Officially, the first day of summer is June 20th, the summer solstice. But for those marching drum corps, their summer training begins this weekend. The grueling hours of move-ins start back up on Saturday for most corps.
In the drum corps world, move-ins is the part of the season where the members rehearse all day, every day at their home rehearsal site. It marks the beginning of the summer marching season and for most members it is the most difficult part of the summer.
Glassmen Alumnus and Memphis Sound staff member Bethany Longcrier says its the long hours of practice during move-ins that really add up.
“Going from sun up to sun down and knowing that schedule is going to be the same every day is the hardest part for me,” said Longcrier.
The duration of move-ins varies from corps to corps. Most will last until the middle of June, approximately four weeks. During this time, a drum corps will practice technique and basics while also learning their competitve marching show. Physical training is also thrown into the mix.
One important aspect of the weeks of rehearsing is technique training. A color guard will spend hours working on basic technique in dance, flag, rifle and sabre. This ensures that every member spins exactly the same and works to perfect that technique. The practice is often tedious and challenging both physically and mentally.
The drum corps also learns their entire show during move-ins. Atleast the first couple of versions of it. Staff members are known for using a method of trial-and-error to perfect the marching show, so that the end result in August is the best it could be.
“Move-ins are definitely the hard part, but it’s worth it once you get on tour because then you get to show off what you’ve been working on,” said Longcrier.
