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If one is not attentive to balance and blend, one risks "Pit, with Brass and Battery Accompaniment". This situation often pertains. It's similar to that other malady, "Color Guard with Drum Corps Accompaniment". It matters little how nice it looks if it doesn't sound good. If we posit that drum corps is essentially a musical entity, everything must serve the whole, and balance is key. If Mozart had a synth, he'd have used it, but you'd still be able to hear the strings.

We disagree on the purpose of the pit. It is not to remain "in a supporting role". The music ensemble is the brass, battery and pit. IMO none of them are of lesser importance. All three are equally part of the music being performed in modern drum corps. That is our main area of disagreement, on this topic it seems. It is in no way an insult to say somebody is an accompanist, if that is what the part they are playing is intended to be. It is quite an art form in and of itself. I just don't find it relevant to the contribution of the pit in drum corps.

We should be getting results back from the swab test in the next couple of days. We are hoping that the antibody test was a false positive for Hope. Everyone else whom we has been in contact have been negative.

hoping for good things

Nothing at all, if that is what the job entailed. In the case of the pit in marching/music, it is as integral to the music being presented as any of the instruments being played.

I'd be at home, but I would be smiling and excited from looking through the huge amount of photos posted overnight to the Music City Family & Friends FB page from the opening of spring training. Something MCDC does really well is taking a large group of daily photos that are shared on that page. I woke up every morning during the season eager to see the kids. Good medicine for an old lady.

Madison Scoots have to credit the Canadians I talked to at DCA one year. One said he was a member of that great olde tyme junior corps “Scoot House” (Scout House)

You make some excellent points in your comments regarding Phantom in 1997. It was as you say, weirdly paced. Wagner is brilliant and much of his brilliance comes from how he placed the music. The Ring begins and ends with the same themed music and the pieces of the four operas lead up to each other to tell the story. This did not happen in Phantom’s 1997 show. The pieces were all over the place and didn’t even work as a symphonic poem. Still musically it may have been the most demanding book of the season. The problem is taking music from four operas that combined are 16+ hours of music, and shrinking it down to ten minutes. Focusing on one of the operas could have worked. It was an “A” for effort show, but it just did not come together.

Hoping for the best for you and your wife.

If it gave them a place to march yes. With the growth of indoor percussion the number of kids trying out for the FE in drum corps has grown quite a bit. but why let facts get in the way of a “in my day” thread

Next episode is finding material daily

Hopes and prayers my friend. Been on that road with family members with suppressed immune system. Scary enough without hitting something like this

86 or 94 come to mind

I would be containing my excitement for the upcoming season..... 😕 I am still really bummed.

27th Landers (safely getting planes to the ground singing Danny Boy) Star of Indians (Bollywood Actors) Suncoast Mound (Where pitchers stand at Tropicana Field) Blur Knights (lack of clarity in the ensemble) Flue Devils (Cuban Fireplace suite) Bluecoals (at the bottom of that fireplace) Madison Snouts (play like pigs) Blue Stare (people in La Crosse WI look at you too long) Carets (14K gold cummerbunds) Caroling Crown (they go around the neighborhood singing Deck The Hall) Spit it of Atlanta (idk)

I marched with the infamous Stan from Sunrisers in the 80s and for that reason alone this one cracked me the heck up! He was definitely from NY though!!!

The company I work for three times in the past decade collaborated with a major, internationally respected symphony orchestra for an evening of theater and music. Among the repertoire that orchestra performed in those projects was John Adams's Shaker Loops (1978/1983) and Arvo Pärt's Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten (1977), both of which I think would fairly be described as part of the modern canon of orchestral works, by two of the greatest living composers. Shaker Loops, original composed for a septet, in its revised version is written for an all-string orchestra. Cantus is written for an all-string orchestra plus one percussionist on one chime. Nobody complains that orchestras have "moved on" or "evolved" from works like these that don't include woodwinds, brass, or (most) percussion. Can you imagine if a drum corps was as up-to-date, as hip, as with it as that orchestra and played a show without any pit at all? Here's Cantus, for those who don't know it: (Gotta love the nifty audio trick Pärt uses at the end of Cantus.)

The Cadets really were magnificent. I liked all the music and the visual program was killer. My only problem with them that summer was I felt the demand was almost too much. I wanted them to hose-down a few small sections so they could clean more. I also felt they struggled to max out GE. However, that closer was definitely full of great GE, speed, and power. Great closer. They just never cleaned the show to the highest level. I definitely miss that bright, yet finely balanced, signature sound that you speak of. In the 80s and 90s they had some fantastic brass lines. One of the neat little highlights of this show was their guard in the 2nd tune. It was so playful, funny, and stylish. The 93 and 97 shows by Cadets have some of the more demanding brass books I have heard (along with many from Star, BD, Carolina, etc).

Agree even if as a horn sound lover I cringe saying it. Just another way changes in equipment and arranging have changed the sound and the activity. signed: guy who like MikeD marched without any bells at all.

