glory Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 How about this to boost the entertainment quotient in shows: Bring back the concert number. Wait. Don’t leave yet. Just because this is a throwback idea doesn’t mean it won’t work. Among the complaints today is that shows emphasize the visual over the musical too much. Asking corps to stop for a couple of minutes and focus on the playing would reset that balance a bit. Fans would get a major dose of music and likely more complete songs/phrasing. I suppose the rules could be as simple as each corps would be required to designated two minutes or more of each show as the concert piece. They could move, I suppose, but all visual judging would be suspended except as it relates specifically to guard. If necessary, extend the allowed timing for shows by 30 seconds or more to accommodate the lost visual time. As an incentive, you might even include a score multiplier in the musical subcaptions for the designated concert number. Scores above X have the effect of adding Y to the total music caption score, for instance. Anyway, that’s some very basic thinking. Now y’all can call me stupid. Who’s first? HH 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 STUPID! I like your thinking. I don't think we need full concert numbers... they just need to slow down a bit. Like I said with my last post in another thread. Stop and jam every so often. You don't even have to jam. There is plenty of time in a show to do crazy drill.. and I love that too! We just need more balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I was wondering about judged encores that add in to the score, but honestly, you're penalizing a good marching corps against a good playing corps. (And at the top levels, we're talking .1's of points, I know.) For me, the easiest solution would be to train judges (and follow through) to reward slower developing drill and music as much as you do ones with afterburners on. There's already been a bit of a push that direction last year, as discussed on the Field Pass podcast (specifically in talking about Madison and Blue Knights, the judges want it to be known that they're not going to pigeonhole you based on repertoire). Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glory Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 ...For me, the easiest solution would be to train judges (and follow through) to reward slower developing drill and music as much as you do ones with afterburners on... Training judges is fine but slow and not guaranteed to deliver the results intended. A concert number, on the other hand, would allow a corps to play a tune like McArthur Park which doesn't lend itself to modern tempos but still can raise goosebumps out of the business end of a bugle. Immediate gratification. Fans get the house rocked around them. Corps aren't penalized for standing still. And if your artistic sensibilities are too precious to stop for a concert in the middle, do it at the beginning or the end so the show can flow. Stupid? HH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glory Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 I like your thinking. I don't think we need full concert numbers... they just need to slow down a bit. Like I said with my last post in another thread. Stop and jam every so often. You don't even have to jam. There is plenty of time in a show to do crazy drill.. and I love that too! We just need more balance. Fine. But what is going to slow them down? In this case, we're creating an incentive for musical performance (in addition to the legislated mandate for the concert). In other words, we're making you do it, but we're giving you a reward if you do it right. Stupid? HH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Not stupid. Maybe a fully judged standstill "encore" that has its own caption? What should something like that be worth? (And is this something that the new ToC is trying? I seem to remember them saying they'd like to experiment with judged encore performances.) Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Show me the current DCI rule "preventing" a corps from doing a throw-back show design or even just a concert number. As far as I know, any corps can play any type of music they so desire. And forcing a corps to do something is (Extremely) counterproductive!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemesiscorps Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 How about this to boost the entertainment quotient in shows: Bring back the concert number. Wait. Don’t leave yet. Just because this is a throwback idea doesn’t mean it won’t work. Among the complaints today is that shows emphasize the visual over the musical too much. Asking corps to stop for a couple of minutes and focus on the playing would reset that balance a bit. Fans would get a major dose of music and likely more complete songs/phrasing. I suppose the rules could be as simple as each corps would be required to designated two minutes or more of each show as the concert piece. They could move, I suppose, but all visual judging would be suspended except as it relates specifically to guard. If necessary, extend the allowed timing for shows by 30 seconds or more to accommodate the lost visual time. As an incentive, you might even include a score multiplier in the musical subcaptions for the designated concert number. Scores above X have the effect of adding Y to the total music caption score, for instance. Anyway, that’s some very basic thinking. Now y’all can call me stupid. Who’s first? HH I don't think this is stupid at all. In fact, I personally LOVE IT! Of course you'll have some that may claim such a proposal is too restrictive and will inhibit the design process, but I completely disagree. There's already several restrictions within this regulated contest that we call a "show," so this wouldn't be too different, except that its intent would be to give the audience something more than what we believe they are currently getting. And let's be honest, as it relates to enjoying a recording of some of the shows from the last 10 years or more, it's hard to appreciate listening to a production packed primarily with building dissonant phrases, power chords, and poly-rhythmic percussive fills and impacts. If you were there live during the performance, or were familiar with what was happening visually, it helps you to visualize what they're achieving, but for someone getting their first read through audio only, it's pretty hard to get excited. A more important point is that the value of such a requirement in the production has already been spoken to in the form of what is now used to replace the old retreat ceremonies of the past, as well as the current practice of an encore victory concert. People have always seemed to love just having a corps parked in front of them and blowing them away. Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield's_kid Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 I can't agree more. I think shows today are too focused on the visual, as well as a bit too modern. I mean, come on, do you really want an electric guitar in a drum corps show?!? I don't know who was the first to do that, but they were out of their minds. Again, corps should spend more time playing music, not dancing around the field. Not saying dancing around the field is bad, just saying that they do too much of it. Maybe, just for one show, a corps could go back to the old days of drum corps, you know, carrying the pit with them on the field, and playing music from back then. I think that would be really cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skewerz Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Show me the current DCI rule "preventing" a corps from doing a throw-back show design or even just a concert number. As far as I know, any corps can play any type of music they so desire. And forcing a corps to do something is (Extremely) counterproductive!!!! so, yer saying a corps playing a standstill, with g bugles, carrying their tymps, marching symmetrical drill would have a chance at winning? Rules are meant to limit the "anything goes" philosophy that makes most worthwhile pastimes worth watching/participating in. A corps that did a 2 minute standstill in this day and age would get ROASTED on vis. It's perfectly fine for a corps to have 3 minutes in their show where the majority of the brass aren't playing, but if they aren't moving, they're done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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