Bob984

I know that as a musician, I have always found the volume and tone of Dr. Beat to be annoying and musically distracting. However, I understand that it does get the tempo slammed into the brain. But, I also think that all need to work on developing great "internal" timing, and I think it can be disruptive to the musical environment....I am not opposed to it being used when working on "ragged" or newly learned sections, but as you go along, I think it should be turned on and off, only used for a reference, and less and less as you progress. The level of excellence of the drum major as a musical conductor can also go a long way. GB

HI....take care of your back....I had a back injury from a fall in high school....I marched 4 years of college marching band and 2 years of drum corps....I don't think corps hurt or helped my injury, but I can tell you it took 15 years for my back to be totally "right" again. All I am saying is be careful, and you may want to have your back checked out by a specialist before you go on tour....they also may have some recommendations.....a few that I know will help.....don't slouch, even in a bus seat, and try not to even recline...believe it or not, that will help.....get yourself a really good air mattress to sleep on, and ask the doc the best sleeping position for you.....if you are small and playing contra, that makes it hard, but if you have done 5 seasons, you are doing well! I still actually think that doing corps, for most people, is a good physical thing....yes, there are injuries, not unlike any sport, but they are usually not as severe....I know I felt in better physical shape to handle "regular life" after two seasons of corps, and you end up laughing when you hear people complain about minute stuff and you think that you just would love to put them through one day of tour! Have a great season. GB

I would start by rewriting some of the judging sheets, especially music effect. Take visual comments off of the music sheets and keep them on the visual sheets and fully credit them there, including coordination. There is so much emphasis on coordination, that many elements of music are either not being considered or are overlooked, which should be on the music effect sheet........quality of arrangement, dynamic contrast, communication/conveyance of emotion and involvement, phrasing/expression, conveyance of musical excellence, and connection with the audience. How well does the musical product stand on it's own? Would you be "moved" hearing this music in a standstill? If not, is it worthy of extreme numbers? Also, if not, in my opinion, there is NOTHING that visual can do to improve the musical product. NOTHING. I also feel that the music effect scores have been very inaccurate at times......last year's numbers for Phantom and Crown jump out immediately as examples of strong musical shows that were underscored in musical effect....in Phantom's case, most likely costing them a championship. We have lost caption integrity at DCI at times.....it should be entirely possible to win music effect and be 7th in visual effect, or win visual effect and be 7th in music effect. However, if you have a great visual program, suddenly your musical numbers are "up there", deserved or not. Effect, to me, is far more than coordination..... Drop field brass and field percussion. Have 2 brass ensemble judges, and 2 percussion ensemble judges. Would we judge an orchestra concert, wind ensemble contest, or jazz band contest with a judge crawling around on stage??? Of course not. All that matters is the quality of sound in the audience. If you can't hear the differences between groups 20 rows up on the 50, then you are not qualified to judge. Add back the percussion effect judge...keep the total effect points the same...10 for percussion and 20 for brass. Why do I want this to return? Frankly, some of the percussion judges simply can not make fine discernings between brass lines and do not have enough of a brass background, and ditto with brass judges and their ability to analyze percussion in effect. I am not saying there are not a few judges capable of doing it...but the key is that it is just a few... Now, for the controversy......eliminate seedings for all quarterfinals...draw straws for order of appearance....everyone deserves an even audience...........do not announce prelim scores, and make them unavailable to the judges.....only announce the scores of corps who don't qualify at the end of quarterfinals, at the end of semis, and the names of the corps that advance in each round...no placements....draw straws for order of appearance...this will help to reduce slotting....Sequester the finals panel....they should not go to prelims at all......all they know when they arrive on Saturday night is the names of the 12 corps they are judging, and nothing else....of course, at finals, all scores will be announced, and they can also release the rest of the prelim results at that time. Add a zero to all scoresheets, so that the judge can give a very high percentile score early if earned, and yet have plenty of room left without getting boxed. Have a selected standstill before by a member corps before and after every DCI contest, outside of the stadium, 1 hour prior, and 15 minutes after. This would give the crowd, especially those with poor seats, one last bit of entertainment, and the corps could look at it as one last ensemble runthrough...they do not have to be in uniform.... Enforce the penalty for warming up within earshot of a stadium once a show has commenced....there has been blatant violations of this, especially at Allentown.....I am sorry, but NOBODY'S warmup is more important than another corps' performance. Period. I hope to hear some great shows this summer! GB

