N.E. Brigand Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 With instructors, band directors and designers from drum corps, marching bands often have as much drum corps DNA in them as do drum corps. As for marching bands having woodwinds and drum corps not having woodwinds...that's kind of not so true anymore. Drum corps has woodwinds, but we refer to them as synthesizer patches. Why bother throwing clarinets and saxophones on the field when you can just push a button and shazam, there they are. Which is why I personally would rather see woodwinds than synthesizers. If a sound can be created by pushing a button, it should have no place in drum corps. (See my excessive post in the other thread.) And as long as those woodwinds may not be amplified, they'll hardly be used, because they can't be heard. Also, there are marching bands (college and high school) without woodwinds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Which is why I personally would rather see woodwinds than synthesizers. If a sound can be created by pushing a button, it should have no place in drum corps. (See my excessive post in the other thread.) And as long as those woodwinds may not be amplified, they'll hardly be used, because they can't be heard. Also, there are marching bands (college and high school) without woodwinds. I've personally only known of one high school band, but Ohio State University is a prime example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 No they don't. There were lots of vocalists in drum corps before amplification, but it was understood that, just as you'd never be able to hear, say, one contra solo while the rest of the group was playing forte, you'd only be able to hear the vocals in special circumstances. It works that way in symphony orchestras too, you know. Amplification of voices is now used extensively in contemporary orchestral music...perhaps most notably in the music of John Adams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaos001 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) Since one DCI music designer's thoughts were posted on the rule change, here's another's: Shane Gwaltney February 9 "Hopefully new rules will make things interesting in a dated, dying activity. The only constant should be change." Thoughts? Edited February 12, 2014 by chaos001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tapper7 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) What part of Drum & Bugle Corps is unclear? These Happy Hoppy bogus marketing policies may get us a bit of ad revenue from 3rd rate uniform manufacturers. But lets be honest ... The slippery slope from DC to MB just got greased... AGAIN!!!! Social connotations: Drum Corps-Olympic level athleticism combined with professional brass, battery and dance. Honor. Tradition. Military precision and bravery. Rock Stars. A celebrated pastime. Top of a musicians bucket list. 60,000 screaming fans. 12 hour rehearsals. Tour. Age Out Circle. Tears of joy. Jet engine decibel levels in tune and in time. Legends. Miracles. 120 hearts beating as one. Magic. The Pinnacle. Marching Band- nerds, geeks, get eggs thrown at you, teased by schoolmates, awful uniforms, low talent level, NOT loud, boring, dirty drill, phasing, shows that fall apart. embarrassment. Piccolo shrieks, out of touch band directors, boring music, only existing to praise & support teams that tease us. Halftime Show = go get a hot dog and hit the can. An excuse to skip gym class. Audience sits on their hands. So go ahead hoppy, you killed the G bugle, added amps and narration, now you have instruments that don't even look like bugles... We all know you want to add alto saxes. Throw in some more woodwinds and our fine, honorable, miracle activity that we devoted our lives to will be reduced to nothing more than an honor-band version of an activity that is fun and enjoyable... But no one respects, listens to on their iPod, gossips about year round or passes legends on through the generations about marching band. MB is a mediocre extra curricular at best. Drum Corps is a transcendent force that can only perish if those in power strip it of what makes it shine. "Let he is without woodwind cast the first egg" Edited February 13, 2014 by Tapper7 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I feel Horns would be wonderful for maybe a miked solo (see James Bowie HS 2012 - Pavane for a Dead Princess) Random sidebar... how incredible would David Bowie HS band be? :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tesmusic Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 What part of Drum & Bugle Corps is unclear? These Happy Hoppy bogus marketing policies may get us a bit of ad revenue from 3rd rate uniform manufacturers. But lets be honest ... The slippery slope from DC to MB just got greased... AGAIN!!!! Social connotations: Drum Corps-Olympic level athleticism combined with professional brass, battery and dance. Honor. Tradition. Military precision and bravery. Rock Stars. A celebrated pastime. Top of a musicians bucket list. 60,000 screaming fans. 12 hour rehearsals. Tour. Age Out Circle. Tears of joy. Jet engine decibel levels in tune and in time. Legends. Miracles. 