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"Pushing the Boundaries of Innovation" vs "Tradition"


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'76 BD retro show, complete with boots and skirts.

I would cry like a little girl.

Jim Ott...

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im with ya Mike , I dont know a staff out there that want MORE confines, most want less, Im considered old ( ugh, when did that happen ) and I dont want to go to any rules and anything that would bind me . I love some traditional styles BUT dont want to held back. Im not saying we need to do everything BUT as i said I think I know most staffs and it would be a real hard sell..then the other issue of kids..tell a kid do you want to be in a traditional corps ( depends how far back you wanna go ) or a corps with less boundries....well I know where I would go and most kids I teach.......thats not to say they wouldnt want to be in a crown or a bd or a PR or cadets but I dont think those corps minus what they did this year, kids wouldnt want less.....kids today ( as we did ) want more and more not less .

the key is knowing how/when to use the toys that works, not just because you can.

and when it comes to electronics usage in DCI, that certainly isn't the case

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ACTUALLY... corps themselves need to get out of the rule game.

that is a major issue today (all time), the want what they want and like spoiled brats they get it. DCI should be a good parent and have the guts to say NO.

Or let's state it another way - The criminals are making the laws.

:worthy:

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A quick analogy for everyone:

A novice painter is confused by all the choices in color and mediums

A good painter has chose his medium but is still exploring all the colors

A great painter has a large palette of well chosen colors and knows the medium well.

A master painter uses a minimal palette and each stroke of paint is determined before ever touching the canvas.

But only because he chooses a minimal palette. Not because it is forced on him.

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There must be some definition of what it means to be a drum corps. If people want theater on a football field, they can go start their own activity.

With that said, I am for a liberal interpretation of drum corps. Drum corps should not be regulated by extensive rules. There should be basic rules to protect the essence of drum corps (e.g., no woodwinds or strings). Beyond that, the only regulation should be the criteria by which corps are judged.

I am in favor of an anything goes approach, but corps must still be judged on how well they march/move on the field, their visual effect, and how well they produce music on the field (not by pressing play on a computer). Let corps experiment with electronics, and even video/lights, but don't give them credit for including those elements and leaving out the important essential aspects of drum corps like marching and playing music on the field.

I know many (if not most) would prefer a more conservative approach, which is fine. I don't see the harm in allowing some innovation.

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very true...but its still their choice ,...even if they do it bad or not

except no punishment is meted out for poor usage. electronics is still the one topic everyone dances around.

quoted directly from a DCi percussion caption head

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except no punishment is meted out for poor usage. electronics is still the one topic everyone dances around.

quoted directly from a DCi percussion caption head

well that would be a judging issue then...seems their the ones that need to get their xxxx together but corps still should control their own choices...maybe if it were finally figured out how to approach this less would use the electronics or many would be do it better

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You are not a traditionalist! Traditionalists want to preserve most of what drum and bugle corps were when the activity began. Continuing to expand the boundaries of instrumentation and non-military style of marching is not preserving of tradition in any way.

Just off the top of my head and not having thought about details, I think DCI should consider having two classifications: Traditional and, for lack of a better word, Non-Traditional. Then you could make both the older and newer fans happy and possibly increase the fan base by bringing back some of the older fans who have gone. To be a Traditional corps there would be no amplification or non-military marching by the brass and percussion allowed. The auxiliary could do anything, like dancing and posing and rolling on the ground. Also, to keep the props to a minimum, only auxiliary members can touch the props during the performance. This keeps the musicians marching instead of acting like stage hands. There would be prelims in each division and finals could consist of the top 6 scoring corps in each classification. Of course, the judging sheets would be different for each division but I don't think you'd need a separate judging panel for each group.

Any major problems with that concept? I'm going to think about that some more.

Uh oh. I just thought of a problem. During the season there would be a mix of corps at each show. Hmmmmm. How would that be handled? Anyone?

The problem is, who would want to be in the traditional classifications under those restrictions?

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except no punishment is meted out for poor usage. electronics is still the one topic everyone dances around.

quoted directly from a DCi percussion caption head

The same guy I think it is?

Part of the problem might be that electronics are danced around on the sheets, IIRC, Jeff. They seem to be avoided there.

Another issue. Who gets to jump in and give the corps the pimp hand when it's poor and in what captions? Accusations could fly that "YOU'RE JUDGING OUT OF CAPTION!!!!!" You know the game. You know many people like to stick the index finger out like a pistol and yell that when they can. :satisfied:

Yet another issue. You may have the argument "Oh, come on, Jeff, You've dumped us over something electronic involving one person or a very few people running it and it's such a teeny-tiny facet of out most wonderful program and you penalized the whole corps of kind, sweet, deserving, hard working young people! It's just one teeny tiny eensy beensy failure! Why take it out on us!? You got something against us!?"

Have I sat in on too many critiques on both sides of the table or not? :tongue:

I think that might be why people are avoiding it, Jeff. They want to avoid the acrimony after the contest over it. It may not be worth it to them. Just kinda thinkin' here about it is all. :satisfied:

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