ContraFart Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 It confuses me that everyone says that BD makes it "look easy" but other corps do not? That BD makes efficient use of time, but other corps do not? The BD works hard in January, but other corps do not? Sure I will concede that they always have one of the top 2 or 3 most difficult horn and drum books, but they never have among the most difficult visual shows. Their shows are visually complicated because there are alot of moving parts, but compare this years visual book to crowns and there is a huge difference. And even though crown looks like a chicken with its head cut off, they are still playing at or above the level of BD with much more difficult drill....and more importantly much more difficult staging. BD starts at a higher floor than most corps because of many factors like the farm system and top talent flocking to them to get a ring. They almost always have an average age over 20 years old. It is the actual maturity of the performers that allow them to rehearse less, as well as a less demanding visual show (since it is easier to rehearse music than it is to rehearse visual) I am not saying they are not elite, but they are not that much better than the other elite corps that their ability to make shows look easy comes from some super human ability that no other corps has. It is simply because they have a much less demanding visual show. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccerguy315 Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 As Wayne Downey has said: "We do the difficult immediately, the impossible takes a little longer." was Wayne Downey a Navy Seabee? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hboyce Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 It is simply because they have a much less demanding visual show. Thanks for your opinion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ContraFart Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Thanks for your opinion. true it is an opinion, but compare BDs visual book to Cadets and Crown, and it becomes a prevailing opinion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrlandoContraAlum Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 (edited) Downey's arrangement of Say a Little Prayer was not the most hummable. Not even sure how to triple-tongue while humming... or would that be triple-glottal-stop? Ok, you got me on that one! :) (Of course, I CAN triple-glottal-stop, which my girlfriend LOVES!!!) Edited July 10, 2012 by OrlandoContraAlum 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsband Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 true it is an opinion, but compare BDs visual book to Cadets and Crown, and it becomes a prevailing opinion. BD doesn't even have drill per se -- it's organic staging (a la winterguard). During the season the dots are eventually formalized, entered into pyware, and then handed out to the members. Listen to Scott Chandler talk about it at the marching roundtable. I have to admit I'm a little skeptical about some of the credit they receive in visual ensemble. Prima facie their composition value is far weaker than Cadets or Crown. There's very little "drill" to judge. Personally I think that conventional drill should always be a part of the activity. I have no problem wandering away into 'staged productions' for a while but I think "drill" is a fundamental component of drum corps and there should be a good chunk of it in a show. Would love to see BD attempt a Cadets show and see how well they could play while running through a Sacktig closer. I think the whole "we're so good we make it look easy" thing might revealed as hype. On the flip side Cadets would completely fail at all the dance/movement you see in a BD production. In the end -- if you read the DCI Visual Analysis sheet -- the language is sufficiently broad that BD's productions can be judged right along side a more conventional drill program. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hboyce Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 true it is an opinion, but compare BDs visual book to Cadets and Crown, and it becomes a prevailing opinion. To preface this, I don't believe what one corps does is inherently more difficult than what another corps does. Comparing the visual books or musical books (or the combination of the two) in terms of difficulty, is pointless. Across a given section in a given corps the difficulty may vary wildly from person to person. So you think you can accurately say, across 150 people, cumulatively, that one corps is doing something more difficult than another? If you prefer one corps to another, fine, but don't credit BD's success to a lack of difficulty compared to other corps. It just makes me glad that people that are qualified to judge captions are on the field, and not the general DCP populace. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrlandoContraAlum Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Well, what Blue Devils are playing and what Nero was sampling is John Adams's Harmonielehre: AHA! THANK YOU! (Seriously, I figured that it had to be from somewhere else, and had I done my homework would have found it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApathyJones Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 To preface this, I don't believe what one corps does is inherently more difficult than what another corps does. Comparing the visual books or musical books (or the combination of the two) in terms of difficulty, is pointless. Across a given section in a given corps the difficulty may vary wildly from person to person. So you think you can accurately say, across 150 people, cumulatively, that one corps is doing something more difficult than another? If you prefer one corps to another, fine, but don't credit BD's success to a lack of difficulty compared to other corps. It just makes me glad that people that are qualified to judge captions are on the field, and not the general DCP populace. Hear hear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Ok, you got me on that one! :) (Of course, I CAN triple-glottal-stop, which my girlfriend LOVES!!!) THI, MARWAN!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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