What bugs you - senior edition

[melligene]

i agree with everything you've said. the casual way most corps take the field grates on me too. drum corps prides itself on regimentation , precision , dicipline etc. but has allowed the simple act of taking the field for competition to slip into amateurism .

i'd like to see the corps of the dca follow the example set by the champions....they march to their starting positions, dress and go....no warmup , and the hugs , high fives , stretching , as well as rah rah from the staff is done is done in private ! very dignified !

So..........it's not just me. Sure miss that time way back when.........

[bill]

i agree with everything you've said. the casual way most corps take the field grates on me too. drum corps prides itself on regimentation , precision , dicipline etc. but has allowed the simple act of taking the field for competition to slip into amateurism .

i'd like to see the corps of the dca follow the example set by the champions....they march to their starting positions, dress and go....no warmup , and the hugs , high fives , stretching , as well as rah rah from the staff is done is done in private ! very dignified !

2008 Kilties; march to starting positions (opening formation) in mass, go to parade rest (with heads bowed) upon reaching personal assigned field position, no movement, no warm up. Show began from that position (no commands) with opening mello solo being played by DM.

[melligene]

2008 Kilties; march to starting positions (opening formation) in mass, go to parade rest (with heads bowed) upon reaching personal assigned field position, no movement, no warm up. Show began from that position (no commands) with opening mello solo being played by DM.

This explains the standing "O"'s the kilties always get and deserve.

[Fred Windish]

I LOVE the Kilties! Always did, always will. I had tears in my eyes when the Kilties marched down Hamilton Street in my local city of Allentown a few years ago.

The Kilties have a certain formula that works, and probably works for 90% of those who witness them. Good luck this year, Kilties!

[Bushsop89]

You know what bugs me about drum corps....not so much DCA, but drum corps in general - it's the ubiquity of the Dr. Beat. I mean, the whole name suggests that tempo is something of an ailment, that must be cured. "The prognosis is not good, I'm afraid he's come down with a case of the ritards - I know... call Dr. Beat, he'll cure him"

That metallic clanking sound at ungodly decibel levels... that sound still haunts my dreams at night. Why the #### does it have to be so #### loud? I understand it as a tool for getting the tempo correct in the winter, but why must it be a part of rehearsal in August? Shouldn't you have the tempo down by then? Can we no longer internalize tempo without it?

Look, drummers are always going to rush, and horn players are always going to slow things down. This is one of the challenges of the activity, we know this going in. But at some point, you've got to turn the thing off. It's like a kid who only knows how to do math with the aid of his calculator. Eventually the kid is going to have to learn his multiplication tables.

And I prefer to call it a metronome.

[Fran Haring]

You know what bugs me about drum corps....not so much DCA, but drum corps in general - it's the ubiquity of the Dr. Beat.

I second that!

If the CIA is looking for an "interrogation technique" to replace waterboarding, I think Dr. Beat would be a good choice.

Fran

[-EVortex]

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ah thanks.

guess it fell off the front page faster than I would have expected.

[-EVortex]

The whole practice of staff members peforming, especially as lunchbox soloists, really bugs me. I understand that it's been standard practice in DCA for a long time, but I think it should stop except in those cases of small corps who absolutely need the extra body on the field.

As an instructor, my job is to maximize the performers I teach and I take that job very seriously. There is zero chance that I can do that job to the best of my ability if I have my own performance to worry about. Simply serving as backfield conductor last year greatly lessened my effectiveness as an instructor and I only jumped onto the podium during ensemble rehearsals. Participating as a regular performing member is out of the question, in my opinion. As for being a featured soloist and not marching? Forget it. As an educator, my students are the focus. Anything that takes the focus off of them and puts it on me is just tacky. Finally, it opens up the whole uncomfortable question of "Are you being paid to teach, or to play?" (And yes, I know many of the performing staff members aren't paid.)

I also realize that in most cases, it's the corps that are asking people to do this, not the instructors themselves. So to corps directors out there: Stop it! The vast majority of instructors I know are very uncomfortable with this and only do it when pressured into it.

Ooo, yes with that, David Bruni needs to stop it too. DM, program coordinator, corps director, etc. Yup, yer right, it just can't be done and be successful.

Bruni is the bomb! Glad he and/or Empire won't take your advice.

[fish66]

2008 Kilties; march to starting positions (opening formation) in mass, go to parade rest (with heads bowed) upon reaching personal assigned field position, no movement, no warm up. Show began from that position (no commands) with opening mello solo being played by DM.

[idontwan2know]

Yup, yer right, it just can't be done and be successful.

Yup, yer right, I never said anything like that.