GlassFan Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 The French perspective...I can see it now...the colorguard could all spin white flags and they could use the amps to tell everyone they surrender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RsD Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 If they peform John Cage's 4'33'' that will allow for plenty of exploration of narration without covering up the music. Hey! Get off of my high school show for this fall, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadetsaholic Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 The French perspective...I can see it now...the colorguard could all spin white flags and they could use the amps to tell everyone they surrender. I hope you are kidding, because that is just rude to dishonor the French Fighting Forces like that. Without the French, we wouldn't be a nation. ANd I was serious about my suggestion, obviously it was not "clever" enough for your one-track mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustABandMom Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 You make a good point, but it does matter to me who judges this activity, at least from a standpoint of performance (marching, music, flags). Although I have no desire to see the tick system return, I still like this activity as a competitive one, and in that sense we need judges who are trained to see the difference and mark it accordingly. This is not so much the creative part of the activity but it is where the marching members make their biggest contribution (their performance of the show). To me, this aspect is more important than GE, and it's less subjective. Because the average person can see the difference between Pioneer and the Cavaliers, as has been mentioned, is exactly why we need excellent judges for this more objective part of judging.<snip> But to me it's not the idea so much as the implementation of that idea. Although the Blue Devils do not bring the innovation to the field in terms of visual and GE the way others do, it would be wrong to allow someone other than a trained judge to reward them (or not) for the absolute excellence they bring in performance. And for me, even if the show is not all that fresh or new or innovating, I still get no bigger kick than to sit back and watch a drum corps that flat out knows how to play and march. They are the definition of a form of entertainment that we all take for granted when talking about all these other earth-shaking ideas in drum corps, and that form of entertainment is called Excellence! I've enjoyed this interesting and informative discussion. Ok, I’m a newbie here and I've spent the last year dredging through this forum and other places on the internet, quietly thinking and learning about drum corps. I've still got a lot to learn, but it's nice to run into discussions like this. (along with the fun and humor and interesting personalities encountered here on dcp.) :) To Jonathan’s post -- Bingo! Excellence! I think excellence is what enables drum corps to survive. Performance excellence is what keeps the people coming back. You’ve talked about the two opposing forces of drum corps – creativity and competition. Yes, I think you’ve pointed out how competition handcuffs creativity, but I don’t think you can do without the competition. Like Jonathan has pointed out, competition drives excellence, and it is excellence that keeps the fans coming to watch the shows. It’s excellence that differentiates drum corps from marching band, and plays a major factor in why drum corps/fans pride themselves on being different from marching bands. (Not that marching bands cannot be excellent – they can and are; but I don’t think they can be in the same league because they just cannot come close to the hours of practice that drum corps achieve. – but that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms.) From what I see, drum corps is comprised of 3 major components. First and foremost, it is a youth activity. It provides kids up to the age of 21 opportunity, education, and experience(/s!). The second component is the creative component, the content – a blend of music, precision drill, dance, color, etc., etc. Finally, there is the competitive component. This is the performance component that brings excellence. I think it is the delicate balance of these three forces that keep drum corps functioning as an activity. If you try to eliminate competition in an effort to increase the creativity of shows, you might be able to break new creative ground, but I think you would sacrifice technical complexity and demand, and I think that would eventually result in the loss of performance excellence and the subsequent loss of the fan base. I believe it is the technical complexity and demand which draws a good percentage of fans to the activity. Drum corps has an exceedingly knowledgeable fan based filled with many former members and music educators who are well able to recognize and appreciate technical complexity and ability. Performance excellence appeals to many knowledgeable drum corps fans. It is what they admire about the activity and what they are willing to pay to see. The creative component also helps keep fans in the seats, and it spans a wide range that encompasses varying degrees of emotional evocation, entertainment, and innovation. This category is where each corps’ personality and selections brings something for everybody. A wide variety of differing combinations of each of these categories is needed because we all need different buttons pushed when it comes to what we find stimulating, interesting, and entertaining. My husband likes traditional – full, robust, well-known melodic pieces. I enjoy that too, but I get bored easily and crave more stimulation. I like the offbeat – more complex shows that make me think a little about the meaning after the music fades. The variety of different ways in which we are all stimulated and entertained is why I think everybody on dcp argues so much over whose corps and show is better. (This thought is old hat to dcp fans, I’m sure.) The youth activity component – I dunno. I think that probably helps create the seats and puts some fans in it. This component provides the raw material to make the entertainment possible. Were it not for the youth who are such excellent musicians and performers, the activity would not be possible. They give their time, and put their hearts and souls into their performance. Many come to watch for this reason, and this component provides another piece of the excellence that comprises drum corps. It might also be possible to have drum corps as other than a youth activity – a paid, professional drum corps, and still have the other two components of creativity and competition; however, at this time there isn’t a viable venue for it to pay its own way. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to post my thoughts as I try to get my head around what makes drum corps tick. I do realize that I am a newbie with lots to learn, and probably much of what is new and interesting to me is old hat to the more experienced fans, so I appreciate those that have taken the time to read and hope you can make some allowances for my inexperience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 Thanks for giving me the opportunity to post my thoughts as I try to get my head around what makes drum corps tick. I do realize that I am a newbie with lots to learn, and probably much of what is new and interesting to me is old hat to the more experienced fans, so I appreciate those that have taken the time to read and hope you can make some allowances for my inexperience. Amazing post for a "newbie with lots to learn"...GREAT job at getting exactly (IMO) to the heart of drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tone Quality Matters Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 (edited) I hope you are kidding, because that is just rude to dishonor the French Fighting Forces like that. Without the French, we wouldn't be a nation. ANd I was serious about my suggestion, obviously it was not "clever" enough for your one-track mind. We had Cornwalis and the redcoats running before the french moved in. The french sure didn't give a fight allowing Hitler to march through their country, so history seems pretty clear to my "one track mind" Edited August 1, 2007 by Tone Quality Matters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euponitone Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 We had Cornwalis and the redcoats running before the french moved in. The french sure didn't give a fight allowing Hitler to march through their country, so history seems pretty clear to my "one track mind" But they tried to stop him....i mean like, they built i giant defensive fortification that covered like....half of their border.....whats wrong with that :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tone Quality Matters Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 But they tried to stop him....i mean like, they built i giant defensive fortification that covered like....half of their border.....whats wrong with that :P Well, they did have 10 divisions in Germany in 1945, to their credit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustABandMom Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Amazing post for a "newbie with lots to learn"...GREAT job at getting exactly (IMO) to the heart of drum corps. Thanks. It was a good discussion before me -- most interesting. Sorry I missed most of the discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.