Elmo Blatch Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 Chop-chop, 5/4 measure, 5/4 measure, monkey arms, chop chop = Championship Boy, the old American Legion folks just love this formula for success. Elmo Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue_devil_fan Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I must say, I'm rather torn over this topic. I loved the stuff that BD did in the early years, but I also enjoy what they are doing now. I think DCI has just changed so much that in order for BD to win, they can't do what they did 15 years ago. If they resorted back to their roots in full force, they probably wouldn't be in the top 3 or even 5. I can imagine that it would be extremely entertaining, but it wouldn't be enough to win the gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahamay Oton Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I would like to see everyone go back to playing full musical charts. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louderisbetter Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I would like to see the show length increased to 1 hour for those of us who love full symphonies, as well. *sigh*, the real good old days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acn Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I'd love to see BD return to a pre '94 arranging style. It's hard to belive the same person has arranged some of my favorite musical shows, and some that don't make sense to me at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X DM Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 (edited) in my opinion, the 2007 Blue Devils will be appreciated better in the the next decade more so than perhaps today. People will see it as retro and a return to the great Drum and Bugle Corps traditions of the past. I've listened to all the top 12 Corps from this year on audio. The Corps that seem to get a lot of positive ink this year frankly on audio leave something to be desired, even with so called recognizeable songs and more drawn out melodies.... which actually surprised me. The Blue Devils on the other hand have sheer volume, control, demand and dynamics that is unparalled by any other Corps this year in my opinion. They may not be taking top brass just yet, but on audio replays they have a killer brass line and percussion line that blends perfectly in my opinion. They will win DCI this year because they have the best Drum and Bugle Corps in the Country. It's all about demand, fundamentals, execution, precision, and a thorough music and visual integration in my opinion. I admire these things the most in a performance. And simply put, nobody executes the majority of these components any better right now than the Blue Devils. Edited July 30, 2007 by X DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiosteele Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 (edited) in my opinion, the 2007 Blue Devils will be appreciated better in the the next decade more so than perhaps today. People will see it as retro and a return to the great Drum and Bugle Corps traditions of the past. I've listened to all the top 12 Corps from this year on audio. The Corps that seem to get a lot of positive ink this year frankly on audio leave something to be desired, even with so called recognizeable songs and more drawn out melodies.... which actually surprised me. The Blue Devils on the other hand have sheer volume, control, demand and dynamics that is unparalled by any other Corps this year in my opinion. They may not be taking top brass just yet, but on audio replays they have a killer brass line and percussion line that blends perfectly in my opinion. They will win DCI this year because they have the best Drum and Bugle Corps in the Country. It's all about demand, fundamentals, execution, precision, and a thorough music and visual integration in my opinion. I admire these things the most in a performance. And simply put, nobody executes the majority of these components any better right now than the Blue Devils. They should come in second or 3rd, because at least 3 or 4 other corps have the same level of overall excellence as the Blue Devils, and by the second week of August will be as polished, if not more so. BD's show is - dare I say it - esoteric, and that is not what they excel at. A show like the Cadets (with 50% less narration), the Bluecoats, Phantom Regiment and Carolina Crown all have winning shows with a full, melodic brass book. If I were judging, BD's GE and music rep scores would be in the back of the pack, 6th or 7th overall. When I love the Blue Devils, I love them when they burn your face off with REAL music - like many years: 1976, 1980, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2003. 2003 was the last year they played music - and they won...and they deserved to win. This year, they need to sit in 2nd or 3rd, and force their arrangers and program coordinators to reconsider musicality and linear melodics in their 2008 plans. Edited July 30, 2007 by radiosteele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X DM Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 (edited) I must say, I'm rather torn over this topic. I loved the stuff that BD did in the early years, but I also enjoy what they are doing now. I think DCI has just changed so much that in order for BD to win, they can't do what they did 15 years ago. If they resorted back to their roots in full force, they probably wouldn't be in the top 3 or even 5. I can imagine that it would be extremely entertaining, but it wouldn't be enough to win the gold. I sympathize with thiose who believe that songs are abreviated all too often with many Corps. Corps now seemed forced to alter the music to fit the visual these days. In the past, the music was written first, then the M& M Instructor ( marching and maneuvering instructor for those unsure ) would come in and write the drill to accompany and compliment that music. Not so today. This is more of a Visual Age that we live in today ( not so much an Auditory Age... at least compared to earlier decades). DCI is in keeping with these times. Thus we see the Visual taking preference today over the music. Today, Corps write the visual and then write the music which compliments the Visual. Corps today that move rapidly from one visual pattern to other are almost out of neccessity having a noticeable choppiness to the music component of their show. Question : Where do we see most of the melody and harmony in Corps musical show these days ? In the ballads mostly, that's where. Why is this ? Not surprisingly, that's when the Corps slow down their feet movement at these moments. They slow down their visuals so to speak. my summary of DCI years.... 70's and 80's... strong music with melody and harmony but with lacklustre and/ or elementary visuals 90's and 2000's.....very creative and strong visuals, but lacklustre music lacking strong and extended melody and harmony 2010- 2020........ proper synergy balance reached between creative visuals and musical melodies Edited July 30, 2007 by X DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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