The real deal

[CuriousMe]

No, it wasn't untrue. At all. I'm not saying corps SHOULD perform without hashes or lines, I'm saying that with a slight adjustment, they COULD. Easily.

If they specifically trained for it....like when Cadets did the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics.

[Schickmeister]

If they specifically trained for it....like when Cadets did the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics.

There was a considerable drop in achievement visually for that performance. Not a knock on them...just sayin.

[CuriousMe]

There was a considerable drop in achievement visually for that performance. Not a knock on them...just sayin.

Didn't see the performance, but that doesn't surprise me.

[Schickmeister]

It can be found on that website that we are not supposed to talk about on this website.

[CuriousMe]

It can be found on that website that we are not supposed to talk about on this website.

LOL Thanks, I'll take a look :-)

[mckdan]

I marched in the 79 Troopers and I firmly believe that, musically, we could even have competed against most of the Open Class corps from 2009. But, we had an intangible "Drum Corps Karma" that seems to be missing from today's corps. They are dazzling in their musicallity and marching ability but often there is a swagger missing from many performances today. Any of the top 10 corps from today would have absolutely blown away any corps from the 70's in a tick system or not now, but, they many performances would have just gone over the audience's heads back in the day. It is not just the corps that have changed the crowds are different. They are more educated in the finer points of the activity and appreciate the differences and nuances of today's corps.

I still get tears in my eyes remembering the great performances of the past, but, realize that the current generation would have absolutely destroyed corps from my era. This is a fact and cannot be disputed. Watching the incredible marching of the Cadets or the musicallity of Crown would blow the old corps off the field, but, the lilting phrasing of Battle Hymn or Danny Boy, or the screaming sopranoes in any old Bridgemen show still tugs at my heart strings. Comparing the corps of the past with current outfits is like comparing the 2009 Colts with the 1969 version. 2009 would certainly win, but, the older version has history behind it.

[Jeff Ream]

Not at all, especially given a little rehearsal time to compensate. You'd be surprised how little the yardlines and hashes are used by the end of the season during performances.

tell Hop

[FlamMan]

So heres the scoop. Everytime something is brought up about the 70s, 80s, 90s, or 00s we get this little battle back and forth about how this generation or that one isn't as good as the other. BLAH, BLAH BLAH. The scoop can be ended by realising this: All generations had their ups and downs, all generations were the new deal and everything was great. Todays kids blast the older generation with the boast of how they could learn those easy elevator mirrored drills in their sleep. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Truth be told, they were easy drills and sometimes easy music because you had to be near perfect to score decently as every mistake was counted. Lines not straight, TICK. Colorguard dropped a rifle ( those are things that have been replaced by violin cutouts and sabers ) TICK. Corps of old weren't filled with music majors. They were mostly filled with TRUE ROOKIES. Kids that had never played an instrument EVER, let alone marched ANYWHERE. Now before everyone gets their undies in a bundle, the corps of today are amazing. Yes, you guys are good and the shows are unbelievable as they SHOULD be with 300 kids auditioning for spots filled with music majors. You no longer march, you run. That is truly unreal what you do, but don't remotely think the old days were so simple. When you can honestly say that you could perform your show with half your corps made up of kids 13-17 y/o with no prior music experience, then you can slam the "ease" of the old days.

Now for the old farts: Todays corps are amazing and most of them are pure unbelievable. Their constant movement and running drills are something we never would have believed possible, but the younger gen is doing it with grace and ease. Think this one out, could you honestly do what the young guns are doing today?. Shows are created over years not weeks and the ability to perform them comes from the best of the best. So truly the best is what each person does. Not the year they did it. The small number of corps left makes getting into one far harder than any generation before it. These are truly all star corps. There are very little "local" corps anymore.

So in summary: Todays corps are better than the older generations, and in being all star corps, they better be. It wouldn't be acceptable with todays quality of performer in each corps to do anything less than awesome, but at the same rate, you aren't dealing with the hassles of training someone to play an instrument like the old days had to. So you can be better, easier. Make sense?

So we had what...500 active Drum & Bugle Corps in the early 1970's who were for the most part comprised of local kids who grew up together & lived in he town the Corps was from, versus the 50 or so that we have now that are comprised of music majors of which 90% are out of state.

Drum Corps has become a high brow activity that has completeky turned its back on the local community. Hell, the Corps that I marched in & love isn't even from the town they claim to be from anymore!

DCI would be well served to start a grass roots local recruiting effort again.

[FlamMan]

So we had what...500 active Drum & Bugle Corps in the early 1970's who were for the most part comprised of local kids who grew up together & lived in the town the Corps was from, versus the 50 or so that we have now that are comprised of music majors of which 90% are out of state.

Drum Corps has become a high brow activity that has completely turned its back on the local community. Hell, the Corps that I marched in & love isn't even from the town they claim to be from anymore!

DCI would be well served to start a grass roots local recruiting effort again.

Edited January 4, 2010 by FlamMan

[TerriTroop]

So we had what...500 active Drum & Bugle Corps in the early 1970's who were for the most part comprised of local kids who grew up together & lived in he town the Corps was from, versus the 50 or so that we have now that are comprised of music majors of which 90% are out of state.

Drum Corps has become a high brow activity that has completeky turned its back on the local community. Hell, the Corps that I marched in & love isn't even from the town they claim to be from anymore!

DCI would be well served to start a grass roots local recruiting effort again.

Honestly, I don't think corps have turned their backs on the local community. Things changed in the local communities - lots more activities for local kids, improved marching band programs, etc. And corps have done what it takes to survive, competitively. You also have to take into account the fact that high school marching band programs have flourished tremendously thanks to drum corps, and in that regard they have done quite a bit of what drum corps used to do.

I still think there's room for drum corps to address this, however. Just as SCV and BD have a strong and flourishing B corps program, more corps could conceivably take up the same task. This would be pariticularly useful in places where marching band is not as strong as it is in other states. For example, my personal hope is that the Troopers will restart their cadet corps program once the entire framework for long-term success is established and tested enough to prove it can support an additional program.