Kyle B Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 While I think amps will be good for the sound of a drum corps (hopefully, and if not, they get worse scores) I don't believe for a second that having amps in drum corps will attract more people to play in pits in various drum corps as well as putting more people in the seats. In the end, more people will go to drum corps shows to hear the drum line and brass, as well as watching the guard and visual element than people will go to hear a pit. I'm not putting the pit down, but when you have a section that is made up of about 10 people out of 128, chances are people are there to watch the other 118 people. If there is to be some recruitment of band circuits, let's put the emphasis on the meat and potatoes of drum corps, rather than the 10 people. Again, not trying to diss the pits, but they are only 8% of a drum corps. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 While there have been many opinions on this thread - mostly about amps in the pit... little has been said about the MAJOR decision on positioning of judges - all judges have been removed from the competition field... This is something that is MUCH needed and has been a long time coming - further... it's another change that puts DCA ahead of DCI in this aspect. DANG SPANKY!!! And I do mean that seriously.... Thanks for bringing this up Tom... LOL one more reason why I gave up trying to figure out what the judges are looking for and just enjoy the shows.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 While I think amps will be good for the sound of a drum corps (hopefully, and if not, they get worse scores) I don't believe for a second that having amps in drum corps will attract more people to play in pits in various drum corps as well as putting more people in the seats. Just my opinion here.... but along with what you have said, I think show design and music selection would/should be much more of a factor in growing/maintaining an audience than amplification ever will be. Put another way.... a corps playing "out there" stuff that does not connect with an audience (and by "connecting with an audience" I mean people saying "that's GREAT... I would pay to see that again")... or stuff that is over the head of, say, the talent level of a smaller corps... won't draw fans, no matter how well those corps use electronics. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomPeashey Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 ok old freind of mine...............explain to me how this helps all the problems being brought up and all of our concerns............like crowd attendance. c'mon open up that big old brain and help us out. be the voice of reason. it doesn't help that... but from the standpoint of a "student" of the activity it IS a big deal... anything that allows the judges to do a better job is good for the activity. Judging on the field became obsolete with the departure of the tick system. While visual and brass judges learned to step back and still do their jobs - what has been going on with the percussion judge has been a joke - especially when he tries to "sample" properly between the battery and pit... we have had many good laughs over the antics of the drum judge just to survive... In subjective judging, to allow him to be at a proper vantage point to evaluate and analyse the performance and not be fearing for his life and at a dead run while trying to absorb such complex performances is/was/has been a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Priester Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 it doesn't help that... but from the standpoint of a "student" of the activity it IS a big deal... anything that allows the judges to do a better job is good for the activity. Judging on the field became obsolete with the departure of the tick system. While visual and brass judges learned to step back and still do their jobs - what has been going on with the percussion judge has been a joke - especially when he tries to "sample" properly between the battery and pit... we have had many good laughs over the antics of the drum judge just to survive... In subjective judging, to allow him to be at a proper vantage point to evaluate and analyse the performance and not be fearing for his life and at a dead run while trying to absorb such complex performances is/was/has been a joke. So I guess that execution, barring a massive train wreck, is no longer a factor? Why bother working at perfecting one's performance level if it's all going to come down to an opinion from someone who isn't on top of what is actually happening within the line? And some folks think that the 'tick system' was no longer the way to go. So, if I understand what is being said, it all boils down to what someone in the stands THINKS you are trying to accomplish rather than what you are actually doing. Oh boy, let's hear it for mediocrity! JMHO Ray P.S. I'm STILL glad and proud that I marched and played the years that I did. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 While there have been many opinions on this thread - mostly about amps in the pit... little has been said about the MAJOR decision on positioning of judges - all judges have been removed from the competition field... This is something that is MUCH needed and has been a long time coming - further... it's another change that puts DCA ahead of DCI in this aspect. I didn't see anything announced that percussion was moved upstairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 While I think amps will be good for the sound of a drum corps (hopefully, and if not, they get worse scores) I don't believe for a second that having amps in drum corps will attract more people to play in pits in various drum corps as well as putting more people in the seats. In the end, more people will go to drum corps shows to hear the drum line and brass, as well as watching the guard and visual element than people will go to hear a pit. I'm not putting the pit down, but when you have a section that is made up of about 10 people out of 128, chances are people are there to watch the other 118 people. If there is to be some recruitment of band circuits, let's put the emphasis on the meat and potatoes of drum corps, rather than the 10 people. Again, not trying to diss the pits, but they are only 8% of a drum corps. PR should be on all aspects. I agree, amping the pit hasn';t really done much to attract people, despite what some may say....and then they will add to their argument we need synths, lights, woodwinds, pyro and midgets. oh wait, I don't recall seeing MikeD saying anything about midgets :tongue:/> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 (edited) it doesn't help that... but from the standpoint of a "student" of the activity it IS a big deal... anything that allows the judges to do a better job is good for the activity. Judging on the field became obsolete with the departure of the tick system. While visual and brass judges learned to step back and still do their jobs - what has been going on with the percussion judge has been a joke - especially when he tries to "sample" properly between the battery and pit... we have had many good laughs over the antics of the drum judge just to survive... In subjective judging, to allow him to be at a proper vantage point to evaluate and analyse the performance and not be fearing for his life and at a dead run while trying to absorb such complex performances is/was/has been a joke. yes and no Tom. I've done both, and the percussion judge, while able to see the entire program from up top, will lose many nuances up there as well. especially with amps coming, sound WILL be lost upstairs from the battery, and then add in the brass voice. Plus....often you end up with a percussion judge and the ensemble music judge doing the same thing....and, LOL, often disagreeing. Yes, judging on the field has it's perils, but if the sheet is set up right, and is made to be a field sheet of sampling and not a catch all lets try and look at everything sheet, it can work. the new DCI percussion sheet is set up, IMO, better than any field percussion sheet I have ever seen. Edited December 20, 2012 by Jeff Ream 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldStyleCorps Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 (edited) My problem with the pit's of today is how large and loud they are to me. I am disabled and almost always have to sit in the first row area. So I have already given up seeing the many great drill's of today. I sit at about head level with the pit members. Many even up some rows are over powerd by it. I wonder are the Amps going to make it even worse? Edited December 20, 2012 by OldStyleCorps 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
east coast love Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Interesting how you count on "old die hards" to continue their support, while at the same time dismissing them as "too old to support DCA moving forward". Not too old, unwilling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts