jwillis35

Yes, Dorico has all kinds of film scoring features as you noted. Sibelius does as well. I think you'll love Dorico once you get the program under your belt. I don't use it yet other than watching lots of demos. I went MuseScore and love it but I'm not doing Independent films. I feel for you about all the Finale files. I have some friends that are going to PDF all their scores and parts and just file. If they end up going back to a project they will have to hope Dorico or someone come up with good scanning software. Many of them would rather do this vs using MusicXML

From 1991 to 1994 I use Passport Design's Encore. - It was ok. Interface looked good but score extract was like pulling teeth with all the editing you had to do after the fact. From 1994 to 2004 I use Finale. Their interface looked the same then as it did just recently until they pulled the plug. While the interface was clumsy, filled with icons, busy, and you had to know what tool you were using the program itself was like a Corvette under the hood. Lots of power and stability. It was a favorite for publishing companies and composers/arrangers. In late 2004 I began playing with Sibelius 3. I think by 2005 I was mostly Sibelius but still using Finale some. Sibelius was, and still is (though it is owned by Avid now) a simpler and more elegant interface yet with solid power under the hood. It felt more like writing on paper. The MIDI mixer was crap. Don't know if it's that much better now. That aside it is a strong program with many advanced features. It never did anything Finale could not do, but it did most of those things a little easier. In 2015 I finally gave up on Sibelius with Avid owning the software. They bought out the original team (out of London) and fired them all. Avid does OK to update the software once in a while but I believe it is on a subscription model now. To be fair a lot of software is going that route. So in 2015 I began working with MuseScore. It's a free program that has come a LONG WAY. I'm not sure where the big money has come from from MuseScore now has an interface and mixer that put Sibelius to shame in many ways. The typesetting is solid and the fonts and manuscript look is top notch. The mixer alone blows away anything Sibelius or Finale ever did. Extracting is easy once you get used to it. The internal sounds are really solid and they have a library of other great sounds that you can download. The MIDI is easy and works. Most MIDI channels will just setup automatically. Maybe not quite as much power under the hood as Finale (or Sibelius) but the program is catching up. There is not much you cannot do. I have been following the rise of Dorico. From the demos and tutorials I have watched this program is clearly the most powerful, in depth, full-featured music notation program on the market today and I do not think it is close. It is expensive. The MIDI implementation is pro level. It's probably more power than most people need, but if you're going to be publishing this is the future. For making high quality demos this program is likely first rate, though most people I know save their music notation files as a .mid and upload into their DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software and then use their synths or built-in VST libraries to make a better demo. Still, Dorico packs a lot of power and it seems MAKE MUSIC/CODA (the makers of Finale) decided it was no longer worth it to invest in an older program with really old code, especially as we see many new computer chips challenging the Intel dominance. With APPLE's M-series chips (ARM RISC based), and now QUALCOMM Arm-based chips (also RISC) updated versions of software built natively for these new chips and machines have to be done. I think MAKE MUSIC made a wise choice though I know many Finale users will be ticked off and this will create a lot of work for them. But at some point you have to move on and Finale was getting old and simply was not worth updating anymore. The current program can still be used as long as you do not need to update it. One year from now Finale will officially be Sunset for good. There are many other music notation programs I did not mention. Just the ones I have used...plus my thoughts on Dorico. But one program I did try a demo of was NOTION by PreSonus. For the cost this is a super notation program as well. There are others. With Finale being discontinued one of the things to watch for will be who adapts their programs for these new chips and new operating systems. As I said, M-series chips Macs are selling well. So are Qualcomm Windows PC running their new Snap Dragon chips. These chips are not Intel X86 compatible. They are ARM processors with RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) tech. Intel and AMD will continue to do well so if you just want the best program for that type of chip on Windows I'd say go with Dorico, Sibelius, or MuseScore. But Notion is really good too.

Ok, let me see...The 1990s favorite shows lower than 6th place: 1990 and 1992 Velvet Knights Crossmen 1990 and 1991 -- 1991 was Pat Metheny Suite, Fantastic show! Magic of Orlando 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997 - special award to 1996 show (Twelve Seconds to the Moon) 1990 Dutch Boy (Tribute to Frank and Sammy) Blue Knights 1991 - Savannah River Holiday, An Outdoor Overture, Aspen Jubilee (very classic BK from back in the day) and also 1992 Portraits of Aaron Copland 1991 and 1992 Freelancers (Music of Sir William Walton in 1992 was nice) 1991 Glassmen (17th place) Appalachian Morning, Escapades of Pan, After All - Loved this show and also 1992 Glassmen. Then there is 1993 Glassmen and I love that show a lot. Ok, too many shows for the 1990s. A lot from 1991 and 1992.

