The Role of a Drum Major.

Fun stuff, no? Well, seeing as how auditions for my school are happening in the coming month, I wanted to see what YC had to say about it.

Personally, I think a DM needs to be confident. Confidence is contagious, after all. They need to be well respected (which is, I guarantee, my biggest stumbling block- I'm only a freshman, but I can and will try out next year...) and well liked. Obviously, they need to be a good musician, and they need to be able to work efficiently, and motivate the band. Your thoughts?

What do you think are some qualities necessary to be a good Drum Major?

Do you know of any leaders (not necessarily musical) that exhibited traits that would be admirable in a drum major? (For example, our current DM used Hitler in her essay as an example... She highlighted some negative characteristics as well, however :P )

And, finally.... Have any of you noticed any qualities in ME that might be good in a DM? (Not expecting much with this one, but thought I might throw it out there.)

-MF

A Drum Major should be confident and respected. He or she should also be respectful. They should be hard on the band/corps without being unreasonable. Ideally, they should be well-liked before becoming a dm. If you're in a band like mine, where we only have one drum major regardless of how big we get, they should be a rising senior so that someone else will get a chance the next year.

Also, there's the obvious stuff, like being able to conduct, keep time, etc. Another helpful thing is the ability to project your voice without wearing it out. If your band goes to contests where the judge the drum major, you should have a sense of showmanship. But not something over the top.

Another thing to remember is that whoever chooses the drum major (be it the band director, another instructor, or the band itself), you've been trying out since the minute you've met them. People who become Drum Major display leadership qualities from Day 1. They know what they're doing and where they're supposed to be, and if they don't, they ask before it's too late.

The practical role of the drum major is to keep time and look good up front. Really, that's the fundamental purpose.

But since DMs also do a bunch of leadership/grunt-duty-type stuff, obviously the high school drum major audition panel will be looking at other factors as well. (note: not necessarily applicable for college DM auditions)

How comfortable are you talking with the audition panel?

DMs get face time as representatives of the band, so that's important.

What is your rapport with the directors?

The interviewers will ask some kind of question that gets this answer, for example if you are in the 2nd band, odds are they will be asking themselves "why?" It's stupid, but it's true.

Do you have a track record of being helpful?

aka prior leadership positions.

Etc.

Now...call me prejudiced, but a person who writes a "who exhibits qualities I want to imitate" on Hitler isn't the brightest bulb in the bunch. That one you have to answer on your own, because the idea is for the reader to gaze into your soul. :P

Hey, it would take a pretty convincing leader to get so many people to kill so many other people....

That's what I want to be like!!!

:rolleyes: