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State of drum corps manifesto


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So yes, there was a difference in sound.... I can even tell from the recordings.... but still no one is saying there was a major difference in volume.

Well, there's dB and then there's hearing more harmonics which many could interpret as volume.

I don't think I'd want to get into the volume argument, but the difference in sound characteristic would produce difference in "volume", imho.

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Yes:

Conical bore instruments (bugles / fluegelhorns etc) have more overtones than cyclindrical bore instruments - not my opinion - fact. They sound different and in my opinion better.

I'm not arguing that there is not a difference.... I'm arguing that the perceived volume is not near the difference that some people make it out to be. I just get tired of reading so many posts with rampaging hyperbole that I know is not true.

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Have you listened to the source music for 2010 Blue Devils?

Probably would have been better if I DIDN'T know the source music!!!! I have been wanting to hear all of them - I am only familiar with the Kenton peices (City of Glass, Incidents and of course Los Suerte de Los Tontos). I am sure the other peices are probably about the same though right? I really like Kenton and I do not mind pushing the envelope but sometimes it is done just for the sake of it (like painting a canvas black and calling it "night") you know no one is really going to get enjoyment, entertainment or even thought provoking emotions out of that. Schoenberg was sure his way of writing music would make all other compositional techniques obsolete....right. That is the way I feel about BDs music (and some of Graettinger's). Seems like the arranger just wrote it for himself. Did they lose their old arranger?

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I think a bigger contributor to the change in volume than the change in the horn is the change in approach to playing the horn.

Exactly... This is why I think this change in "perceived volume" has been very gradual. People like to solely blame it on Multi-key, but the hornlines from 1999 definitely sound different than the hornlines from 1989.

And for the record.... I much prefer the warmer, more mello sound of Multi-key.... especially the horn voice.

Edited by Tez
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Probably would have been better if I DIDN'T know the source music!!!! I have been wanting to hear all of them - I am only familiar with the Kenton peices (City of Glass, Incidents and of course Los Suerte de Los Tontos). I am sure the other peices are probably about the same though right? I really like Kenton and I do not mind pushing the envelope but sometimes it is done just for the sake of it (like painting a canvas black and calling it "night") you know no one is really going to get enjoyment, entertainment or even thought provoking emotions out of that. Schoenberg was sure his way of writing music would make all other compositional techniques obsolete....right. That is the way I feel about BDs music (and some of Graettinger's). Seems like the arranger just wrote it for himself. Did they lose their old arranger?

Nope, still Downey. He definitely has developed a unique writing style the past 9 or 10 years.

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I'm not arguing that there is not a difference.... I'm arguing that the perceived volume is not near the difference that some people make it out to be. I just get tired of reading so many posts with rampaging hyperbole that I know is not true.

.

Well there may be something to it though...there is quite a difference when you also factor in the size of the corps playing today. I really don't think they match the volume of the corps of the past but more importantly the sound quiality we all came to love. Maybe bore size has something to do with it too or the extra overtones add to the volume or the fact they are pitched higher makes them sound louder. This is also why we do not get the screech solo's anymore. Occasionally you get a guy with some range but not like on bugles. The only way to measure it is to get a side by side comparison - I think you would be surprised.

Is Star alumni going to play at finals on B-flat or Bugles?

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Exactly... This is why I think this change in "perceived volume" has been very gradual. People like to solely blame it on Multi-key, but the hornlines from 1999 definitely sound different than the hornlines from 1989.

And for the record.... I much prefer the warmer, more mello sound of Multi-key.... especially the horn voice.

With mellophones even in F they will sound better than the other multi key because even they are a bit more conical than a trumpet but a G bugle will have a darker, more full sound due to overtones than a trumpet. (think of Taps being played by the military - sounds better than on a trumpet)

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Let me start by saying that I fully realize that with some of the things I’m going to write in this rant will alienate me with about 90% of the activity and even some of my Bluecoats family. I’m ok with that because I think, publicly, what I have to say needs to be shared. Its definitely being mutter by fans, alumni, and many people surrounding the activity and I think if its ignored, the activity faces losing generations of fan base. With that being said NOTHING in this rant represents the Bluecoats, their opinions, beliefs or anyone associated to that organization.

My background in the activity encompasses initially being a fan (my brother marched before me), a member of a world class top 12 corps, and a board member and loyal alumni supporter. I’ve taught music at all grade levels in 4 different states and am currently a professional in the music industry.

I served on the board of directors of the Bluecoats after they fell out of the top 12. I was there to watch the corps (and the activity) go through many changes, and the organization as a whole is in MUCH better shape today than it was 10 years ago. In many respects, organizational health has improved for many groups over this time span. However, we have seen many changes to the activity in this same time span that has torn at the fabric of what the drum corps really is. It’s no longer about entertainment, competition, aesthetics (I’ll be using this word a lot because that’s the key to what’s missing), or the fans.

The music of the Classical era (the time of Mozart and Haydn primarily) was defined by clarity, simplicity (in form mostly), and melody. Some of the grandest music composed came from this roughly 70 year span (1750-1820). Certainly brilliance in music history surrounds this period. The music of Bach and the baroque era was typified by ornamentation and an almost stoic nature. The music of the romantic period (set off by Beethoven) expanded chromaticism and expression as well as form. Music has constantly evolved (just as drum corps seems to have evolved from its almost archaic past….remember, we used to only have one line on the field). I look at what is going on today in drum corps as the kind of movement from a “classical style” of drum corps to a more elaborate form of the idiom (I don’t want to call it “romantic” because that’s not really what it is). However, the activity as a whole really isn’t better.

I’ll use my own personal stories and recent observations as my only proof to what may otherwise seem offensive to some. This activity spoke to me (and many that I grew up with) on a strong aesthetic level. I attended shows all over the Midwest in the 80s while growing up, and was a fan of MANY organizations because their performances, design, and execution were so powerfully emotional. At one of my first DCI finals ever I can recall being at quarters and semis and watching as corps after corps make the audience lose their mind. Corps finishing in 15th, 16th, 17th place were getting standing ovations in the middle of performances. As a Bluecoat homer, I can recall going nuts for the ’89 Cadets show as they performed what I thought was one of the most original shows in the last decade (Les Miserable). This was common place across the activity. Competition and rivalry were fierce but healthy respect permeated the activity because it seemed EVERY corps was achieving some level of aesthetic excellence (even early in the season). I see none of that in 2010. I see fans literally at a loss when shows are performed. Four times at the last show I attended, people around me turned to one and other and mumbled “is it over?” The shows are FAR more athletic than ever….so much so that it really is impressive. It also seems like drum lines and color guards have reached a new level of excellence/cleanliness….but it’s not aesthetic. Technical achievement is at an all time high from top to bottom for sure. So why are audiences so ambivalent towards what is going on?

Is it that to fully understand what is going on, we need a libretto? If the staff of each corps has to go to the judges and explain just what in the heck they are looking at on the field, how do they expect the average fan (Mom and Dad who are factory workers, accountants, and teachers) to fathom anything they put out there? The current trend in education is state testing. Many educators have blasted this because it doesn’t generate any positive results because the way it’s structured forces teachers to teach to a test. Isn’t drum corps now simply designing to the judging criteria? I think so. To prove it, take any show this year and listen to their ballad. Every corps has one, and it seems to have been mandated by the judging community. They all sound the same and each one is just as forgettable as the next. Design philosophy is even identical from corps to corps (drum lines don’t play, the horn line start doing glorified aerobics instead of marching, and the color guard drops the flags and rifles in favor of extended dance segments). You could argue that some find this incredibly moving and entertaining. Really? My evidence to the contrary is how the fans react and in each case over the last few years, its been with polite applause and yawns (that isn’t hyperbole either).

I once heard music arranger Jay Dawson talk about his philosophy on arranging for “tension” and “release” and how visual designers do the same. His arrangements have stood up for many years (previously in drum corps and now with many marching bands as he writes exclusively for Arranger’s Publishing now) as a model for generating great excitement. I’ve see none of it in modern drum corps going on 3 years now. It would appear that show design is not done to generate excitement anymore, but rather to appease what the judging community (or maybe its drum corps staff?) thinks scoring criteria should be based now.

I was never a fan of the A&E rule when it was instituted but I understood it as a natural progression of the activity. It’s been used well (see Carolina Crown this season, very well done) and it’s been used in what I can only describe as excruciating fashion (see Teal Sound this summer and whatever year Crown did the Rent show). The drum corps community has now mandated (maybe its not a written rule, but by golly, everyone is using it now) that you have to use this in some fashion to be competitive and apparently creative. Is it being “creative” if everyone is using it in a similar fashion? Is it being “creative” when you mic your soloists? Is it even necessary in this regard? The Bluecoats are using an EFX processor to alter the brass sound electronically on their soloists. It’s different. Does it add significantly to interest, excitement, and interpretation of the show? I don’t think so. Furthermore, I witnessed the Cavies mic a trumpet trio (and man, they can really wail, great players down there) at the end of their show. Why? What did that add? Balance? We would have heard those three guys without the mic just fine. Through the microphone it changed the tone color and the blend was musically absurd (some call it distracting). I sat shaking my head in disgust as did others around me (I had no idea what corps affiliation these people had either). What immediately went through my head was that this was kind of like the enabling musicians on what should be an otherwise achievable musical outcome (playing with good balance, blend and intonation).

