Has Drum Corps Lost Its Soul

[skywhopper]

Drum corps, as a few posters have reminded us, no longer teaches beginners music.

Is this the soul of drum corps?

[rkfdPRphan]

Is this the soul of drum corps?

I'm sure there will be disagreement with that statement, but I think IT IS.

I have several friends who attend drum corps events with me.

We got our love of drum corps music because drum corps taught us music.

A lot of public schools dont even have music programs or classes.

Can't drum corps reach back and fill that void while pushing ahead with inovative ideas for the skilled members?

Not all in the same corps, but back to 'feeders'.......

Now, the recruits must get their love of and understanding of music somewhere else.

As posted above, the new recruits must already read music and play some kind of instrument.

Sure drum corps will still 'teach' you music - but now its at a higher level.

Is this 'more noble'....to use someone elses words?

To me, for drum corps to have 'soul', it needs to honor its history by getting back to teaching music to kids.

Those kids may never compete in the World Class Championships, but they will still learn a lot!

Instead of narrowing the scope of 'teaching' in drum corps, can't it be expanded?

Edited September 1, 2010 by rkfdPRphan

[mophilda]

This is the most intelligent thing I've read so far in any post concerned with the modern state of drum corps

I do what I can. :-D

What corps do/did you march with WOOHOO?

When I was drum corps age THEY TAUGHT you how to read music, how to play an instrument of your choice (then changed it if you didnt catch on) and how to march.

While doing this you became a member of a corps and showed off your skills in local shows.

NOW try to make it thru tryouts if you cant read music or play an instrument!

There's no time to teach.

Drum corps, as a few posters have reminded us, no longer teaches beginners music.

Maybe not every corps member is a 'music major' but every corps member is music literate.....and probably music educated in some form!

Drum corps might not have lost its soul, but the soul sure has changed or been relocated.......

I don't know why it is so commonly perceived that if you can read and play an instrument you must be a music major. Some of the best players I marched with had other majors because they "wanted to make money." :-D Music can still be a hobby for people. Some folks are REALLY good at their hobby, actually.

I bet even back in the day that if a kid showed up that could play, they would rather him than the kid that they needed to teach to play and read.

Drum corps may not teach notes and fingerings anymore, but it definitely still teaches you a lot about how to play your horn. They'll take a "work in progress" a work ethic that needs some polish. That idea is not dead.

[WOOHOO]

I'm sure there will be disagreement with that statement, but I think IT IS.

I have several friends who attend drum corps events with me.

We got our love of drum corps music because drum corps taught us music.

A lot of public schools dont even have music programs or classes.

Can't drum corps go back and fill that void?

Now, the recruits must get their love of and understanding of music somewhere else.

As posted above, the new recruits must already read music and play some kind of instrument.

Sure drum corps will still 'teach' you music - but now its at a higher level.

Is this 'more noble'....to use someone elses words?

To me, for drum corps to have 'soul', it needs to honor its history by getting back to teaching music to kids.

Those kids may never compete in the World Class Championships, but they will still learn a lot!

Instead of narrowing the scope of 'teaching' in drum corps, can't it be expanded?

God, I really hope drum corps doesn't regress like this pedagogically. Plus, I think you confuse the notes on the page as music. That is just ink.

[supersop]

God, I really hope drum corps doesn't regress like this pedagogically. Plus, I think you confuse the notes on the page as music. That is just ink.

SO you contend that beginners learn a different pedagogy than advanced players?

This thread is starting to crack me up!!!!!!

[Jeff Ream]

Drum corps is dead and it has lost its soul. Therefore drum corps is a zombie.

My thread got closed because cabal members can lack a sense of humor sometimes.

Drum corps is neither. It's just not the same as the day YOU left the field. And it won't be.

What I really love is the compromise artists on here. We need to take drum corps back to the shows from the 90s. I was very active in the 1990s. You know what they were saying then? Yeah, we weren't all that thrilled by some of the shows back then and wanted some of the classic 1980s shows to re-emerge.

I dig the passion, but it's misdirected in many ways.

I equate it with some of the current discussions regarding the country right now..."we want to take our country back." I want to take our country forward. ($1 to Bill Maher).

sometimes, you have to take a step backwards in order to take 2 steps forward....and maybe right now drum corps in general needs that 1 step backwards

[WOOHOO]

SO you contend that beginners learn a different pedagogy than advanced players?

This thread is starting to crack me up!!!!!!

