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Edward Gobbel Returns to Genesis as Corps Director

Edward Gobbel has had many roles with the Genesis organization. From 2011 to 2015 he was an instrumental partner and the heart in building the culture and focused energy of the corps as Education Director and Arranger, and has been a consultant for the organization since 2020. Mr. Gobbel returns to the corps to lead the next charge of building a diverse and high energy experience for our members!

Edward F. Gobbel – he/his

Armed with a two-valved, key-of-G mellophone bugle, Ed walked into his first drum corps rehearsal in 1989. Since June of 1990 when he got on that Glassmen tour bus for the first time, and ending in his 1994 age-out year with The Cadets of Bergen County, the performing and pageantry arts have been at the center of Ed’s professional and personal life.

Mr. Gobbel studied music education at Wayne State and Michigan State Universities before beginning his professional journey. All across the US, Ed served as an instructor, wind arranger, drill designer, and/or clinician for more than 50 high schools and universities. Most notably, Ed spent almost 20 years as an educator and consultant for BOA finalist American Fork High School in Utah. He works with band programs to increase their rehearsal efficiency, mentor drum majors and leaders, and assist with staff training and show design.

Over the last 28 years in DCI, he served as a brass educator for The Cadets of Bergen County and the Blue Knights as well as brass caption chair and brass arranger for the Troopers. Ed traveled to Medellin, Colombia as a guest clinician to work with the Gran Banda Drum and Bugle Corps. Joining the Genesis team in 2011, he served as brass arranger, brass caption chair, staff coordinator, long-haul red-eye truck driver, and Director of Education. Edward worked as an Educational Sales Rep for Summerhays Music in Salt Lake City, Utah before working as the Wind Instrument Product and Brand Manager at Jupiter Band Instruments in Austin, Texas. During his tenure at Jupiter, Ed led the team that designed and launched their debut line of marching brass instruments. Ed also served as the international manager of Altus Flutes, a Japanese hand-made professional flute company.

As an amateur radio operator and electronics hobbyist, Ed uses his skills as an educator to teach certification classes and is an FCC endorsed licensing examiner. For a short time, Ed even homeschooled his middle school son. Since 1987, Ed’s prolific and diverse experience as an educator and performer has maintained one common theme: creating experiences for students to discover themselves through performance.

9 Drum Major Audition Tips

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.

1 – Talk to your band director

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.

2 – Prepare for the interview

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.

3 – Practice! Practice! Practice!

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.

4 – Don’t fidget

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.

5 – It’s ok to pause before you answer interview questions

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.

6 – Avoid saying “I don’t know” during the interview

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.

7 – Avoid saying “um” or “like” during the interview

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.

8 – Keep your composure during the interview

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.

9 – Ask Your Current Drum Majors for Help

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.

Conclusion

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!