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"Stock charts" for drum corps


davidp

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Not to "stir the puddin'," as it were, but has there been any thought given to publishing "stock charts" for drum corps? Given the advent of "any key," and the growth of mini corps, it seems to me that being able to buy brass/brass & percussion pieces would be a boon especially to upstart corps. I realize that most stuff is arranged to be tailored to a particular corps, and its instrumentation, but for new, or smaller groups, it might be easier and more cost effective to purchase something "off the shelf." I would think that the arrangers would make more money off their arrangements this way, seeing that a lot of groups would be buying and playing them, but that's just me. Is it just a matter of convincing music publishers that there is a market for it, or are there other factors to be considered as well? For mini corps, something like the "nine-plus" series that some publishers have might fit that bill. It just seems to me that since one can buy a whole marching band show from places like J.W. Pepper and the like, it would also be beneficial for drum corps, and especially mini corps.

Any thoughts, comments, snide remarks :tongue: ?

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Until every corps plays the same song / arrangement of song during the same season. And the arrangers go on strike since they're no longer being employed. Worst case scenario of course. But I remember that in 2004 something like 4 or 5 corps played summertime. Out of the 20 or so corps that participated at DCA. And then you look at the DCI championships CD with only the 1st place corps and how many versions of Malaguena, West Side Story, and Channel One Suite do you get. Not that it wouldn't be nice to see how they did/do it. But I'm not convinced that it'd be a good thing to have.

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Not to "stir the puddin'," as it were, but has there been any thought given to publishing "stock charts" for drum corps?

Any thoughts, comments, snide remarks :tongue: ?

Ya know, that could prove interesting. I just may begin work on a collection of tunes for small groups just to see if there are any takers....

TAFL

Edit: I'm thinkin' parts in both G and B-flat/F in each "package" downloaded.

How long for each tune? 2 to 2.5 minutes? 3?

How much ya think folks would pay for a "stock" arrangement?

Edited by TAFL
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Ya know, that could prove interesting. I just may begin work on a collection of tunes for small groups just to see if there are any takers....

TAFL

Edit: I'm thinkin' parts in both G and B-flat/F in each "package" downloaded.

How long for each tune? 2 to 2.5 minutes? 3?

How much ya think folks would pay for a "stock" arrangement?

I would guess whatever the typical price for a marching band arrangement or a brass quintet/choir piece, anywhere from about $20-50, depending on length and difficulty. I've paid anywhere from about $8.00 to over $50 for brass music. I'd use Futurecorps' arrangements as a gauge for length/difficulty (2-3 minutes seems about right).

If I can get this group I'm working on together, I would at least be interested to see what you have.

Edited by davidp
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Until every corps plays the same song / arrangement of song during the same season. And the arrangers go on strike since they're no longer being employed. Worst case scenario of course. But I remember that in 2004 something like 4 or 5 corps played summertime. Out of the 20 or so corps that participated at DCA. And then you look at the DCI championships CD with only the 1st place corps and how many versions of Malaguena, West Side Story, and Channel One Suite do you get. Not that it wouldn't be nice to see how they did/do it. But I'm not convinced that it'd be a good thing to have.

I would think, though, that the major corps would still employ arrangers, so they could have their own style (ditto for marching bands; not all bands use stock charts (we never did)). I'm thinking mostly for new, small or mini corps, that's why I mentioned the "nine-plus" series (and also "seven-plus) that some publishers have. Didn't everybody and their brother play Children of Sanchez and God Bless The Child during a given year a few years back? And that was without stock charts at all.

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Trying not to come off as sounding snide.

The problem with $8 to $50 is that there's no incentive for the writer to keep writing. Maybe four groups would buy the same chart. That's a whopping $200 at best. Then of course there's cost for permission to arrange and then the licensing fee for selling the arrangement more than once.

A number of arrangers out there do sell their arrangements that corps have already performed, but then a group would run the risk of copying the corps that played it first.

Edited by ravedodger
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The problem with $8 to $50 is that there's no incentive for the writer to keep writing. Maybe four groups would buy the same chart. That's a whopping $200 at best. Then of course there's cost for permission to arrange and then the licensing fee for selling the arrangement more than once.

True, that; but wouldn't the publisher set the price, and get the necessary permissions? How do the guys like Bocook, etc. who arrange for music publishers do it?

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Arrangers can work for publishers or be their own, but the cost is passed to the consumer.

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The problem with $8 to $50 is that there's no incentive for the writer to keep writing. Maybe four groups would buy the same chart. That's a whopping $200 at best. Then of course there's cost for permission to arrange and then the licensing fee for selling the arrangement more than once.

As for incentive, I enjoy arranging music. If I can make enough of a return to justify the time put in, then I can consider it a Good Thing.

As for fees, I'm looking at public domain tunes (a very large collection from which to draw) that have fees affordable by one and all--which is to say "no fees."

I expect these tunes to be used more for parades and such, rather than field shows. Wouldn't bother me if somebody did use one in a show, certainly. If I add woodwind parts, there are lots of small bands that could also benefit.

TAFL

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Arrangers can work for publishers or be their own, but the cost is passed to the consumer.

That's what I thought. I would think though, that the availability of said music would create more of a market for it, where not just drum corps would buy it (brass quintets, choirs, etc., looking for something besides classical arrangements or stuff from the Canadian Brass (which I like a lot, btw)). My thought was that it would be just another outlet for music and a way for arrangers to get more work and make more money, and also a way not to incur arranging and performance fees associated with private arrangements (isn't that taken care of by the publisher?).

Keep in mind I have no idea how all of this works; I'm asking out of ignorance, but it just seemed like a good idea to me.

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