Some thoughts on drum corps, competition and the beginning of the season...A Note to Addison! Updated

SHOW DAY! 

(Some corps have already had their first show...)

This is addressed to the members of all corps, but most notably, my son, Addison, who is marching his first show soon. GO Addison!

As we enter the competitive portion of the season, I would like to share some thoughts with you about this part of the activity. I have had the privilege of participating in the competition side of drum corps from all sides for many years.

This is the panel from the last DCI Show I ever judged, 2008 Finals. 

This was a great panel of great people, who had a tough job that night.

INTRINSIC versus EXTRINSIC

In all likelihood, you became a member of your corps to play/march in a legendary hornline/drumline/color guard, wear the uniform, enjoy the traditions we all love, play great music, entertain crowds or probably a host of several other personal reasons. In other words, your motivations were intrinsic and you have been able to naively feed those motivations up to this point in the season. With the beginning of the competition season, we can easily allow the motivation to become extrinsic and place our drive in the hands of others. Don't get me wrong, I am as competitive as almost anyone you may know--after all, I am a trumpet player. Just compete against yourself!

I enjoyed judging field brass. I loved the passion of the performers and I still do.

If tonight you get a great score and rock the DCI world, will your internal motivations change? I would hope not. However, I have watched numerous groups (over the many years) come out "guns blazing" only to fade down the stretch, because they failed to continue to work at the level that allowed them to achieve that fast start. I would hope that your work ethic, attitude, passion and relentless pursuit of excellence would continue to grow, regardless of the score.

Requiem, 1984 Suncoast Sound. A poignant moment for me in my performing career. 

If tonight you do not get the score you were hoping for, will your internal motivations change? I would hope not. I have seen time and time again, groups struggle early in the season, work hard, adjust the show and finish strong. One particular corps comes to mind, 2008 Phantom Regiment was beaten badly early season and many people wrote that corps off, even as late as Atlanta. Good thing those members, and staff kept pushing all the way to the end. The result was a legendary performance in DCI History.

DCI JUDGE (Harder than it looks!)

What does a DCI judge have to do? They are expected to read, comment, evaluate, compare, analyze and react to a show as it is occurring in time. Keep in mind that there is a tremendous amount of complexity to all of the shows (State of the Art, albeit incomplete early season), from both the performance and the design viewpoints. Then, within two minutes, you must synthesize all of that information into a rank and rate score that involves determining a box placement, the range within the box, sub-caption breakdowns and determining the appropriate spread for that group relative to other groups.

This is a difficult job. 

It is a thankless job. 

It is a job that is scrutinized by fans, members, staffs and fellow judges. 

It is, however, an essential job as long as the activity remains competitive.

All of this is done without any knowledge of what may follow over the course of the night; and, I might add, it should occur without any expectations of what may or may not happen.

Why is that important? 

• An example: I may give Group A a 13.7, close to box 4 (but not quite in box 4) and .4 higher than group B, which seemed like an appropriate spread at the time. 
• Based on their performances and my evaluation, the next three groups to follow Group A and B must now fit between my first two groups. 
• In other words, I now have five groups separated by .1, and, as a judge, I am in a difficult situation. 
• What if, with these same groups, I am afraid that last scenario might occur? I play it safe and place .6 between the first two groups (with the "value of a tenth" this is possible), which allows me room to place those other groups between the groups. 
• However, the next three groups are all a little bit better than the second group. I then must place more than a 1.3 between the five groups and this score competitively crushed the first group. 
• In addition, I have placed three groups into box 4, which may not have earned that placement, and the competitive dynamics have been significantly impacted by this one decision. 

All of this is processed in a matter of minutes following a performance, and these decisions are made over and over again throughout the competition by multiple judges. 

I say all of this for you to see, all of these scenarios have nothing to do with your performance, preparation, work ethic or attitude, as well as, truly nothing to do with the skill of the judge. Remember, all of this happened with competitive corps and comparable performances. You could be the group that finishes on top, or on the bottom, but none of this is within your control. The corps' score is a collection of opinions viewed through a system and influenced by many factors, most of which are out of your control--except for your performance level.

1984 Suncoast Sound Mellophone section was a great section!

ACCEPTANCE 

As a performer, I spent two whole seasons focused on the judges and scoring--remember, I am a trumpet player. One of those years, 1984 Suncoast Sound, the corps earned the second highest placement in the history of the corps, had an amazing hornline, trend-setting show design and we toured to some amazing places. A lot to be happy about, right? However, I was miserable, because I allowed outside forces to influence my internal drive. I was so disgusted with the activity after that summer, I took 1985 completely off from drum corps. When I returned to the corps in 1986, I made the conscious decision to not focus on scores at all. Rather, I was going to enjoy every performance, work really hard and try to help everyone around me be better. Ironically, given my career as a judge, my philosophy was, "Ignore the judges, I am doing this for my corps, my friends, our fans and myself." A funny thing happened, I had an awesome summer and the corps got better. Did the corps get better because of my approach to competition? I do not know. I do know this much, I had more fun and I know it did not hurt the corps.

CONCLUSION

I conclude with this thought. Regardless of how tonight/this season turns out, good/bad/somewhere in between, continue to embrace why you joined your corps and love every moment. Continue to give tirelessly of yourself to every rep. Focus on the present. Remain a positive influence on those around you. Support each other. Push yourselves harder than you think you can be pushed, and then push some more. Perform with a passion...all of the time. Treasure every time you get to put on the uniform, because there will be a day, sometime in the near future, when you will never have the privilege of doing that again. 

Drum Corps Prayer!

May you all enjoy,

Safe travels! Steady tempi! In-tune chords! Calm winds and a cool breeze! Smooth fields! Great weather! Amazing performances! Friendships for a lifetime and being skinnier than you will ever be the rest of your life.

Have a great summer!
Andy