Rule Proposal 2008-05

[MikeD]

Mike. Perhaps you should consider taking a finance or economics class at a local community college. Or better yet, talk to a couple of the folks knowledgable about the finances of a corps and their budgets. Once you put the basic financial and economic knowledge together with the financial realities of the activity, you just might realize how utterly absurd that comment is.

Corps already have everything they need outside of some mics for this one. I can think of a couple of absurd proposals, but not this one.

[Kyle B]

How is this not absurd? The mere nature of a brass instrument is to project.

In every band, orchestra and drum corps I have ever been in, they tell everyone to get behind the soloist. Why are we going to basically uneducate the members and now say, you can play as loud as you want because I'm going to turn this guy up to 8 on the knob?

If you can't get the soloists to project, cut them and get someone else. How many drum corps only have just 1 kid who can perform the solo since others aren't at his level. If your talking about a screemer, then chances are they are going to cut through everyone anyway.

Edited December 12, 2007 by Kyle B

[MikeD]

How is this not absurd? The mere nature of a brass instrument is to project.

In every band, orchestra and drum corps I have ever been in, they tell everyone to get behind the soloist. Why are we going to basically uneducate the members and now say, you can play as loud as you want because I'm going to turn this guy up to 8 on the knob?

If you can't get the soloists to project, cut them and get someone else. How many drum corps only have just 1 kid who can perform the solo since others aren't at his level. If your talking about a screemer, then chances are they are going to cut through everyone anyway.

As others have said, there are times when even a soloist needs a boost, based on a variety of factors. Doesn't mean the player is bad. This is not absurd for a corps that wants to use it. There is no one way to do anything. They are not gong to 'uneducate' the members; THAT is an absurd concept I have seen in this thread.

[Kyle B]

You need a soloist louder, tell him to play out more and back everyone down. The only time I haven't been able to hear a soloists is when people are talking over them. Get rid of the talking in the show, you'll hear the guy.

I remember in 2002 we had everyone in the hornline playing backfield at a soft volume and we had this one trumpet person who was suppose to just hold out this high note, while facing backfield as well and being close to the 10 yard line near the back sideline. Heard him perfectly.

The answer to everything is not in amplification. When you go to an orchestra or band concert, almost never do you see a microphone in front of the soloist leading to speakers around the audience. Instead it is for recording. IF someone is actually amplifying there soloist on stage with the rest of the band, then he/she is a horrible conductor because they can't get the band to back up the soloist instead of overpowering them.

[MikeD]

You need a soloist louder, tell him to play out more and back everyone down. The only time I haven't been able to hear a soloists is when people are talking over them. Get rid of the talking in the show, you'll hear the guy.

I remember in 2002 we had everyone in the hornline playing backfield at a soft volume and we had this one trumpet person who was suppose to just hold out this high note, while facing backfield as well and being close to the 10 yard line near the back sideline. Heard him perfectly.

The answer to everything is not in amplification. When you go to an orchestra or band concert, almost never do you see a microphone in front of the soloist leading to speakers around the audience. Instead it is for recording. IF someone is actually amplifying there soloist on stage with the rest of the band, then he/she is a horrible conductor because they can't get the band to back up the soloist instead of overpowering them.

But the answer may be amplification if that is determined to be the best way to go for that corps, which is the point. It's not up to you or me to decide. The corps shoudl have the freedom to do as it pleases to maximize it's show. IMO these constraints are what is absurd in this day and age.

[Kyle B]

Everyone else is living comfortably within the constraints. In fact, some don't see these things as constraints at all. We aren't talking about getting a hornline to play any type of music while having to play it on 1 or 2 valve bugles. We are talking about getting horn players to play out more. That's not a restraint, that's the quality of your hornline.

You wouldn't put a horn in someone's who has never played one before and ask him to play lead, so you wouldn't ask a kid who can't project the way you need him to to play a solo. Can't hear people, don't write music for everyone else that will cover your soloist up. That's common sense for whatever music medium you are dealing with.

[MikeD]

Everyone else is living comfortably within the constraints. In fact, some don't see these things as constraints at all. We aren't talking about getting a hornline to play any type of music while having to play it on 1 or 2 valve bugles. We are talking about getting horn players to play out more. That's not a restraint, that's the quality of your hornline.

You wouldn't put a horn in someone's who has never played one before and ask him to play lead, so you wouldn't ask a kid who can't project the way you need him to to play a solo. Can't hear people, don't write music for everyone else that will cover your soloist up. That's common sense for whatever music medium you are dealing with.

No, it is absolutely not about the quality of the hornline. People lived just fine with no valves, valve, valve/slipslide...all the way up to where we are today. Miccing a solist because the corps thinks it is the best way to present their show is the point. IMO it should be permitted.

Common sense says that there is more than one way to do just about anything in drum corps. Corps should be free to use whatever tools they wish.

You don't want to mic your soloist? Fine. Probably very few will do so, based on their show choices and approach. If you want to...go ahead. NO valid reason it should be prohibited.

[Kyle B]

You are starting to sound like some of my students.

I can't do this? I can't do that?

That's one of the great things about drum corps, pulling off a successful show while working with what you got.

It seems all your out to do is make this a rich kids sport, adding expenses everywhere, and hiding behind the fact that they can get sponsors who will offset some of the cost.

If half of these proposals had passed 10 years ago, I guarantee you there would have been more corps who folded.

[MikeD]

You are starting to sound like some of my students.

I can't do this? I can't do that?

That's one of the great things about drum corps, pulling off a successful show while working with what you got.

Tell that to those who passed mallets, timps, eventually pits, contras, multi-valves...etc...

It seems all your out to do is make this a rich kids sport, adding expenses everywhere, and hiding behind the fact that they can get sponsors who will offset some of the cost.

If half of these proposals had passed 10 years ago, I guarantee you there would have been more corps who folded.

You have NO way of knowing that, and the one in this thread especially is hardly a costly change, as corps already have most of what they need.

[Patriot]

This just makes no sense to me.

What this rule proposal does, in reality, is remove a large part of the difficulty from drum corps. You want this part at a mezzo piano? Turn down the volume. Big impact point? Go to level 11. All while the hornline is playing the exact same way. No different air temperatures, no different air speeds, just one, constant volume down below.

Maybe Hopkins originally proposed this to be soloists only. Maybe he didn't. But was the narration rule proposed for stuff like the singing in 04 Crown and 06 Cadets? I doubt it But that's the way it's used.