Why are corps so dirty the first few weeks of tour?

[kaeide]

This year was my senior year at American Fork High (Davis High school's competitors in Utah) and I've done two years of corps at the Academy. There is no comparison between high school marching band and drum corps. It's a completely different level of cleanliness and difficulty.

In Utah, all of the major bands go to the same location for band camp, in the end of July, or beginning of August, so they learned the drill then.

And I have many friends at Davis High School who say that after school rehearsals start in August, right after school starts. So... your high school had been rehearsing for more than two weeks. Even this link to the marching bands family night was before your acclaimed two weeks. The date posted is September 17, 2008.

The video that you posted had been after at least a month of cleaning after school, probably more.

The fact is, during the three weeks of corps, as stated before, a lot of the time is spent making changes. Those weeks are filled with learning new drill and learning music rewrites. If I had the same marimba book from January, that I did at the end of the season, drum corps wouldn't have been much fun. It's more about creating the best show musically and visually, not just having the cleanest show.

And, just because this needs to be said:

And about my comment about BoA, I have not been to grand nationals, my experience is based exclusively off of the 3 years I attended the aforementioned regional competition.The judges every year we were there awarded the bands that were clean and had easy programs. It got to the point where there was huge upsets in the audience because of what the judges were saying. That panel that was used for those several years was actually (according to my band director and information that he found, I have not verified this) removed because of the bias that they had toward certain groups. This year was much better, and the judging seemed objective and fair.

I have been to BoA Nationals twice, and we did go to BoA Nationals that year. We got 14th out of like 90 bands... Our program was not easy, and the judging was not biased, although I believe that you are the one being biased. It was one of the hardest shows that American Fork has ever had, if not the hardest. And we still talk about it frequently. The only show that might have been biased was 2009, because we had that bus crash, and one of our instructors died trying to save the students, and our show was a military show. But I still don't believe the judges "let us" win the regional that year because of that...

I don't remember the crowd at the regional being upset at all.... They sure weren't on the Las Vegas BoA Regional DVD I just watched. You guys got 5th with a 79.10, according to the DVD I am holding. We got 1st with an 85.95...

It's been a mostly different panel every year... and the reason we didn't win this year is because we've been through a lot of staff changes, and we had a massive drill writing issue during the ballad. But I'm extremely happy for the group that did win. :) They deserved it completely.

I'm not trying to be rude, but I'm just telling the facts, and the other point of view. I've experience both marching band and drum corps, and to be honest, you really don't know what you are talking about until you march drum corps for yourself. It's a completely different game. I know the definition of "clean" changed completely after just my first year of corps.

But anyways, best of luck to you, and it's unfortunate that you can't march because drum corps has been the most rewarding, and amazing experience of my life. :)

[DrillmanSop06]

at first glance it comes off as trolling...

you probably offended people calling what they do "dirty" which is another way to say its "bad" after they've already put hundreds of hours into perfecting their show. thats the main reason you're getting flamed.

also

i've marched 2 corps, one we did breathing blocks routinely and tracked occasionally for extended lengths of time.

the other corps, we would "track" (technically it could be considered tracking) occasionally in our sub sectionals during everydays but nothing extensive, 3-4 reps. we also did not do any breathing blocks.

now you tell me which the "better" corps (at least what the judges thought) was after the first show.

Scouts don't do breathing blocks, eh?

[skeptic]

Ouch. I have been beaten into a pulp. Probably shouldnt have said anything about my band. Here is a video of us 2 years ago at about 2 weeks of cleaning -

I am saying that show could have been very clean in 3 full weeks (10 hours a day) of cleaning. Thats all I was trying to say.

I would LOVE to march drum corps more than anything int his world pretty much. However I am of the LDS faith, and serving a Mission from 19-21 the exact years that I would be able to march, and therefore unable to do so. How I would love DCI to raise the age to 23. Anyway, thanks for the read, I guess I am just completely and totally arrogant.

sorry to say but that looks rather dirty to me and not nearly as demanding as DCI.

[ContraRich77]

OK, the kid's out to lunch. Moving on...

[soccerguy315]

did both both too

nothing like trying to play a drum corps show, only slower and not as clean musically. heh

[Jeff Ream]

comparing a band to drum corps is funny

[BRASSO]

With 3 full weeks of pre tour, and several weekend long camps I would think that corps would be pretty clean... I look at the marching band I marched with, we would be relatively clean about a month into rehearsals, and we would only practice 4 times a week for 3 hours. Are corps just pretty dirty because their programs are so intense, or what? I just think that if my band was given 3 full weeks of rehearsal we would be ridiculously clean to the point of almost perfection. I know our programs arent as difficult, but we had harder programs than anyone else in my state did, so what do you think???

