Then vs. Now

[Stu]

But personally I would gladly trade a little of that excellence in the top few for more kids being involved. "It's for the kids" is a bit of a naive statement these days.

BUT - as an old-time drummer I fully agree with the first post. amazing charts at breakneck speed and more musical awareness than ever before.

Yes, this link IS for the kids; and so is DCI. But they are just not for "all" kids.

Edited July 3, 2012 by Stu

[rudidrummer73]

Gotta comment on two things that were said here; the quality of sound generated by pre-DCI corps and the kids who made up most of those corps.

Puppet was right on both notes. There were many corps of that era that had a great sound; La Salle Cadets, Blue Rock, Toronto Optimists, Des Plains Vanguard, Kilties, DeLasalle, Troopers, CMCC Warriors. OMG – this might not end! St. Andrew’s, Sac., Anaheim, Auburn…

Puppet also hit it dead on regarding corps composition. Thousands of “real kids” and not students marched, engaged in real competition and entertaining crowds. It was not a touring classroom. Given that we were local kids marching in our local corps representing our community and with little formal musical training beyond the lessons we received from our corps instructors – pretty #### impressive.

I listen to old corps I competed against and have the perspective of what we faced and did in that era, I’m still impressed. The emotion, sophistication, dynamics, percussion without a pit and friends for almost 50 years.

Scott Gordon said it best, “…corps 30 years ago made you cry.”

Here it is, July 4th, a day on my schedule that used to mean I was either playing in a parade or marching in competition, or both. That was great...soup or nuts!

[Mucs75]

Today if im at a show, i stand up to hit the mens room. In the hey day my bladder would explode, and my voice would b scratchy from cheering so loud. I stand up now to stretch

Sad, but true

[Mucs75]

In my opinon, corps today makes you think, but corps 30 years ago made you cry.

Great comment. True!

[BRASSO]

I have been watching alot of old and new videos especially drum lines. I have to say that the modern corps today are far better than the past. Not to take away what we did in the past but it is true. From a musicianship level and quality.....Today's corps are far ahead of what we did back then. Check out tone quality of past corps and then listen to Cadets or Blue Devils...ther is a difference. I guess after this I will hear he attacks and feel the flames.

I liked the " tone quality " of the snare " drumlines " from the 60's and 70's much better than the "tone quality" of the snare drumlines of later periods. That said, the addition of the pit over the years has made the musicality options much more extensive to percussion instructors of today, so to that extent I like the overall musicality of the recent percussion lines a bit better of today. But I like the tone qualty of the snare drums much better in earlier periods as it had ( for me ) a deeper, darker, richer "tone quality" to it. The newer snares seem too tight and the snare sound not quite as appealing to my ears. But this is all subjective here and based upon personal preferences it seems to me. I do agree with you that the top 12-15 or so Corps have more talent today in their ranks compared to Corps 1-15 of years past. Part of this is that these Corps attract the best talent. But there was probably more talent AND less talent in Drum Corps in the late 60's, 70's. This is because there were hundreds of more Corps then, so the best talent AND the lesser talent was spread out among approx. 10 times more Corps. I don't accept the premise that there is " more talent " marching in Drum Corps today. As said, there was both more talent and less talent marching " back in the day " as there were literally thousands more marching " back in the day ", and spread out among hundreds of more Corps.

Edited February 22, 2013 by BRASSO

[BRASSO]

I realize all the things that have happened the past 40 years. I have heard/seen videos from the 60's on up. Don't get me wrong I loved corps back then and I do know that MANY members were not school trained musicians. I can remember wanting my two friends from HS to be in drum corps with me because we would have an awesome lead sop line. Today, many corps have music majors and that is what we all wanted back then too.

I was just seeing the difference and the fact that corps sound better (quality) than back then. Definitely NOT putting down what happened in the past just noticing the evolution of the activity.

I think we'd agree that watching a videotape of a show and seeing it live are two different things. Would you agree with this ? We generally accept the premise that seeing a Corps live performance today is infinitely better than watching and listening to it on tape. This is universally accepted here in 2013. And you know what ? It was also true " back in the day " as well. More so as a matter of fact. The reproduction of sight and sound from earlier eras was positively gawdawful compared to todays technologies when it reproduces on tape a Corps performances. As such, for example, does the '79, '80 tape performance of Spirit of Atlanta's closer " Let it be Me " do justice to the closer ? Not even close. It can't. There is little comparison at all to watching and listening to that live and now watching and listening to it on videotape. Its barely a pale imitation of what it was like live.

Same as today. Shows are ALWAYS better when seen and heard live.

Same as it ever was.

Edited February 22, 2013 by BRASSO

[alankarls]

One must remember that the bugle was designed to be heard over cannon fire on a battlefield. It was designed to be loud, not musical. Drum and bugle corps from the beginning were designed to be loud, not necessarily musical. In the 60s and early 70s, the corps most appreciated were the loudest corps. Remember "Louder, higher, faster"? I took a friend to a show in 1974. He had never seen a corps before. By the third corps, he was jumping up and shouting as loud as everyone else, and at the right spots, too. I asked him about it. He said, "It's not hard to figure out. When they get in big lines and play loud, you jump up and yell."

The last drum corps show I went to was about ten years ago. I saw Madison Scouts with 70 horns. I sat on the sideline at about the 35 yard line, and could not hear them. 70 horns and I couldn't hear them. Yet in the 60s, a 36 member horn line could blow back the stands.

Drum corps used to be about mass and volume. You had a controlled stampede of meat on the hoof moving around on a football field while they made lots of noise. You didn't need a program or a music degree to understand and appreciate it. It was loud and it was in your face.

Replacing the battlefield bugle with the indoor trumpet, and replacing packed, mass forms with running thin lines has killed what was the basic draw of drum corps.

Give me mass and volume any day over speed and costume changes.

[JimF-LowBari]

One must remember that the bugle was designed to be heard over cannon fire on a battlefield. It was designed to be loud, not musical. hanges.

LOL - why I called and still call my piston/rotor horn a "modified signaling device".

And why part of the wonder of DC was that we could actually make beautiful music with them, missing 3rd valve and all. That is when we weren't trying to knock the crowd back a row or two...

Interesting how much we compare the pst to today on DCP. Cars have also had multiple changes over the decades but have never heard any discussions like this in the Antique Auto Club of America (35+ year member).

Edited February 22, 2013 by JimF-LowBari

[BRASSO]

The last drum corps show I went to was about ten years ago.

Carolina Crown's brass line the last couple of seasons just in terms of " loudness ", is as "loud" as any Junior Corps brassline I have ever heard. If you like your brassline's " loud ", its a shame you've never heard them live during the last 10 years.