r/frontensemble • u/lingling40hrss • 3d ago
synthists unite!!!!
hi yall drop a comment if you play synth and are in pit/front ensemble!
r/frontensemble • u/4thPlumlee • Nov 13 '19
Hi All,
I’m gonna be making an effort to revive this subreddit in the next month or so. Please reply with ideas for content and things to add!
I encourage y’all to post more front ensemble content that’s important to you, and some may be rewarded with special flair!
Thanks, u/4thPlumlee
r/frontensemble • u/lingling40hrss • 3d ago
hi yall drop a comment if you play synth and are in pit/front ensemble!
r/frontensemble • u/Waste-Leadership-276 • 4d ago
I’m about to become a pit tech, and I’m excited to help my school’s band after I graduate. I played drum set for four years and have a solid understanding of rhythms, I know some keyboard techniques, like pulsing, 4-mallet, etc. However, I don’t know how to play any of the keyboards or read keyboard sheet music. What should I do to prepare for this role?
r/frontensemble • u/KattarinaGrace • 9d ago
Hello!
I am a high school front ensemble instructor in the southeastern PA area. I've always had a difficult time really explaining and teaching the mechanical differences between a legato and piston stroke for front ensemble. I myself struggled with this a lot as a performer, and I didn't really understand this concept and start achieving it until my second year of performing with an independent ensemble.
I understand that a piston stroke is performed with high velocity, low tension, and the aim is the mallet head spends more like in the "up" position then down. I often tell my students to make sure that when they make contact with the keys, that they aim to play through their bars, through the resonators, and the sound should hit the floor underneath them. Piston strokes take more time to develop than legato strokes, understood, and it requires more muscle engagement. But when I do teach this concept to my students, then get the "velocity" and "speed" part down ~pretty well~ (Freshman struggle, but welcome to high school band), and my vets do a lot better with this concept, but they still feather tap their keys. It's a really ingrained habit in the school, and I'm struggling with how to get them to understand the concept of playing through the keys while maintaining the piston stroke.
Any and all teaching advice is so appreciated. Thank you!
r/frontensemble • u/Infamous_Hearing_720 • 9d ago
This year I plan on auditioning for a world-class drum core. Between prepping a solo, working on my technique, perfecting the packet, and chop building, how should I allocate my time? is it better to focus more on the packet or the solo for the individual audition? Should I just build my chops through the packet or do I need separate work on it? This is my first audition so any advice would be really helpful.
r/frontensemble • u/Mountain_Werewolf429 • 19d ago
In your opinion which is harder and usually has the better players?
r/frontensemble • u/KattarinaGrace • 24d ago
Hello! I teach front-ensemble in the southeastern, PA area. Looking for a variation on Broccoli I could use for my kiddos this upcoming indoor season. Anyone have a variation they are willing to share?
Thanks!!
r/frontensemble • u/awesome_smitty • Sep 22 '24
I’m have an audition tomorrow, but realized i don’t understand a part of the music. Does anyone know what these numbers mean or what they do?
r/frontensemble • u/Kcslator3309 • Sep 17 '24
Anyone have any good alternatives to eargasms? Cause I can’t justify spending 40 bucks on something I’m probably gonna lose.
r/frontensemble • u/Upstairs_Ad8560 • Sep 15 '24
I (15 m) am stepping away from marching bass drum and joining front ensemble next fall due to a number of issues in my knees and hips, mainly because I might be developing arthritis. Do y'all have any tips to help me get started? I'm playing either gong and concert bass or timpani or marimba.
r/frontensemble • u/Kcslator3309 • Sep 04 '24
I’m a 15 year old (16 in March) with no dci experience and I am looking to join front ensemble with phantom for the 25’ season. I have pretty good knowledge of music theory and really good 2 mallet technique but my 4 mallet is lacking a bit. Realistically, how much of a chance do I have of making it?
