garfield Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Well, when your community doesn't reach very far beyond the banks of the Olentangy River, yes you probably don't know this person. For those educated at one of the better schools however, you know him. Well, when we have an internationally-recognized band like ours, we don't need to reach very far beyond the Olengrungy, now do we? Everyone standing on the other side of the river is, well, on the other side of the river. (I'm searching for that Apple ad that has U of W in it. Would you send me the link, please?) (all in good fun, of course) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread403 Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 It's just an opinion but I got to thinking about members of the first DCI corps in 1972. Most were kids off of the street with no music backround or education. I don't even think most of them were in high school bands at the time and I know my local corps had very few members that could read music. Also, you may have wanted to play soprano but the quartermaster only had baritones on the shelf, so that's what you played. Many corps had feeder corps to help teach younger kids how to march and play. Today's DCI members are much more talented musicians and are member ready before they even go to the first camp. I'm not positive but I think almost everyone (if not everyone) that tries out for corps in 2014 has marched in a high school band. So my point is, as the members change, it would only make sense that the activity would change to better suit and attract band kids over to participate in corps. And, as the membership changes so will the type of crowd that is attracted to the activity. I may be way off base but it's just my opinion. I'm really not all that involved with corps these days. Instrumentation rule changes don't make that much of an impact on attracting performers as one thinks. People audition for drum corps for the exciting design, challenge, the higher performance level, and the touring experience. I marched for four years and worked with a World Class corps for another six years (all in the 2000s). I was a marching band nerd and nearly all the people who audition these days are still marching band nerds. My first year, we were still marching with G bugles. My rookie peers and I never worried about switching to G. We just did it. We worried about everything brass players worried about, regardless of key, which were tone, flexibility, volume, breathing, etc. In the end, we wanted to be loud, exciting, and entertaining. That hasn't changed one bit today. B-flats, synths, amps...all of these new additions don't really register with members. They just want to perform for an audience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyDad Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Well, when we have an internationally-recognized band like ours, we don't need to reach very far beyond the Olengrungy, now do we? Everyone standing on the other side of the river is, well, on the other side of the river. (I'm searching for that Apple ad that has U of W in it. Would you send me the link, please?) (all in good fun, of course) Well played Brutus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I think part of it also is due to visual demands. you just can't hope to play some of those old notier books flying around the field That is also true. Very hard visual programs do mean that you can't play the same super-dense books. Crown tried it last year, and couldn't get it all clean enough to win. Probably why most of the hardest passages are played at a standstill. That's not a huge change from the past though. A lot of the time the hardest sections of the show were at a standstill in order to max the music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I hear you, but the essence of those activities (sports) remains the same. Allowing amps to supplement corps sound and add volume is akin to adding motors to bikes in the Tour de France, thus totally changing the game. Or, perhaps we will allow laser sights on golf putters, or springs on basketball shoes to allow the guys to dunk from half court. Those types of things change the actual nature of the activity and make it into something different. Getting back to members today vs. yesterday, as someone who has seen the activity from every angle, I don't see kids wanting or mandating these changes that frankly take away the unique identity of the brand and/or water down the human element. It is not just the transformative nature of the changes, but also the manner in which they take one unique activity to the brink of becoming identical to another. Think of the NFL making so many changes to the field, goalposts, scoring, ball, etc., that they are one rule change away from becoming soccer (or what the rest of the world already calls "football"). And imagine every other league of American football at every level following the lead of the NFL within a few years on each of these changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkjazzaxe Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 It is not just the transformative nature of the changes, but also the manner in which they take one unique activity to the brink of becoming identical to another. Think of the NFL making so many changes to the field, goalposts, scoring, ball, etc., that they are one rule change away from becoming soccer (or what the rest of the world already calls "football"). And imagine every other league of American football at every level following the lead of the NFL within a few years on each of these changes. I agree- when the one guy was arguing with me about it a few pages back, he was refferencing numerous subtle changes in baseball (bigger diamond, changes in keeping stats, etc), changes in stadium, slight change in uniforms (which still look like they always have for the most part), etc. I see those types of changes as refinements and improvements to keep the nature of the game consistent. In sports, once modern technology and training start to outdo the tools of the game, the game is slightly modified to bring it back to "normal". For example, the slightly larger ball diamond and field size in baseball- keeps every game from being a home run derby now that players can hit farther. The lengthing of many holes on PGA golf courses to keep pros from driving the green on every par 4, etc. Sometimes sports try out a new rule to see if it helps the flow of the game (the 2 line pass in NHL hockey) and then remove the rule if it changes the game too much (the 2 line pass). I think current corps members have evolved in that they are much more athletic now, and much better trained now than a couple decades ago. The speed and flow of the show is more challenging and requires more athleticsm, more aerobic capacity, and more strength. That in itself leads to evolution in what is possible for them to do on the field. It's odd to me to think that the only way for DCI to evolve is to eliminate the structure and defining elements- I'd argue it would evolve anyway, in probably more creative ways, if left to evolve with the basic elements that have defined it. Corps members would continue to push the envelope without the the need for synths/band horns/woodwinds/fire dancing/whatever. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liahona Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I think current corps members have evolved in that they are much more athletic now, and much better trained now than a couple decades ago. Shows are different yes, but I don't think that necessary means that performers a couple decades ago were not athletic. It was a different time with different responsibilities on the performer based upon the evolution of the activity at that time IMO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I think older (70's / early 80's) shows were athletic, sure, but not even in the same ballpark as what is demanded from them today. Night and day, I think. That said, I'll stick up for old school DCI, too, in that it's still demanding - far more than what you were seeing in schools at the time. (Kind of like today... :) ) Mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkjazzaxe Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I totally agree- drum corps has always required a lot of athleticism, past and present. Although I know when I marched in the 90's we were not as well conditioned as a whole. We kind of marched ourselves into shape, now corps are adopting off season strength and conditioning programs that are way beyond what we had. Much as in other sports, modern training systems and know how lead to greater capacity for physical performance. My point being that the activity doesn't need to change the entire nature of the game in order to evolve. It's interesting to look at drum corps in the athletic lens. The demands placed on performers is really unique. Requires fast lateral motion, rapid changes in direction, and lots of muscular endurance in the core/postural muscles. Plus ability to track multiple moving objects. Very unique and demanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I think older (70's / early 80's) shows were athletic, sure, but not even in the same ballpark as what is demanded from them today. Night and day, I think. That said, I'll stick up for old school DCI, too, in that it's still demanding - far more than what you were seeing in schools at the time. (Kind of like today... :) ) Mike The present shows (IMO) have more sectional tacit time, visually and musically peppered throughout the productions; plus the present productions are shorter in length than the 60's-70's-80's and even 90's and early 2000's. All different eras...........all different athletic challenges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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