120 hearts beating as one. Magic. The Pinnacle. Marching Band- nerds, geeks, get eggs thrown at you, teased by schoolmates, awful uniforms, low talent level, NOT loud, boring, dirty drill, phasing, shows that fall apart. embarrassment. Piccolo shrieks, out of touch band directors, boring music, only existing to praise & support teams that tease us. Halftime Show = go get a hot dog and hit the can. An excuse to skip gym class. Audience sits on their hands. So go ahead hoppy, you killed the G bugle, added amps and narration, now you have instruments that don't even look like bugles... We all know you want to add alto saxes. Throw in some more woodwinds and our fine, honorable, miracle activity that we devoted our lives to will be reduced to nothing more than an honor-band version of an activity that is fun and enjoyable... But no one respects, listens to on their iPod, gossips about year round or passes legends on through the generations. MB is a mediocre extra curricular at best. Drum Corps is a transcendent force that can only perish if those in power strip it of what makes it shine. "Let he is without woodwind cast the first egg" I'm not always the most supportive of George Hopkins, but if you knew what you were talking about when it came to the new rules that were proposed, yet not yet having official voting results given,this one wasn't George. Check the DCI news article from January 29, 2014. You may think it was all him with all those other rules as well, but then again, on some of them you would be wrong as to who presented them. At any rate, get your facts straight on this one before you blame one man. But, as I keep doing, I'll point out again, this ####### thread is now on 73 pages, and yet DCI has not said officially if this is even a new rule, so keep speculating, y'all! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triple Forte Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Why don't all of you dinosaurs just get over yourselves? The people who are actually PARTICIPATING in the activity rather than just posting on DCP want this. The change will correct and adjust itself for utilization. Most baritone players are trombonists by nature. Oh, how awful it would be to have a section of them show us what they could REALLY do! Same with French Horn players who switch to mellophone. Oh no! We might actually hear what these talented individuals can give us on their NATURAL instruments? Puh-lease! We are a niche activity with niche fan base that changes very little over time. And if you claim that THIS will keep you away, you are not fans in the first place. Be a fan of the kids. It is not about the instruments, the rules, the judging system, the electronics, or anything else. It has always been and always will be about the kids! You are directing this to the wrong party. Tell the current corps directors and staffs it's about the kids and not about granting the ongoing wishes of the designers/creators who constantly want more toys to play with (And contracts/endorsments to collect). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Drum corps has become an activity in which far fewer participate than was the case in 1975. I've got to disagree. When I was in high school marching band in the early 1970s, there were just two "corps style" bands in the state of Illinois...the Dundee Scots and Herscher. (A couple years later, Irving Crown, Dundee's neighbor, became hot.) Now, it seems every band is what we would have called "corps style" back in the day. What happened? Corps members went out into the marching band world and took their training to the bands, and directors started recruiting such people to keep up with the other bands. Therefore, there are MORE kids now getting their drum corps "fix" in their own marching band, unlike in my day, when that wasn't an option. The influence of drum corps is far beyond what we see on the field in August in Indianapolis. There was a newspaper article in Indiana a few years ago that revealed a number of the most competitive marching bands were spending $280,000 ON AVERAGE on the creation and instruction of their field shows, plus equipment and other items. Heck, if it wasn't for the marching bands, lots of high schools wouldn't have a single marimba. Now, lots of high schools have multiple marimbas, vibes and everything else they can fit in their front ensembles. Where did that come from? Drum corps. Who taught the kids how to march? Drum corps kids who became instructors. Who teaches the school drum lines and guards? Kids who came out of DCI and WGI. The drum corps scene is more active than ever, but more and more of it happens during the late summer and autumn. In many schools, kids are paying special fees to be in their high school marching bands to help cover travel and other expenses. That is money they don't have for summer drum corps. College tuition keeps going up and up. That is money they don't have for summer drum corps. The expense of running a drum corps can't be pinned largely on electronics, amplification and what else comes along...The major expenses include travel and insurance, which have increased over the past years almost exponentially. Yes, corps have had to get trucks that can transport more stuff, but that's not where the activity has taken the biggest financial hit. But I return to the point I wanted most to make: More kids than ever are getting the drum corps experience. We just don't see them on the DCI tour. What was the point of that response? I could waste time debating your deliberate attempt to substitute marching band for drum corps, as if they are equivalent. But it makes no difference. Even if we accept that DCI = marching band, it still remains evident that fewer participate in the DCI activity now than did in 1975. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) You are directing this to the wrong party. Tell the current corps directors and staffs it's about the kids and not about granting the ongoing wishes of the designers/creators who constantly want more toys to play with (And contracts/endorsments to collect). This tripe about " its all about the kids " is ridiculous. If this is all" about the kids", the kids would have been involved in the decision making in the first place. Its like taking a family vacation ,not to Disney, or some other Amusement Park, but to some Botanical Gardens, then a Bird Sanctuary somewhere because Mom likes Flowers, and Dad likes Egrets. Sure, the kids went along for the ride.. but they had no choice in the matter, Edited February 12, 2014 by BRASSO 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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