How drum corps has become marching band without you even knowing it&#3

[baristeve]

Wikipedia says the first D crooks were added in the 1920s. Wikipedia is never wrong

Are you familiar with the term sarcasm?

crooks were around in the 18th century.. just not in drum corps since it didn't exist yet... I read a book once.

[dciguy1987]

in my opinion, marching band and Drum Corps are morphing.

Marching Band is not the same as it was in the earlier era's either.

There are marching bands to be sure that have not changed their style in many decades. But they seem to be becoming the Marching Band dinosaurs with each passing day. As more and more Marching Bands leave that style behind and adopt the progressive style we see in Drum Corps today.

One can't help but notice the Drum Corps influence on Marching Bands. With nearly every Marching Band one sees these days in parades, competitions, at half time of football games, etc. it is unmistakeable the heavy influence that the Drum Corps movement has had on the Marching Band movement in America.

While what you say is true, I still think that the fresh design ideas are being presented in the marching band realm, not in drum corps (with a few exceptions of course).

[BRASSO]

While what you say is true, I still think that the fresh design ideas are being presented in the marching band realm, not in drum corps (with a few exceptions of course).

I'll agree with you on the creative fresh design ideas part, actually.

[dciguy1987]

I'll agree with you on the creative fresh design ideas part, actually.

Thanks! Which I think is the problem in DCI right now, not saying it is easy to put some thing out there that is fresh. We are really entering a problematic phase of drum corps with regard to design. The performance quality is higher than it has ever been, but the activity struggles with what to do that will be entertaining yet competitive.

[spanksregular]

This thread is boring, can we talk about something else

[BRASSO]

did you have Mussolini's Marching Band in mind, perhaps ?

Edited July 5, 2008 by BRASSO

[ShortAndFast]

I also enjoyed one poster who mentioned how he took to Drum corps because there were no electronics or woodwinds. I found this to be an interesting answer and though I cannot tell that poster why they became a fan of drum corps, I find that answer hard to believe.

I became a fan of drum corps long before electronics or woodwinds were on the table (and I'm largely OK with amps now that they've arrived), but I definitely liked corps because it *sounded* so different from a marching band. Listening to an ensemble of same-key brass instruments is a lot like listening to an a cappella choir. Since the instruments are physically similar, you get a very distinctive timbre to the sound, lots of opportunities for overtones when intonation is good, etc.

FWIW, I agree with your main point in the OP. Nicely written post.

[En929]

I agree 110%. Marching band is what got me into drum corp. I saw a university marching bands and that’s what got me interested in drum corp. I couldn’t really see the difference other than one just having brass instruments and the other having a variety of instruments. I enjoy both equally and hey, some of those marching bands can be as entertaining to watch as drum corp. (especially a lot of those university marching bands: check out MSU

). I personally can’t complain about the two. They make no difference to me. If there’s no drum corp. around, then I'd take a good Marching band. Edited July 5, 2008 by En929

[CrunchyTenor]

You know, there is an "Old Farts" section somewhere where you guys can get together and stroke each other off about how great you all were in 1975. Thanks, I've heard the recordings. I'll take narration.

Tell me something, all of you, "This isn't real drum corps" crowd--when you entered the activity in the 1970's, were the old farts then so nasty as you people have been ever since I came into the activity in 91? I mean, every other word out of your mouths is, "Star bought their seat at the table." Or, "This isn't drum corps." Or, "We were better when we were from the neighborhood!"

Puhleeezz!!

Simple statistics lesson that I've droned on about a couple times at least. If you take 128/135/150 people and put them together and compare a group of people that are in the closest proximity to one another versus a national sampling by audition of the best qualified people, the national sampling wins every time.

DC members today are about 100 times more talented than 30 years ago.

DC recordings are about 1,000 times better.

Designers in both the DC universe and the MB universe are largely veterans of DCI and are driving the respective activities.

And Directors in high schools are many times more likely to be vets of DCI corps today than back then.

And staff of the corps are more likely to be degreed, educated, certified, experienced MB directors if not university profs.

How many University profs on staff in 1975?

Plus, corps are in no better financial situation than they were 30 years ago, so you have absolutely no ground to make baseless claims like, "This ain't drum corps." And with as many DCI vets who have moved in and taken over the MB universe, why are we surprised that the MB activity wouldn't be more creative and forward thinking that DCI?

Better title for such threads: "How drum corps passed by the 70's crowd without their ever knowing it."

And once again I state, anyone who can mistake a marching band and a drum corps, whether in a parade, a field performance or rehearsal is simply blind and beyond helping. Let them fall behind to cull the herd.

My first piece of advice would be to ignore nasty people. They're everywhere. But also be careful not to fall into the same trap and be a hypocrite.

I'll be the first to tell you that the relationships between drum corps and marching band is very, very different than in 1975. In 1975, bands didn't have staffs composed of drum corps vets. "Legit" music educators looked down their noses at us. Now, personally, I marched in my HS band. I was attracted to drum corps as a drummer because the level of technical achievement was much higher than in the average HS band.

But remember, a lot of people who marched in 1975 were among the first to start the inflitration of the band world. I was one of the first drum instructors in Orange County, CA. Before that we taught ourselves. I was lucky to march with a guy who marched VK. Our HS line improved dramatically when he brought what he was learning in VK to our band's drumline.

What was happening in Southern California with VK and Kingsmen guys creating instructor positions was was also happening in Northern California, the Northwest, the Midwest, the Northeast and the South. We were changing bands into the new "corps style." It started in drumlines, corps style marching and colorguards came next. Band directors were still pretty much doing all winds. The invasion, however, had started.

By 1980, most of the really competitive bands had a least a couple of additional staffers to assist the band directors. While early instructional staffs were primarily alumni of the program, the hired gun phenomenon had started. As reputations grew, instructors broadened their horizons, too. Brass and woodwind staffers became more frequent, as well.

Side note: At 1980 DCI finals in Birmingham, a small group of VK staff went just to observe and plan for the corps' re-emergence in 1981. While at the hotel pool, though, we were approached by the local band director to see if we would be interested in staying a few days longer and helping with his band camp. He didn't know us or anything about us, but because we were drum corps staff he was willing to "make it worth our while" to go teach his band for a week. We had to decline as we all had regular jobs we had to get back to.

By the 80's, bands had become mirrors of what was happening in the drum corps world. But we were still not legitimate until we added that third valve. Whole groups of drummers were auditioning for drum corps out of their geographical area, many coming with their percussion instructors from the college or university they attended. (Ever wonder why the Regiment drumline in 84 had a Louisiana drawl? Two words: Marty Hurley.)

As the number of corps-style bands grew, and the number of drum corps shrunk, bands became the test bed for show concepts. Better to refine the concept with the band you teach than at DCI quarterfinals.

So, while drum corps led the charge to change the style of marching bands across the country, bands are now the place to try new things before bringing them to the drum corps field.

I'll be happy to discuss the changes in drum corps and band all day. I can even do it without trying to convice you that 1975 was better! Can you do it without trying to trash our heritage? I think you can!

Garry in Vegas

Been there, done that

PS Hey, MikeD? How did I do?

Edited July 5, 2008 by CrunchyTenor

[BRASSO]

'Couldn't have said it any better myself, CrunchyTenor

This was the transformation of both Marching Band and Drum Corps in a nutshell, and how each influenced the other, and how they tend to do so today.