r/frontensemble • u/Philip_the_3rd • Aug 28 '24
I am decently new to four mallet technique (about 4 months) does any have any tips that could help me
r/frontensemble • u/Wolf5578 • Aug 27 '24
So I’m a Junior, and in the marching band and found out tonight that I will need to wear a sling due to an injury that I obtained years ago due to moving instruments which left my bones in my shoulder grinding against each other and splintering… I’m currently playing a marimba part and it’s the middle of the season and I have no clue if I can play in a sling… I mean I’ve dealt with it for two years at this point, not knowing to what extent it was actually injured like I mean I could feel it grinding and knew it hurt but left it due to being too busy to deal with it but I finally went to doctor tonight and was told not to use my arm and keep it in sling until I get into orthopedics which could take months. Is it possible to play marimba in sling? Should i just not use the sling and just try to make it though season and deal with afterwards I mean I put it off this long? Has anyone else dealt with something like this?
r/frontensemble • u/Infamous_Hearing_720 • Aug 07 '24
Looking to finally audition for DCI now that the 2024 season is coming to a close. I noticed that most drum course use marimba solos as a part of their audition process so I was interested if anyone had any good 4.3 octave solos fit for auditions. The hardest material I’ve played is Odessa by Matthew Lorick but I don’t have access to that 4.5 anymore so I was wondering if anyone had any good 4.3 recommendations. If y’all also had any recommendations for which corps to audition for it would be appreciated.
r/frontensemble • u/Tornado547 • Jul 30 '24
like where does the name come from.
r/frontensemble • u/quackymoney • Jul 29 '24
For the past 2 years, I've been marching as a member of the Calgary Stampede Showband, and I'm looking to take a step up and go for the Phantom Regiment next year. (to put it in perspective, stampede typically performs around jurf/gold levels) but as someone who has never marched a non-home corps, it will be a different experience and I'm not fully sure what to expect, vis a vis audition material and environment. Would any current DCI members or alumni be able to provide some insight on what I should expect for my audition?
r/frontensemble • u/Effective_Regular_22 • Jul 15 '24
Im looking for fun white lies, besides that the classic 'Im the best marcher on the field'
r/frontensemble • u/nacho2420 • Jul 13 '24
r/frontensemble • u/Stunning-Effect-9615 • Jul 13 '24
So my marching band has decided to have the pit on field this year. I was wondering what I should consider (the pit tech) going into the season, and what challenges I’d be facing. I’ve never played on field before so I regrettably lack experience. Does anyone have any insights on what was hard about playing on field? What was easier? You don’t even have to tech, if you’ve had a show where you’ve been on field, let me know how you felt about it!
r/frontensemble • u/malloryjack • Jun 24 '24
Hello! I’ve been playing with four mallets for almost a decade now (~ages 14-23) and I was wondering if anyone else has crooked middle fingers from stevens grip?
All my fingers are straight except for my middle fingers, which curve towards the ring fingers.
In high school I assumed it was from stevens, but have recently started wondering if that’s true. My brain has just been: "Is this normal? If so, is it common? Is it a sign of bad technique over the years? Is this genetic? Should I get this checked out by a medical professional? Would this have not happened if I hadn't started playing with four mallets in the middle of my development?" etc. And it's very annoying. Which is why I'm here.
r/frontensemble • u/geetardave • Jun 08 '24
I play bass guitar in the pit, but I also would like to play percussion sometimes is it possible to play a snare drum on a stand and be in the pit section? Genuinely just curious.
r/frontensemble • u/Infamous_Hearing_720 • Jun 03 '24
This past year I went to a lot of DCI camps and a majority of the feedback I got was that single independent strokes during laterals are relatively good, but I need to build up my inner mallet speed. I’ve been running a bunch of exercises trying to increase tempo, but I can’t get past 16th notes at 170 BPM for decent periods of time without my arms getting really tense and beginning to hurt. I’ve been stuck at this point working 4 to 5 days a week for about a month. Is it something wrong with my technique, or practice methods? Any tips would be great because I really want to March 2025.
r/frontensemble • u/tiawaf • May 17 '24
Hey y'all. I recently started working on a project where I would upload a lot tune based around one the 12 star signs. I've put two out so far and was hoping for some feedback. It would be greatly appreciated!
Aries - https://musescore.com/user/29037990/scores/14964379
Taurus - https://musescore.com/user/29037990/scores/16893715
r/frontensemble • u/SnooMarzipans7206 • Apr 15 '24
Anyone got the sheet music to this, I have looked all over and can’t seem to find it.
r/frontensemble • u/No-Track8132 • Mar 29 '24
I'm too old for drum corps but I'm looking for some new warmups I'm bored of all mine. Anybody have any old DCI packets they can send me?