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Nervous about your drum major audition? I’ve been there. It can be pretty intimidating. I auditioned for drum major in high school and for drum corps. I have failed auditions and passed them. I was drum major for 3 years and I administered drum major interviews as a drum major and as a staff member.
These are my best tips for the drum major interview room.
Find some time to have a conversation with your band director about auditioning for drum major and what it takes to earn a spot.
Ask them what they think the roles and responsibilities of the drum major are. You should have put some serious thought into this yourself before asking so you can have a conversation about it.
The fact that you took the initiative to ask about the audition process and what the expectations are will set you apart from others right away.
The interview is potentially the most nerve racking part of the entire audition. And it could be the most critical. For drum corps auditions, it is almost always the most important factor in being selected.
Prepare by asking your band director what the questions will be. They might just tell you exactly what they are going to ask. If not, try asking the previous drum majors. They will probably want to help you out and give you and idea of what their interview was like.
Finally, go over these common drum major interview questions and answers and come up with answers of your own. If you take the time to go through those questions, you will be thoroughly prepared.
I know, I know. But really. Don’t just practice to get your conducting patterns right. Practice beyond the point of just getting them right. Make it second nature.
When you walk into the room, you want muscle memory on your side in case you get nervous. On top of that, the best way to not be nervous is the confidence boost that comes from being prepared.
Fidgeting shows discomfort. If you can keep still and calm during a nerve racking interview and conducting audition, it is a great signal to the interviewer that you work well under pressure and will do well handling the pressures of being a drum major.
Take your time in the interview. When you are asked a question, it is always acceptable to take several moments, even a couple minutes to think of a response. Rambling when you don’t know what to say can be a big mistake. Taking a long pause to think before you speak shows maturity.
The phrase “I don’t know” does not instill very much confidence in the interviewer. They will not expect you to have all the answers but they will expect you to do your best to provide them with some insight even if it is an incomplete answer. If you are really stumped, ask clarifying questions. This shows you are engaged and have a willingness to talk through issues until they are resolved, a valuable quality for a drum major.
If you have a habit of using um or like, just remember to slow down when you are in the interview and to think through what you are going to say before you speak.
The interviewer may challenge your answers and fire back with follow up questions. Don’t let that rattle you. Approach the interview as if you and the interviewer are on the same team. Because you are!
They are hoping to find a candidate that understands the role and is comfortable executing it. And you are trying to show them exactly that. Your interests are aligned. So if they question your answers further, take it as an opportunity to work toward the common goal of showing you are a great candidate for drum major rather than feeling attacked.
The quickest way to get up to speed on conducting is to ask the current drum majors at your school for help.
Hopefully they will take the time to teach you everything they know. Ask them to demonstrate their conducting style and ask them if you have to use that style or if you have the freedom to use your own style if you are head drum major.
Take note of how they change their style when they are conducting at slow, moderate, and very fast tempos. Take note of how they do cut offs at different tempos as well. It might be helpful to ask them, “can I see how you would do that at 60bpm?”, for example.
If they are willing to help you out, try to take advantage of the resource ask ask all you can because they know better than anyone else (other than your band director) what it takes to become drum major at your school.
At the end of the day, it’s just a conversation. So just be yourself, be authentic, and have a conversation with the interviewer.
If you are looking for more in depth guidance on how to win a drum major spot, make sure to check out Drum Major Auditions: A Complete Guide and if you are looking for a free online video course on everything there is about being a drum major check out Drum Major Essentials.
P.S. I probably broke every rule in the book when it comes to drum major auditions. I was a nervous, fidgeting mess. I mumbled when I spoke. But over time, I kept coming back and I got better. I hope that unlike me, you can learn the easy way. Good luck on your drum major auditions!
The drum major interview is often the most nerve racking and most critical part of a drum major audition. After reading this article, you’ll have a good idea of what your interview might be like as well as some strategies for having a great interview no matter what the questions are.
