mellofan

Mr. Fudd: Yep, I didn't march a nationwide tour with drum corps. My small corps was on the road for a couple of weeks at a time, so there is no way for me to understand exactly what happened on those tours. My daughter is finishing her 7th year marching in World Class drum corps. I have volunteered time, spent hours watching rehearsals, and listened to the instructors. I have seen first hand the impact that this activity has had on her; however, today's dedication may appear different than the dedication of the members from past decades. My intention was not to slam today's kids but respond to this: Today's kids are working in a way that in "normal" for them. Unfortunately, it may appear less intense to us based on our memories of our youth. The kids who have the intestinal fortitude to march drum corps are truly those who should be able to get past these distractions, but that doesn't mean that the outside distractions still aren't present. My hope was to shed some light on the changes that are happening outside the world of drum corps that impact this activity. The changes in our society cannot help but have an effect on this activity that all of us love (in our individual way). Some of us are resistant to change. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The problem comes when some of the changes in our society (technology) can actually have unintended negative side effects. That being said, my hope is that SCV will pull a 6th place finish one week from tomorrow. Their show is tough, but if they do what their instructors ask them to do, they will be successful. I am not sure that any of the corps that are not already in the top five will be able to break into that "elite" group.

My point is that the kids of today are vastly different than the kids of even ten years ago. Those of you who marched even 10 years ago did not have the electronic distractions that today's corps members have. Although the members are not texting and checking email during rehearsal blocks, you can bet that these activities are never far from their minds. The constant exposure to instant information and stimulation from their normal lives IS ALSO damaging their ability to concentrate on other activities for longer periods of time. These short attention spans may just be keeping them from hearing the information from their instructors during a three or four hour rehearsal block because their minds are drifting from the field to other random thoughts. Those of us who have been teaching for more than ten years see it in our students. Today's marching members are also today's students. They study and complete homework assignments at the same time they are watching TV/movies, IMing friends, texting other friends, and listening to their IPods. How much academics do they really retain? Not much. Another side effect of this lifestyle is that the kids have trouble hearing what is said because their brains have not been trained to focus on a single idea. A brain is similar to any muscle and must be trained to function more effectively. Today's kids are used to having thoughts come into their brains without having to do the cognitive work to understand the meaning of those thoughts. If the kids do not develop their ability to logically reason, will they truly understand the need to concentrate for longer periods of time? If they do not concentrate for long periods of time, how will they be able to focus enough to hear the changes that the caption heads want implemented in the show.

The scores that really matter are those for shows where all of the corps were assessed by the same panel of judges. Allentown will be a better indicator of placements than the smaller shows. When it comes to this year's shows, Madison is a hit because it uses familiar music. Remember Phantom in 2005? It was also a crowd favorite. SCV 2009 was another favorite. These shows utilized music that appealed to the audience members' emotions through their knowledge of the music. My dream competition would be to have the Troopers playing "How the West Was Won" as they marched out of the sunburst, the SCV color guard doing the bottle dance, Spirit of Atlanta playing "Georgia", and Madison's percussion playing "Dueling Banjos". That will never happen again because it is my understanding that by the 80's these traditional/brand recognition features had become a detriment to their scores. This year it seems that SCV is being judged down because they do not have the typical box style drill, constantly loud, prop filled show that the other corps have fielded. Frankly, the only shows that have kept my interest this year have been Madison and SCV. Corps are ###### if they keep their identity and ###### if they change. As for the work ethic and intensity of today's members, welcome to "the-world-is-changing-and-it-isn't-pretty" club. When you marched ten or more years ago, did you have to charge your cell phone nightly? Did you call or text your family and friends every night? Did your parents "demand" 24/7 access to you through your cell phone? Did you update your Facebook page daily or weekly while you were on tour? Welcome to today's youth. They multi-task to the point that their attention spans are three to five minutes long. How does that translate into a four hour rehearsal block? Unfortunately, I do not see any corps going back to the days of no personal electronics. By the time today's members have kids who are marching drum corps--oh wait, will drum corps even still exist by then?????