Tuning is everything when it comes to a snare sound. Unfortunately, some staff decide to tork the tension of the heads of a snare drum so high as to alter the resonance of the drum and especially the snares, to the point that it sounds like something other than a snare drum. I have to assume they like this sound, as it has been around for awhile, now. It also leaves the line with a very exposed sound. This would not have lasted long in the old "tick" days, as many (not all) lines would be slaughtered in execution. It was funny last week....they showed the classic showdown, and Bayonne 1980 was in there. Great snare sound, in my opinion, and the body of their sound, especially on rolls, was great.....everyone in that line knew there were 2 beats in a diddle and that the 2nd one was just as important. The good news is I think a decent number of lines have decided that a resonant snare sound is more important than pure tension, and there are some good snare sounds out there now. GB

My top arrangers list (in no particular order...also, I'm sticking with brass here) Jim Prime Larry Kerchner Ray Baumgarten Jim Wren Gail Royer Michael Klesch Scott Boerma Wayne Downey Robert W. Smith Key Poulan

I'm going to stick my neck out and predict Blue Stars make finals....I thought they came on strong at the end last year, especially in brass, and if their membership comes back with a year under their belt, they could do it......I also think that we will have a very deep field this year, and the top 17 may be more competitive than ever. I don't think any current finalist will fall substantially in calibre, and there are several in addition to Blue Stars, who could make a push for the night show....GB

I'm an east coast guy, and I can say there has been a bit of a fan bias against Devs for a long time...simply because they won so many shows and so many titles....but I always respected and enjoyed them....there was also an eastern and perhaps midwestern bias against them due to the long time California dominance that was only interupted once by Madison until Cadets moved forward.....that said, I don't think there has been any judging bias against them....in 2005, they were a good driver with no car: talented corps that could execute, but the musical book went nowhere...I actually thought they were overscored, especially in music effect.....last year, I liked the Godfather production, and I thought they performed very well.....IMO musically, I thought the show was better than Cavs...visually, I felt Cavs and Phantom were better....overall, I thought Phantom was shortchanged and won the show, as I felt they were superior to all musically....BD is a well-run organization and attracts talented members.....that combination will keep them in the hunt for a long time................GB

I remember this story well...I actually emailed the coach before he was fired and slammed him for his and his team's actions.....I also told him flat out that if that would have happened when I marched with the particular corps I was in, they also would have been taking both him and some of his players off the field.....in stretchers and ambulances.....linebackers may tackle people well, but a 36" bass drum, timpani, cymbals, and gong mallets, when used "properly", amount to "armed vs. unarmed".....some of those players would have suddenly realized that they made a dire mistake when they assumed we were "band geeks"......GB

The Cadets had a snare, Steve "Kid" Aleman, who made the line at 12 (1979)....as far as I know he got 4 championship rings....1983, 84, 85, and 87. I don't know if he ever became tall enough to get off of the end of the line (lol)......GB

Carl is deserving to be in..... another would be Bill Cook...............the guy helped fund the DCI broadcast....put his corps in finals in their rookie season.....won finals.....BLAST has promoted Drum Corps worldwide........and beyond all, helped other corps out in moments of desperation (buses, money, food, etc.) without alot of fanfare...........definitely overdue...........GB

Greetings, In 1977, the Oakland Crusaders won high percussion in prelims, but the corps did not make finals. They had a strong drumline that year, and actually had shows where they finished last but won high percussion, as the corps especially struggled early in the season....to their credit, they improved significantly by the end of the season, although I am sure the drumline was a bit heartbroken that they had no chance at the high percussion trophy. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only time in DCI history where a corps actually won a caption at prelims at nationals and yet did not make finals. Does anyone know if this ever happened at VFW or American Legion Nationals? Just curious. I was in a DCI finalist corps' drumline in 77, and I remember when they were getting ready to announce high percussion at finals, there was quite a bit of "Oakland" yelling/laughing happening on the field, as we all knew that BD was going to win by "default"......GB