Before you go on, make sure to ask your band director what the questions will be like and how you should prepare for the interview. You never know, they might just tell you exactly what they will ask you (psst…it’s not that uncommon for them to give it away because they know the previous drum majors would tell you anyways).
If they don’t budge, go over the common questions and answers in this article, think through how you would answer them, and read our insights and strategies for each one. Even if you aren’t asked these exact questions, it is likely your questions will be similar (your director might even be reading this article as well to get an idea of what to ask ?).
This is potentially the most common question in drum major interviews. The key to answering it is to be authentic. It’s ok to have multiple reasons and to be creative beyond these examples. Just think through why you really want to be drum major so that you can answer this question in a genuine way. Some of the common directions you can go in include…
“Ever since I joined band, I always looked up to the drum major. Even before I got to know them, they always just seemed to have it all together and were so friendly at the same time. I’ve always wanted to be that example for other people in the band. I also think that being in the drum major role will allow me to serve the band in ways that I couldn’t if I was a section leader. For example, if I were a drum major, I would make sure all the student leaders in the band were on the same page and communicating with each other. I want to be able to make sure those leaders have the direction and resources they need to do their job and I think it should be the drum major who provides that.”
Think about performance responsibilities, leadership responsibilities, and what the drum major does on and off the field for the band. If you are preparing for a drum major interview right now and it has not been made clear what the responsibilities of the drum major are in your program, make it a point to ask your band director this question.
When you do, come prepared with what you think the role should include so you can ask follow up questions and have a dialog about the topic. Just the fact that you ask your band director this question and that you have given it some thought, will show a lot of initiative on your part.
“First of all, I think it is important that a drum major is a good example on and off the field with everything from practicing their instrument, to being respectful to others and just being a good person who others want to look up to. As a performer, the drum major’s responsibility is to memorize their show just like everyone else, be focused during rehearsals and performances, and to keep the ensemble in time. If something out of the ordinary happens with the show timing, it is up to the drum major team to hold the ensemble together. And as a leader, drum majors are in charge of coordinating the band leadership so that everyone is on the same page and has clear direction.”
This is your chance to show you have been observing the previous drum majors. Be specific as possible. Explain what things they have done that indicated to you that they have the qualities you claim they have.
“I have always noticed that the drum majors are first to rehearsal and last to leave. They never miss a rehearsal or a game. So I think they are definitely really dedicated and hard working. I never see them get angry or stressed out which tells me they have really good composure and are very mature. I think those are all really important qualities to have if you’re going to be a good drum major.”
Be honest. The key here is to show that you are comfortable communicating critical feedback in a constructive and mature way. Avoiding the question about what you don’t like shows that you may be too timid to report important issues to your director.
“I love being with all my friends, I love getting better at my instrument, I like going to the games and marching on the field. I love just about everything about being in band to be honest. If I were to point out some things I don’t like, I would probably say that we could do better as a band at being focused in rehearsals. I think it is ok to have fun but at times I feel the upperclassmen get annoyed when rehearsals slow down because people are talking too much. I think there should be a balance but we need a bit more focus than we had last season.”
This question is checking you in two ways. First, do you have a healthy sense of humility or do you feel entitled to the position. And second, if you truly have the mindset of wanting to serve the band program, you should be able to think of a few ways you can do that without the drum major position.
“If I am not offered a drum major spot, I would just do my best as a member of the band and do many of the same things I would do if I were drum major. I would show up early and leave late and make sure I am always prepared and providing a good example for everyone. One of the reasons I want the position is because I think I can do those things really well and as the drum major I would be able to have a bigger impact.”
Here is your chance to show that you respect your peers and have the ability to speak critically about them in a respectful way without throwing them under the bus.
“I think Brenda and Michael are both really strong leaders. I think either of them would be a great pick. I would personally choose Brenda just because she knows more people in the band and I think that more people will listen to her. Michael mainly only knows the other clarinet players. And I think Sandra has great potential. I think she can be a very strong leader too but she is still a bit younger and has not learned all the ropes of every aspect of the band program yet.”
