glory Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 ...Are you implying that synths had anything to do with general fan reaction to the 2011 season? (And by the way, is your statement even correct to begin with? Did more corps employ synths in 2011, or were they already employing them in 2010?) No, my point is corps directors and program designers are unlikely to view the happy reactions to 2011 programming and performance as a call for change. On the contrary, they are more likely to interpret fan reaction as an endorsement of the trend. As for "more synths" my language was imprecise. I didn't mean to suggest there were more synths or more synth minutes (though there probably were). I meant to suggests the synth was a more prominent part of the programs this year, a year win which the consenus was more than approving. HH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 Okay. How's that 2009 bid from Blue Stars to repeal A&E going? Because if it didn't pass (did it even make it to a vote?), and if it's not gaining momentum toward passage, then I'd conclude that's pretty reasonable evidence toward the conclusion that the drum corps community is more happy than unhappy with A&E. Skipping to last season, we saw more use of electronic effects via synth and others in a very successful 2011 summer. I doubt drum corps directors are interpreting the smiles on fan faces as catalyst for reversing the trend. HH Could we not as easily conclude that they just feel they could get higher scores with A&E; or just as easily conclude that since they have spent egads amount of money on A&E equipment that it would not be feasible to revert the rules? There are a plethora of possible other reasons besides "they are happy". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thriving11 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Followed in close second to poor grammar... Just sayin'... You commented on somebody's grammar as an argument awhile back, correcting "is" to "are" when referring to drum corps. But "corps" is both singular and plural. So "Is there any drum corps" is just as correct as "Are there any drum corps." Oo. Awkward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I would also suggest that a major difference between symphonies and drum corps are that they're not being scored on a written criteria against each other. By necessity, the criteria would dictate some sort of common ground between competing units, yes? Why? I've judged band shows where the bands have had all sorts of varieties of instrumentation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Why wonder? It was wonderful. Sorry to single you out, but if that's what you were thinking when you could have been listening to something wonderful, something that worked beautifully in the musical context, then your mind failed your senses. And why? To enforce an arbitrary standard on what constitutes good artistry no matter the obvious excellence of the performance? How does that make sense? I once had a date with a young lady who complained she couldn't enjoy Chinese dishes that included carrots. It was her view that carrots weren't an authentically Chinese ingredient, making any Chinese dish with carrots somehow less enjoyable. I continued eating at the restaurant. Never went out with her again. Good food is good food. Good music is good music. HH Odd...my daughter lived in Shenyang China last year...there were carrots in some of the dishes she ate. I asked her after reading this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSU GRAD 82 Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 On the topic, I actually really dug Teal Sounds exploration of various instruments. I actually really liked how they are sort of carving our their own identity. It would be interesting to see more risks like this and a stronger sense of identity from corps throughout the range of placement. Mouth harp? Pan-flute? Penny whistle? There is an endless list of things that can be used to add different textures, and more interesting to add some of these with actual instruments, rather than just a sample. Also, it could be interesting to see some more exploration of of eastern and african percussion. Maybe Teal could actually fly in an authentic Zulu Witch Doctor to play the African percussion. That would be cool. How about exploring the sound of a guillotine blade hitting wood as an added texture and color. (Amped of course) Would be a great Pit addition. Another suggestion. Let's change the name of D.C.I. to C.O.A. (Corps of America- A wholey ownned subsidiary of Bands of America) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyRyder_FMM Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Okay. How's that 2009 bid from Blue Stars to repeal A&E going? Because if it didn't pass (did it even make it to a vote?), and if it's not gaining momentum toward passage, then I'd conclude that's pretty reasonable evidence toward the conclusion that the drum corps community is more happy than unhappy with A&E. HH That was a proposal from the fall of 2007, and it was not a Blue Stars proposal - it was mine. Your conclusion is flawed. Just because the percussion staff that had to evaluate the proposal (and did not put to the directors for a vote) did not support my proposal does not mean the drum corps community in general is happy (or unhappy) with A&E. It simply means that the staff are happy with A&E, and they saw no reason to change anything. This response was fully expected when I submitted the proposal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shenandoah Vibrato Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 The only time I am going to be plugged in is into a defibulator. I can easily play a solo and stand out when needed then fade back in with the rest of the line. I consider it a disgrace for a soloist to have to resort to amping to get the job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Now that brass soloists are amplified, it could be really interesting to see a bit of variety on the sounds out there. A concert french horn solo or a trombone solo could add some new colors. I know it is a pain in the ### to haul extra horns around, and messes the embouchure to jump back and forth... but still could be cool. On the topic, I actually really dug Teal Sounds exploration of various instruments. I actually really liked how they are sort of carving our their own identity. It would be interesting to see more risks like this and a stronger sense of identity from corps throughout the range of placement. Mouth harp? Pan-flute? Penny whistle? There is an endless list of things that can be used to add different textures, and more interesting to add some of these with actual instruments, rather than just a sample. Also, it could be interesting to see some more exploration of of eastern and african percussion... tabla could be pretty cool, for example. What other possibilities are out there? There are a myriad of possibilities for this. I suspect at some point in the near future the more creative percussion designers will start implementing ideas similar to what you suggest above, although with synth patches being as incredibly accurate as they are I also suspect some of those ideas will just be synthesized. I also wonder if there will ever be a rule change that allows for the manipulation of sound: i.e. if you mic a trumpet and add distortion or some other sound effect during a solo. There are all sorts of interesting ideas out there, but I think at this time it is illegal for corps to manipulate acoustic sounds (though some corps have gotten away with it coughbluedevilscough) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 The only time I am going to be plugged in is into a defibulator. I can easily play a solo and stand out when needed then fade back in with the rest of the line. I consider it a disgrace for a soloist to have to resort to amping to get the job done. Right: it has EVERYTHING to do with the soloist and absolutely nothing to do with orchestration of accompaniment, staging, visual demands, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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