(1) There were more inconsistencies in judging of the brass/ensemble/music effect captions than any others......I sat among many educators and hall of famers, during DCI week, and there were serious questions about this.... (2) Visual bias is simple to indicate......the show that won last year was a visual oriented show. I spoke to around 100 music educators friends of mine....although I will admit it wasn't unanimous, 85% of them disagreed with the champion named and also the finish in the captions mentioned above.... (3) The winner's visual numbers mysteriously catapulted to "astronomical" levels at finals....if you can honestly tell me that the two 19.9's were fully earned, I have no comment..... (4) I have RAN to hear certain corps standstills performance, because the music was hot. IMO, there are problems with several corps' musical arrangements, and I am not alone....There is NOTHING the visual can do to fix the musical arrangement problems....NOTHING.....before you state this is just opinion, there are many who feel the same way...I have nothing against a corps having a great visual program, but if the music is not happening, it's not happening. Not all effects are "combined" as you say....some are largely visually generated, some largely music generated, and some both. GB

I said there is still diversity, and I never said there weren't any copycats going on in the 70's and 80's.....however, it is definitely not AS diverse.....who today in division I would compare in terms of being "different" to Bayonne or VK? Nobody. And I also feel that we have some corps who have tried to find "an identity" (and these corps are finalists), and IMO, have failed to do so, simply looking like a "B" version of someone they look like they are imitating. Whereas I am still hearing some (the key word is some) good arrangements (which keeps me coming back), I am also hearing some entire programs where the arranger, IMO, was unsuccessful. If the musical product isn't "hot"......for me, there is nothing the visual program can do to save it........ GB

alot of posts on this......What I find interesting is opinion seems to be pretty "polar", but I find myself in the "middle", agreeing with some ponts on both sides of the fence, and disagreeing with points on both sides, as well. (1) I do agree that there has been a drop in entertainment value in some of the corps' programs, and in my opinion, mostly due to problems with musical arrangements. However, I have also heard some things that I thought were very good, and enough good to keep me personally coming back. (2) I feel the open class has stabalized a bit, division II is strong, and division III offers a good alternative for kids....I do not think DCI has done things to hurt these groups at all, as is accused.... the days of 4 million little corps are over.... it's all about time, economics, and a different world. (3) I am a bit worried about DCI committing to having finals in Indy for so many consecutive years......I really think by year 4 there is a serious possibility of major attendance drops....I am a big corps fan, but I also like to go to different places....it's expensive to go to nationals.....I will go to Indy, but 10 years in a row?? No way, and I can't be alone on this....I'll still go to shows every year, but not to Indy 10 years in a row... (4) I think the shift of judging emphasis from music (65-35) to 50/50 with visual comments starting to flood the musical sheets has caused problems, and I do have some serious reservations about brass and music effect judging, and I am not alone. I would like to see the emphasis return to music, and more caption integrity involving that. (5) I have mixed emotions about amps and electronics.....it doesn't bother me at all, but I know it really bothers some fans.....I don't like narration, and I know I am not alone there, but I wouldn't outlaw it (just give it a lower effect score..lol) I think corps should ask if certain choices are worth alienating some fans, but I am ok with it being their call..... (6) I believe the ball is in the court of the corps. They will determine what corps shows look like 10 years from now. I would like to see corps take more risks and see some step to the plate with either something new or something retro, and perhaps forget about the score for awhile. I do agree that there is mucho "copycat" and therefore sometimes a certain 'sameness" at times.....On the other hand, years ago you could have a show with Bayonne, 27, Blue Devils, Madison, and SCV, and quite a "smorgasbord" of styles and presentations led to a very entertaining show. We still have variety, just not to the extremes that we saw back then. I wish all the corps well, and hope 2007 is a great year! GB

I actually managed to email one of the coaches (no response) who was involved....I indicated he was lucky they picked on a div. 2 corps with 15 year olds at the time (no diss on CR)...I told him that if it would have been certain other corps, some of the members of his football team would have been hauled off in ambulances as well.......GB

Until the effect caption becomes properly adjudicated or sheet changes are made and they stop awarding 18's and 19's to shows that are largely ineffective to a large portion of the audience, we will continue to have shows that are ineffective, especially from a musical standpoint. I guarantee that if suddenly those same groups were getting 15's and 16's at the end of the year, we would see improvement. I have heard musical products that received an 18 plus in musical effect (90th percentile) that I didn't even feel deserved a 16 (80th percentile). I have also heard a few programs that I felt were horribly underscored across the board musically (Crown last year immediately comes to mind, and I also felt Phantom should have won every musical caption). How you can award 18+ to a corps who has arrangements that didn't work is beyond me. GB