Perhaps tradition is more. Perhaps brand loyalty is more. I loved Madison's show because it brought back images of my all-time favorite "old school" show--Madison '75. I saw it at the US Open that year. Boy, was that show powerful. When a corps if forced to give up traditions just to be competitive, does the corps really "win" in the long run? (bottle dance, sunburst) My mom and I watched some of the shows on the Fan Network on Saturday. When BD was finished, she turned to me and said, "None of those shows were exciting." This comes from someone who supported my joining a small local corps and had followed the Troopers for years in the 60's 70's and 80's. I've been frustrated with the direction in which this activity is heading. It's been one of those nagging thoughts for the past several years and a few things now make sense. 1. It used to be that the emotion a person felt from a show came solely from the music and how it was played. Those impromptu standing ovations were a direct result of the goosebumps that we felt when a corps touched our hearts (Troopers sunburst, SCV bottle dance, Madison's company front). The hype that a show received came from how that corps touched the crowd. Now the corps are relying on "things" (read artificial props) to try to create the drama instead. I watch a show to see the drill and listen to the music--lose the gimmicks--so I can feel the raw emotion of the music once again. 2. With the amplification of the pit, it became obvious that shows relied on the music from the front ensemble to carry the show. While the pit played, the marching members would do fancy/fast/interesting drill and not have to worry about playing and marching at the same time. 3. The reason that soloists must be miked these days is because they cannot be heard over the amped front ensemble. Turn the amps off and let us hear them play without artificial help. 4. We understood that the tic system wasn't perfect, but it did allow for actual competition. We also understood that perfection was out of the question--it doesn't exist in any competition. The idea of a competition being judged based on spreads instead of concrete means makes it difficult to conceptualize personal and group improvement. Do straight lines and marching in step really count anymore? Exactly what must Corps B do to pass Corps A? If the answer in your mind is "clean, clean, clean", exactly what do you mean? Clean the marching? Clean the music? (Clean the uniforms?) How can a corps' staff make plans for improvement if the criteria is based solely on subjective, abstract, general ideas?

Something that I didn't mention in my other post is that my daughter has used her drum corps knowledge to help others. Two years ago, she worked with a fellow corps member's local high school band as a visual tech. This past fall she volunteered with her old high school marching band as a visual tech. None of the three band directors in our district have strong marching backgrounds, so her drum corps experience came in handy. Last fall was the first time her old school's marching band won the competition. They actually swept all of the categories. The other band parents commented to me about how they loved to watch Erin work those kids and pass along that work ethic that she had leaned through drum corps. She commented later that winning those awards as an "instructor" meant more to her than if they had won when she was in high school. The maturity that she's gained through drum corps helped her to realize that helping someone else win can be even more satisfying than winning yourself. Personally, that night was extra special because all three of my children were involved. Although, my oldest child is the only one to catch the drum corps bug, my son (senior-drum line section leader) and younger daughter (freshman-mellophone) were also in the band. The bond that the three of them felt that night after the competition was a once in a lifetime experience. It will never happen again in their lifetimes. RANT ON Frankly, I do not understand why parents do not go out and support their children. As a teacher, I know that it is the students' experiences in these extra-curricular activities that prepares them for the world. These activities in which students must interact and deal with others "teach" more to students than anything we can teach in the classroom. (Plus, they do not have to answer any multiple choice questions to prove proficiency for these life lessons!!!!!) RANT OFF

