A few thoughts on DCI then, now, & future...

[ajlemm]

I will continue going to shows because from when I was first introduced to drum and bugle corps in 1988 through the present, I cannot believe what those 150+ kids can do on the field. What keeps me going more than anything is that rush of emotion like (for me anyway) the end of 1988 Madison Scouts show, the drama of a 1996 or 2008 Phantom Regiment coming on strong and winning from behind, and yes, some of the unbelievable innovations, like 1993 Star of Indiana. I see it as a fabulous nexus of musicianship, pageantry and art, and to me, that hasn't changed. Yes, the delivery can sometimes be different now, but I get the same well of emotions and adrenaline when I see and hear 2013 SCV or Troopers as I get from 2003 Phantom Regiment or 1989 SCV.

[jwillis35]

To the OP, a lot of what you stated is very true and right on the money. As you have said, some things changed for the better, some for the worse.

What have we learned (well, at least what have I learned through all these changes)?

• amps and electronic instruments added major balance issues. They do help in certain situations with colors, but often they get in the way
  
• narration is not so good. There are times it can be used very carefully, but typically the audience will not react to it well...not in the outdoor theater
  
• guards have become too much the center of focus. This is fine in WGI, but drum & bugle corps is about drums and bugles. In other words, it's about brass and percussion in the outdoor theater. Many of these guard designs and routines simply do not translate to an audience so far away in a football stadium.
  
• Show design is still a critical element when it comes to competing and entertaining. All these artsy themes and concepts are difficult to pull off in a football stadium. Some of the themes we see would be difficult to pull-off anywhere. Great music will always drive a show, not a concept. A show concept can help, and it can also hurt. We see more of the later.
  
• Visual programs have become convoluted. Too much running around like chickens with...well, you get the point. Drill needs to make sense and draw the eye in to the show, not confuse the senses.
  
• Bb and F brass was a good idea ultimately
  
• Raising the limit of membership to 150 (so they could fill 3 full buses) was also a good idea, both for opportunity and money.
  
• There is still too much dependency on the national tour and not enough regional touring at the beginning of the summer
  
• Music arrangers have followed the drill designers into the realm of convolution. We still get some fantastic music books, but we typically get many more that try to shove a gazillion notes and themes into 12 minutes of show. Too little development and too much choppiness in the writing.
  
• A number of DCI shows are much better run these days, and the regionals seem to be very healthy. I am thankful for this. This shows great promise for the fans and the financial future of DCI. There is a market.
  

Overall there is still a lot of good out there. And I believe kids are still being educated, experiencing the rush of performance and travel, and we the fans are still being entertained. Is it different than yesteryear? Yes. Did we really expect it to stay the same? I know I didn't. And honestly I wouldn't want that for this generation of marcher. But there are things that I could do without, and in time I believe some of those things will get resolved...I hope (like all this TOC crap).

Just my 2 cents :-)

[bstar82]

Unfortunately, I've watched some recent shows (over the past few years) where the lack of woodwinds was the only indicator that I wasn't watching a marching band. I found myself wondering why they didn't just let them in and remove the last real difference between the two.

And that right there my friend, is the next step DCI will take I hate to say.

[Shempy]

• Music arrangers have followed the drill designers into the realm of convolution. We still get some fantastic music books, but we typically get many more that try to shove a gazillion notes and themes into 12 minutes of show. Too little development and too much choppiness in the writing.

Could you give me an example of what you mean by this? Because I think some of the arrangements we're seeing now are absolutely fantastic.

[jwillis35]

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Could you give me an example of what you mean by this? Because I think some of the arrangements we're seeing now are absolutely fantastic.

Indeed, there are some excellent music book out there, and I did mention that. Too often, however, we get music arrangers (brass in particular) trying to be too creative. Throwing lots of material into the show, but arranging it to the point of confusion. They'll take a theme or motif, chop it up, morph it into the next melody, chop it up, cut to a series of bops, then cut out and let percussion go nuts for 2 to 4 measures, and then...CHORD! It's stuff like this. There are other examples as well.

Essentially what I believe happens is the average person in the audience loses grasp of the melodic line or the over-arching musical idea because it goes by too quickly and another idea replaces it before the last one can be understood. Things go by so fast that by the time the classic "big chord" hits the audience member is wondering what all the excitement is about (i.e. why was that big chord necessary?).

[Stu]

1) I realize that the previous generation always craps on the younger and current generation, that's always going to exist.

Bull!!! As someone who has been involved since the seventies I have never crapped on the youth of subsequent generations. Many of the changes within DCI during the eighties, nineties, and the early portion of the new millennium have been imo to the positive. However, the recent design push to place visual not only in the driver's seat but to make the music a bast*** child slave afterthought to the visual has been one exception, and the push to make this activity a multimillion dollar per year major league touring system, thus placing a knife in the heart of the youth activity, is another. So, you can take your overgeneralized statement that we old farts are nothing more than curmudgeons who crap on the young and... (I will get banned from DCP if I type that here).

[jjeffeory]

this is very true in DCI as well as WGI and these few individuals in judging, designing as well as the ADMIN's in the DCI and wgi office guard their positions as well as keep each other revelent just to stay in the business.

Sometimes a good thing sometimes not

Agreed!

[skywhopper]

Brasso mentioned that G brass sounded richer than Bb brass. So my question is: are the F mellos more similar to the old G mello tone than the sops/baris/euphs/contras or are they similarly brighter?

[BRASSO]

This is a discussion that has been going on for decades. One of the things with innovation is that it usually takes a few years for people to fully appreciate things that are so new to them. It's one of the reasons an artists work goes up in value after they die.

The norm however is than an " obscure musical composer " or an " obscure painter " is " obscure " for a valid reason. His or her work was never much valued by many people in the first place. The notion that an artists work increases in value overtime is the outlier.. the very rare exception to the rule. While an " obscure composition by an obsure Composer " does have its few devotees, the vast, overwhelming numbers of artists and composers have their work begin to depreciate in value the moment its introduced to the public. And in most cases its only valued later by family and friends, and maybe not even by them. By contrast, we correctly call " a classic " something that was critically acclaimed by a large cross section of people when first introduced and then later becomes what we call timeless. Timeless in that it never loses its universal appeal, and across a newer generation of listeners or viewers of that work of creative genius.

Edited August 5, 2013 by BRASSO

[BRASSO]

Brasso mentioned that G brass sounded richer than Bb brass.

I actually focused more in my remarks above on the soprano voice in the brass section. It is my personal preference that the " G " keyed instrument of the Soprano section in Bflat sounds too tinny and thin to me, compared with ( in my opinion ) the " G " keyed Soprano instrumentation that sounds richer, fuller, deeper, more stentorian, when played in tune and in pitch.

Edited August 5, 2013 by BRASSO