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My words of wisdom... from one DM to another.
Confidence, fluidity, smoothness, and more confidence.

haha..knowing me,that can probably happen. xd

-bump- anymore advice?? c'mon,i know there's a ton.. biggrin

Be loud, but also remember to be clear. That was one of the mistakes I made in my audition. You want to make sure that they understand your commands as well as they can hear it.

Remember that there's a difference between being yourself and being the drum major. There are times when you are their friend, and there are times when you are their leader. You should always try to be a friendly leader, but don't let them take advantage of that.

Also, just remember that you're still human, and you still make mistakes. The band should, theoretically, follow your lead when you make one, but don't place the blame on them for doing it wrong if they do.

im too scared to become drum major >.<

Being a drum major is just like an amplified section leader role. I can't teach you how to conduct properly, since I'm not a DM myself, but I have some tips. Many of these have been covered in some form by the other members.

- It is much better to be an efficient leader than a popular leader. You absolutely cannot please everybody. Even if you do everything right from the presentation side- stand with good posture, smile, be firm when you say something- there will be people who call you names and question your competence. Don't let this could your main goal, which is to help the band on its way to perfection. You could change the way you run things on a dime, but then people will not respect your rule because they cannot trust it to be consistent. The best way is to carry on as you do.

- Emphasize with your band how important it is that what goes on off the field and what goes on in practice are independent of each other. One of the (in my opinion) downright most foolish attitudes I've seen is to dislike somebody for extended periods of time because they called you out during practice and you take it personally. It's a rehearsal, it's your job- not a social club. You compliment people who are accomplishing it (to show others how it's done; don't be excessive), and constructively reprimand those who aren't and offer a viable solution. Off the field, it doesn't matter who messed up when. We're all in it together, and promote respect and friendship.

- Don't say something unless you intend to follow through. "If you don't stop talking in ten seconds we're all getting down and doing 70 pushups!" [10 seconds elapse, talking doesn't cease] "Um... okay, this is a warning, you'd better not do it again." People don't listen to strong threats. They listen to reasonable consequences that are actually acted out upon. If you say you're all doing 70 pushups, no matter how much it sucks, you're doing 70 pushups if the behavior continues.

- Try to include yourself in as many of the consequences as you can. We're all part of the team. Being a DM means you're in a position of power and trust from your BD, but you aren't above the rules. When it makes sense, if you assign a lap to the group, run it with them. It's not that they didn't bring it, it's that we didn't bring it. Every time I've had to give a lap to my section as a whole, I've done it with them. There have been times when I didn't feel like I was bringing it personally and assigned myself push-ups.

definatly, i wish i could be drum major, but i didn't make it. don't be stupid is all i can say. we have one really kewl drum major. the other is a jerk who no one likes but we listen b/c we all want the chance at kids when we are older (bd will go crazy) either ppl will listen, but make sure they listen b/c they like you, not b/c they're scared of the bd, like us (i luv my bd but she was crazy for picking him!)

i don't think you'll have this problem, but just in case