Jump to content

Synthesizers in drum corps


Recommended Posts

Nothing Jeff said counters anything I said.

:laughing: You said:

I said 60s-80s because that's the time period when most people who hate DCI today marched.

He said:

well, i know a LOT of people from my era and after that shake their heads in disgust at all the electronic stuff. no other change fazed us

You don't see a "counter" there?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 2.9k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I wanted to call you a smart you know what, but on second thought it helped having that definition there. Thanks :laughing:

Darn, I thought Garry was just being condescending and there I was being smug knowing I already knew the word. Sigh!

That said:

We are all subjective beings. We cannot help it. To me, an orchestra with a synthesizer is anathema to the orchestra's reason for being - it just sounds wrong.

I once argued this point when someone responded: "Well what about the organ, isn't that a mechanical instrument?" Not the same, I responded. It's wind and bellows and the mixed metaphor doesn't work because all modern instruments are mechanical.

I bristle at the electronics because of the sound. It changes the sound.

But that's just me. It's not the politics. It's not DCI or the rule changes.

I'll be good to go as long as someone on the field is bashing on something or blowing through something and the sound is the result of a human interconnection with said instrument. Three marimbas playing in unison ... I can still wrap my head around that because it takes skill.

To press a single key and reproduce an entire 8 bar run to "accentuate the soprano line" when it took those men and women weeks of grueling practice to learn and then learn to play as one while on various parts of the field and usually not within sight of each other is skill; and when they hit that run on the run there's a reason why people in the stands flip their collective lids.

Fans, players and former players know that was hard! Hard to learn, hard to perfect, hard put together with a section, hard to put together with the rest of the line and even harder to put it into the drill set.

To me, the synthesizer takes that away from them.

One more example and I'll get to my real point:

When you have a line of 90 or more people including the pit and a couple of dozen more in the guard all rushing about in a seemingly random fashion blowing into a tremendous crescendo of chords and all that madness and stopping stock still to complete silence for one single beat and all you hear around you is the sound of all those people taking one single breath and then blowing into the next riotous passage and the first timer in the stands says how do they do that? You can turn to them and say: "Because those are humans out there."

It is the sound that humans make that make Drum Corps so special.

Even when they're blowing pop bottles or whatever the heck that was.

But that's just the subjective, people loving me who loves the sound of Drum Corps.

Won't change anything, but that's how I feel.

Puppet

Edited by Puppet
Link to comment
Share on other sites

drum corps to me is accoustic. not real drum corps, just drum corps. anything else is one rules passage shy of being BOA/TOB/USSBA.

Which is exactly what others on here have said about 3 valves, keys other than G, grounded pits, and any number of other things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:laughing: You said:

He said:

You don't see a "counter" there?

No. I know lots of people who agree with Jeff. I also know lots of people who think "real" drum corps only includes things exclusive to pre-60s, pre-70s, and pre-80s norms in drum corps. This isn't rocket science, right?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's okay if you don't believe it. I'm not going to spend time digging up posts that talk about "real" drum corps including elements excuslive to pre-1960, pre-1970, and pre-1980s. I'll live with you denying it.

It's tiring to see anybody think their idea of what consitutes "real" drum corps is more "right" than anybody's who happens to disagree with you.

Thanks for living with my denial (sic) but I get asked for proof all the time - I'm asking you for some proof for your statement. Is this something you can back up with evidence, or is this just a feeling you get based on every other broad brush statement made against anti-ampers?

Because I'm really tired of answering this "back to the '60s" red herring every other day, or twice today.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know how to get this through to you if you don't understand what I've said already, but I'll give it another try.

I think DCI will lose fans. I think if it becomes too much like BOA enough of it's fanbase will erode that it will be in economic crisis. I think that even if I'm wrong on that count and the fanbase thrives, a unique musical voice will be lost for all time.

You don't seem to care about any of that. Hence my point.

If you still don't get it - I'm not sure how I can help you from here.

I think DCI will gain fans. I think if it becomes too much like BOA enough of it's fanbase will not erode and will not be in an economic crisis because drum corps is a summer activity unique in that aspect alone. I think that even if I'm wrong on that count and the fanbase doesn't thrive, a unique musical voice will be gained. (Okay, I was just trying to show how your same argument can be used against you.)

What do you call a person who advocates protesting against DCI because he/she is unhappy with the current state of the activity, who then turns and predicts that DCI will lose fans and it's because of electronics? It's like naaa nanny boo boo....I was against electronics in dci, so I protested and now the activity doesn't exist anymore. What will you do then?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No. I know lots of people who agree with Jeff. I also know lots of people who think "real" drum corps only includes things exclusive to pre-60s, pre-70s, and pre-80s norms in drum corps. This isn't rocket science, right?

Now we're into the 50's.

See my previous post. Where's your evidence for this statement, Lance?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No. I know lots of people who agree with Jeff. I also know lots of people who think "real" drum corps only includes things exclusive to pre-60s, pre-70s, and pre-80s norms in drum corps. This isn't rocket science, right?

Lance, please see post #2012. It's not a hate letter - it's a love letter.

Puppet

Link to comment
Share on other sites

(Okay, I was just trying to show how your same argument can be used against you.)

but you said nothing of value....

What do you call a person who advocates protesting against DCI because he/she is unhappy with the current state of the activity, who then turns and predicts that DCI will lose fans and it's because of electronics? It's like naaa nanny boo boo....I was against electronics in dci, so I protested and now the activity doesn't exist anymore. What will you do then?

That's exactly what I hope to avoid. I don't want to see DCI go down the tube. You really don't understand my point at all, do you....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Again, I don't like synthesizers or mics either. There are simply different lines that people draw for what constitutes "real" drum corps. For some, it's way before the shift from acoustic to electric. For some, it's way before the change from big shift from G to Bb. And for yet others, it's simply woodwinds. It's a fluid line that goes in both directions time-wise, and it depends entirely on personal taste, not some special fact that exists simply because some people want it to.

It's tiring to see people on here act like they and those they agree with are the ones who are somehow entitled to draw a "super duper special" line that is 100% immutable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...