The key is in the details. The more detailed you are with this answer, the more confident the interviewers will be that you can follow through and take action.
“I think in terms of experience we can do a better job of getting the freshmen more socially integrated into the group. Every year it feels like each class is it’s own little clique and I think we would work together much better if we all felt like one team. I think one way we could do this is to have name tags for everyone in the first week of band camp. Maybe we can even play some games where you have to use people’s names. I also think it would be really helpful if all the student leaders set the example and took the time to learn the freshmen’s names before band camp. At least the ones in their section.In terms of performance, I think the main thing is getting people to practice more so that they learn their part sooner and we get more productive rehearsals happening earlier in the season. I think again, the leaders need to set the example by having their music learned. I heard that in other bands every student has to pass off their music for their section leader and when new music is passed out, the section leaders learn it ahead of time and play it as a mini ensemble for the band so they can hear the music and also to see that the leaders are setting the example. I think if we could pull that off, it would make us play a lot better as a full band.”
Think about your personal strengths but avoid using things that are universal to all good leaders like setting the example for others and being dedicated. What makes you unique?
“I think that if I were on the drum major team, I would be the one who always looks after the more sensitive and timid members of the group. I connect really well with that type of person and not everyone does. If someone was crying or I could just tell they were having a bad day, I am really good at talking to those people and cheering them up.“
I know, I know. It’s a cliché of a question. But it gets asked. All. The. Time. Have one or two responses for each. I recommend having one or two responses for each.
Make sure not to come off as arrogant when talking about your strengths and try not to be too self deprecating when talking about your weakness. Just be fair. You can also include a specific way you are working on improving in that area or mention who it is in the band that you would lean on to help balance out your shortcomings.
And for the love of god, try to avoid using a weakness that actually sounds like a strength like the fact that you care too much or that you are just such a perfectionist. Honesty, self awareness, and willingness to improve is what we are aiming for.
“I’d say my biggest strength is my ability to organize and coordinate people when it comes to logistics. Things like loading trucks or making a system for efficiently getting everyone in and out of uniform. I’m always thinking about ways to make processes more efficient. For example, I think if we took an hour to show everyone how to hang the uniform properly, it would save our uniform crew many hours over the course of the season.I think my biggest weakness would be getting along with shy or timid people. I have a strong circle of friends but I’m just not someone who finds it easy to chat with every type of person. I can be respectful and friendly but I’m not the most social. I definitely want to work on being more social because I think it would help me grow as a person, but ultimately I would lean on other leaders in the band to make sure shy students are not left out socially.”
One of the most common questions involves a scenario and asking you what you would do or how you would respond to the situation. Sometimes there is a right answer and sometimes there is not. Sometimes it is very open ended. Take your time to think about these and if you need to, ask some clarifying questions about the scenario before you dive into an answer.
Often these scenarios involve…
The key to answering this question well is to ask clarifying questions about the scenario if you can and then just talk through the possible solutions to the issue as if you were working together with the interviewer to solve it.
Many times these questions are based on real scenarios that in the moment even your director may not have known how to handle. Just have a conversation. They will not expect you to fire off a definitive answer right off the bat.
Interviewer: “You over heard some students talking about skipping marching band rehearsal to hang out somewhere else after school. They didn’t know you heard them. One of the people who is suppose to be going with them is your best friend. How would you respond in that situation?”
DM Candidate: “How many people would be missing from rehearsal?”
Interviewer: “Let’s say about 5 including your friend.”
DM Candidate: “Are they in the same section?”
Interviewer: “Let’s say they are in different sections. Band rehearsal would go on just fine without them, though not as well as if they were there, and it would be an unusually low attendance day but nothing to investigate.”
DM Candidate: “Well I definitely would talk to my friend and get all the details I could about what was happening first. If she is planning to go, she was probably planning not to tell me because she knows I would tell on them. I think I would have to report the situation to the director, but I would tell my friend first to let her know that I over heard those other students and that I am going to report it. She may not like it very much but I also think if she’s my friend, she’d understand it is my responsibility to report on things like that.”
