ranintothedoor Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Hey everyone! I think that having a "Drumline Battle" live event at PASIC is an amazing step forward for DCI. I think that it (1) legitimizes the whole drumline battle concept by attaching it to a well-known percussion mecca, and (2) shares the concept with the movers and shakers of the percussion world. I am concerned a bit that moving in this direction (ie, toward the more elite/cerebral portion of the percussion world) kind of alienates the HBCU and inner city high school drumlines that have been doing this "drumline battle" thing for decades. However, I love the international scope of it. I'm still excited that this is moving forward! Article: http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=f8ffd763-382b-4a82-84b8-32bb96aab3a3 Have a great Wednesday! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyboy Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Well the great thing about Drum Line Battle is that an HBCU line could dominate and destroy corps style lines. The judging is by non-drummers and is based on showmanship among other things. DCI should pursue some of the best HBCU lines to participate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHorner Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Well the great thing about Drum Line Battle is that an HBCU line could dominate and destroy corps style lines. The judging is by non-drummers and is based on showmanship among other things. DCI should pursue some of the best HBCU lines to participate. "A special guest-panel of judges has been arranged to determine the winners which includes DCI Hall of Fame member Scott Johnson who serves as the percussion director for the Blue Devils, Thomas Burritt who serves as associate professor of percussion and director of percussion studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and rock drummer Jason Bittner who sits behind the set with the Grammy-nominated metal band Shadows Fall." This certainly does not sound like a judging panel of non-drummers. Also, I hope my alma-mater, The University of North Alabama, shows up some of the bigger schools. With Colin McNutt's writing and Iain Moyer's instruction, they will be tough to beat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Well the great thing about Drum Line Battle is that an HBCU line could dominate and destroy corps style lines. The judging is by non-drummers and is based on showmanship among other things. DCI should pursue some of the best HBCU lines to participate. By the way, just be aware that this is what you are implying: HBCU type lines do not really engage in higher qualities of drumming but they are all about high degrees of showmanship, whereas DCI type lines have no real showmanship to speak of but they do focus mainly on high quality drumming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbg Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Need some enlightenment. What does HBCU stand for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaylogan Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Historically Black College/University Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyboy Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 "A special guest-panel of judges has been arranged to determine the winners which includes DCI Hall of Fame member Scott Johnson who serves as the percussion director for the Blue Devils, Thomas Burritt who serves as associate professor of percussion and director of percussion studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and rock drummer Jason Bittner who sits behind the set with the Grammy-nominated metal band Shadows Fall." This certainly does not sound like a judging panel of non-drummers. Also, I hope my alma-mater, The University of North Alabama, shows up some of the bigger schools. With Colin McNutt's writing and Iain Moyer's instruction, they will be tough to beat. Yea, I read about the judges after the fact. It is my understanding that the judging is based on other factors than DCI. Maybe the rock drummer will skew the numbers towards flash. By the way, just be aware that this is what you are implying: HBCU type lines do not really engage in higher qualities of drumming but they are all about high degrees of showmanship, whereas DCI type lines have no real showmanship to speak of but they do focus mainly on high quality drumming. Yes, I am aware of what I am implying. I think DCI style lines win when corps style judges judge, and HBCU style wins when the general public watches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 (edited) Yes, I am aware of what I am implying. I think DCI style lines win when corps style judges judge, and HBCU style wins when the general public watches. So, I take it then that the general public 'hated' the Spiritual of the Earth, the Intermisson section, as well as the Battery Battle within the show Blast, and the only ones who 'loved' those performances were DCI judges? Edited November 14, 2013 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCorps Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 (edited) So, I take it then that the general public 'hated' the Spiritual of the Earth, the Intermisson section, as well as the Battery Battle within the show Blast, and the only ones who 'loved' those performances were DCI Those performances were not written for DCI judging sheets. His point is simply that there is a disconnect between writing/execution in the DCI arena and writing/execution in the marching band arena (using HBCU drumlins as one example). You're very willing to argue semantics when it's very clear his intent: put a mid-season DCI line or a DCI line in the midst of training against a line designed to entertain the general public and it will likely be viewed as less entertaining. However, I would argue that this is by design, not ability, and is also informed by the public perception of what "entertaining drumlines" happen to be. Edited November 14, 2013 by CCorps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Those performances were not written for DCI judging sheets. His point is simply that there is a disconnect between writing/execution in the DCI arena and writing/execution in the marching band arena (using HBCU drumlins as one example). You're very willing to argue semantics when it's very clear his intent: put a mid-season DCI line or a DCI line in the midst of training against a line designed to entertain the general public and it will likely be viewed as less entertaining. However, I would argue that this is by design, not ability, and is also informed by the public perception of what "entertaining drumlines" happen to be. My point is that if DCI lines were to actually engage in Drum Battle on a regular basis they would: a) develop material which resembled many of the I&E small ensemble routines like the very funny DCI Bass Drum Ensembles, the very entertaining DCI Cymbal Ensembles, or the funny and outrageous and somewhat irreverent antics we have seen from the UNT A Line at PASIC over the years; and b) when that type of entertainment factor is in in place within the DCI lines the 'general audience' certainly can see the drumming quality difference between the various groups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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