Re: Playing outdoors to improve tone quality


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Posted by Leland on April 28, 2002 at 22:27:26:

In Reply to: Playing outdoors to improve tone quality posted by Joey Moulton on April 27, 2002 at 17:01:50:

It doesn't matter to me at ALL what you do this summer as long as you have a good time, whether it's marching in a corps, taking lessons from an instructor, or playing Playstation.

Taking lessons from a good teacher, AND putting in your own 2-4 hours per day, will help your playing. Marching in a competent corps (big or small... you'd be surprised at how much responsibility is required of a lone contrabass player!) will help your playing.

Taking lessons from a bad teacher, AND reinforcing those poor ideas with 2-4 hours per day, will hurt your playing. Marching in a badly taught corps (yes, even a big one) will hurt your playing.

Playing Playstationn will build your skills at games like Grand Theft Auto, but will have nothing to do with your music. :-)

It was mentioned in an earlier thread that marching band can provide an outlet to practice extreme volume in an ensemble setting. That is, not only are you playing really, really loud, but you'd still be required to play in tempo and with some semblance of intonation. A good corps will be after a much more refined sound, usually not playing loudly as frequently as a typical marching band.

And, a side benefit (but, really, a more important one) will be that you'll have to learn how to manage personal relationships. Simply by being on tour for weeks at a time, spending 24 hours a day with everyone in the corps, you'll grow up a lot in one summer -- even more in five.

Again, just have fun this summer. I'm doing the only professional drum corps gig in the country, and having loads of fun; others are doing all kinds of other things, and having as much fun.


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