll have to work that out with the stand and carrier. I've been watching their videos, and it seems that they show a little more stick on the back of the left hand than I've been taught, but that can only make things easier. 1001 - you've got that right. I've got a pretty decent pair of SD1s and TG15s that I wouldn't trade for anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stark Posted January 10, 2009 Members Share Posted January 10, 2009 I think you got the consensus wrong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AllanGuy Posted January 10, 2009 Members Share Posted January 10, 2009 Wow. I love playing in my high school drumline (tenors), and we win a few contests every year, but I look at the pro corps and it just blows me away. How do you guys do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members korgan Posted January 10, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 10, 2009 I think you got the consensus wrong... Wow, thanks. I had to go back and read what I wrote... going to fix my reply right away. So I'm raising up the playing surface. Allan, practice practice practice, practice when you don't feel like it, practice when you have some time between practicing, and practice when you don't think it matters how much you practice. And get help/lessons from the pro's, because there's always someone better than you are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AllanGuy Posted January 10, 2009 Members Share Posted January 10, 2009 Wow, thanks. I had to go back and read what I wrote... going to fix my reply right away.So I'm raising up the playing surface.Allan, practice practice practice, practice when you don't feel like it, practice when you have some time between practicing, and practice when you don't think it matters how much you practice. And get help/lessons from the pro's, because there's always someone better than you are!Thats kind of funny, our crazy old drum instructor says stuff like that too. He says "Somewhere there is a line practicing harder than we are, and if we face them in a competion, they will beat us." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members korgan Posted February 17, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 17, 2009 Back to the top for the update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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