My daughter is finishing her seven season career in drum corps this year. She learned about drum corps at her first show in 1999 even before she began playing an instrument in her 6th grade band. She had heard various recordings of the Troopers and the 1975 Madison Scouts show many times. We caught the local show in 2003, prior to the start of her marching band career as a freshman. She spoke with Mike Gough, the Troopers drum major after the show that night. We filled out the online interest form that evening on their website. Mike called her out of the blue the following February, and she attended her first camp in March of 2004. She was hooked. After convincing her father, she joined the Troopers. She marched her first two years with Troop. When they went inactive for 2006, she found a new home with Vanguard and will age-out after marching 5 years with them. Did I support her? You bet. I will be attending my 7th Finals in two weeks and wouldn't have missed any of them. I cannot express enough gratitude for what this activity has done for my daughter. She had been in an accident when she was in the 8th grade and was understandably self-conscious about the scar on her head. Each time she looked in the mirror, it stared back at her, reminding her that she was different. Our once vibrant, always-smiling daughter had disappeared because she withdrew from the world and started hiding beneath her many hats. It was that first season with the Troopers gave us back our daughter. I saw her six weeks into her first tour but didn't recognize her. She had confidence, stood straight with her shoulders back, and once again smiled. I firmly believe that it was drum corps that helped her develop the courage to face the world and see herself as something other than a victim. Drum corps also taught her what it meant to work and achieve--at any level. Although her band director wasn't thrilled about her marching, he told me last fall that her impact was still evident in the French horns. More importantly, music became her passion and provided her a direction for her life. She is a music education major in college. Professors do not truly understand what it means to teach "regular" kids. Her drum corps brass instructors over the past 7 years have taught her more about teaching music by their examples than she will ever learn in college. These seven years have really been the equivalent of seven internships in how to teach music and marching to students. We have also heard from people about how she should stop that "marching band thing" and get a job; however, this "thing" will actually help her learn how to teach more than any retail job she might have taken. Yes, people thought we were nuts. Unfortunately, we were never able to get kids from her school to join a corps. Even though they commented on drum corps' effect on my daughter, none of the students--or their parents--thought it was worthy of their commitment. In two weeks, she will become that magic "adult" and will be able to commit to a job and focus completely on that symphonic music that college professors teach; however, it has been the last seven drum corps seasons that will actually impact her success most. Good luck to you and your son.

I listened to the music during the off season but wasn't excited, especially after Ballet for Martha. Last year's show was my favorite "modern" drum corps show. My first viewing on the Fan Network left me a bit flat; however, after seeing the show in Ogden, I was hooked (except for the ending). It will be good to see the changes live at Monday and Tuesday's shows in Ohio. I am "old" and still like the shows that do not rely on props. Their drill utilizes the field, goes beyond the "into a box and out of a box" design, and flows smoothly while integrating subtle visual effects--it keeps me interested but not overwhelmed. Another aspect of the show that appeals to me is the "haunting" melody that repeats at a couple of points. The music incorporates different tempos and volumes throughout the show. It really does take skill to play both loudly and softly at a variety of marching speeds. The one thing I cannot stand is the "piano" playing the "oom-pas". (Let the tubas have the spotlight by playing that part.) As a matter of fact, I do not like the sound of any amped instruments. Amped pit instruments seem to overpower the rest of the ensemble too much of the time. The pit used to add subtle sounds that added to what the brass and field battery were playing. (After all, this is a DRUM & BUGLE corps, right?) RANT ON How entertaining or audience friendly the show is depends entirely on each person's personal preferences. Those of us over 40 or 50 have seen the evolution of drum corps as it morphed from strictly a marching & maneuvering activity where nothing could touch the ground (except the timpani during the ballad) to a focus on theatrics and props (a door, pink tables, tables and sewing machines, PVC pipe, chairs, mirrors, boxing speed bags, etc). Some of the changes in the activity have been good (pit), but some have taken away from the uniqueness of the genre (amps and theatrics). I liked and miss the shows from the 70's where a corps may have played four or five seemingly unrelated songs, but the music was familiar (Madison '75) and entertaining without the fuss of telling a story. The corps had signature pieces or moves that established an identity for them. Sadly, that type of brand recognition is dying away from the activity. I appreciate the fact that the Vanguard of 2010 looks similar to the Vanguard of 1974 when I first saw the corps. I only hope that the "powers that be" stop trying to change the activity before it ceases to be a unique form of entertainment. RANT OFF But then again, these are my personal opinions based on my personal likes and dislikes. My kid ages out this year after 7 seasons in the activity. I've finally gotten beyond my frustration with the "S" word (slotting) and accepted that the judging is what it is and beyond any of the fans' control. There have been many shows in the past 7 years that I liked better than the winning show on finals night. Although the tic system seemed to provide for more competition and chances for lead changes during the season, it wasn't perfect either. Wherever Bartok finished on Finals night, I will still love this show.