I tend to disagree. Last year, I was at North Texas and watched the wind do "Movement/Damage" to several props. Yet the entire show was scored. Risking electronics damage due to rain is far more prevalent than rain damage to props. The only "Props" issue was the weight of props in Philly last year. These days, shows on natural grass are the issue for props and not rain damaging the props. Most corps make it clear that they prefer rehearsal sites with turf for that very reason. I have hosted several corps over the past few years and that is always high on their request list. Safety is a fair concern regarding props. Risk of climbing wet props is high and I will concede that. However, there appears to be far more concern about the $ lost due to damaged computers than props that are more repairable.

"Sometimes" goes away and becomes "all" when a "FULL" show is cancelled or not scored due to a little bit of rain.

most show cancellations now happen more because of the visual than the front ensemble.

and I disagree entirely. sure, sometimes there is too much. sometimes there's too much props. sometimes the hornline never lets the percussion have a moment. sometimes the battery never gives anyone else a chance. sometimes the visual package revolves entirely around the guard. notice the word sometimes. thats how it goes for everything in the current design trends.

I understand that. I have written shows that needed a solid pit and had students that could only participate in the pit due to physical limitations. Let me put it another way. There is a real issue when a show has to be cancelled, or at least not scored because a little bit of rain. When you are so heavily dependent on the pit that a show can't be judged due to a little bit of rain, you are weakening the activity as a whole.

No problem. But keep in mind your thinking is not that of a 18-21 year old. Welcome to the new era of modern Drum corp.

Please understand, I don't have a problem with the pit. In fact, I played in the Pit for part of my freshman year at UW-Whitewater. Proof even exists in the 1982-83 UW-Whitewater yearbook. My issue is that they have become overkill. It is now "Pit with drum and bugle accompaniment." That is my issue.

The California Cons +1 point for anyone who knows the original name

Thank you all!! I needed this thread 😆

Hangover Lancers The Commandant's Owe Cold Cadets Nth Regiment

Jersey Surf: Jersey Smurf ...Gargamels worst nightmare. Each year they play music from Scheherazade.

sitting here doing what i am doing now

Stan of Indiana

27th Dancers

Cadebts

The Casets, everything is prerecorded and played on a walkman pumped through the stadium speakers

I'd buy a Bluegoats tour shirt....

Thank you - It's nice to hear about the effect from someone who marched that year. One question - how the heck did anyone who marched SCV that year keep it together during that emotional push in The Tender Land...one of the all time greatest endings.

Whether you agree or not with the OP, he does have a right to his opinion. It's challenging to have a meaningful exchange of ideas when the insults start. Some on this site (with the strongest opinions) are the first to hurl insults when they don't agree with others. This site would probably get more participants if we didn't have to deal with insults about your views and/or opinions. OK...back to isolation!

It's a lowered area ("pit") between the audience and stage where an orchestral ensemble provides musical accompaniment. Think Broadway play, or Academy Awards. They're supposed to enhance the show, not BE the show.

Frankly, pit writing today IMHO is just too much and adds too little. Seriously you don't need 10 marimbas when you are amplified. The whole saying less is more should be taken to heart. Silence in music adds to it not lessons it. I know I sound like an old fart but having 32nd note runs for absolutely no musical reason other than filler is beyond lameness anymore. Ya, old school drum corps sounded louder because they had something called dynamic contrast. Not constantly dialed up to 8+ the entire show with rimshots ever other measure like it's a competition to see who can do more. Off soapbox.

Oh, I see. Only the "current generation" are allowed to have an opinion on the activity as it is today? I've got news for you........ And what's your definition of "participation in DCI mean"? Does it mean giving money because I do that too (Pacific Crest).

Where I sit is fine. Reduce the size of Pits or move them back 53.3 yards.

Why reference my age? Does it make my opinion less/more relevant? That would be like me asking you how many DCI finals you marched in and won to gauge the relevancy of your opinion. Just disagree with me. 😀

Never said or implied that. I have carried a full size tympani with cranks - in a parade - , so I think Pits are a good thing.

Could be. Don't know as I'm not a trained musician and I was the worst baritone in the history of the Kingsmen. But if Drum Corps now depends on an army of mallets to not sound "thin".....................somethings gone seriously wrong.

If you think cutting down on tubas (what happened to contras?) is a better idea, how about cutting drum lines completely and using electronic drum machines? Same logic. Last time I'll say it: Pits are too loud and too prominent in the overall sound of a "modern" Drum & Bugle Corps. They're supposed to compliment drums and bugles (whatever the preferred term is), not dominate them in the mix.

Yes, that's right. Cut that pit number in half because a little goes a long way especially where they're situated. They've multiplied like rabbits and they're WAY too prominent in the overall sound. 7-11 parking lot at 11:00 p.m. Friday night. I'm in the 1996 Corolla with spray-painted grey doors.

"Cut their size down to 6 or less, or move them all to the back sideline so we can’t hear them" It bears repeating.

Found this little gem: