Newseditor44 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Agree. This would be the way to do it, just think that once we cross that line there is no going back. If WW's are going to bring in a brave new world of fans and marching members, then why not try it where it would do the most good? Trial it in Open Class - let's see how it works. They need applicants / members more than WC corps do. They need more butts in seats than WC does right now. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 It's an art form, but it's also a competition. If you remove the restrictions, you're left with very little to judge objectively. Yes judging is largely subjective anyway, but removing the restrictions that exist would make it *completely* subjective, and lose any attachment it has to audience understanding. Competition and critique only make sense in relation to structure, restrictions, and some ideal form. Drop all of that and there's nothing left to judge. There are thousands of HS bands that compete every year with no restrictions on instruments. It is not like this is somethig that has never been done before. BTW...Judging (band or corps) is and always has been 100% subjective, even in the tick era. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Basically leave DCI alone. If you really want the higher performance level, break off from DCI, add woodwinds, create your own summer tour. If they both flourish... GREAT... MORE SUMMER MARCHING BAND! you mean like the G7 was going to break off if it didn't get it's way? See that's just it...when push comes to shove, Hop walks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I'm not an ### until people come along with snarky, cutesy responses that come across as arrogant and condescending. Then, yes...I'm an ###. except no one was doing any of the above. trust me I know snark when I see it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 If half of DCI becomes woodwinds, the demand for spots in the corps goes up. More kids would want to march, simply because they are now able to. With the extra participants, more corps can be formed or the max number of people in the corps can be raised. Regardless, show attendance increases. With an increase in ticket demand, ticket prices rise, earning more income for the corps. fewer corps will form...woodwinds too expensive. no guarantee attendance goes up..in fact probably goes down as diehards walk. ticket prices already driving some folks away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 No. No, they won't get "wild". They won't even get a little nutty. Right now, there is ample opportunity for a design team to tweak show length, voicing, numbers and twenty other things about "drum corps" show design. Yet, no one does . . .especially George Hopkins. We're still not past making pictures of snowflakes and crowns right now, thanks. Furthermore, drum corps is nothing more than a pastiche of other, original art forms and has problems with original thinking in its "genre". Real problems. Anyway, set your expectations accordingly: -right now, design teams are so risk averse that the fact that Crowns horn book in 2012 actually has "notes" in it is getting discussion here. -right now, design teams are so risk averse that a corps that is playing Jingle Bells and making numbers on the field is your top scoring unit. -right now, design teams are so risk averse we're recycling "Mars", "Pictures at an Exhibition", "New World Symphony" and "Phantom of the Opera". -right now, design teams are so risk averse that the Blue Devils are cannibalizing their own repertoire from fifteen and twenty years ago for show music (but its DADA! ). Anyhoo, point is, design teams can't even be bothered to use what they have in front of them already . . .much less any other new toys you would give them. To address the thread itself, woodwinds are an afterthought, and, in my opinion, pointless. You have a patch now that can sound like a oboe or clarinet . . .why even bother with the real thing? If we want to #### and moan about why we aren't getting stuff that's "wild", then ask those who design the shows . . .those that have been there for twenty plus years in some cases . . .when they're going to start to experiment with what they have rather than whine about what they don't. Let's have someone bring that up in the instructors caucus. Enjoy the crickets chirping in response. Demand more from what's put in front of us now. I guarantee you the genre can be bent many different ways before we need to go running to make bears on unicycles legal. can this post be pinned as it's own thread as well as sent to every corps out there? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I'm not sold on letting woodwinds into the activity...nor was I with electronics... HOWEVER I did listen to the full hour interview with George Hopkins and what he is saying does make sense (for those of us who try to keep an open mind on things). My resolution - create a new class within drum corps to basically allow ANYTHING (not just woodwinds...anything - number of members, instruments, etc.) It's an art form, so create a class and let's see how creative and entertaining the "marching band/corps" activity can be. There would be a few try it... Cadets, Blue Devils, and likely a few more. This could also create an interesting platform for competition within different classes and open it up to other summer or local community bands that want to give it a shot. Example: Drum Corps World Class Open Class Marching Band World Class Open Class again... just trying to keep an open mind. there are pros and cons for all of this... but why not give it a try and have both old school and new school so it's a twist on the G7 proposal, now with instruments instead of financials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Well, I remember my h.s. band director (c. 1988) discussing shows where he'd been a music or g.e. judge, and regretfully having to give some smaller bands a low score because their sound simply wasn't making its way to the booth. (And this was a director who was always eager to feature our own woodwinds; I believe that in later years, when the band grew, they were probably fielding more than 50 clarinets, 50 flutes, and 50 saxophones. Never a microphone, though.) In those cases, all-brass would surely have been an improvement. That is a different matter, IMO. I have judged somewhere around 200 MB competitions since my first in 1978 (mostly the 80's and 90's). Any group has to create a show that places players in such a manner that the sonority of the ensemble in a given moment is appropriate for that moment. A big hit in a symphonic work might be very brassy, while other moments would permit the WW to be in the forefront. It is the same in the MB world. In judging, a judge is supposed to judge what is presented. I never judged on the assumption that a band is supposed to have something it did not have. There were bands that were primarily brass, while others had a lot of WW, and others a great mix. I would not judge a mostly-WW band and expect it to have the same volume as the mostly-brass band had. The evaluation I would make is to decide which band had the best sound for its physical makeup. It might be the brass-oriented band, but it may have been the WW or "great mix" band. if the band was primarily brass...I would not be looking for the WW sound...if mostly WW, I would not be expecting a huge brass sound, etc... I would not reward one over the other merely on the instrumental makeup of the band, because that was not my job. My job was to evaluate the performance of what the bands presented, and rank and rate them accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wort Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Drum corps wasn't broken until people, including George Hopkins, started messing around with it. Any-key brass didn't "fix" it. Amplification didn't "fix" it. Electronics haven't "fixed" it. What will fix it is in your face brass and percussion, brilliant drill design and execution, and amazing guard work. Garry in Vegas My submission for post of the year. Well said! (Emphasis mine) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris ncsu Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I didn't realize drum corps was broken! Shiz, why do I keep going/loving/donating/following? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.