One reason is that judges have a high tolerance level for Corps that are sloppy and for those that just stand in place and play the final musical piece the first 7-10 days of the season in June. Those who have followed the activity for awhile can all think of examples where Legacy Corps are given inflated scores where their ending isn't finished visually, or where Guard just stands still in place sometimes over non Legacy Corps, with easier shows, but no reputation,get little to no credit for being ready on day one for competition.

My guess, if a Corps or two were properly buried in the scores the first week for not being ready, then this sheet would stop. But if you can get away with it without much downside, then why not ?

Edited November 21, 2010 by BRASSO

[perc2100]

With 3 full weeks of pre tour, and several weekend long camps I would think that corps would be pretty clean... I look at the marching band I marched with, we would be relatively clean about a month into rehearsals, and we would only practice 4 times a week for 3 hours. Are corps just pretty dirty because their programs are so intense, or what? I just think that if my band was given 3 full weeks of rehearsal we would be ridiculously clean to the point of almost perfection. I know our programs arent as difficult, but we had harder programs than anyone else in my state did, so what do you think???

While there are many posts in reply to you, I'll try my best not to be redundant or condescending.

Drum corps is an activity that employs many aspects that have to be experienced in order to truly understand/appreciate. It's easy to look at a rehearsal schedule, or a performance, but those are really small aspects of a drum corps season. Often times the pre-tour camps are built around not only learning a show, but "conditioning" the members for the summer. Members learn:

* music for the competitive show

* music for non-competitive performances (parades, stand-stills and/or encores)

* drill/visual of the show

But more importantly, that pre-tour time also acclimates the members for the rigors of tour life. The members have to get used to the intense conditioning needed to rehearse every day, they have to get their chops used to playing insane amounts of time. I'm a percussionist and while we need to get our chops in shape to be able to play for hours and hours at a time, brass players literally need to build their lip muscles and stomach muscles so they can not only play through an 8 hour rehearsal but also have a stellar show without sounding winded or lacking energy.

Not only that, but there are a ton of practical aspects members need to "learn." Getting used to the tempos of rehearsal, learning the instruction methods/philosophies of the Caption Heads (i.e. how members are expected to learn drill in a visual block: it sounds easy, but each Caption Head typically does their thing in a very methodical way that is fairly unique), etc.

There's also a mental adjustment needed. Literally one week a member is living the comparably easy life of a student with a 7:30-2:30 day, and the next week the member is working at probably the most physically draining schedule of their lives. They're also living away from home, without the comforts of their own personal "space" (living room, private room & bathroom, etc), no snacking when you want to, very little say on what you're eating for meals, being at the mercy of instructional staff when it comes to getting a break, being away from family/loved ones (I was actually engaged both years I marched and just being away from my fiancee' was a ROUGH adjustment for me). Plus there is getting used to the personalities of your fellow members and staff, lack of sleep (I would bet the average sleep patterns of a corps member during the school year is significantly different than on tour), lack of control as far as doing what you want/when you want, etc. It's a HUGE lifestyle change that might be easy for some, but very difficult for others.

And none of that really takes into account the mental state members are in the first few weeks of pre-tour while their brains are being crammed with so much knowledge and are expected to not only remember every little detail of 12 minutes of music and roughly 200 pages of drill but to execute them all perfectly. It's not a cooky coincidence that most corps have to fill holes during pre-tour: people can't handle the stress and rigors of tour and have to bail.

Oh, and the music is incredibly hard (probably substantially harder than any school or community music group/band that a member is coming from) and the drill is fast and furious. Even the most seasoned vets take time to get comfortable with a show, and in the meantime they are almost over-thinking things in order to not make a critical error (and worrying about dodging rookies who miss their dots/forms while maybe coming at you at 210 bpm). It's almost crazy what is asked of members!

[kauliflower]

Perc2100, thank you for the insight into the activity we call drum corps. As someone about to dive into a season of world class drum corps, with only one fall season of marching under the belt, I really appreciate knowing what to expect.

Part of me now wants to aim for physical exhaustion at the end of every day, so I can acclimatise for drum corps. Am I being silly?

[fsubone]

Perc2100, thank you for the insight into the activity we call drum corps. As someone about to dive into a season of world class drum corps, with only one fall season of marching under the belt, I really appreciate knowing what to expect.

Part of me now wants to aim for physical exhaustion at the end of every day, so I can acclimatise for drum corps. Am I being silly?

Only kind of silly. After the first week or two, your body is in full drum corps mode, and you can go for days, you don't even notice the exhaustion or pain anymore, you just do your gig, and go. What happens around you is kind of a blur. You just get up in the morning, practice, do the show, change, get on the bus, and go to bed. Repeat as necessary. It's something that goes by quick, so always remember to take a moment and soak it all in. If you're in a sectional, or some other section is getting worked with, take a quick second and really notice who's around you, and what you're doing. You really can notice and experience all the amazing stuff going on in a corps.