Roark1 Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Drumlines are too cool to take orders from anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-horns Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 True.....hopefully there was a little sarcasm in there.With the high school I teach, the inchworm is not an option! We do not do many parades, however when they do, we have high expectations for them. They know to listen for the whistle. Usually when it gets messed up, it is due to the DM not doing proper whistle commands. The DM regrets that afterwards. Starts and stops are practiced because they happen in the parade. However I also understand with a larger or more powerful group it can be difficult to hear the commands. We do not have that size group, but I have marched in one. For those situations, we had side commanders also. Our middle school marching band uses whistle commands. The problem is that the band is so big and the drum line so loud that we have to use three whistles and coordinate with hand signals from the DM in order for everyone to hear it. We have 120 kids and the band director has been insisting on 5 in a squad. I'm pushing for 6 in a squad to get things more compact. We're also adding another DM this year, so maybe things will run smoother. I'd love to step off every 2 counts, but getting it right might take a whole month of all-days. What whistle commands do you use? We use four short to start and four short to stop. Roll-offs are every three streatbeats, whether there are people or not. Long blast before "Attention". Long-short-long-short for a predetermined flank turn. If nobody is playing we use voice commands. So, have you ever tried to get kids of varying (+/- 18 inches) heights to maintain the same stride? We're trying for 18" (10-to-5). That would keep the shorties from running to catch up and might even reduce the number of stops during a parade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-horns Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Most times the corps I'm with does the step off every two counts method, aka inchworm. Given that most parades I've been in don't do a full stride to start with, and the corps aren't that big, it's generally not a problem. If the parade is doing a full stride or larger, then it's probably a parade that should be done by float, not by foot.As far as drummers and parades, my main gripe there is them doing their cadence at 180bpm. Like I'm gonna march a 5 mile parade at half steps at that tempo. And like the drumline is either, and finish the parade. Slow it down... We're not getting paid by the note/beat. Yeah, but at 180 you'll get to the beer while it's still cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonHill Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Why is it there is always a clown that sticks with you the whole parade that the entire corps wants to kill? This. Also, wait, wait, what's all this balderdash here about this idea of putting drums in front? That makes no sense to me, whatsoever. Horns go in front. Drums in the back. That's just simple physics. Or chemistry. Or sociology, I forget which. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donincardona Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 This. Also, wait, wait, what's all this balderdash here about this idea of putting drums in front? That makes no sense to me, whatsoever. Horns go in front. Drums in the back. That's just simple physics. Or chemistry. Or sociology, I forget which. in my day drums were in front. that was our physics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallipygianKing Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 That's why we just scatter drill the whole parade... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean the horses aren't out to get you. I was in a parade one time and they took a dump right in front of the reveiwing stand. There was no way we could dodge that bullet so we just marched through it. Man, the things you do for Drum Corps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsksun4 Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 I wasn't there, but history say's the Sunrisers played at the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York. They must have had a horn arc by the Borden's pavilion, where they had a live Jersey cow named Elsie standing by. When the corps started playing, it frightened Elsie and she let loose like she was fed 5 lbs of Ex-Lax. A very moving experience in deed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary W Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 You guys have to do a parade with the Empire Statesmen some time. Sometimes the drumline is in front...sometimes in the back...sometimes the horns are on the sides...sometimes on peoples front porches...sometimes behind the crowd on the side of the street. Needless to say, it actually makes a parade fun and it seems short no matter how long it is. Also it behooves each horn player to know the parade music because sometimes you're all by yourself and it would be embarrassing to do some gacking. I've marched in parades with a lot of corps, Empire was without a doubt the most fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabalumnidrummer Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 "Also, wait, wait, what's all this balderdash here about this idea of putting drums in front? That makes no sense to me, whatsoever. Horns go in front. Drums in the back. That's just simple physics. Or chemistry. Or sociology, I forget which." Who started this 'drums in back' thing? That just seems so BAND!!! We're called "Drum and Bugle Corps" in that order, and it seems to me that's the way it should always be. I watched the corps passing in review at Lewisburg last week and the drumlines in back just seemed so out of place. Tradition dictates drums in front, otherwise we'd call them 'bugle and drum corps!' Just my two cents! But then, I'm a drummer, and proud of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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