FH4life

not absolutely sure, but it seems they're marching 4 to 5 at about 208 bpm (if I remember correctly), so I think that's a pretty good body position... and yes, those are yamaha's baritones. It's quite easy to tell the difference from king's.

off topic maybe... but interesting fact. the "nike" logo that we can all see on shoes and other sport apparel comes right from the shape of those wings, seen from a 3/4 angle. off topic ends.

no, there's a few competitions in the summer, a season break in august and finals are in late september. Touring europe for three months would be awsome, but it's pratically impossible. First and last, gas prices. If it's expensive in the US, it's even more in Europe.

http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/Conten...D235600,00.html look at the animated gif on the left side of the page... it's the usual yamaha's percussion spot "the X corps plays yamaha" well, it's "the crossman play yamaha".

I see your point and I am sick as well to hear always the same stuff year after year after year... and it usually doesn't get any better. but... we can't do that. we can't avoid corps to choose whatever they want. my 2 cents? stop thinking "ok, so we gotta figure out what to play next year" and start thinking "ok, we gotta find a concept to work on next year's show". and be careful, it's not the same thing.

Cavaliers and Phantom Regiment. and not just becase they were 2nd and 3rd.

Cadets 2005... huh? to me, and I repeat TO ME, not a championship show at all. Ad I marched, so my opinion is more important that some others ;-)

20. after a show, beeing able to change as quick as you can to be the first to meet the chicks at the cook truck.

well, maybe in a more polite way but... I think he's right. There's too many people on DCP who act like gods of drum corps who never stepped on a div 1 field. that bugs me a bit. you can have an opinion, but please... "I auditioned for the X drum and bugle corps ad got cut, so I can share my drum corps experience". that's funny...

I really like the Glassmen show... the Glass Bowl is such a great place.

in my post DCI teaching experience, the only way to get a block to rotate in a clean way is to make people march dots. and I also think the contraction makes the move look cooler ;-)

excuse me, the relation "high brass title" - "drill learning method" is... ??? winning 5 titles in the last 7 years is a good explanation of what "consistency" means I think... btw DCI exists only since 1972, Cavaliers won several American Legion and VFW titles. I think those titles, that made the Cavaliers the rulers of the 00's, pointed out at least two points: - innovative and effective approach to ensemble music; - superb visual design and execution. I know Cavaliers have been using the dot to dot system also before 2000, but if that's what makes them so good... I think it can work. not everywhere, but in Rosemont for sure.

I am pretty sure that if you ask a kid who's marching these years, he would answer: who cares?

I do. I can recognize any noise and write it down... play anything in any key, i can memorize intervals and translate them automatically into notes. but I never worked on it, it's a gift... and btw I hate people who sing off key... open your ears! ;-)

mmm... if "innovation" means doing something new, something never done before... I just can't see cadets under that light. if we add the meaning of "making other corps do what you did" then again... I don't see much cadets stuff in non-cadets shows in the last 5/6 years. anyway, it's just a T-shirt... what would happen if any of the bottom div I would sell a T-shirt with "we are the best drum corps ever" on? should we blame them? I don't think so...

tradition is a good point, probably the most important for corps that are still all-male... but let's also talk about how easier it is to manage a whole summer with a one-gender-only corps. think about showers... it's very common to get a very small ammount of them in some housing sites and having to split them into male and female makes tour life even harder... I never marched a co ed corps, but I don't think directors let boys and gals shower toghether... or am I wrong? if so I picked the wrong corps to march... ;-)

It makes me luagh so much hearing "conspiracy" theories about how yamaha or whatever introduced Bb horns and all that stuff... my personal opinion? Bb and F horns sound better. simple as it is. projection, size of the bell... this is all theorical. let's talk about facts on football fields. Bb allowed a LOT of corps that sounded like crap to sound a lot better. Bb are easier to be played by mediocre players (which are a lot in drum corps) with all the things realted to it. quality of soud, control, balance, intonation, matching... if you like a corps sounding like a chainsaw but using G bugles... I don't care, it's up to you. but don't say it's better, because it isn't. Bb/F are easier to be sold. and in these financially hard times a whole set of brand new instruments is pure gold in the hands of a corps. so yamaha imposed the use of Bb instruments? THANK YOU VERY MUCH, YAMAHA. and by the way, corps still can rip my face off when playing fffff. but now several corps can do it with balance and "characteristic" sound, not "tin" sound.

