BeinGreen Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 highly mobile, extremely visual AND musical pit cant match the impact march 'em Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirit7698 Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 (edited) highly mobile, extremely visual AND musicalpit cant match the impact march 'em WORD!!!!! there are split parts ( no not all crashes or chokes) that can not be played in the pit ( unless you had 5 well trained hand cymbal players doing it; SCV 03). There have been many lines that did cymbal switches/ used other percussion or drums ( Magic, Spirit, Blue Devils, Crossmen, Colts, SCV, and many others I'm sure). There have been in the past and will be more in the future more arrangers who Truly know and understand how to incorporate the sounds playable by cymbal players. I have seen/ heard some who do not ( nothing but unison crashes / ride geeks only <**> ). That was for the person who said cymbals have no musical merit on the field. I don't know why this is but in my experience the cymbal line starts out ( usually one or 2 of the rookies) as the " weak" marchers in the corps and by the end of the summer they are the best marchers in the corps and are made examples for the horn lines in their slide techniques and for the drum line usually the intensity that they perform forward and backwards moves and just consistency in general. Yes they were used a lot to connect the drums and horns. There are cymbal lines that do create visuals that do " go with the music" ( listen for melodic line rhythms , matching the drum lines roll passages during the horns whole note phrases, flashes on impacts that do not use crashes, a lot more/too much to explain). When it comes to the history/traditions of drum corps in general ( from the old military style that started this whole thing) the cymbal lines are the ones who exemplify this the most. I am in no way saying that all the other members of the corps did not it's just something you would not understand unless you were in the cymbal line... i.e. SCV every year since The Jackal, spirit in it's later cymbal years , Blue Stars as I remember from 05, and I am sure many others back in the days. I did the cymbal line at Teal in 04/05 and those guys/girl put in some good hard work and performed with heart in every note played , every move/visual and every step. That staff was only there for 2 years which is not long enough to establish that tradition at it's highest level :( . by the way. anyone know who's teaching there now? I've been out of the country for the last 2 years so all the drum corps I get is on dcp and youtube :sshh: Edited August 29, 2007 by spirit7698 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einstein On The Beach Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 No way No to cymbal lines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMBob Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 I love cymbal lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stifled4mallettechnique Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 I wonder if the votes would be different if there was a comma in the second choice.... Please, will somebody on the "no" side tell me exactly what you are looking for on the field that would sufficiently go with the theme of any given show? This seems to be a major point of contention with some of you throughout the forums. Should Crown have used real horses? Obviously, I am pro cymbal line, but respect the corps right to choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmpiano Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 I didn't realize I was in such the minority on this. I'm glad that cymbal lines are going away. To me, they are a visual distraction over the drill and the impacts they yield with the exception of holding as a ride cymbal for a jazz driven corps (not that there are any in DCI any more) are not nearly as effective as cymbals in the pit. Give me 4 more horn players and 2 more pit any day of the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XxDrumCorpsFanxX Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 No wayNo to cymbal lines why? I say yes to cymbal lines that use the style of SCV... whatever that is called. If its called something... Are they the only ones that play like that? But to usmpiano... a visual distraction? how are they a visual distraction? are you saying they don't move around enough or what? please explain further... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirit7698 Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 to usmpiano - READ MY REPLY......... It answers your "problem"....... To everyone else who says no ..... I know this thread is all about opinions but.., NONE OF YOU NEY SAYERS COULD EVEN HANDLE A DAY IN AN INTENSE CYMBAL LINE!!! ... And that's no bull. ^0^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymbal_steve Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 I didn't realize I was in such the minority on this. I'm glad that cymbal lines are going away. To me, they are a visual distraction over the drill and the impacts they yield with the exception of holding as a ride cymbal for a jazz driven corps (not that there are any in DCI any more) are not nearly as effective as cymbals in the pit.Give me 4 more horn players and 2 more pit any day of the week. Hmmmmm......I'm not quite sure how to respond to this. I can understand if cymbal lines aren't your cup of tea, but to be glad they are going away is a little harsh. I think one of the reasons people don't like cymbal lines is they haven't seen enough good ones. Some are a visual distraction to what's going on. But the good ones ADD to the visual presentation of a show. I've sat in GE Visual meetings where the judge has talked about how much the cymbal line has added to the show. The amount of body movement you can do with them is nothing but a plus to the field vis judge as well. As far as impacts on the field, when you have 72 horns, drums and pit members hitting an impact, it's easy to lose 5 hand cymbal players, esp if they are not staged well. But where cymbal lines can more is the softer sections. Playing melodic lines with the brass, creating counter point with other battery parts, even stepping out on there own to present a musical thought. There isn't another instrument out there that can produces as many colors as a pair of cymbals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBentMyWookie Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 (edited) To concur with a lot of folks here, I think cymbal lines are a great addition to any corps. That being said, though, cymbal lines are one of those things you shouldn't go halfway with. If you didn't have anyone who could teach sabre to your colorguard, would you still utilize them? I think this is why, nowadays, a lot of folks see cymbal lines as "lame"; usually their only exposure to them is of the not-so-good ones they see from bad bands/corps, or ones on tv/the movies. I bet if you showed those same people a video of the really happening cymbal lines of the past 10 years, they just might change their attitude. (SCV, Spirit, Bluecoats [when they had one], Reading Bucs, Music City Mystique, Aftermath come to mind...and more....) As someone else pointed out, those cymbal line members of the corps become the example and standard by which both the drumline and hornline are held to. It's not a pride thing...it's just that doing cymbals "the right way" shares a LOT of discipline and technique from both sections of the corps. Heck, even a little quasi-guard/characterization work thrown in, too. It's just the nature of the beast. It really is a thing all it's own. True, field cymbals won't sustain as long as your pit cymbals; but that's because they're played differently. Beat a piece of metal in your hand, and then hang it from a string and hit it again. Of course it's going to make two different sounds. But having a cymbal line also means giving more students an opportuntiy to get on the field and make a great visual contribution, too, and not just a musical one playing swells when the horns and drums are blasting and you won't hear the marimba. I could go for days on this... And you wish they were going away? I dare you to try it yourself. Edited August 29, 2007 by IBentMyWookie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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