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Should DCI add a Front Ensemble judge?


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I agree that the pit should have its own judges and should be separated from percussion for one simple reason: a front ensemble is no longer just a percussion ensemble. It also shows that the front ensemble's contributions are recognized.

It wasn't all that long ago that the guard's contributions weren't recognized in the way they are now. Yes, there were guard trophies given out, but those were done at the end of the season by someone looking at the guards from up top and saying, "Yep, that's the best one." There wasn't extensive written quantified criteria to go by as there is now.

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I think having a judge for the pit is a great idea.

I remember when the pit was first created. Back then I thought it was unfortunate that members didn't get to march on the field although I'm sure they were quite thankful that they no longer had to strain their back muscles carrying all that weight.

In the early days they were also the stars of any videos produced as the camera crews didn't seem to realize that there was a whole corps behind the pit.

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well no....with amps, and not being able to see the battery directly, I'd be bored ####less

Wait, you can say ####less?!?!?!?! lol

Edited by MikeD
No you can't. :-)
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I think that, in what is inherently a marching ensemble, the pit should always be given less weight than the battery. Separate judge? Sure, but not one whose score counts as much.

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I think that, in what is inherently a marching ensemble, the pit should always be given less weight than the battery. Separate judge? Sure, but not one whose score counts as much.

Feel free to be the one to tell those members, tech staff and arrangers that their work is not as valuable to the corps as everyone else's.

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If the judge was a front ensemble person earlier in the music career, then would be most happy to judge and enjoy the endless variety of sounds produced by a pit.

Not even just a front person...I love the front, and I have never played in one.

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Or you could put a brass judge on the music ensemble sheet and have them spend the entire tape saying the front ensemble is too #### loud and your problem is solved.... :shutup:

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How close to the battery judges have to stand to get a good read? Most of the time they are pretty darn close! Also, it's not as bad as you would think as far as the speakers go. I kind of take offense to your comment about being bored standing in front of the pit for the entire show. Watch some full runs of pits in the lot, not a whole lot of down time. Front ensemble is about a lot more than keyboard notes as well. Are your suspended cymbal roll crescendos matching the brass inflection, is the orchestration too thick, are their layers that make sense with what else is going on. PLENTY for a qualified ear to talk about for an entire show.

I judge on the field level in the band world. getting sound through the speakers can be distorted depending on how the control board is being run to project certain things upstairs.

I would be bored standing in front of the pit for the entire show if I was to judge the entire percussion section, sorry for the misunderstanding. if i was just judging the pit then, no I wouldn't be bored. I judge several non moving ensembles in the fall, and I;'m not bored at all.But if had to judge battery and pit from just up front...no thank you.

You can judge the battery without being directly on top of them. So few judges realize the beauty of the "sweet spot"...that area behind the pit where you can hear the pit and the battery and get such a great read on vertical alignment. It's also a great place to hear how things line up with the other voices on the field as well.

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Wait, you can say ####less?!?!?!?! lol

oops...didn't realize that wasn't filtered

:shutup:

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