If DCI were to allow woodwinds, would you continue to support the acti

[pearlsnaredrummer77]

no no no...no....

I've never had even the slightest urge to go watch a band show...(which, by the way, already exists)

if I wanna hear woodwinds performed on a stellar level, I'll go to the symphony...(which, by the way, already exists)

for once and for all, leave drum corps alone. if you had any sense of honor or guts, you'd start your own band circuit, instead of needing to suck the fan base from drum corps...

if you think band corps will work separately from drum corps, why do you need to change drum corps?

if you don't think band corps will NOT work separately from drum corps, what makes you think drum corps will work when you bastardize it into band corps?

start your own #### circuit and leave drum corps alone!

(I need that Leave Britney Alone pic..)

I agree. I think the band crowd wants the respect and legacy of the drum corps label, but no longer wants to do drum corps. I'm cool with that, but don't call your synth-laden, woodwind enhanced marching band drum corps because it is not. Go do your band and call it that: band. It doesn't hurt....

"MARCHING BAND SUMMER LEAGUE OF SYNTHS"

See, it even sounds good...

[Blaritone]

Anyone ever thought about how logistically impossible touring marching bands would be?

There'd have to be somewhere around 100 to 150 wind players. You'd have to have buses for 200-230ish performers, not to mention staff. You'd need extra woodwind staff. You'd have to feed all these people. The sheer amount of money needed to accommodate all these people would raise tour fees.

Most Corps have trouble filling their hornlines of 64-80, let alone trying to convince woodwind players to come out to spend a summer getting their ##### kicked.

Woodwind players straight up wouldn't be able to march well enough to meet the demands of the drill of most corps.

The beatings that brass instruments take over a summer tour couldn't be handled on a clarinet. You would have to stop rehearsal every time it rained.

The sheer amount of reeds that would have to be purchased.

The amount of spectators that would stop going to shows.

The amount of brass players who would stop marching.

Stop making drum corps about Music Ed. Thats what high school and college is for.

Drum corps is for being bad###, the clarinet is not bad###.

[Kansan]

I don't think change for the sake of change is a good thing. Being innovative doesn't have to mean changing the rules. Whatever happened to being creative while staying within a given set of requirements (e.g. Brass and Percussion). Here's an idea for a show next year..... "throw back". Think Mountain Dew with REAL sugar or NFL jerseys from long ago. I would support a corps who can show everyone that staying true to basic principles can also be innovative. There are so many ways to be expressive in drum corps. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Bath water would probably hurt those sensitive reeds. ;-)

Agree totally.

[up4479]

If I wanted to see a marching band I'd go to a high school football game.

[up4479]

I would feel very bad for anyone who goes into drum corps because of it's instrumentation. That seems very shallow. Did anyone on this forum do that?

The answer to this question is yes. It was done by tens of thousands of marchers since World War One when the activity really took off and thousands of corps were formed. It was drums and bugles only or drums an brass only if you prefer. That's how it was for decades and yes some of us are still on this forum and most of us no longer actively follow or support the activity because it is no longer drums and bugles only. Personally I only come on to this part of DCP when I get caught up the historical forum where most of us are now. We only see the activity from a historical perspective because we don't like paying to see what drum corps has become today. And no. We're far from being shallow people. We have time and money and most put at least some of it to good use elsewhere helping people who need our help a lot more than a few middle class kids looking for some summer musical adventure. Don't feel bad for us as were a happy, well adjusted and successful bunch who like doing other things these days.

I'll go crawl back under my rock now. I just pop up from time to time to remind people that there's thousands of us out here who have put their money where their mouths are and walked away starting with the other rule changes we didn't like. We were careful not to let the door slam on the way out.

[pizzaguy]

A googleplex times YES!! Drum corps music late 70s to present is the most beautiful, powerful, and exciting music the world has ever witnessed and this is the greatest youth activity on earth. I will ALWAYS support this activity. I agree w/ others that marching woodwinds don't have a snowball's chance of passing, for a number of very good reasons, but there will very likely soon be amped woodwinds in the pit. I'm not very enthused about this because, being human, I'm resistant to change. I was also worried about the addition of amplification, voice, and electronics. And before that, any-key brass. But now, after the fact, I see that most of the changes actually made drum corps better. (especially pit amplification.) So I'm willing to give it a chance and hope to be proven wrong. I need to remember that music designers are not idiots. If woodwinds are added, they will be done so in a judicious and effective way.

[84skyrydr]

If woodwinds are added, they will be done so in a judicious and effective way.

Just like amplified voice was. In three words I can sum it up. YOWZA, YOWZA, YOWZA.

[supersop]

It's a COP OUT

[SFZFAN]

Just like amplified voice was. In three words I can sum it up. YOWZA, YOWZA, YOWZA.

Post of the thread! Congrats!

[jjeffeory]

no one seemed to complain when the Bluecoats had saxophones in a couple of their shows in the 90s. So therefor woodwinds have been on the field for a little under 2 decades in DCI and no one has seemed to complain at all about it. So technically this rule has already been passed and thus been used way before everyone got their p##ties in a knot. If you wanted to stop supporting cuzz of WW, you're extremely late. Now as for having it make a sound on the field, there's your argument

Seriously?

Those were used as color guard equipment, not to make sound.

Seriszyly?