Jeff

The 2005 Cadet mellophone solo that ended the "New World" ballad by Bjork was clearly intended to reference Barbara's earlier solos with the Cadets. She is truly one of the finest ever to grace the field, both as a player and human being.

This is not true. There were no DCA officials anywhere near our low brass as they took that now infamous right turn. We screwed up, plain and simple. Jeff Mitchell, Bush Program Consultant

Yes, you are absolutely correct. :) After the 4 corps in A class, the Inspires went on first in open class, followed by Renegades, and then CorpsVets and Grenadiers. The recap shows the order of appearance. 2002 DCA Prelim Recap Jeff

Of course, a Dallas newspaper would never combine the attendence for prelims and finals at the 1971 VFW Nationals. That would be, to use your term, pathetic and an attempt to make it look like it was one night. So what did the paper say was the attendence for prelims? B)

Aside from all the humor here, the sound of corps warming up is impacted by the intensity and direction of the wind. Given the heavy winds blowing in East Providence Sunday, the sound of the offending drum line may be been amplified by the (wood)winds. So a corps warming up in a usual location may have been offensive due to environmental circumstances. No corps wants to impinge on the audience or other performers.

Tom, It's not everyday before conducting the first Bush victory concert in some time, you get Happy Birthday sung to you by the corps and the audience. I remember it well. Hope to see you around soon. :) Jeff Mitchell, Bush Program Consultant 2003-2005

Me thinks the delay was to prevent you from pulling a Janet Jackson and claiming a wardrobe malfunction! b**bs Jeff Mitchell, Bush Program Consultant

The notion that difficulty is not a scoring factor because there is no separate subcaption is inaccurate. DCA implemented the use of achievement for all captions commencing in the 2001 season. Under the achievement philosophy one considers both "what" a corps is doing along with "how" they are performing. It is a simultaneous process that credits both the content and the performance. So if you notice any changes in DCA, it's not a factor of the scoring system disregarding the challenges placed on performers simply because it doesn't. BTW, Chris please don't hold back. Tell folks how you really feel. B)

It is likely that the two valves bugles are custom made by Kanstul, but that is just a guess. You can check with them. I would also assume that they are professional quality instruments and not your run of the mill standard bugle, so cost might be far in excess of a three valve model.

DCI has sponsored DCA contests before. There were shows held in conjunction with Championships in Madison 1999 and Buffalo 2001. This will be a DCA contest with DCA judges and all the usual, nothing different from a competition standpoint. It is a win-win for everyone involved IMHO. Many fans attending the DCI contest are from out of the region and can get their first exposure to DCA. DCA gets an opportunity to attract new fans and members. New England DCA fans get a better than usual lineup with both Empire and Brigs in the contest. The DCA corps in the show get a chance to see DCI Finals live. DCI stands to make some money running the contest. Looks pretty goods from here.

The implementation of the scoring changes in 1983 were an improvement, IMHO. Your point that the judges didn't understand the scoring system and that the placements were inaccurate aren't ones that I'd agree with. Only 12 corps make finals and every year someone is 13th, 14th, 15th, etc.... Some years there are more than 12 corps that have programs and performances that are deserving. That was the case in 1983, all the way down to 16. The real struggle that the Troopers and Knights faced making finals were in percussion, which still ticked liked they always had. They were 18th and 19th with mid 13's while the Bridgemen who got off to a rough start early in the year popped a low 18 to get a near 5 point advantage in one caption. The Crossmen just missed finals by a tenth and were the unlucky 13th place. That type of information is what can be gleaned from recaps and remove the conspiracy theories. To say that a corps should have beat another really requires an understanding of program, performance, and judging system that probably no one possesses. You can't be on the field, in the box, looking at marching, listening to brass and percussion, analyzing both the demand and effectiveness of the written show, and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the performance. It's impossible, unless you are my friend Geoffrey. :P That being said, 1983 was a great year for drum corps. B)

The 1983 season was the first year that DCI employed the criteria reference system for scoring, otherwise known as the words on the back of the sheet. Prior to this judges rated corps based on their own interpretation of what the words, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent, and Superior meant. Thus one could receive a variety of scores that would not be based on criteria but simply one judge saying that was a 6.9 one night and another giving it a 8.6 the next. The brass caption had stopped ticking, while percussion and M&M were in the last season of execution. So it was a year of great change for the scoring of drum corps as well as incorporating what Garfield brought to the field. While there is always pressure in judging big contests, 1983 didn't seem any different other than the need for judges to gain expertise in using the criteria. Many of the scoring issues mentioned in this thread were the result of using this new system. The season started out with many corps being unprepared and getting rather unfamiliar scores. The Cavaliers, Bridgemen, and 27th Lancers found themselves down 24 points to Garfield at DCI East in Allentown. The gap between 1st and 2nd was over 11 points. This was rather different to say the least. The competition for the last few spots in Finals was perhaps the most intense in the lengthy history of DCI. While many people are fond of conspiracy theories and pointing out final scores at shows from the summer, the real key information lies in the recaps. There you can see how judges with different interpretations of the scoring criteria either raised or lowered scores from contest to contest. Today judges have a much more uniform interpretation of what a box 4 performance is than 1983. So much more that some folks think it's also a conspiracy because the total scores don't change much from night to night. If you want to look at the recaps from the 1983 DCI regionals and other seasons, there is a great site called From The Pressbox. From The Pressbox

Looking to buy a King K-10 2 valve piccolo soprano for my collection. Anyone have one for sale or know of one available?

