dciguy1987 Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 We should ban three valved instruments. Thats not what drum corps is about. Ban black pants, thats not what drum corps is about. Ban innovation, thats not what drum corps is about. Drum corps should not have members from all over the country. Thats not what drum corps about. Just kidding.... Seriously people, get a grip. Drum Corps will be fine. It may be different that you remember it, but evolution happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawn craig Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Amplified pits I can live with although I heard plenty of great effets and playing from front ensembles all through the 80's and 90's including latin and other eithnic percussion. While done well for the most part I still have issues of amped pits being to loud at times, especially during ballads, backfield playing, solos etc. I also find where you sit makes a lot more difference with regard to what you hear from the amps as oppoesed to the difference in what you hear with the accoustic brass and battery sections. I generally don't like singing in drum corps at all because it's rarely done well with good tone and tuning, amped or accoustic. However an amped vocal solist will never blend with an accoustic ensemble. It will be too loud in the soft sections and covered up in the louder sections. I don't paticularly like narration with any concert or music. I feel if the words are that important set them to music! Write a song. However in regards to drum corps IMHO only ONE voice used to date in Div I had the right "sound" for the part and lived up to the standards of the corps brass and percussion sound (BD 05). Most have been ok, HS one act play sounding. A few have been not so good; no expression, poor diction etc. But for me, no one has said anything or done anything vocally that made me go "WOW" that really meant something or added meaning or something special to the show. Bluecoats came close but only with the first line; the rest was nonsense to me last year. I still think that when I hear an amped voice over an accoustic ensemble in sounds completely out of place and jars my ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 We should ban three valved instruments. Thats not what drum corps is about. Ban black pants, thats not what drum corps is about. Ban innovation, thats not what drum corps is about. Drum corps should not have members from all over the country. Thats not what drum corps about.Just kidding.... Sad to say, there are people who would agree with the things you said in jest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kusankusho Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 (edited) Seriously people, get a grip. Drum Corps will be fine. It may be different that you remember it, but evolution happens. It won't be fine if enough people are turned off so that the fan support shrinks. Right now nobody knows if that will happen in sufficient numbers to impact the monetary bottom line. DCI is taking a gamble here with a product that was working, and for what? So the activity can evolve? Check any hominid family tree to see how many evolutionary dead ends there were. Sometimes change is beneficial, sometimes it's a bad idea. My vote here is on "bad idea" and I'm voting with my closed wallet. Edited June 17, 2008 by kusankusho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedford Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Happy to be a new contributing member to the DCP Forum!Long time Drum Corp Brat. Lifetime FAN. Joined because I have a cause... To BAN THE AMP! Someone needs to start an organization against the prolification of voice amplification in the Drum Corp Activity. It will be called "Keep Corps UNPLUGGED" Who wants a T-Shirt!? I DO! I'm bringing drum corp virgins to Drums Along the Rockies this year and I dread THE VOICE OVERS! I'm embarrased that I will probably have to make apologies for it to my friends and hope they like it anyway! Ever been to a regional and heard an audible groan rise from the crowd as a perfectly good show is drowned out by someone's voice coming over an amp? I have and I've had ENOUGH! Times may change people, but standards must remain. Drum Corp is about the MUSIC and the VISUAL interpretation of that music. I shouldn't need narration to figure out your program. If I do, then it is deeply flawed. Moving keyboards to the pit - good change Inventing the Z-Pull - good change Amping Voice Overs - BAAAAAD CHAAAAANGE Stand up for what you love - either way - discussion is good. I want to hear from the fans! Things won't change unless we get heard! KEEP CORPS UNPLUGGED! KEEP CORPS UNPLUGGED! KEEP CORPS UNPLUGGED! Here we go again..... or is that still. I watched The Cadets 2007 show with my wife last night (her first viewing). She hated it.. too much talk ... too much distraction... you name it. The fact is, I love that show! It isn't perfect but given what I think the designers were trying to achieve, they were pretty close to nailing it. So what you ask? Some folks like, and some folks no like. So knock yourself out with the efforts to ban amps etc..... I, for one, will evaluate amps/voice/etc on the basis of how it affects me. Not on the basis of it "not being drum corps". That argument is already lost and the doom & gloom scenarios about amps decimating the activity are nothing but B.