MikeD Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 But my point is you could just JOIN a drum corps back then (for the most part) but you can't just JOIN a band of today, right? it doesn't matter how many of them there are, you still need to be in that school or district. When there were only 440 field corps in existence, there were lots of kids who were just not able to join a corps, because none existed near them. It is much easier to join a band today for most (yes, not all) kids, because they exist in far greater number than corps ever did. As a parent, when I was looking to move to a district with a better school system, 20 years ago, one thing I did in my research is make sure that the district had a good music program. I'll admit, not every school will be cutting their band programs, but given the economy, their will be more and more still that may consider it. Still even at 4000, they are an exclusive club that you can only be in if you belong there. Most schools do still have band programs. Do they all compete? No, not even close. But more kids march and compete today than ever did when there were 440 corps. Change it to just 'march' and it is even a larger discrepancy, when you see how many HS and colleges have marching bands. So the kids that could march and want to march have to take their chances with what drum corps are left and openings are rare, even at OC Are all the Open corps full? Are all the WC full? It would indeed be great if there were more open class corps, but even if there were, who would join? IMO it would be more scholastic band kids, not some undefined mass of kids who somehow want to march but aren't because there is no place for them to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BariBrian Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I appreciate your point of view Mike. Its always presented with a tone of respect, weather you agree or not with who you are responding to,,though you might add a touch of sarcasim, its still done with respect. Makes your point that much more respected itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BariBrian Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) Brian, I'm sure you've noticed that, in his profile, he lists a couple of corps he likes. He also scrupulously avoids any mention of ever having actually been in a corps. We know he can execute a left face while rolling a rifle around his shoulders. Or, that could just be computer graphics Realyoldfrt, I never understood why people with the most to say, have the most to hide =) If he really has a LOT of experience in D&B, why wouldn't he want everyone to know? It would give so much more weight to his,,,arguments? Edited March 2, 2012 by BariBrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I appreciate your point of view Mike. Its always presented with a tone of respect, weather you agree or not with who you are responding to,,though you might add a touch of sarcasim, its still done with respect. Makes your point that much more respected itself. Sorry for the touch of sarcasm...it wasn't meant to be that way. We each hold our own opinions, and should be free to speak them respectfully. I try and type here exactly as I would speak to someone face-to-face...maybe not always successfully! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BariBrian Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) No Mike,,I wasn't speaking of this instant. No need to apologize. I take it in the spirit with which you give it. I know theres never any Malice behind it. Edited March 2, 2012 by BariBrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 No Mike,,I wasn't speaking of this instant. No need to apologize. I take it in the spirit with which you give it. I know theres never any Malice behind it. OK...back to our daily bickering! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BariBrian Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Right ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) more kids march and compete today than ever did when there were 440 corps. Change it to just 'march' and it is even a larger discrepancy, when you see how many HS and colleges have marching bands. While true, the impetus for Marching Band competition on football fields with judges did not originate from the Marching Band community. It originated in the Drum and Bugle Corps community. The influence on the Marching Band community by the Drum and Bugle Corps community is striking. While some college and High School Marching Bands have remained unchanged as they have since the 30's- 50's ( by choice ), many Marching Bands of today have adopted the marching style that originated in the Drum Corps idiom. Sadly, as a result, there is much more diversity of styles today in the nation's Marching Band community as there is in the Drum Corps community of today. Marching Bands that have retained the tradition based styles have received favor still within the Marching Band community and within their fan base ( particularly at the college level ), whereas Drum Corps that have tried to maintain their styles from years ago have found such choices unsupported by both the judging community as well as more of the newer fans that increasingly have come from the Marching Band community. If I was in charge of DCI, I might have seen fit to have 2 divisions created within DCI... One for tradition based Drum Corps competition and the other for the newer avarde garde style of Drum Corps- Band competition.Each with their own set of judging rules. And fans might see more diversity of styles this way in a local show instead of the more homogenous styles we see today. It also might have served in keeping a large proportion of the thousands of fans that have left the Drum Corps activity still in place.... while still attracting the newer fans looking for something different that they could more easily relate to.. and found in the other division. Not going to happen, so it is what it is, and we accept what is.... or as others have done, moved on. Edited March 2, 2012 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 While true, the impetus for Marching Band competition on football fields with judges did not originate from the Marching Band community. It originated in the Drum and Bugle Corps community. The influence on the Marching Band community by the Drum and Bugle Corps community is striking. No disagreement here. Corps members became music teachers, and brought with them what they knew when it came to MB...and that was drum corps. Staffs and judges all migrated to the band world as the corps world was shrinking around them, just to remain in some sort of active state. I've been saying that for a long time. Opportunities to teach and judge in the corps world were getting scarcer and scarcer, esp at the local-corps level, while the MB world was exploding with corps-style bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc oldtimer Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Add one; Royal Grenadiers – Kankakee IL I taught them briefly…… which probably added to their demise. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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