“Tell me about a time” questions can seem hard to prepare for at first. But when it comes down to it, if you have 3-5 good stories about you in a band related setting learning a lesson, dealing with an issue, or displaying leadership qualities, you can probably answer most of the “tell me about a time” questions.
If you have at least 3 stories, chances are you will be able to use one of them for a “tell me about a time” question if you get one. Some common “tell me about a time” questions include…
Interviewer: “Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for the band program.”
DM Candidate: “When I was a freshmen, I noticed that some of the other freshmen felt overwhelmed during the first couple weeks of band camp. So I just said hi to them and talked to them. I asked why they seemed stressed and we talked about how overwhelming things were and I think after the conversation they calmed down. It might have been a small thing but after that I just made sure that everyone felt like they had a friend to talk to. At the time I didn’t think of it as something I was doing for the band but I do think it had a positive effect on the band program. I think doing my part to bring people into my social circle helped make everyone feel like more of a team.”
Here’s your chance to show you have put a lot of thought into being a drum major. If you have, you’d have a lot of questions right? You should have questions for your interviewer but keep it brief. You’ll have more time for questions later and drum major audition day may be a very long day for your band directors.
“What are the most important qualities you look for when selecting drum majors?”
“If I’m not offered the position this year, how do you think I can prove myself to earn the spot next year?”
“I have lots of questions, but I know we are trying to get through a lot of drum major auditions today so I can hold on to them for another time.”
After thinking through your answers for each of the questions above you’re going to be interviewing like a drum major. Calm, collected, and prepared.
If you are looking for more guidance on how to win a drum major spot, make sure to check out Drum Major Auditions: A Complete Guide and if you are looking for a free online video course on everything there is about being a drum major check out Drum Major Essentials.
P.S. If you’re still nervous about that drum major audition, check out these audition tips!
If you have ever wanted to be a drum major for high school or a drum corps, you know the audition process can be a bit intimidating. This article will cover everything you need to know about the drum major audition process and how to be successful in it.
In this article, I’ve compiled all of the best tips and strategies from working closely with hundreds of band directors and drum majors through our high school drum major clinics and from our experience building the Genesis Drum Major program and creating our online drum major course, Drum Major Essentials.
While the drum major audition process varies from one program to the next, there are some common components. The following are the most common components to high school drum major auditions and how to prepare for them.
First and foremost, learn your fundamentals. In some cases, the style you use may not be important but make sure to ask your band director what their preference is. More than likely, they will ask you to emulate the style of the current drum majors. There are many resources online but the current drum majors and your band director are the best place to ask questions and get feedback on your conducting. A conducting audition generally will have one or more of the following components.
In a drum major conducting audition, you will likely be evaluated on the following.
To prepare for the conducting audition, make sure you are clear on what you will be asked to conduct, practice, and ask your band director what they will be looking for when evaluating conducting.
The interview for high school drum major auditions is, at face value, a chance for the band director to ask how you would react in certain scenarios. They likely already have an idea of your aptitude as a leader, but the interview allows them to see what you think of yourself as a leader, which is often just as important.
To prepare for the interview, ask previous drum majors what their interview questions are. Many band directors recycle the same ones every year. If you can find some good interview questions by asking around, it should calm your nerves a bit.
For a list of common drum major interview questions and answers check out this article.
At the end of the day, most questions are not about getting the answer right. They are about how you answer the question. If you are chosen to be a drum major, your band director will be trusting a lot of responsibility with you, so showing that you can have a candid and honest discourse about things going on in the band program is critical.
It is common to have a marching audition or a marching and playing audition because drum majors should be a good example to everyone on the field and many times are also expected to teach marching fundamentals.
To prepare, don’t be afraid to go out onto the practice field or find some space outside your home to practice your drills. Showing that you are a good example for other band members is critical.
