jjeffeory Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 (edited) From an entertainment / excitement standpoint I say yes. They would absolutely hold their own, but from a competitive standpoint I dont think so.The judging demands on marching are so much higher now. I agree with this. The judging demands on marching are much higher across the board. The judging expectations on guard are so much higher now. I'm not totally sure that I agree here. The expectation of dance is much higher today. The expectation of spinning flags, rifles, sabers, commas, etc in unison without error is lower today based on what I see. I think that 85-95 was a good balance between dance and equipment usage on average in the corps. What we are seeing from percussion sections is so much higher. This I do not agree with. I think the pit is more integral to the percussion section today than in the past. This is largely thanks to how well the Cavaliers have used them for so long. I remember some really great battery percussion parts/solos in the past that are now gone. Today there is a better integration between battery/field percussion and pit percussion for more corps. There are still some corps that don't do it that well. The good integration we see today is also a product of the pit fully maturing as part of a corps. Arrangers and instructors have had time to develop that art and the pedagogy invloved in teaching it to the members. This was also a factor in how well the Cavaliers, Star, BD, and Cadets coordinated their shows so well for so long in the past... Today we're missing some really exceptional battery stuff because of that integration... There's a trade off. One is not better than the other, it's just different... The attention to coordination of the elements and drill design is so much more emphasized now.IMO those things alone are enough keep those old school corps out of the mix nowadays and that has nothing to do with what they accomplished back then. What they did then paved the way for what we are seeing now. "Everyone" trying to do this is really only a recent thing. I like all of the coordination that everyone is attempting. Again. there were some corps who were doing it back then as well... Look at SCV '85+, especially SCV '88 ( the emotional Phantom of the Opera), Cavies '88 ( Firebird Suite), '89( Gloria), Star '90 (Belshazzar's Feast) and later years, Cadets '84+, BD '86+, Suncoast '89 ( Florida Suite 2), PR '87 ( Swan Lake/Nutcracker).... Coordination is not something new. It's just been rebranded nicely. It's been given a smart, catchy title. Some corps have refined their process over the years. Some corps seem to have always tried to coordinate the show elements and drill design. That's why we had great names like Zingali and Brubaker. It's good that there have been people to finally step up and keep that going. We're going to just have to disagree about this issue. I'm sure I'll see some incredible things on the field again this year. If it's an amped trumpet, I hope that trumpet is doing something really revolutionary. Edited June 10, 2009 by jjeffeory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morganhill Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Brass amplification in a "drum corps"!!!?? Will the madness ever stop????? Ugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmroth1 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 You don't need to be "the loudest" or to "project over the hornline" to have an effective, un-miked, field solo--regardless of the decade. (As 89 Regiment showed.) Whether or not you feel that particular corps, or any from that decade, could make Finals (btw, I think they could), how does that translate into soloists from today's era needing or benefiting more from mics? I'm not exactly sure how this whole loudness thing got into the converstaion. I was just using my friend as an example of a soloitst who didn't need to be mic'd. The example I was trying to use is it wouldn't be fair to him to mic other soloists that perhaps weren't as good as him. (89 corps vs. todays corps is a different topic but was defending 89 Phantom from someone who said they wouldn't be good enough to make finals today so we kinda got off point). However, I will take exception to one of your points here. Being able to project your sound while maintaining tone quality and such is part of what makes one soloists ability. Some are better at it than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roosevelt Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 One is not better than the other, it's just different... I totally agree. When it comes down to it, this is really the debate that some of us are having. I marched when it was just bugles and there was no thought of electronics and I loved it. Furthermore, I would have been appalled back then at the idea of playing on anything but a bugle and I would have been horrified about the idea of amplification and electronics. I dont know when or where I changed, but it doesn't bother me now. In general, I like drum corps now more than I ever did. I think that has a lot to do with how corps are run and the quality of instruction that I see throughout the activity, but that is not the point. The point is that most of what we are talking about is a matter of opinion. Some people like drum corps of yesteryear more and some people like drum corps now more. Now back to topic: I'm sure I'll see some incredible things on the field again this year. If it's an amped trumpet, I hope that trumpet is doing something really revolutionary. This is what I have been talking about. For the most part, I could care less about amping a baritone or a tuba to be heard over the ensemble. I think if you want to hear them you could probably make that happen w/o amps if you really wanted to. What I do care about is the possibilities of things that I haven't thought of. Something different. Something revolutionary. Something that could be done (in good taste) that could offer a cool new type of effect. Dont ask me when it is going to happen or what we will see but I am willing to bet that some people find some pretty neat ways to use amplification that we haven't even thought of. Again, I am not really a fan of amping... I just like whatever sounds good and is effective on the field. On a side note: I tried using amplification years ago with my band and couldn't figure out how to do it well..... so I stopped using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josiahsop08 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Fix the staging. It doesn't work. The judeges should be giving that kind of feedback anyway. And what if the judges aren't doing their job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kusankusho Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 (edited) And what if the judges aren't doing their job? Fix the judges.... I mean really - are you arguing that we need micced brass because the judges are incompetent? Edited June 10, 2009 by kusankusho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I tried using amplification years ago with my band and couldn't figure out how to do it well..... so I stopped using it. Wow. I respect that. If only corps staffs exhibited more of that kind of common sense.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 And where does the rule say that reverb can be applied? Where does it say it CAN'T? The rulebook does not say woodwinds can't be used, either....yet, somehow, we've all figured out that the rules tell us what is allowed, and if it isn't mentioned, it isn't allowed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 On a side note:I tried using amplification years ago with my band and couldn't figure out how to do it well..... so I stopped using it. well you're one step ahead of some of those in DCI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie85 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 One of the greatest things about sound and drum corps is the spacial effects that are created by the sound being produced over such a large area. This is one thing that is lost, sadly on DVDs and in theaters. When you mic a player somewhere on the field, and reproduce the sound with a speaker stack on the sideline, how can you not have an adverse effect on the spacial aspects of the sound? I haven't heard it yet, but I can't see how bringing your soloist's sound always from your speaker location will improve the overall effect of music combined with motion. I don't enjoy corps on TV or DVD nearly as much as I do live, and this is one reason. This. All of it. Maybe they can do like the early days of electric basses in HS bands and have a uniformed member follow the soloist around with a speaker on a cart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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