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Dr. Beat


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Clearly these inconsiderate corps are ruining the OP's shot at watching free performances during rehearsal without the met. Corps are just so selfish these days, I really can't get over it. Shameful.

This.

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Another thing to consider....I wonder how many corps rehearsal sites have been lost over the years because of Dr. Beat?

My wife was a former tour event partner running up to three shows a year, and I know of a couple of instances where a school that housed a corps one year had to decline the next due to complaints of neighbors about Dr. Beat.

I know that if I were a non-drum corps person and lived adjacent to or across the street from a school, I would be just fine with drumming and horn playing, but would have a problem if I had to listen to the high-pitched ping-ping-ping of Dr. Beat for hours on end.

Wait... corps are losing sites because of the Dr Beat? Not because of the ffff+ hornline dynamics or the loud druming? Interesting.

While on this topic, let me add this. How many of you have gone to a contest, there is a corps performing on the field, and suddenly you hear somebody's Dr. Beat or "gok-blok" in the distance, disrupting the whole universe??? This is supposed to garner a penalty. At Allentown (and other shows as well) corps warmups disrupt performances all of the time.

I have yet to hear of a corps getting a penalty for it. I don't care if a corps has won 300 shows in a row, and a brand new corps with 12 horns is on the field. I should hear no audio distractions from another corps whatsoever when they perform, and the only way this is going to change is to start throwing some major penalties at the offenders. We have 80 billion cell phones......are you telling me that we can't communicate from the stadium to corps staff to the second when they can play and when it's time to stop?? I think a group of 8 year olds could figure it out. Rant off.

GB

That would probably be the most annoying warm ups in the world. "Alright guys really play your heart out on this one!!!! (ring,ring,ring,ring) Never mind someones in the middle of their ballad, water break!"

I have watched many music ensemble rehearsals by several top competitors in recent years. I find the use of the Dr. Beat metronome to be annoying musically and I believe it is highly over-used. It should be used as a reference, and not a crutch. Players should develop strong inter-pulse and follow a drum major who should have strong conducting skills. A corps doesn't use the device in a performance, so players should be working on performing without it. It's fine for guard (even there, I think working with a recorded version of the show is far more useful, though) and working on keeping the feet moving while learning drill. I'm ok with using it as a check to see if desired tempos are being adhered to from time to time. However, I can't tell you the number of times where I said to myself that I wouldn't enjoy playing anymore at a musical ensemble rehearsal with that thing going non-stop ad nauseum......how you can focus on pitch, expression, and other musical nuances with that thing blaring is beyond me. I know of no other musical idiom that uses a blaring metronome non-stop. When the metronome is used, it is used mostly to develop individual timing and to see if desired tempos are adhered to.....that's pretty much it.

GB

Who is actually using the Dr. as a cruch? Do you realize that the drum majors often follow the center snares feat to get their tempo from, is that cheating too? Whats the difference between using the met or using the snares feet, its still not within your "inter pulse" "strong conducting skills" requirment. And so when in a stand still performance or just in the horn ark, when there is no center snare's feet to watch, they pull out the Dr.

Edited by TubaJon
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I have watched many music ensemble rehearsals by several top competitors in recent years. I find the use of the Dr. Beat metronome to be annoying musically and I believe it is highly over-used. It should be used as a reference, and not a crutch. Players should develop strong inter-pulse and follow a drum major who should have strong conducting skills. A corps doesn't use the device in a performance, so players should be working on performing without it. It's fine for guard (even there, I think working with a recorded version of the show is far more useful, though) and working on keeping the feet moving while learning drill. I'm ok with using it as a check to see if desired tempos are being adhered to from time to time. However, I can't tell you the number of times where I said to myself that I wouldn't enjoy playing anymore at a musical ensemble rehearsal with that thing going non-stop ad nauseum......how you can focus on pitch, expression, and other musical nuances with that thing blaring is beyond me. I know of no other musical idiom that uses a blaring metronome non-stop. When the metronome is used, it is used mostly to develop individual timing and to see if desired tempos are adhered to.....that's pretty much it.

While on this topic, let me add this. How many of you have gone to a contest, there is a corps performing on the field, and suddenly you hear somebody's Dr. Beat or "gok-blok" in the distance, disrupting the whole universe??? This is supposed to garner a penalty. At Allentown (and other shows as well) corps warmups disrupt performances all of the time.

I have yet to hear of a corps getting a penalty for it. I don't care if a corps has won 300 shows in a row, and a brand new corps with 12 horns is on the field. I should hear no audio distractions from another corps whatsoever when they perform, and the only way this is going to change is to start throwing some major penalties at the offenders. We have 80 billion cell phones......are you telling me that we can't communicate from the stadium to corps staff to the second when they can play and when it's time to stop?? I think a group of 8 year olds could figure it out. Rant off.