Picked up a Kelly mouthpiece for cold weather use and found it to be well made and designed. However, I wouldn't recommend it unless you are playing in low temperatures or allergic to metal. Mine plays well, being very close to Bach Mount Vernon specs on the 1C, 3C, 5C, and 7C trumpet models. It was much better than I expected, but it doesn't have the fullness of sound and projection of a comparable silver plated brass mouthpiece. It's a minor difference, but one that was noticeable to my ears.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your statement above. Why would placing the mellophone section in F in a line of Bb's, as opposed to having a line of all G instruments, "break down" the physics/acoustic properties of overtones? And why would having a matched set of instruments, before a good idea in G, not be a good one in Bb/F? Are you applying this to entire sections (mellos, baris) or individual instruments within a section?

It's a rather simple difference, a trumpet has valves and bugle doesn't! :)

No, it is not. Maybe someone else will explain this to you.

The Bach company also makes trumpets, along with other brass instruments. The were bought by Selmer in the 1960's. The Army is the last branch of the service to use bugles. The Hellcats at West Point use custom built one valve bugles in Bb built by Holton, I believe. Here's a link for you non-believers; http://www.geocities.com/yr2348/bugle.htm Bach has made several bugles in Bb for the Army. Not sure what your game is here, but the article clearly states the following; "Mastroleo's efforts were unsuccessful, and the Selmer Company instead made some Stradivarius bugles with some of the Apollo bugle's features. The bells were soldered the length of the mouthpipe. They were gold plated, partially to cover the long solder joint, and they retained the number 55 on the bell. The number was moved up to follow the word Model under the mistaken notion that this number was Bach's model number, an error as discussed above. These bugles are large bore instruments. Since large bore Bach trumpets were routinely made with #25 bells, the Elkhart Stradivarius bugles use this bell also. The tuning slides are not the same width as found on either the Apollo or Kennedy bugles. They are made to later design specifications." The Selmer Company made six bugles for the Army Band. Another six were made in the 1980s. The total production records are not available to indicate how many additional bugles may have been made for general sale. Occasionally, one of these bugles is seen for sale on the open market." The Getzen Company made Bb bugles as well and I have the catalogs that clearly state it. They were custom orders. The military also had a M1894 Bb bugle known as a trench bugle.

Here is the article on Woodrow English, the chief bugler for the US Army. The bugle discussion group on Yahoo listed his instrument as a 1970's era Bach Bb Stradivarious which will be in the Reagan library. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/20...er-reagan_x.htm

What.... don't you believe it? :) Here is my link for the Bb Bach Bugles that have been used by the military for high profile performances. http://www.bachbrass.com/content/bachology/article8.php

Some of us old folks don't agree with the above statement. Bugles have always been pitched in keys other than G. Bb bugles are common in military use along with bugles in C, Eb, F, and G. Taps at President Reagan's funeral were played on a Bb bugle.

Here is a link for the Dynasty USA chart in treble clef. You can transpose it to bass clef. For notes higher that your chart, just try the same fingering for the note one octave lower. That should work in a pinch. http://www.dynastyband.com/graphics/buglefingerchart.pdf

Back in the old days, most sheets had 3 subcaptions, rather than 2 the current system employs. In addition there were 13 judges, so it was simply a case of too much information on one page. Recaps in the very early days were done by hand with carbon paper and ticks were counted and recounted by a tabulator. It was very labor intensive. Jeff, past day ticker, current day talker B)

Gregg, Actually judging has never seemed like work. In many ways it's like marching. You have to get ready for the show, put your uniform on, go out and be part of the judging team, do your absolute best for every word and number you record, and then get chewed out or praised by instructors after it's over. Of course there is no sleeping on gym floors, group showers, or all night bus rides, but you can't have everything! :P And I don't mind the age remarks because there is at least one good thing about getting old and it's called retirement. For you youngsters out there it's getting paid not to go to work. Finally figured out what I want to do if and when I grow up.... RETIRE!!! Less than 1000 days left. Love your website!!! Jeff DCI judge 1979-present Bushwacker program consultant 2003-present

Gregg, Thanks for the info and the great website. Some one might find this interesting as to how one began a DCI judging career back in the old days. Don Angelica called me at work on the 24th and asked if it was possible to be on a plane for Boise, Idaho the next day. Got the time off and went to Boise, Casper, and Scottsbluff to do my first DCI work. Talk about being totally pumped up to get to judge BD and SCV. Man, was that a blast! DCI must have been pretty much down to desperation trying to find someone for a show the next day in the far reaches of Idaho. All in all, it tuned out pretty well for everyone as 26 years later I'm still on the job. Jeff