As much as I have always wanted to volunteer for a week or two with my daughter's corps during her seven seasons, other family obligations kept me from being away from home that long. I have found other ways to help out when her corps is in my area for a day or two, or we are at their housing site before a show. 1. You are the expert for your geographic area and know where to find things. I have taken the cook to the local grocery/food warehouse for supplies. One summer, I transported a corps member to the local urgent care facility and waited while he was treated. In the other thread, I explained how I took the corps volunteer and sewing machine to the repair shop. 2. Donate fresh fruit when it is in season. I usually provide local cherries to the corps. When finals were in Pasadena, we provided fresh, tree-ripened peaches. Then we spent hours peeling them for the cook, and she made peach cobbler (with ice cream) for their evening snack. 3. Donate Gatorade, Otter pops, or other food snacks. Usually, there is space in the food truck fridge to cool/freeze the items. (Milk and bread are two food items that corps use daily. Also, when it is extremely hot, they need plenty of ice.) 4. Take a load of towels, aprons, and rags home or to a local laundry and wash them for the kitchen crew. They need these cleaned and sanitized more often than the two week laundry day schedule. 5. Wash dishes and serve the food!!!!!!!!!!!! The kitchen crew can always use a break. 6. Help the staff wash uniforms. We have helped during finals week as the staff invades the local Laundromat to wash and dry 150 uniforms. The uniforms are usually washed weekly. If there is a show in your area, find the housing sites for the corps and jump in. Your help is always appreciated.

My experience with two corps is that they have a sewing machine with them on tour, and volunteers adjust the unis as needed. One year, a corps' machine needed repair, and I took their seamstress and the machine to a repair shop when the corps was in our area. Adjustments must be made periodically to account for the weight loss; otherwise, the unis would hang on the members by the end of tour because of members' weight loss issues through the season. SIDE NOTE: One way YOU (anyone) can volunteer with a corps is to make yourself available when a corps is in your area. Besides the sewing machine problem, I have helped corps by taking the cook to the local grocery/food warehouse to stock-up, donated fresh fruit that is in season in our area, and taken a corps member to a nearby urgent care facility for treatment.

It was interesting to watch the crowd on Finals night. The overall lack of emotional response to the shows was amazing. Vanguard brought the crowd to its feet with genuine applause during the company front. Looking around during the top 4 shows, I noticed that the crowd, as a whole, was not as emotionally into the performances as much as Vanguard's. Obviously, the top four shows didn't keep my attention either if I spent the time watching the members of the audience. Like a previous poster, I saw Vanguard in the mid 70's too for the first time. Traditional drum corps always keeps my attention more than most of the current ADHD/gimmick type shows. Vanguard utilized the entire field and looked large without using chairs or tables to create an allusion of largeness. I also admit that I enjoy show music that is familiar to me. One of the reason that the Madison '75 show had been my all-time favorite drum corps show is that the music was familar to me from the first time that I saw it. When the music and drill combines to create that goosebump feeling, I leave the show smiling and humming the music. Now I have two shows that I classify as my favorite--Vanguard '09 and Madison '75. Here's hoping that Vanguard '10 is added to that list in a year. Madison is playing some of the music from '75 again in the coming season, so it truly could be another step towards traditional drum corps this season.