I kinda feel too many "death" moments in the way cadets play their music. a good example is 05. no dinamic variations for very long times (even if the music would need it, but this up to every single listener) and, related to this, I can hear just a few dinamics between their pp and fffff. and dynamics are such an important thing in drum corps, which I'm sure we all agree that it's not all about playing as loud as %@ probably was already mentioned, but I would add cavaliers 03 and 05 and bluecoats 05 as great hornlines.

mmm... you didn't march in the 00's... so I guess that's what drum corps was like in the 80's. as far as concern my experience it WAS an educational path. we were students learning about a lot of things and there were teachers teaching us. yes, teaching. and I still think that what I learned from the experience is a lot MORE than how much I gave to the corps. I'm not sure is the same in every corps, but I'm pretty sure (also listening to other people, marching different corps) that it's pretty much the same in the top corps. I personally enjoy well designed and well performed shows. not necessarily entertaining. IMO a long, balanced and controlled chord is better than dirt 1/16s. they might be entertaining but... not to me. that's a simple fact. long notes are not easy to be played. so many corps play them and they just can't get to a decent level of matching, balance and all that stuff that brass guys like me love.

I was... by far. I'm pretty sure this is just about brass players but... let's face it. not trying to be mean, but the average level of brass players is pretty low... even in the top corps. and for the VISA, I had a student one and it worked perfetcly. I just went to the Consulate General of the United States of America and told them about what I was gonna do. I gave them a letter from the corps director and that's it. a few days later I got my passport with a brand new VISA on it. Euph06, why the student visa did't work?

for your convenience, newterak: "guiding doesnt mean blindly following and nobody knows where they are supposed to be... you should still know your dot and aim to be on it, but if for some reason the form isnt making it quite there" if everybody has to know his/her dot, why should this happen? maybe when you rehearse that chunk for the first time, but then... I mean, "some reason" is...? not focusing on what you're doing? or what? "just open up your eyes and get in it. over time, just as one would perfect their own dot in the other system, the form will correct its picture as everybody figures out the picture as a whole and their part in it. " ok, but when two or more people are not on their dot, who's right and who's not? and again, how can you work on consistency when you hit a different dot every time? and what when (example) there's a box and the guy in the front line on the far side is wrong, should all the people behind him follow him and make the whole line wrong? or should they hit their dot and have just one person wrong and not a whole lot? if you can find in any post a clear answer to that, please tell me...

you look at the ground the first time you rehearse that chart. you always march in a playing position (and almost always with a horn in your hands) and you look for references moving your eyes only. you don't need people around you... well, that's what dot to dot system is based on. and it seems to work... pretty well... again, that might happen the first time you are rehearsing! it won't happen again... I mean, if rehearsing 12 hours a day is not enough to memorize your dots and hit them, maybe you should spend your summer in a better way... maybe I forgot some but there isn't any question about dot to dot system tha hasn't been answered... on the other hand, there's several questions about guiding (or reading... is there a difference?) still without answer... a few posts ago. guiding people, please help... because I still would like to get an explanation.

I think we all agree about considering not one better than the other... and I actually belive that for some particular drill moves dot to dot works but maybe some guiding would help... let's say 90% / 10% =) and btw I think we were discussing about the systems theory, not about performing. I strongly support the dot to dot system because gives pretty much all of the visual responsibility to the single performer. if he's wrong, he's the only wrong. and he will never push someone else to make a mistake. and it's all his responsibility if he's wrong. anyway, could some of you answer the questions written in my previous post please? thanks.

I deeply respect your opinion, I'm just asking some questions hoping that those who "support" giuding (as you, I guess) will give me a resonable answer... it never happened before, but I keep asking... the absolute truth is not in my pocket... if everybody has to know his/her dot, why should this happen? maybe when you rehearse that chunk for the first time, but then... I mean, "some reason" is...? not focusing on what you're doing? or what? ok, but when two or more people are not on their dot, who's right and who's not? and again, how can you work on consistency when you hit a different dot every time? and what when (example) there's a box and the guy in the front line on the far side is wrong, should all the people behind him follow him and make the whole line wrong? or should they hit their dot and have just one person wrong and not a whole lot? of course you can love it, but my experience tells me that all those who told me that ("guiding makes me feel like im part of an ensemble") were people who simply couldn't hit their dots because they never focused on what they were doing while rehearsing. Of course I'm not saying you're one of them, I simply feel that argument not that strong... and btw, there are so many other ways to feel part of an ensemble. for me beeing a brass guy, side-to-side listening is one of them. again, not trying to be mean, just discussing...

I really do think Cavies' way of learning drill is the best one... I mean, if you guide, how do you say who's right and who's wrong? and how can you work on consistency if every time you rehearse you end up on a different dot? and what about personal responsibility? everyone should be able do march his own drill on a desert field. so figure it out! ;-)