I've finally seen the light.

[liebot]

Yeah, trombone's Bb.

[Einstein On The Beach]

How could I of all people be wrong, I'm always right about everything :'(

[stifled4mallettechnique]

You could say the same about drum corps and the military, but I haven't seen anyone make that comparison yet (minus the fact that drum corps has very prevalent militaristic roots). You could say it about a host of different activities. I guess what I'm getting at is I see the argument commonly made that drum corps, like soccer, would cease to be drum corps if you changed all the rules...just as soccer would under the same set of conditions. But I believe that the differences between drum corps and team sports make that comparison invalid.

Yes, one could compare the military in some ways. But aside from military pagaentry units (bands, drum corps, color guards, mounted cav, etc), the differences in mission would probably end that quickly. I guess it doesn't matter if one prefers to think of drum corps as a sport or not, unless of course one has a position on the airing of finals on ESPN. Saying so will sell it to people that like sports, and saying it's not will help sell it to sports haters. If you put drum corps on a stage, seated in formal attire, and used string instruments with just a few winds and percussion, you could certainly call it "drum corps", but few would agree with you. You could change the rules of soccer to those of dodgeball and still call it soccer, if you want to. But why?

I'm not quite sure what you're saying here...I'm not saying that drum corps is extinct...just that drum corps has changed beyond the scope of that the label "drum corps" actually means. I have no problem with continuing to call it drum corps, because that's its heritage, but it's a very different activity now than it was 20-30 years ago...even 10 years ago. My point was actually that without the changes that have occurred throughout the past, drum corps today probably would be dying out. Despite the decreased number of participating corps from 30 years ago, I believe the activity is actually getting stronger. Heck, we've even recently seen the formation of new corps and re-activation of previously retired corps! That's cause for excitement, I think.

Well, what do YOU think "drum corps" means? What about "drum and bugle corps"? At least up to now the activity can still be recognized, despite the changes. Some proposed changes won't affect that, but some might. The ones that concern me most are the ones that will.

That's a difficult one, and almost a whole different can of worms. I personally believe that the entire judging system should be revamped, and that less emphasis should be placed on GE overall. But we have to be careful, because GE is what actually makes the show exciting (combined with proper execution, of course). I don't want to return to the days of the tick system because I believe that would detract from much of the innovative work that corps are doing these days...imagine a show like Cadets 05 or Cavies 02/03 under the tick system...they simply wouldn't exist. I think that narration could be judged both objectively and subjectively...objectively due to syntax, pronunciation, timing, execution, etc. There would be obvious exceptions, perhaps a corps want to include "slice-of-life" narration demonstrating a specific dialect, in which case they should make that clear. Maybe they should have a copy of the script to give the judge scoring the narration so verify that it was executed correctly. And of course, if it detracts from the overall effect it SHOULD count against the scoring, because that's what the judges are there to do...assign a number.

In general, we agree. I would prefer that anything new allowed by the rules be accompanied by judging standards. Perhaps the standards would have to be modified if they were found to be unclear in practice, but at least an honest attempt should be made. And why can't we easily access the rules anyway?

Yes, I do.

Even the trend toward prohibitive fees? Once upon a time kids could get off the street and learn skill that would change their lives. Now, that's rare. Few big corps even have a majority of local members. I suppose one could say the same about major universities, however, so I won't push the latter point.

[Einstein On The Beach]

Once upon a time kids could get off the street and learn skill that would change their lives.

What, like accounting?

[cowtown]

Uh oh, cowtown's gonna release a bomb in this thread

tick tick boom

I was going to but deleted much of it; really, it’s just mostly opinion, conjecture and hyperbole being presented here, very little fact.

BUT

It represents a wealth of possibilities for education, for careers, for entertainment, for personal and professional growth. I think it's rather selfish for some fans to sit on their haunches and decry "PHONY" like that family guy clip I posted in attempt to (essentially) rob thousands of kids and educators across the country of those opportunities because "they just don't like it."

Yeah, drum corps is about entertainment, but that's not all it's about.

you have displayed very few of those qualities in this thread, what corps is it that you are involved in that so woefully robbed you of those essentials?

No, for me, it's all about entertainment.

After seeing your and others’ behavior in this thread I don’t really care about supplementing your personal growth, more so when I don’t see any evidence of the FACT in this thread.

Sorry pumpkin, this thread is a billboard for why I should withdraw my support from the likes of you. If I don’t like the product and the children in DC generally feel the way you do – it makes cutting ties all that much easier.

Good luck with your professional music career, I’m sure you’ll do great always playing new stuff and convincing your fans to buy into your sense of entitlement. You can explain to them all about how your stage act is really more than just the stage act. How’s it’s about your personal growth and your education too. Of course, I’d drop the juvenile rants like the OP where you lash out, insult and unfairly criticize all those that may have a slightly different opinion than you. Besides displaying ignorance and contempt for your audience and your chosen activity's history they might just realize it’s a lie.

Here’s a hint old bean – playing a real, paying gig is a lot different than playing for your family at a recital. We don’t have to love you like they do, you have to earn it.

Of course, you’ll be fine teaching your music appreciation classes to third graders, just give them a set of maracas and you’ll be fine

Edited September 28, 2007 by cowtown

[Einstein On The Beach]

I didn't know Mistoffilies was a professional musician

[stifled4mallettechnique]

I hate to say this, as one that came in to oppose the premise, but you seem to have taken the OP a bit out of context there...

but what the heck. It's all about entertainment, right?

[Einstein On The Beach]

I hate to say this, as one that came in to oppose the premise, but you seem to have taken the OP a bit out of context there...

but what the heck. It's all about entertainment, right?

Oh don't worry about Cowtown, he's just a marytr

[Flyboy1177]

You think this thread broke your brain?

Wait until the mellophone section becomes the french horn section.

Jeez, kick a guy when he's down, why don't you!

:)

[stifled4mallettechnique]

What, like accounting?

As an alumnus of a corps that died largely due to finances, I say...

Ouch. Well played.