This is such a true statement. When the focus becomes only winning, then the benefits of any competition are lost. We need to have "winners" and "losers" in all areas of society because that is how we develop intrinsic motivation. I am seeing an alarming trend with my middle school students who have come through their first 14 years of life without natural consequences. Many students are convinced that whatever they do is the best thing since sliced bread. The inflated praise used to build an equally inflated self-esteem has tainted their perception of reality. They have not learned the lesson that it is actually their personal effort that creates their success or failure; thus, if they don’t win the coveted prize, it is never due to their actions. It’s somebody else’s fault. Because of this mentality, many young people—and their parents—have bought into the notion that “jumping” teams/corps is the way to “improve” the kids’ competitive edge. Marching in a very small Class A corps in the mid 70's under the old tick system was easier than marching in today’s corps. Although the system wasn’t perfect, the evaluation was more objective than today’s system. We realized that our score of 25 or 30 would never get us to the prized Open Class, but when we improved our scores, we knew it was because we were actually improving specific skills. Today’s judging is so subjective open to interpretation that improving the techniques of marching and playing really aren’t as rewarded as having the show of the season—whichever corps is lucky to have “it” in any given year. As the parent of a current corps member, I’ve witnessed the frustration because of her corps not being able to “beat” the competition night after night. It didn’t matter whether her corps was fighting at the bottom of the rankings or in the top twelve; the perception of “slotting” has done more to create the idea that it doesn’t matter who does what because the finish will be similar year after year. I’m not sure the problem is as much the score itself as much as the lack of specific concrete reasons for those scores.

Understatement is the literary word for this show. They are going for a great impact by deliberately not going for the “ADHD” type of show. People’s emotional buy-in with the familiar music helps bring the audience into the show, which builds to that company front that we just know will get to us. The drill and the music compliment each other. Hyperbole is the literary word that refers to great exaggeration. Think of last year’s Blue Devils’ “Absurdity” show. The movements and running around the field were greatly exaggerated for impact. I’ve only watched SCV’s show on the FN, but I love it. It is an emotional musical performance that will bring me to tears when I watch it live. For me, it brings the musical performance back to the forefront of a drum corps show than the over-the-top theatrics of the recent past.

Mike, Congratulations!!!! It was a thrill to be in the audience and see it on the big screen. What a wonderful insight into the world drum corps you gave the people of Idaho. Hopefully this will spread the word to others and get more of our young people from the Treasure Valley involved in the activity. Joanne

My daughter and I were listening to the Bob and Tom Show on our way to school that day when they announced that a plane had flown into the first tower. I turned on the TV in my classroom and was speechless. My student teacher and I watched in disbelief at the events unfolding on the screen. The atmosphere on campus was subdued. Like others, my heart sank when that first collapsed. When I went into a meeting before school, they said my face was white. Then it hit me. My nephew was in NYC for training with his new job. I checked email to find out the location. An hour ow so later, my sister called to say he was there but safe. Ironically, smoking saved his life. His meeting took an early break, and he was outside of the second tower having a smoking break when the second plane hit. When he and the others saw papers with their company's letterhead falling from the sky, they left. I think God that he is safe but also remember those who were not as lucky. May something like this never happen again.

I remembered this thread from the summer discussions. In light of the fact that only 150 of this season's marchers actually won a ring this year, the other 2500+ marchers need to read the comments in this thread. If the world was completely viewed in black and white terms, only the members of Phantom Regiment can call themselves winners this year. Our world isn't so clear cut. Food for thought: 1. Is marching in a drum corps only about the ring? 2. For those of you who did not win that coveted prize, are you now rethinking your choice in corps? 3. What is your most important criteria when choosing to audition with the corps of your choice? A. The location of the corps makes it easy and economical to join. B. Their traditions fit my values. C. Their style of music appeals to me. D. The reputation of the members behavior makes the corps sound fun. E. The corps is expected to win in the next (?) years. 4. If all of us only march in the best corps, what's to happen to the others? Will those corps go the way of the others that have ceased to exist over the past 30 years? 5. How will you feel at the end of next season if the corps you left actually won the ring, but you didn't. (Don't they call this karma?) 6. What is the most important things about marching drum corps? Is it all about the jewelry the winners get or is it about the people with whom you march and the lessons that you learn? Finally, I have a hard time believing that all of those members who have not won a DCI championship ring are losers. Is that piece of jewelry really that important?