For the 1980s the following stick out as favorite corps placing 7th and below: Suncoast Sound 1984, 1988 - and even 1986 and that brass line, but wasn't one of these in the top 6? Sky Ryders 1987, 1988 (tore the joint down both years with those shows) - and was the Wizard of Oz show 1986? I loved that show. Velvet Knights 1988 (I loved 90 and 92 in the 1990s, but I believe 1988 was their best corps technically, taking 8th place) Strong corps that year. Bluecoats make finals for the 1st time in 1987 but it was the 1988 and 1989 shows that really began to cement their legacy. Fantastic shows. 1985 Quad City Knights - saw this show in Marion (and Columbus, OH) and they blew me away in a rain-soaked kick butt performance. Star of Indiana 1985, 1987 and 1988 I'm sure there are a lot from the 1970s but I am not as well versed in that era. I'll post 1990s when I get more time to reflect back. I'm getting old and it's difficult to remember all these years and great shows.

From what I can find I think he writes for Sports Illustrated and some of his articles are freelance and picked up by others. I believe he wrote an article on the Legend of the Selmer Mark VI, a very popular sax. Not sure if this is the same person but I think it is. He works out of Chicago so he likely knows of Cavaliers, Phantom, and others. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/the-legend-of-the-selmer-mark-vi

Great footage in that one. That 2008 Phantom Regiment show is what I like to call the "once in every 20 years show." We see great shows every year. Some are amazingly great, but a show like this comes around once in a while. Maybe only once in every decade or two. In my book this is one of the top 5 all-time great DCI shows from any era. No Question.

Enjoyed the article. I have the $4 per month mobile subscription. That's a really nice writeup on DCI, Bluecoats, and drum corps in general. They bring up Blue Devils some and Scott Johnson, even Brandon Olander. Lots of photos and some video too.

No need for such proposals. First I think there was a typo with that number. But more to the point a corps is only going to spend what they can. There is no rule right now that says you HAVE TO have 2 or 3 or 4 corps staff buses. There is no rule for how many buses you use for marching members. The reason there is no rule is because every corps can do what they need within the budget they have.

God Bless, Bob Ross! Such a great guy.

I laughed. It's all in good fun. Actually some cool music there. I think Cadets have officially become INT...but I could be wrong. (love you forever, Garfield Cadets).

Very true...maybe Phantom needs to do that show.

Bluecoats: You Asked for A.I. but We Decided to Give You C.G.I. Boston: Men in Black...The Music of Danny Elfman Blue Devils: The Dance Derby You Didn't Know You Needed (Dancing With The Stars Inspired) Phantom Regiment: Space Invaders from Mars (music of Holst) Carolina Crown: The Musical "SIX" (a play on the music and the story of the 6 wives of King Henry the VIII) Santa Clara: Forces of Nature...The Music from the Original Twister Film Mandarins: Sound of Music XT (Xtreme Techno) - A CASCADA Inspired look at The Sound of Music Blue Stars: Mission to An Epcot Future Colts: A Night in Vegas with Count Basie & Frank Sinatra Troopers: we know what they are doing already, but my idea for a not-so-troopers show would be "If Beethoven Grew Up In Casper." Cavaliers: JAZZercise Madison Scouts: Back To The Future I actually like some of these, but I know the corps will not do any of this.

I booked a nice room at the Westin the week of Finals (Sunday). Sometimes rooms will open up once all the block reservations are filled and the hotels can see what has not been taken, or if rooms open up a week or two before. I never try to book early because I just never know this far ahead of time if I will be attending.

I think Chandler went to BD in 1990, and yes he was with many different groups through the 80s and had met Michael Cesario at some point in the early 80s on Broadway in NYC. Those two guys have had a HUGE influence on the activity. Todd Ryan (who like Chandler were both Madison Scouts in the 70s) went to BD in 1994 after working for Star of Indiana in the late 80s and early 90s. As for this whole poaching thing with instructors and designers in DCI I personally think it's not an argument that anyone should be having...no matter what corps you root for. Instructors and Designers have the right to look for employment. Sometimes change is needed. Very few instructors get long-term contracts. Many work year to year. Some get 2 or 3 year deals. Maybe some get a longer deal. Change is inevitable no matter the corps. Sometimes the change is needed. People will sometimes say "corps X came in and took our visual design person." But maybe your visual design person was looking for another opportunity. It's a two-way street. The design process can be difficult. Working with a design team is not easy. Same with caption heads. There is stress and differences of opinion and the daily grind of getting the show right and dealing with judges and fans expectations, etc, etc. I think it's silly to say things like "the only reason your corps is good is because of x, y, and z."

I agree with you here. I know some like and feel the need for competition more than others. Nothing wrong with that. But the mission of the corps cannot ONLY be about winning and scores. We hope the members learn, achieve, enjoy their summer, have a healthy and safe summer in all they do, and that the corps is entertaining. We hope the corps ends it summer fiscally sound and that the members are well fed and healthy. If you are doing the above you are, in fact, winning! Now, I do enjoy the competition aspect but it's not a professional sport. Changing staff too often can harm more than help. I trust Crown knows what it is doing (and they usually do and I love their shows) so we will see how this works. There is always going to be that "grass is greener on the other side" desire in drum corps.