If the drum major in your band program gives commands, many band programs will have drum major candidates demonstrate giving the commands during the audition. Common commands include calling the band to attention and calling the band to parade rest,
To prepare, ask your previous drum majors exactly how the commands are performed. Pay attention to the exact wording, the placement and/or movement of your hands and feet, the way you stand, the rhythm of the vocalizations, and the way they project their voice. Any little detail counts.
In band programs that have student leaders lead sectionals or teach band members how to march, it is common to have a teaching portion in the audition. Typically this would involve them giving you an exercise to teach during the audition to a student or to one of the directors. It will likely be something standard like a box drill. Your job will be to teach the drill as if you are teaching it to a freshmen marcher.
To prepare, ask for the material you will have to teach ahead of time. If you are granted this information, it makes this much easier. Think though the exercise in detail and don’t gloss over things that may seem obvious to you. Consider practicing with a fellow band member, or better yet, a friend of yours that is not in band.
If you don’t get the chance to prepare because you don’t know what they will ask you to teach, just remember to be very detailed in what you are asking your “student” to do and take things slow, making sure they are comprehending every step of the way. Band directors want to see that you can identify and communicate details and they want to see that you are making sure the student is learning the information.
Leadership qualities are often the main determining factor in being selected for drum major and it makes a big difference if you can exhibit strong leadership potential from day one. These are some of the most important ways you can demonstrate leadership potential in your band program. By no means is this exhaustive list but many of these can be considered absolute prerequisites. If you truly excel in most or all of these, you will be very likely to be noticed as a strong leader.
The quickest way to show initiative and get on your band director’s radar is to simply ask them about auditioning for drum major. You might be surprised how much they will be rooting for you to get the position one day after simply taking the initiative to talk to them about it. Because not many other students will do this, it is sure to get you noticed. Here are some specific questions you can ask.
Practice, practice, practice! And I don’t mean practice your conducting, though we will get to that. Practice your primary instrument. Be the kind of band student who is an example to others by being a strong musician. The number one thing band directors tell us they want to see in their student leaders is students who practice a lot to set the example for everyone else.
It’s not necessary to practice in the band hall so that your director and others see you doing it. They will be able to tell if you are practicing by the way you perform during rehearsals. So don’t worry too much about showing off, just practice to be the best musician you can be and ask your director for help when you need it.
Directors can also tell how much you practice by the type of questions you ask about playing your instrument. Remember, they’ve been there and done that so if you are putting in the effort it will be noticed.
Rule number one of earning respect is to give respect. Earning the respect of your fellow band members is critical. If your director can’t imagine other students listening to you or taking direction from you, it will be difficult for them to consider you for a drum major role. Don’t worry, it does not take a specific personality type to be respected and you don’t have to be an extrovert to be a drum major.
Generally all it takes to earn respect in your band program is to give respect. If you feel like this may not come naturally to you, do the following.
The saying goes, “being on time is late and being early is on time”. You want to give the impression to your band director that you are dependable and responsible. That starts with always being early to rehearsals. Shoot for 10 minutes early or however early you need to be to help set up for rehearsal.
Being early also means you’re likely to make friends with the other band members who are early. And those people are likely to also become leaders in the band, so they are good people to be friends with if you want to be drum major.
Enthusiastic and positive attitudes are contagious and having a positive vibe in your band program is just about always a good thing. The people who can keep the attitude fun and light when rehearsals are getting long are extremely valuable. If you are not the type of people who can muster up the excitement in others with your infectious smile and clever jokes, make friends with those who are. It might even rub off on you.
Some things you can do to help out with your band program are…
Some of these duties might already be assigned to specific people in your band program but if they are up for grabs, volunteer for them. Ask your band director if there is anything else you can help with if you don’t see anything that obviously needs to be done.
Always be prepared for rehearsal and always follow the rules in rehearsal. If you are not sure what the rules are or what you need to be prepared, simply asking your director will show a lot of initiative. Many times there are some rules that require clarification and if you can identify those situations where rules are unclear, it shows great attention to detail. So don’t be afraid to talk to your band director. Just make sure you follow through after they give you the direction you were looking for.