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schickmeister Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 I believe very few if any World Class corps are still unamped. In 2004 the Bluecoats made a point of not amping their pit, yet three years later they put out a narration-laden show and will continue to do that this year. Narration laden? For reals? Not quite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybunnyfeet Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 Since the rule for voice amplification was started, I have never found myself watching a program and saying to myself, "You know, I wish someone had talked a little through that part... THAT would have been awesome!" The rules for amplification are getting to be very muddy waters. You have to be so specific about every little aspect of it just to make sure that no one broke this part of the rules or that part. Why not just keep it simple and "BAN THE AMPS!" Was is last year that a corp was accused of "cheating" with the apms? I think above everything, Drum Corps should be about building character and good work ethics... it gives the activity such integrity. When you start talking about cheating and who broke what rule in what way... doesn't that take some of the fun out of it for everybody? Amplification IS "cheating" however you look at it. Let's use evolution to innovate with music and guard and drill. Who remembers the shows where you never knew what to expect! I remember this tunnel thingy where the corp went through the tunnel and changed colors on their uniforms as they came out! I couldn't have been more than 5 years old but I remember that. CREATIVITY PEOPLE! If I made a list with two sides to it, good and bad arguments for amplification... I think most would agree that the bad side would have a lot more arguments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvs me sum mello! Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 They already are. Since amps hit the field in 2004, once-rising attendance is no longer rising, and the financial health of the activity has been impacted accordingly. That, and the cost of the electronic equipment itself, leaves corps less able to confront other challenges (like rising fuel prices).The cycle is repeating itself with the approval of electronic instruments for 2009. Where are you getting your statistics? I saw the presentation on the state of DCI at the convention...attendance for the summer has been going up and down for the past decade....and it did not drop off after 2004. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arno0940 Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 I have been reading this thread since it was posted and have refrained from commenting until now. Everyone has their own opinion - bottomline. Here's mine... For the young performers of "today's DCI" - they only know drum corps with amps, narration etc. For us, the "veterans" of the activity - change is sometimes hard to swallow. I can only imagine the talks at shows and in drum corps world when the tick system was phased out; when the gun ws no longer fired to start and end a show; when the "pit" instruments were brought to the front sideline; when corps started being sponsored by corporations; when marking time didn't involve a high step; when B Flat became the norm....etc. etc. etc. I could go on and on. The talk at shows back then about those changes, echoed much of the discussion of "change" on today's drum corps message boards. Did some of the changes back then make the activity better? - YES. But for people who had been involved in the activity for decades before those changes, it was likely hard to see this as good change. As for "doing something about it" - that time has passed. For the financial side of DCI to be impacted - every person who is opposed to the new era of DCI would have to stop going to shows, stop subscribing to DCI fan network, stop buying souvies, and stop checking out scores on DCI.org (organizations usually recieve $$ from sponsors for the number of hits the site gets) Are people willing to do this?? I'm guessing not. I often see a DCP member post in a thread about how they are not supporting DCI because of the amps and narration etc.,only to scroll down to see their DCP signature read: "Shows Attending: Atlanta, San Antonio, and Madison" OR I'll read their post in a thread about the latest video they watched on the DCI fan network....all of this supports DCI. Will people continue to state their opinions and be "anti-narration" and "anti-amps" - yes for sure. Will they go the extra mile and totally disassociate themselves from the activity - likely not. Again, just my thoughts and opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bersurkman Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 ...For us, the "veterans" of the activity - change is sometimes hard to swallow. I can only imagine the talks at shows and in drum corps world when the tick system was phased out; when the gun ws no longer fired to start and end a show; when the "pit" instruments were brought to the front sideline; when corps started being sponsored by corporations; when marking time didn't involve a high step; when B Flat became the norm....etc. etc. etc. I could go on and on. The talk at shows back then about those changes, echoed much of the discussion of "change" on today's drum corps message boards. Did some of the changes back then make the activity better? - YES. But for people who had been involved in the activity for decades before those changes, it was likely hard to see this as good change.... Good points! As I heard recently, "You see only what you look for". I think this holds here as well. My question is, and I'm sure that this has been written about on other threads, how do you judge narration? Is there a caption for it? Does it affect the judges scores? Are there any criteria as to how to judge it? I personally cannot see it being allowed until the rules have been cast in stone and we know what they are. As an "oldtimer", could I get enlightened? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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