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There are as many opinions on how to tune a drum as there are people who tune drums, really. There is no "one true way." In drum corps, the Great Transition really took place in the late 80's and early 90's as kevlar heads came into wide use, and then free floating snares built to take advantage of them. That's about the time I got in to drum corps, so while I can't give a definitive history of the introduction of kevlar, I can speak about the changes in drums and give some listening examples. In 1989, Star of Indiana used Premier free floaters, and BD tested a prototype Yamaha snare that was actually a Premier snare. (Listen to Star's Fantasia on the Dargason for some pretty good exposed snare passages and Blue Devil's Allegre.) By today's standards, the tuning on those are comically low and "wet" (much more snare sound). In 1990, Pearl put out their FFX snare (Listen to SCV's "Carmen"), and in my opinion, tuning took a *huge* step upwards. Snares were higher (tighter), and especially tenor tuning got cranked up a fair bit. In 1991, the Crossmen upgraded to Premier's free-floating snares and tenors, but (again, IMO) the tuning only increased incrementally. Star of Indiana used Premier free floating snares, but mylar heads. Listen to "Puma" (Crossmen) and the drum feature in Star's closer for contrast. In 1992, Yamaha finally released their prototype sFz snares, and Madison and Cavaliers tested them out. Funny enough, Blue Devils did not, so if you listen to, say, "Funny" from Madison, "Peterloo" from Cavaliers and the drum feature from "Cuban Fire" by the Blue Devils, you get three very different interpretations from the same brand of drum. Blue Devils upgraded to the sFz in 1993, and to me, at least, it's a pretty noticeable transition. The Cadets in '93 used a very choked-off sounding tuning on their snares that they stayed with for several years. Blue Devils in '94 also really "dried" (less snare sound) the tone of their snares. We can probably blame them for a decade of high school kids caving their drums in by over-tightening them. :) If you really feel like getting into shades of grey, the Cavaliers in '95 used 13" snares in the "Mars" opener then 14" snares the rest of the way. ("Mercury" is a good example.) --- Kevlar's not the "devil," but it was the solution to a problem that DCI lines were having in that drum tuning was outpacing the strength of mylar heads. Instructors were looking for higher pitches to cut through ensemble sound, and kevlar definitely allows that. Unfortuntately, kevlar heads turned out to be stronger than wood shells on snare drums, and tightening the heads too much popped the lugs right out of the wood shells, or caved in the shells completely. (If you look on eBay, just about every pre-owned "traditional" marching snare they have on there has lugs that are bent away from the shell.) Kevlar heads also pose a bit of a health hazard, as they don't have the "bounce" that mylar heads do. Less rebound = less forgiving = more stress on forearms. In the late 90's, tendonitis started to become a serious issue for players. Drum companies responded with "hybrid" heads that softened the construction a bit and improved response. That's where we're at now - those have been around for almost a decade at this point, and have greatly reduced playing pain. They also allow for a little more snare sound to peek through, and less of the "formica" sound. --- So, there's the armchair version. I'm sure there are folks who know much more than me about it who can also pass some knowledge. Thanks! Mike

This isn't a conversation about which show is better, or whether corps could/should play more notes. Its simply an evaluation of a statement someone made. Could other brass lines do the things that Crown is doing. The overwhelming answer in my opinion is yes. Crown writes their show around an Ott trophy. They focus (almost entirely) on programming to showcase their brass section (and in my opinion, that is part of the issue with their percussion scores). That being said, (and as others have mentioned) the things their brass are doing are pretty straight forward. That's not to say they aren't difficult, but they are skills that with the right training are definitely performable by a top 12 brass line. The trick is, the demands never stop. The brass just never stops playing. Yes, the argument could be made that what they are doing is harder than the rest of DCI, but by how much? How many of those skills are just a product of working on endurance for the entire summer? As a percussionist I liken it to the difference between a Thom Hannum book and a Mike Macintosh book. I wouldn't classify either as harder than the other (depending on the year), but the difficulty is different. Hannums notes are much more straight forward, with rhythms that are sometimes easier to grasp at the beginning. There are just 5 million of those rhythms. The difficulty is often in the sheer density. Mac's notes tend to be a little more mentally complicated, with metric modulations all over the place, bizarre uneven phrases (see 2011 snare feature), unusual stickings, and so on. Macs notes may not be as dense as Hannum's, but they will take longer to wrap the mind around. Essentially, with the right training, any of the performers at this level will be able to grasp the concepts being taught at another level. Any of the staffs would be able to teach said concepts. Crown has chosen the direction they want to go in, and it works for them. The same can be said for Blue Devils, Cadets etc. The idea that one corps couldn't play another corps show is a little ridiculous. Every drum corps focuses on the skills needed to perform their show with their technique program. If Blue Devils were playing Crown's show, they would change the priorities of their technique program. Crown would do the same if the opposite were true. Klesch's statement would ring more true if he were to stay "what can we do that other corps WOULDN'T do". That has been the difference between their brass and others in the past few years.

May have even passed Crown.

From the Renegades website:

I wish to suggest that the part of myself be played by Brad Pitt, but he'd have to endure some heavy make-up sessions to look sexier.

We are thrilled to announce our 2014 production! Details and promo video at https://www.facebook.com/alliancedrumcorps/posts/10151743112951003

Sounds like they have not closed the doors totally on DCA. I would certainly hate to see a watered down..neutered version of the Renegades come back to DCA though. I think one thing that seperated Renegades from the rest of the pack was the Renegades Swagger both on the field and off the field. I mean the place to party was to the Renegades Hotel. I always made it a point the years I had a rental car or transportation to stop by and see the Renegades and the Statesmen because they both knew how to throw down and party like rock stars. Hope to see them back in thier old form some day soon at DCA.

ALLIANCE is thrilled to announce our 2014 production! Details on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/alliancedrumcorps

C'mon, please don't go there. The o.p. asked a legit question; no trying to steer into an anti-amplification thread. Peace, Fred O.

This attitude used to be the basis of the Cadets. Now it's Crown, while the Cadets continue to do safe, safer, safest programs. Funny how things change.

Not in the same way Blue Devils did: DEFINITELY not visually. My point, again, is that Blue Devils, Crown, Cadets design in specific ways to max out sheets & effect for their own strengths/weaknesses. Crown's version of re:Rite of Spring would have little similarities to Blue Devils and Blue Devils E=mc2 would be radically different than Crown (though, FWIW, I would LOVE to see what Blue Devils would do with that rotating 3D cone - I don't think that was ever really crystal clean). The beauty of those corps, and to a lesser extent recently Cavaliers, is that their designers are very unique and do their own thing their own way. Arguably other corps do that as well, but not IMO to the extent that Crown, Blue Devils and Cadets (and sometimes Cavaliers lately) do. I read what Mike Klesch said more as a testament to design sensibilities than "only Crown can play the horn books we play - no one else could." Perhaps I'm wrong about his intent

BREAKING NEWS: Cadets have altered the title of their 2014 program from "This is what They Said" to "That's what SHE said". Look for the corsp to utilize 10 king size beds and hundreds of throw pillows as props. That is all.

The stadium video production team at this year's DCI show in Buffalo.... played by the 3 stooges

Justin Bieber - back-end of the VK horse. (Still looking for someone for the front end).

Adam Sandler = Little Jeffrey

I could see Michael Cesario being played by Stanley Tucci

Hey, keep the electronics and woodwinds out, and it will be drum corps no matter what key the horns are in. B)