As a general rule, in high school programs you will be required to know the basics of conducting for your drum major audition. For drum corps auditions, you are typically expected to already be well practiced in field conducting when you audition.
For both auditions, conducting is usually the second most important factor in selecting drum majors after leadership qualities. Though, if the program you are auditioning for does not necessarily grant a leadership role along with drum major positions, conducting ability may be the main determining factor.
If you need some guidance on getting started with conducting, start with these fundamentals.
This is the first fundamental for a reason. If your body is not properly aligned, conducting will feel different. So if you are constantly shifting your posture, it will be hard to build muscle memory and improve.
It can also be painful on the lower back if you don’t have your weight properly orientated over your feet.
It is very easy to carry a lot of tension in the hands when conducting. Observe the proper hand shape. It should be relaxed. In more advanced lessons from Drum Major Essentials, we talk about how to handle tension when at very fast tempos and after conducting for long periods of time.
Before you can get to that point, the relaxed basic hand shape should be second nature.
The ictus is the location in space that your hands bounce off of on the beat. Most people think it is important to have a consistent ictus so that it is as clear as possible to the ensemble where your beat is. That is true. We want to always be as consistent as possible for the ensemble. But there is a more important reason.
When you get the ictus placement very consistent, it removes a huge variable from the equation when you are trying to improve other things in your conducting. If you can really lock this down, you are going to improve far more quickly than if you glance over it.
Travel is the way we move our hands in between beats. In general, it is a very smooth and slightly bouncy motion.
Having a consistent travel is the second most important thing when it comes to helping the ensemble predict where your beats are going to land. The most important is being in time.
The flick is the motion that some conductors make on the beat to emphasize where the beat is. Flick is one of the only fundamentals that gets taught drastically differently from one program to another. So make sure to ask your band director or previous drum majors about how to flick and if you should do it at all.
Conducting patterns, simply put, are the shapes you draw with your hands when you conduct. There are different patterns for each time signature and there are a variety of different conducting pattern styles.
The patterns taught in Drum Major Essentials are the most common for high school marching bands and drum corps in the United States.
A cut time pattern is a conducting pattern which has been modified to make it more clear at high tempos. Generally this involves conducting less beats in the measure.
As a general rule, complex meters include time signatures other than 4/4, 3/4, and 2/4. Most complex meters are conducted using a combination of simple meter patterns (4/4, 3/4, 2/4).
A cut off is a gesture used to show the ensemble where to release a note. There are many different styles for cut offs and just like patterns, the way you cut off will change at high tempos.
A cue is a gesture made to show the ensemble where to enter. There are many ways to cue and there is no hard and fast rule about how it should be done. But the basic way involves taking a breadth with the band and then making a hand gesture on the beat that they should play on.
Showing dynamics when conducting most of the time involves increasing your pattern size for louder moments and making your pattern small for softer moments. Watch the video above to understand the finer points of showing dynamics and how to practice it.
Another thing you’ll want to become good at is recalling tempos from memory. As a drum major one of your primary roles will to set tempos at the beginning of a performance or musical movement. Once you become a drum major it is going to be more valuable to learn the tempos in your actual marching show, but learning a few tempos now will make it much easier to do down the line and it will help you with holding tempo while conducting in your audition.
Start with memorizing just one tempo really well so that every time you hear a tempo you can tell if it is faster or slower than the one you know. The best way to memorize a tempo is to associate it with a well known tune. Start out first by learning 120bpm (beats per minute) using the song, Stars and Stripes Forever. Then try learning 160bpm using William Tell Overture.
Now notice that since you’ve learned 120bpm and 160bpm, you also know 60bpm and 80bpm because they are just half the speed of 120bpm and 160bpm. The following are some songs you can use to learn your tempos.
With just those 4 you would be able to identify 50bpm, 60bpm, 72bpm, 80bpm, 100bpm, 120bpm, 144bpm, 160bpm, and 200bpm. And you can probably approximate tempos in between the ones you know pretty effectively as well. You can easily continue this process and learn some more tempos but once you become a drum major it is going to be more valuable to learn the tempos in your actual marching show. Learning a few tempos now will make it much easier to do down the line and it will help you with holding tempo while conducting.
