ranintothedoor

Ugh... I hate excessive DOMINAAAANT-percussion break*rimshot* rest - RESOOOLVE thing. This is great if you've built and earned the tension, but if you didn't it's pretentious and meh. One of my favorite uses of this technique done tastefully is Cadets '92. (This one was, in my opinion, earned... the tension had been building for 3 minutes! Plus it was used in a Coda... they'd already delivered on the tonic chord right before this part, so the audience's ear was satisfied... the Coda was basically just candy for the ear afterward. Love the writing and pacing of this show. )

I remember in 2005 our goal was never to beat anyone else but to be the best Cadets corps ever. While I agree that 7th in DCI is not typical or desirable, and while I agree that last year's show may not have been what we were hoping for, I think these are moot. The benchmark for the Cadets shouldn't be the DCI placement but rather how it stacks up to previous Cadets corps. That may not help last year's iteration IMO, but I think that is the standard we should be discussing. Super excited for 2018, regardless!!! :-D

fixed! :-D (only because I've been editing stuff all morning and I just can't help myself!)

Ooooo!!! I'll get mine today while I'm at school. I show all my kids my Cadets one from 2005 and then say, "... but I'm only going to make you do this" and then go into their much-simplified expectations. It goes over pretty well. :-D

Now that is a technological advance I'm cool with! lol

It's the continuation of a long philosophical discussion... when the machines, computers and AI can do everything better and cheaper than we can, what do we do then? I guess we'll just sit at home enamored with our VR tech, traveling the world looking like supermodels when really we're at home, drinking protein shakes and trying not to stay too depressed when the power is out. Personally I think things like Drum Corps keep our culture from going down that path. The camaraderie and visceral feel of a live drum corps with real kids (maybe some of them being our own) can't be replaced. I need to go buy some Cadets merch now. :-D

Touche! Good thing I live in Virginia! :-)

My high school did this, sort of. We learned dots in band camp, then just dressed the crap out of the forms for the rest of the season with very little concern for the original "dots". All about the intervals, baby! Kind of cool... band camp video compared to final video showcase vastly different drill. Like a game of visual Telephone! lol

K, well, if this whole Sound of Silence thing is happening, I'm super excited. I don't really immerse myself with the top groups of BOA, etc., and so it's new to me. It ain't Malaguena, you know? lol :-) It's recognizable for the majority of the target audience, and it's a powerful piece of source music. I plan on putting aside any baggage associated with the selection and pray for an incredible production by the '18 Cadets. Shoot, what if their theme was "Hello Darkness, My Old Friend"... oooo!

I've worked with/talked to several guard instructors over the years... the three main approaches seem to be: 1) Write all the choreography, then change it to fit the drill. 2) Wait for the drill, then write choreography around it. 3) Write features and major impact points beforehand (and change the drill to fit them), then write the rest based on the drill. In my experience, the least stressful and more successful is #3 when all is said and done, especially if the drill writer knows ahead of time. #2 makes it super stressful on the guard members and instructors... no time to clean. #1 tends not to work very well unless the instructor is really flexible/knowledgeable and the kids are more experienced.

It is a pretty awesome country, even with all its flaws. I mean... a country governed by its own people through democratically elected representatives...?!? That was crazy talk 250 years ago, yet here we are! Also, I mean, c'mon... look at our DRUM CORPS!! :-) lol

WOW!!!!! I didn't even SEE the flag until you asked about it! WOW!!!!!! I just..... WOW!!!!! lol That's incredible.

This will work for another 82 years... Then the "C>>>" will have to scoot a bit to the right...

Economy's perking up again... finally... so that's going to help. More disposable income floating around. Also, I think the SoundSport and Drumline Battle concept, while they may not be super big right now, have sparked the imagination of many corps-inspired folks by providing a safety net that, even if they miss Open Class, there's still a way to get into DCI.

Just briefly glancing through, "... amending Section 115 of the U.S. Copyright Act to change the way the Copyright Royalty Board determines rates from using a legal standard to one that reflects market value by trying to approximate a willing buyer/willing seller market rate." Sooo... no more paying the maximum for everyone if doing a medley?! Pay more for highly sought-after music and pay less for little sought-after music??... sounds right to me. :-) On the other hand, I don't see anything having to do with arranging rights. Mostly focuses on mechanical and sync rights... so it'd be interesting to see the impact on DCI's media content.

Good luck!!! :-)

Smart!

Cool electronic beat, too. Perfect soundtrack...

If they're charging astronomical amounts of money, to me that's similar to saying "no"... it's like they're saying "I don't really value you spreading my work to a larger audience, but I guess if you are willing to part with this exorbitant amount of money I can take it off your hands for ya..."

On topic... ;-) Is the rumor on the other thread true about no Bernstein in 2018?

The composers and song writers who say no to requests for sync rights are the ones losing out, I think. I get it about the integrity of your art, and respect it, but drum corps has introduced many artists to me which has led to many a purchased album. I don't blame DCI or Tresona... I think the writers/composers are being unwise in their insistence on artistic purity at the expense of their pocketbooks. Then again, there are principles that I wouldn't budge on too... so I guess it's just an unfortunate, unavoidable situation. The only way I see to avoid is if the corps themselves, while in the show design process, check beforehand to see if DCI would be able to get sync and mechanical rights BEFORE they put it in the show. Then later, when DCI goes to get those rights, they will have success.

yup!

lol why not? that's a good idea!!! :-D Seriously, though, that's why you do shako runs... you want the kids to know what it's like in rehearsal/audition before the actual performance!

I say keep it where it is. It's hard to read the show as it is now, especially in smaller stadiums or lower seats and in just one viewing. I honestly enjoyed the 128 limit, as it allowed the audience and the designers to focus on just one or two elements.