camel lips Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Well Pandora's box has been opened. DCA will in years to come follow DCI's lead and we will have the growing pains of Narration,Vocals,Singing Synthesizers and rockbands on the sidelines. Expect The Color of Crap part two , Yowza Yowza Yowz Unfolded and This I Believe I need another beer part 3 at a stadium near you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 (edited) That is absolutely valid. My one caveat would be to ensure people don't see this as required. If you have a 20 person hornline with 6-7 frontline members, you can get away without amps. With a 60 person hornline, there's a big difference in balance between them and 8-9 mallet instruments. **** opinion alert ***** See the point even if that's way too much mallets in the mix for my taste.... OK I'm a horn guy who is still getting used to hearing that much tink-tink in the music.... * tink-tink - making a joking reference to a complaint I read when marching bells came back in the 70s. quote was "... drum and tink-tink corps"..... Edited December 9, 2012 by JimF-LowBari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geneva Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 And I get that BUT it always seems that some people want to bring this activity back to things that occurred in their timeframe. For those of us who weren't around for that timeframe it seems not just an irrelevant and obscure idea, but also self centered. It's not like the pit is some new concept. They've been around now for going on 30 years and there are a few generations of drum corps members that have been there with its existence. Please allow me to crawl out of the box into which you have me stuffed. Sure, I competed in the days before the pit existed. My last year of competitive drum corps (1974) was the first year in which keyboard instruments (carried) were legal on the field. I will admit that I was not too fond of hearing some of my soprano lines doubled by the tinkling bells. The keyboard usage has come a long way since that time and I think that it often adds a nice texture and counterpoint now. My point is that it is counter and not the point and I believe that over the decades the keyboard instrumentation has become overemphasized to the point that it is planted front and center and now following the DCI model will be further empowered to overtake the primary acoustic presentation. Of course, it all comes down to what you think a drum corps show is all about and for me it has been the beauty and awesomeness of the loudest acoustic presentation in existence. Amplification has turned it into something else entirely. If that makes me a Dino, so be it. I play in a lot of different musical settings, often with woodwinds and indoors, but for me drum corps has always had this special corner on the musical market and amplification diminishes what is special to me. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camel lips Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 this will surprise some long time readers, knowin g that I am personally against any type of electronics ( mainly because usage sucks and judging it suck worse). DCA needs the stuff gang. the DCA audience is getting older, dying off or being unable to attend events. In order to keep drawing in younger fans and members, it needs what those people are used to seeing/using in DCI, band etc. Now that Pandora's box is opened, the other stuff will come in time...synths etc. Most likely usage will suck and the judging community will give it pass after pass....after all, we were told in 2004 the DCI folks were the experts, and issues galore still happen there. Yes, it will turn off older fans. But in order to stay alive, DCA needs newer blood in the seats. Agreed but so far DCA has not been able to capture the younger audience. Younger marchers yes but not the younger Audience. Looking around at finals its still pretty much the same crowd year after year. I am not so sure that alienating the older crowd with electronics at this point and time was the answer but time will tell. It had to happen at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler C. Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 **** opinion alert ***** See the point even if that's way too much mallets in the mix for my taste.... OK I'm a horn guy who is still getting used to hearing that much tink-tink in the music.... * tink-tink - making a joking reference to a complaint I read when marching bells came back in the 70s. quote was "... drum and tink-tink corps"..... I know you use "tink-tink" jokingly, but allow me to just say that amplification allows pits to be heard with softer mallets, which means you hear more of the fundamental tone of the bars, and much less "tink" from contact. Tell me any of the Rennicks' pit books of the last decade with Phantom and SCV would have been more enjoyable without the lush mallet arrangements facilitated by amplification. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 (edited) And I get that BUT it always seems that some people want to bring this activity back to things that occurred in their timeframe. For those of us who weren't around for that timeframe it seems not just an irrelevant and obscure idea, but also self centered. It's not like the pit is some new concept. They've been around now for going on 30 years and there are a few generations of drum corps members that have been there with its existence. So different opinions are expressed.... how is it being self centered if it is something that you disagree with or goes against your experiences? Just keep comparing DCP posts with my experiences in the old car club. Never heerd anyone there bash anothers opinion because they like a differen era of autos compared to another. Or heaven forbid, "wish cars had.... like they used to"... :huh2:/> Edited December 9, 2012 by JimF-LowBari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I know you use "tink-tink" jokingly, but allow me to just say that amplification allows pits to be heard with softer mallets, which means you hear more of the fundamental tone of the bars, and much less "tink" from contact. Tell me any of the Rennicks' pit books of the last decade with Phantom and SCV would have been more enjoyable without the lush mallet arrangements facilitated by amplification. Being a horn guy and non-music major (computer science) I'd probably listen and not be able to tell the difference. And the problem is me, not what is being done on the field. Seriuosly Tyler I never knew that there were different types of mallets or playing techniques until I read DCP. I was against amps when I first heard them at an exhibiton with Cadets and Crossmen at Gettysburg, PA years ago. But after reading the reasons why mallet players want them I can see the point and (somewhat grudlingly) agree. And for historic context, the marching tink tink bells I refered to had the metal bars which were overly loud on the recordings. This was when drumlines had elevator drills and about every year DCA would adjust the mics positions to get a more "live" soundsing recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 And every time DCA followed suit it was because DCI was/is the paradigm of the activity and DCA will either change or cease to be relevant. And if you think DCA attendance is sparce now, imagine if the corps still began on the starting line, had no pit, no banner line dancing and still played on valve/rotary or 2 valves! ........"or 2 valves!" I sense the "Commandant's Own" would beg to differ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 No, you just want everyone to use the same stuff thus making them have the same 'sound' and creating no differences between most. Again, not what I said. What I want is for corps to be able to be different, and use whatever tools they want to do so. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 True, I'm more upset with the championships being back in Rochester. Yea, we're alike in that thinking. No chance I'll go to Rochester. None. I'll happily buy the best seats again in Annapolis though, and enjoy 2013. After that, it's the live stream until they go anywhere not calle Rochester. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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