One could argue that having the ability to use A&E in whatever manner the corps sees fit opens the door to so many creative opportunities (I agree). However very few corps seem to doing anything that actually enhances the “drum corps” sound (Crown and a few others from last season have used it tastefully). Rather, most seem bent on throwing in sound effects and unnecessary additions to what could be quality performances otherwise. They will tell you that arrangers now get to utilize tone colors once never available to drum corps (like pianos, sound effects, and so much more). Following that line of logic, we should have woodwinds and strings out there (wait, are we synthesizing those now?). If expanding the musical possibilities to the genre is the desired outcome then why restrict anything? Because then it would be BOA marching band……we already have that don’t we. We have effectively destroyed the drum corps sound and along with it an entire idiom that was powerfully aesthetic. Need proof? I wish I could have recorded the crowd reactions in Dublin, Ohio last night…..

So what does all this mean? Well, I paid $50 for myself and my girlfriend last night to see a drum corps show (we were excited to be able to walk up and buy such good seats on the 40 yard line near the top) and for the first time in my life, left a show thinking I may not come back to see another. I’ve never left a show and felt like this. I actually felt like I was owed a refund. I’ve always left wanting more, excited about the next time some close scoring groups would compete. Now? Ambivalence. The activity has become a manufactured entity shoved down our throats like so many unwanted products in the free market system. We’re told “It’s ART!” When asked why, its shouted back “BECAUSE WE SAY IT IS!” In reality we (DCI as a whole) now have a product that is cookie cutter, formulaic, uninteresting, and disconnected to its very own market/consumer.

Please don’t attribute my ramblings here to me devaluing what the members of each corps are doing. I genuinely am awed by what they are physically doing on the field. The immense talent, hard work, and things that all these kids are learning through the drum corps experience are certainly commendable (for all of us who marched, we all know what we gained). It’s an amazing thing to experience. However, from a purely business perspective, I don’t think I’ll ever pay $50 again to see this product in its current form. Your product is no longer worth what you charge.

I hope I’m wrong. I realize there is a counter argument to everything I’ve mentioned in this diatribe. I’ve heard them all and really haven’t heard a compelling argument to the contrary. I hope I don’t sound like angry old drum corps guy because that wasn’t what I was shooting for. Just felt like someone needed to relay some sentiments that are being rumbled rather freely at the last few shows I’ve attended, and wanted to share my own thoughts.

Pretty well said. I am particularly of the opinion that the microphone stuff is repulsive. There have been many soloists through the years that certainly did not need microphones. If you can find a good recording of the Royal Airs playing "It was a Very Good Year" or "Shadow of Your Smile", give it a listen. Listen to the soloists. Go ahead, laugh, but not until you hear it. Of course that was a while back. The point being that if those guys did not need mics why do the folks need it now? If we are using this opportunity to spout our opinion, then I have another thought. The ballad-give me a break. I wonder how thousands of dollars of battery equipment is doing nothing while the horn line and guard do their thing. What a waste of money and talent of the battery players as they march around doing who knows what.

And last, but not least, and here is the one to get someone riled. Drum line. Line it up on the sideline on the '50' and 'throw it down'. This is drum corps! I know the response, "It's now the flow of the music transitioning from one segment to another via percussion". I don't care about the flow. I want to see the guys flail. Get the pit out of the way for a minute and let them display their skills. Of course, the members are not responsible for the product.

But, the members are to be commended for their hard work. They do well. It's the "evolving" and design work that I speak to. And there is my rant. All done now.

Edited by flamparadiddlediddle
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Exactly... This is why I think this change in "perceived volume" has been very gradual. People like to solely blame it on Multi-key, but the hornlines from 1999 definitely sound different than the hornlines from 1989.

And for the record.... I much prefer the warmer, more mello sound of Multi-key.... especially the horn voice.

I can tell you for a FACT that G's play louder...using a db meter. I have done this. Loudest by quite a bit are the 2 valve powerbores..by almost 3-5db against a V/R Ultratone and a 3 valve DEG (which were almost the same even though the edge on the crome V/R seemed louder). The G's, I only tested sops and trumpets, were all louder across the line and VERY much louder at a distance. The trumpets ranged from a Yamaha marching trumpet, a Bach strad and a Getzen 3003 (BTW the sweetest horn there by far..wish it was mine..lol). Equal mouthpieces and players on all horns by same players. If you get a chance someday, try it..you will be amazed...especially at a distance. So, in a nutshell, people that haven't tested and a making stuff up about Bb being as loud need to test for themselves, or really the opinions are just that. Myself, no brainer, tested and confirmed.

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