Drum corps drum major auditions are very similar to high school drum major auditions with a few key differences to consider. The drum major interview is far more critical to winning the audition, you will have to learn very quickly, and they are far more competitive than high school drum major auditions.
Since the decision makers often will not know you at all other than a video audition and some interaction at a weekend event or two, the interview is the main chance for them to pick your brain and really get to know you.
Be candid, calm, and honest in your answers and ask lots of questions during the interview if you get the chance. Usually, the amount of responsibility that you will have as a drum corps drum major will be far greater than you would as a high school drum major because of the nature of the activity.
You will be away from home for weeks at a time living on the road with your marching ensemble and often managing significant tour operations. So even more than in high school, the drum corps want to make sure they find people who they can trust to report issues, not shy away from problem solving, and get along with everyone.
To prepare for a drum corps drum major interview, understand that your entire audition is an interview. Everything you do and say is being observed because they don’t get the luxury of getting to know you over a couple years of band rehearsals. So go just go into it with a positive attitude, be yourself, and have fun.
You often won’t get the chance to ask a lot of questions ahead of time like you can in high school, so be prepared to learn fast. Ask questions while you can if you are at an in person audition event. And make sure you show improvement in any comments you are given.
That is one of the most common ways to select and eliminate candidates when you only have a weekend or two to choose a drum major team.
For every drum corps in the United States there are about 1000 high schools. And drum corps tend to select drum majors who have already marched in the corps. In fact, some only select this way. So spots are extremely limited and if you get one you should be very proud of your achievement.
If you don’t get a spot where you decided to audition, consider auditioning somewhere else because if you get a spot somewhere else, it will give you a huge advantage in your auditions the next year and it just might turn out to be an amazing experience even if it wasn’t your first choice.
All that said, don’t take it personally if you don’t get a spot. If marching drum corps is your dream, keep audition. Don’t give up!
Becoming a drum major is a great achievement no matter where you are auditioning and it is an extremely rewarding experience. Make sure that if you do become a drum major, that you help out the next generation and teach them everything you know. Good luck on your auditions!
P.s. If you are still nervous about that audition try reading our drum major audition tips. And if you enjoyed this information or got value out of it, please consider supporting Genesis with a donation…or a simple follow on Instagram. That’s not so much to ask right? Maybe a like on Facebook if you can manage it…wink. Take care y’all.
We are proud to announce that we are launching our first ever free online educational course for the marching arts community. Our mission in launching this drum major training course is to make drum major training more accessible and to provide an asynchronous learning tool for band directors who are seeking to train their drum majors or prepare them for their drum major auditions.
The curriculum taught in the course was put together by the Genesis conducting staff and the lessons are demonstrated by the Genesis 2021 drum major team. We are proud to have worked with Hen’s Bread Productions to film the course during spring training of our 2021 season as well as doing the editing, graphics and animations that make the course beautiful and engaging.
On September 15th we will be officially launching and making available to the public a comprehensive 34 video course that covers everything from conducting fundamentals to field timing analysis. The following is an outline of the topics covered:
Basic Posture
Hand Shape
Projecting Confidence
Cut Offs
Cues
Dynamics
Beginner Style Development
Advanced Style Development
DB90
Tonal Energy
Travel
The Paint Brush Exercise
Ictus Placement
The Table Top Exercise
Flick
Understanding Sound on the Field
Head Conductor Responsibilities
Backfield Conductor Responsibilities
Arrow Pattern
Cut Time Pattern
Complex Meters
Slow Tempos
Conductor Roles
Conductor Staging
Team Warm Up
Matching
We are excited to release this product to the public and could not be more proud of our students and staff who worked hard to create it for the drum major community and the music educator community. We believe that creating online education options will strengthen our activity, make it more resilient to emergency events, and ultimately help us to fulfill our mission of Education Through Performance with an ever growing group of students for years to come.