GB

While I've definitely seen high school groups use the met as a crutch, I can't say I've ever seen a drum corps be dependent on the met. In my experience, both marching, and attending rehearsals as a spectator, they use the met very carefully as a tool, and in most full ensemble rehearsals they spend as much time off of the met as they do on.

I do want to comment on two specific comments of yours. First, your assertion that players "should develop strong inner pulse and follow a drum major who should have strong conducting skills": I can assure you that every corps I've ever been a part of has stressed those very skills. You don't get the kinds of products that you see on the field every summer if they don't.

Second, you mention that no other musical idiom uses the met non stop. What other musical idiom do you know of where the performers are running around and constantly changing position within an area 100 yards wide, and 160 from front to back? And to further counter that point, there are a lot of modern recording artists that use a click track every time they record.

As for the ambient noise during shows, this is an outdoor activity, with venues that are often times in places with limited space for ensembles to warm up. Sometimes these venues are in the middle of residential areas, further limiting how far ensembles can get away from the arena. A certain amount of noise is going to bleed. If you can't handle that, then don't buy a ticket. There's not much that can be done about it. Would you rather listen to corps that weren't able to warm up?

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I have watched many music ensemble rehearsals by several top competitors in recent years. I find the use of the Dr. Beat metronome to be annoying musically and I believe it is highly over-used. It should be used as a reference, and not a crutch. Players should develop strong inter-pulse and follow a drum major who should have strong conducting skills. A corps doesn't use the device in a performance, so players should be working on performing without it. It's fine for guard (even there, I think working with a recorded version of the show is far more useful, though) and working on keeping the feet moving while learning drill. I'm ok with using it as a check to see if desired tempos are being adhered to from time to time. However, I can't tell you the number of times where I said to myself that I wouldn't enjoy playing anymore at a musical ensemble rehearsal with that thing going non-stop ad nauseum......how you can focus on pitch, expression, and other musical nuances with that thing blaring is beyond me. I know of no other musical idiom that uses a blaring metronome non-stop. When the metronome is used, it is used mostly to develop individual timing and to see if desired tempos are adhered to.....that's pretty much it.

While on this topic, let me add this. How many of you have gone to a contest, there is a corps performing on the field, and suddenly you hear somebody's Dr. Beat or "gok-blok" in the distance, disrupting the whole universe??? This is supposed to garner a penalty. At Allentown (and other shows as well) corps warmups disrupt performances all of the time.

I have yet to hear of a corps getting a penalty for it. I don't care if a corps has won 300 shows in a row, and a brand new corps with 12 horns is on the field. I should hear no audio distractions from another corps whatsoever when they perform, and the only way this is going to change is to start throwing some major penalties at the offenders. We have 80 billion cell phones......are you telling me that we can't communicate from the stadium to corps staff to the second when they can play and when it's time to stop?? I think a group of 8 year olds could figure it out. Rant off.

GB

Couldn't disagree more (respectfully). The Dr. Beat is only a "crutch" if the staff clicks it on with no information given. Odds are, especially these days, that there is an educational objective and members are being told how to relate to it, how to interpret it. With visual and musical responsibilities in performances of today, a performer must associate their contribution with feel and muscle memory. The Dr. Beat facilitates this. Inner pulse, as you said is developed, and the key to this maturation is a set reference.

I almost recognize the sound of distant warmups from the stands as nostalgia of the activity. I remember from my marching days that warmup sites are not proctored by the event coordinators. Staffs normally scout out there places. Not that it is disorganized, but the warmup ritual is its own subculture. To say that a cell phone call from the stadium to a corps that is being too loud is just not reality.

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Dr. Beat is truly a useful tool if used properly. I advocate it's use if used intelligently, tho even some very smart people get addicted to it like crack and overuse it...then wonder why they have ensemble tears late in the year.

and yes, I hate hearing while a corps is in their ballad. yes show hosts often go to great lengths to prevent this, but some times, corps just go where the hell they want to and #### anyone else.

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Clearly you've never played a gig that uses a click-track.

Good point.

Dr. Beat is to an ensemble the same way the metronome is to an individual. I feel that young players do not practice enough with a metronome. Given simultaneous responsibilities and listening environments, a Dr. Beat is essential.

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Dr. Beat is truly a useful tool if used properly. I advocate it's use if used intelligently, tho even some very smart people get addicted to it like crack and overuse it...then wonder why they have ensemble tears late in the year.

and yes, I hate hearing while a corps is in their ballad. yes show hosts often go to great lengths to prevent this, but some times, corps just go where the hell they want to and #### anyone else.

Wouldn't you say that ensemble tears can occur also from not "checking" the ensemble with Dr. Beat from time to time?

I think of the way drill shifts and morphs through the season if you don't check dots. Even top placing corps experience this and why the Cavies dot system circumvents the issue.

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