dmcanall

I think that this was the first decent reply to this. Thank you for that. I agree that the competition aspect cannot be represented perfectly; this isn't basketball with a set five positions and five players. Drum Corps. varies too much for that. I am all for crowd reaction, and believe this should be the goal overall. The thing that I wonder is: Can we accurately judge these performances? I am a big believer in scores not mattering, but it still irks me that (like traveling in the NBA; the focus is on an interesting game without petty interruptions), when someone is out of step or makes an error, the scores don't show that because the focus is more on the innovation. Case in point: While marching a show entitled "Asylum", horn players would randomly remove themselves from the form and begin doing the chicken dance, playing hop-scotch, or pretending they were a rabbit. This was seen as acceptable because of the theme of the show. Mistakes like getting out of step were played-off as relating to this theme, and the scores definitely represented that acceptance. To further this, the show was essentially a giant drum feature with a trumpet part in the background. As "innovation" is added, I feel that this attempt at judging a performance becomes even more ridiculous. Is this a bad thing? I don't know. If drum corps is for the good of the kids, then why do poor hornline parts come about? Why does narration take precedence over the music, as in "This I Believe"? As a possible member of corps. this summer and in the future, I want to know that I am going to get to play music, and not something else. How can limits be put on innovation without taking away from the performance and the experience? I am writing this in honesty, and am not trying to be biased or attacking towards anyone. I just want to learn.

Throughout the history of drum corps, many innovations have been made. Things such as arcs, microphones, valved instruments, narration, story lines, contemporary music, percussion innovation, and colorguard innovation are all extremely visible influences. As these innovations are being added, the question must be asked: How far can we go before we go too far? The uniformity that is required to make competition fair is disappearing as each corps presents its own innovations for competition. What is the goal in competition? Does playing crazy licks and playing musically trump using microphones to narrate? In this situation, how are shows equally judged if one band is playing away for ten minutes, while the other has breaks throughout for narration and percussion breaks? Are synthesizers adding to the show, or taking away from the competition? The more we lean towards the mentality of "for the good of the show", the more we lean away from having a competition that can be judged fairly. Are synthesizers adding to the show, or taking away from the competition? Where exactly do we stand? I am interested in the opinions of others in order to become more educated on this topic. Personally, I feel like arcs and valved instruments are acceptable. As I look back at the older bands, I wonder why they felt like these changes were so extreme, but as I look on the changes that are happening now, I realize that I may be repeating their same "biases" (for lack of a better word for myself and them). I DO NOT wish to shoot down synthesizers, but I am curious as to what the drum corps. community believes about this. Particularly, I am questioning the use of narration and anything that is not being performed by instrumentalists with their instruments or by the colorguard with their various equipment. Can a show that is nearly entirely a percussion feature really compete with a show that is well balanced between horns, guard, and percussion? Being a Cavaliers fan and a percussionist, I say no. Shocking, yes? I was first confronted with this after falling in love with The '06 Machine Show, and then realizing that the Tuba part was not exactly how I would want to spend my summer as a tuba player. I have already asked so many questions, so please feel free to interpret this as you wish, and answer questions that you may feel pertain to this subject. Thank you.