A different track, yes

[perc2100]

To be blunt, I don't think drum corps has lost a thing: I think fans have. The common cliche' of the current generation of young adults is that kids seem to have a sense of entitlement, and that has CLEARLY found its way to many drum corps fans. Many fans have a very narrow 'definition' or expectation in a drum corps show design, and if there are elements they don't personally like the disgruntled fans are quick to shut off the positive aspects of the show, the positive aspects of drum corps in general, and immediately turn to the internet to whine. I don't care what uniform is on the field, how old the average membership age is, what repertoire is being played, what instruments are plugged in or acoustic, and what corps director is running things: there are PLENTY of great things to see no the field from every corps. I believe that many drum corps "fans" (or former fans), act like elementary school children by crying, whining and throwing virtual temper tantrums when they don't "get their way" in regards to show design. Instead of saying, "I don't like the mirror 'gimmick' or musical selection, so I'm going to instead focus on the incredible marching & music execution, color guard, and visual design," the soulless drum corps "fans" instead pout and cry, "I don't like mirrors so I'm just going to ignore the other cool things going on and instead scream and cry and whine." These crybabies go the extra mile by doing absolutely nothing to try to improve the activity other than whining to the internet (kind of like people who always complain about politics yet haven't voted in decades).

And to be honest, I was a cynical whiner for awhile too. After I aged-out I felt jaded about modern design trends, politics of the activity, etc and all I saw was the negative. After re-evaluating the activity (and stepping away from it for several years) I've easily been able to 'tune out' the stuff I don't like and instead focus on the cool stuff. It quickly became clear that the activity as a TON to offer fans who are willing to give it a legit chance. I stopped be as cynical and jaded and upset, and I've found an almost rebirth as a drum corps fan, enjoying the activity almost as much as I did when I first 'discovered' it decades ago.

And in the end it all comes down to the simple question of "why." If you don't like what's going on in the activity, why bother continuing to follow it (and if you say, "I haven't gone to a show in a long time" but still post/read here then you are still following it)? If you find more things you dislike than like, why bother wasting your time with it? I personally really don't like country music, and therefor I don't listen to it on the radio, don't listen to CD's, don't troll country music forums, etc. Life is too short to waste time debating and complaining about something you don't like (and something you have little/no chance of changing).

Drum corps is diverse, fairly healthy (at least it's far healthier now than when Dan A first took it over), and teaching young adults numerous important life lessons. Marching members now are just as proud/honored by their corps and its history than they were when I marched. I think it's laughable to even entertain the notion of drum corps "losing its soul," and I sincerely think that if you are contemplating agreeing with that notion than perhaps you should look in the mirror and ask the same question of yourself (or at least the question, "have I lost interest in drum corps").

[rkfdPRphan]

God, I really hope drum corps doesn't regress like this pedagogically. Plus, I think you confuse the notes on the page as music. That is just ink.

REGRESS?

Unless you are the member of one of the elite corps, what is your chance of winning a Championship?

Oh the otherhand, by teaching someone just a bit of your love of music and how to make those 'notes on a page' sound beautiful, can make a BIG difference in a lot of lives.

Your chance of winning that way is huge!

REGRESS?

By moving to become only an elitist organization that only wants to work with the very best musicians.........no wait.......

[Rifuarian]

What corps do/did you march with WOOHOO?

When I was drum corps age THEY TAUGHT you how to read music, how to play an instrument of your choice (then changed it if you didnt catch on) and how to march.

While doing this you became a member of a corps and showed off your skills in local shows.

NOW try to make it thru tryouts if you cant read music or play an instrument!

There's no time to teach.

Drum corps, as a few posters have reminded us, no longer teaches beginners music.

Maybe not every corps member is a 'music major' but every corps member is music literate.....and probably music educated in some form!

Drum corps might not have lost its soul, but the soul sure has changed or been relocated.......

This is the point that needs to be emphasized. Drum corps has changed. It's unfortunate that these small local corps that taught kids the basics are gone. I think we all can agree that this was a terrible loss, and that there are places -- such as our inner cities -- where such organizations are still needed. But America has changed, and the social structure that once supported all these hundreds of competing corps (and thousands of non-competing groups, which are often left out of these conversations) has all but disappeared. Only the very strongest corps have survived, and they survived by adopting a new model. Do DCI and the surviving corps share some of the responsibility for the losses drum corps has experienced? Yes, particularly in the last few decades when these changes became most apparent, but their share of the responsibility is ultimately quite small.

No need to lay all the blame at their feet, and there is certainly need to tell members of today's corps that what they do lacks "soul" or is any way, shape, or form lesser than what came before. Argue and debate the changes all you want. That's why we have this forum. But don't belittle today's marchers by spouting such nonsense (this is not directed at you, PRphan).

Fortunately for fans of old style local drum corps there is a vibrant activity out there today which is quite similar. It teaches kids to play from scratch, and adds on responsibility, discipline, and good work ethic to boot. Some groups are quite expensive to join, but most are reasonably cheap. They practice only limited hours, allowing members to work summer jobs or go to school at the same time, just like local drum corps did. They compete on weekends in regional circuits with other groups from the same area, just like local drum corps did. They may not always sound great, but the quality is typically on par (and is often much better) with a good chunk of the old teaching corps. Best of all, this activity has reached parts of the country, such as the rural South, that old style drum corps never really reached. Sure, it may be absent from areas dear to the hearts of older drum corps fans, such as the inner city, but perhaps a few intrepid individuals dedicated to the memory of the old inner city corps can work together to fill that niche.

Edited September 1, 2010 by Rifuarian