Where is DCI headed?

[fsubone]

I disagree.

Seems to me that introducing something old would be quite new in today's drum corps.

Might be quite surprised at the reception it got.

Isn't that what Madison has been doing it lately? And even after 4 years of shows rooted in the old style, they're the ones to propose the trombone/French horn rule. Surf has been doing old school shows as well. A lot of fans like shows that are old-school, fast and loud shows. And lots of fans like the more artistic shows that can engage their mind and entertain at the same time. Luckily, there are enough corps out there that there is something for everyone. Trying to make everyone do the same type of show would probably be terribly boring, as variety is the spice of life.

[N.E. Brigand]

But that's not the fault of '70s designers; it's my fault for having different tastes from them.

That's not necessarily true. As I mentioned in another post, It's a commonplace in discussions of the histories of various artforms to assign one period as, on average, better than another (Soviet cinema, for instance, is generally understood to have peaked in the late 1920s). There is a reason terms like "golden age" are used. So maybe drum corps really did get better in the 1980s. And maybe it really did get worse after 2008. It will be easier for us to tell in another 50 years or so, but that's no reason not to argue about it now.

Edited February 23, 2014 by N.E. Brigand

[fsubone]

That's not necessarily true. As I mentioned in another post, It's a commonplace in discussions of the histories of various artforms to assign one period as, on average, better than another (Soviet cinema, for instance, is generally understood to have peaked in the late 1920s). There is a reason terms like "golden age" are used. So maybe drum corps really did get better in the 1980s. And maybe it really did get worse after 2008. It will be easier for us to tell in another 50 years or so, but that's no reason not to argue about it now.

Yes, but one person's Golden Age is someone else's bucket of excrement. It doesn't categorically mean that everything or everyone is right or wrong. It just means they have differing tastes. I find recordings from the 70s really hard to listen to, because of the poor recording tech and the difference in brass playing. But I know some dudes geek out on that stuff, and can't imagine any other era. Again, doesn't make anyone's opinion more valid than the other. But if someone doesn't enjoy it, that's their issue, not the fault of the designers or the organization as a whole.

[Overhype]

Not at all. But bringing it back to old school drum corps would not be a new development, but sending things into the past. Which is where a lot of that stuff belongs.

There is nothing "new" about field shows with trombones, French horns, Sousaphones, tubas, trumpets, amplification or synthesizers either. All of that has been done for decades by marching bands.

...which is where a lot of that stuff belongs.

[HockeyDad]

Yes, the fact that your enjoyment of the activity is solely based on you. I try and be very clear about that. If the kids didn't like the direction DCI was going in, they wouldn't audition. But they keep showing up in droves. But there are myriad people on here that claim their era was the best one, and anything that's not exactly like that is terrible and an affront to their experience. Someone wanting to roll back the clock on DCI is their personal opinion, but would not be a "new development" as was originally stated.

No. When posters state their opinions that they don't like what has become of drum corps, you belittle them personally with comments such as - you just want it to be like it was when you marched. Instead of, for example, stating why you love the changes. Personal attacks versus debating the subject. I think the subject should be debated. I share guilt in this retort style too. I'm trying to be better.

[fsubone]

No. When posters state their opinions that they don't like what has become of drum corps, you belittle them personally with comments such as - you just want it to be like it was when you marched. Instead of, for example, stating why you love the changes. Personal attacks versus debating the subject. I think the subject should be debated. I share guilt in this retort style too. I'm trying to be better.

Wasn't a personal attack in the slightest. He said that if DCI wanted to wow him, it should bring back old-school drum corps. He said it would be a new development. My response was that it wouldn't be a new development at all, but going into the past. Which wouldn't be advancing or new at all.

[fsubone]

Why is it that people are so reluctant to see what is going to happen? With how late the rule change came through this year, there is very little chance any designer could have the chance to write in new parts. Or that a corps would somehow drop a bunch of members to bring in trombone players. Things will be pretty much the same this year are they were last year, and the year before that, and the year before that ,etc.

Just because the designers and directors have the ability to do this stuff does not mean it will happen. A corps can do an entire field show based around "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," but they don't. They could do an entire show in a parade block marching at 64/5 for 12 minutes across the field playing "Washington Post." But they don't. The design staffs don't get their jobs for no reason. They're smart people, that know how to design a show. Maybe they do know what they're doing, and will use this stuff tastefully. But until it actually happens, everything on here is conjecture.

Why not go to a show this summer? If you like it, awesome. Keep coming back. If you don't, then at least you have a substantiative reason to leave DCI. Not just a tantrum online.

[BRASSO]

A lot of fans like shows that are old-school, fast and loud shows. And lots of fans like the more artistic shows that can engage their mind and entertain at the same time.

Gee, who knew that there were only 2 choices.. one or the other. Or that " fast and loud " shows apparently don't" engage the mind" ( just the slow and soft ones can do so, apparently. ) Who knew ?

Edited February 23, 2014 by BRASSO

[fsubone]

Gee, who knew that there were only 2 choices.. one or the other. Or that " fast and loud " shows apparently don't" engage the mind" ( just the slow and soft ones can do so, apparently. ) Who knew ?

Don't take everything so literally. There aren't two choices at all. That's why each corps performs a different show. Gives the audience a chance to see somewhere between 5-40 shows in a day. As the saying goes, "there's something for everyone."

[Overhype]

Why is it that people are so reluctant to see what is going to happen? With how late the rule change came through this year, there is very little chance any designer could have the chance to write in new parts. Or that a corps would somehow drop a bunch of members to bring in trombone players. Things will be pretty much the same this year are they were last year, and the year before that, and the year before that ,etc.

Just because the designers and directors have the ability to do this stuff does not mean it will happen. A corps can do an entire field show based around "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," but they don't. They could do an entire show in a parade block marching at 64/5 for 12 minutes across the field playing "Washington Post." But they don't. The design staffs don't get their jobs for no reason. They're smart people, that know how to design a show. Maybe they do know what they're doing, and will use this stuff tastefully. But until it actually happens, everything on here is conjecture.

Why not go to a show this summer? If you like it, awesome. Keep coming back. If you don't, then at least you have a substantiative reason to leave DCI. Not just a tantrum online.

There are very good reasons:

As soon as corps were allowed to have a pit (1982 or 1983?), many corps did so that first year.

In 1983, when DCI first allowed corps to sing and otherwise use vocals, many corps did so that very first year. One of the commentators mentioned it during a PBS broadcast, to the effect that, now that corps are allowed to sing they all seem to think they have to.

In 1991, when DCI first allowed three valved G horns, we saw corps using them that very first year. This was pointed out during the PBS broadcast after the Bluecoats soprano soloist was shown playing one.

In around 1991, when the performance field was expanded to include the area in front of the sideline, several corps (specifically Star and Madison, if I remember correctly, moved their front ensembles so that marchers could move into that area.

As soon as the number of performers was increased from 128 to 150, many corps increased their size that same year.

When corps were allowed to use any key of brass (bell front) in 2000, Blue Devils and Cadets both did so that very first year. Most if not all other corps made the transition in the years following. (I don't know whether there even are any more G hornlines.)

When amplification was first allowed in 2004 (?), many corps used a PA that same year.

When synths were first allowed, many corps used them that same year.

In a nutshell, every single rules change I can think of has resulted in many if not most corps stretching out into those "new" areas that very first year. So I believe it is perfectly reasonable to presume that we are going to see plenty of the "new" instruments this summer and even more over the next couple of years.