I read these posts with great interest.......in my opinion: (1) All of the best crowd reactions that I experienced in the last 30 years involved one of these traits... (a) a great arrangement played with emotion and impact (B) a great visual effect move superbly executed © a combination of a and b I think that there is a shortage these days of great arrangements. (not void, though). I also think there is a problem in the fact that many times when an arrangement DOES work and fully connects with the audience, it is not being fully rewarded by the judging community for whatever reason. I also believe we have musical programs with arrangement problems, albeit well-executed, which are being over-rewarded, even when the arrangement is lacking and the performance is somewhat stagnant and doesn't show great emotion or contrast. I felt Crown had some great moments last year early in the show, SCV had a few, and Phantom brought the house down. Yet, the programs were not fully rewarded, and programs with less effect, in my opinion, received higher music effect scores. A great arrangement can stand on it's own, and good visual coordination added to that can really set it off. However, we now have programs built around visual, where there are problems with the musical package, but it doesn't show up in the score. When there are musical programs with obvious deficiencies breaking 19 in effect, or even winning, there is a problem. There are several finalist corps who I would not run across the street (or stay for post show) to hear them play a standstill, and definitely fewer than in the past. Until the approach of the music effect and content captions starts demanding better and more effective arrangements, I am afraid we will continue to see the refined reactions that many get today, and many will only get one "polite" standing O at the end as opposed to the days when some corps managed to get 3 - 6 standing O's with a massive one at the end. If some of these programs were given 15's to 17's instead of 18's and 19's, I think we would see much more attention paid to the musical content and effectiveness by the corps' staffs. GB

One thing I do understand about this (although I am sure many don't) is some simple math.....If you have a full corps, and only members ride the buses, you go with at least 15 empty seats, as most buses have between 50-58 seats. The bus costs the same to get down the road if it has 2 people on or if it is full. Transportation costs for a corps are quite high. Also, the staff is paid the same if the corps has 90 members or 135....the instructional costs will not increase for a handful more members. The only increase in costs will be for additional instruments/uniforms, and a mild increase in food. However, a corps can actually slightly LOWER the per person cost for the corps due to the increased revenue from those members without actually increasing the overall cost that much. I have a school group that is more than one bus but less than 2.....I try as hard as I can to fill my trips with chaperones, family members, community people...in order to hold back the per person cost for my membership. More kids will get a chance to march, and that's a good thing. GB

In other words, if a corps' musical ensemble is "blowing the house down" with a tremendous musical statement in a brief standstill position that is only accented by some guard work, it is ineffective???? Yes, I could judge that without caring about the visual design at all at that point.........I have also seen many visual "moments" that I might feel are very effective visually but quite "ho-hum" musically (as I have felt about some so-called championship shows in recent years.....the key word is also some, here, before I am bashed....) Yes, the music GE is to consider coordination and musical effects that are also well-staged, but I think that a great musical product can also stand on it's own, and there are effects that are mostly musical, mostly visual, and sometimes both...............if we switch to "just effect", someone not knowledgeable about music might give a very high effect score to a show that has deficiencies in music effect....ditto if someone not real up on drill design over scores a program that is highly effective musically but deficient visually.....Music is music, visual is visual....coordination is always good, but certainly not the only aspect of effect, as this is leaning towards. And, as I have argued with the community for years, music is composed and arranged, not "designed"....that is a visual term....GB

Alot of pieces have to fall into place for a corps to move up competitively. Once a corps is "up there", it is easier, because they will now draw talent. If you haven't been up there, you have to go find talented members to buy in....it's possible, but hard, and you are still competing against corps who are recruiting with track records..... Getting a few to buy in from a great college program can help, especially if they start bringing friends. Now, you still need to pay a great staff who can teach and write a great show, and then you have to prepare well. Even with all of that, it's not a one year process. Actually, to watch a corps succeed at it, perhaps take a look at Blue Stars.....they were successful in Div III, grew to Div II size than full size, continued to progress, and made the move at the right time last year....a VERY respectable 1st year open return effort, and if they return members and had a good recruit year this winter, they will contend very seriously for the night show in just their second year after returning to open competition. Even back in the 70's and 80's, there was a myth among lower ranked competitors that once they have size, all will be well and they will be world beaters. Then they find out that talent and show content also are huge factors, they come up way short, get their teeth kicked in competitively, adults "promise" success and it doesn't happen, and suddenly that corps is holding on for dear life to survive.....it happened alot..... You pointed to Pioneer, and some others......I do feel it is a good thing that the "open" experience can be offered to corps who may not be all that competitive......as long as the members have a positive experience, all is good, and face it....perhaps not only the most talented deserve to go out there and do it...the kids in these corps get up every morning on tour and bust their tail just like everyone else, and there is far more to be gained/learned from corps other than what place you came in or the score you achieved.....I would agree with you, though, that if a corps wishes to be competitive and they haven't been, the only way it is going to happen is through change and hard work........it would depend if that is important to them or not...some corps might be totally content with the "niche" that they provide their members, and thus competitiveness is very secondary..........GB

I find it interesting that Cavs post this proposal a year after their percussion section was defeated handily and save for the 19.9 shelled out to them in visual and another tenth here or there and they are 2nd place.....I am surprised they didn't carry it a step further and say that quarterfinal, semifinal, and final scores should be averaged to determine a champion, just in case they didn't get the "right panel" on Saturday night........if you have a caption deficiency, deal with it......others have lost due to a caption....check out 81 Blue Devils recap.... GB

Fact: some effect is music, some is visual, some is both........it should be rewarded accordingly.......a corps may have great visual effect but the music effect may not be......they may have a great musical product but the visual isn't the greatest....frankly, the visual judges are not qualified to fully evaluate the effectiveness of the musical product, especially when it comes to getting into details about arrangements and musical nuiances necessary to make a musical program totally effective, and perhaps the music judges might not be fully qualified to evaluate the full effect of the visual program. Yes, integrated moments where you have a great music moment combined with a great visual impact are great, but we have programs which somehow are being over-rewarded on the musical end, yet the impact is visual and not musical......2 effect judges with no segregation of the captions will increase the problem even more......... I don't believe this is anything more than an effort to reward visual design even more than it already is...and in my opinion, over-rewarded, with some musical packages being substantially under-rewarded (Phantom and Crown last year immediately come to mind......) GB

This rule proposal is a time bomb......integration, coordination, whatever you want to call it, is great....however, if there are flaws/shortcomings in the musical product, no visual is going to save it, even though that is actually happening anyway....quite simply, today's visual adjudication community is not qualified to fully analyze the effect of the musical product...it is that simple.........if anyone can actually tell me that Cavaliers 2006 program was more effective than Phantom's musically (and I have never been affiliated with Phantom in any way...in fact, with a competitor....) than perhaps I need to tear up my degrees and start over......I also found it interesting that this change was proposed by Cavaliers, along with the ordinal proposal, exactly a few months after the fact that a judge "called out" the fact that there was a deserved spread in percussion, and some musical judges called a spade a spade in the early rounds and rewarded the high music scores elsewhere...looks like nothing more than a continued effort toward an "insurance policy" that the best visual design wins, even if there are problems or different opinions elsewhere....I am surprised they didn't go one notch further and ask for an averaging of quarterfinal, semifinal, and final scores to determine the champion, in case they get the "wrong panel" at the "big show"............We have seen a shift from 65% music/35% visual to 50/50 and 6 music/ 3 visual judges to 4 and 4....more visual reward on MUSIC sheets....it seems that the push away from music pushes on, which has already caused the exodus and alienation of so many fans..........I love a well integrated show, but for me, it also starts and ends with GREAT musical arrangements performed brilliantly and with great emotion, and many, including winners, have missed the boat there....... GB

The 1984 Cadets had to get permission/release to perform West Side Story from Leonard Bernstein.....when the corps received permission, a thank you and an invite to come see the corps was sent to Bernstein. We received word in the summer that he was not going to be able to attend nationals, where he was invited to see the corps, as he had a conducting engagement. After finals, however, a telegram was received back in New Jersey, saying that he had seen the show on TV....congrats on a great job with my music and your championship...from Leonard Bernstein....very touching. GB