A question about BOA

[Runitagain]

I read a post on twitter last night that go me thinking. The post was a student that was excited that her favorite corps would be coming to town this summer and that she was excited and wanted to tell her band friends but she than stated oh that's right I'm the only one who knows what DCI is. So my question is this do band directors discourage or even hide the drum corps activity for fear of lossing students to the activity? When I was in middle school my bad director cringed when he knew two of us were in drum corp maybe because we had a tendency to do a little AdLib to the percussion parts that were very basic. Or maybe because those that haven't been involved try to move students in the band direction. Your thoughts on this long winded question.

[MikeD]

I read a post on twitter last night that go me thinking. The post was a student that was excited that her favorite corps would be coming to town this summer and that she was excited and wanted to tell her band friends but she than stated oh that's right I'm the only one who knows what DCI is. So my question is this do band directors discourage or even hide the drum corps activity for fear of lossing students to the activity? When I was in middle school my bad director cringed when he knew two of us were in drum corp maybe because we had a tendency to do a little AdLib to the percussion parts that were very basic. Or maybe because those that haven't been involved try to move students in the band direction. Your thoughts on this long winded question.

I would think that if any group of band directors would want their students exposed to drum corps it would be those involved with BOA, since that is the title of the topic.

Competitive bands in general would probably be aware of drum corps. At the shows I attend (live in NJ), there are busloads of bands that the directors bring to the shows as spectators.

Non-competitive HS bands (which are the large majority nation-wide) are another story. Some would know about drum corps, while others...not so much. Not sure it would be a fear thing to keep the band members in the dark, but more a fear of a "gee I wish we could do that" from the kids to band directors who decidedly do NOT want to "do that", otherwise they already would be competing, even if just a little. There are still a lot of directors of bands who do not like the competitive environment at all for their programs. With 25,000+ HS in the US, there are lots of styles of MB out there.

[Stu]

Many hs band programs, not just BOA bands, have sub-camps as well as major camps going on all summer long; and DCI finals does encroach into most all hs pre-fall semester full band camps. Many of these directors believe that for their students the absence away from the social atmosphere of the hs situations during the summer is more detrimental than the personal experience gained by the individual performing in DCI. This is one reason there is a visceral reaction by many band directors to DCI, because they see DCI as taking their kids away from the responsibilities they have to their home hs band programs.

[DrumManTx]

My old high school director wanted us to know about it for inspiration and motivation. To each their own I guess. He always asks me what the current trends in show design are from DCI for some ideas on what works. We've had some really fun discussions about it. I helped him promote the august cine cast last year and probably over half the 160 member band showed up and sold out the theatre. They all Thought it was really cool and inspirational. That seems like a good thing to me......he wants them to do it if they have the chance to, he always said if they can march corps they sure as hell can catch up when they get back.

Edited April 1, 2014 by DrumManTx

[Henson]

The current generation of band directors is, in large percentage, a group who grew out of drum corps, or grew up as fans of it.

The best groups in BOA have heavily corps-connected staffs and encourage their kids to march corps. They see the benefits of a corps education as something which outweighs missing a couple camps - because let's face it, a kid who marched corps all summer is going to know how to learn music and drill pretty darned quickly, and will (hopefully) bring an businesslike attitude to rehearsal which will rub off. Doesn't always work that way, though. Plenty of kids come back "too good for marching band" and are a drag on the ensemble. There, it falls to the leadership of the director/staff to make the necessary attitude adjustment.

That doesn't speak to all BOA bands. It speaks to the top couple tiers, "semifinalist" caliber bands.

Thing is, DCI is becoming a college activity, especially in World Class. Not many HS sophomores marching Blue Devils...

[Eleran]

Thing is, DCI is becoming a college activity, especially in World Class. Not many HS sophomores marching Blue Devils...

Open corps are still an attractive option for young players.

[JoshClements403]

My band director always has us watch DCI, and encourages everyone to do it. She really wants us to watch SCV this year since our show is also Scheherazade

[fsubone]

There are some old band directors out there that, to not put this badly, are okay with settling for a certain level of quality. A level below that of a DCI-level group. Or even a top marching group. So part of it is that they don't show it to students, to keep them at that level. Some directors sadly stay in the business just to collect the pension and coast until retirement.

[garfield]

There are some old band directors out there that, to not put this badly, are okay with settling for a certain level of quality. A level below that of a DCI-level group. Or even a top marching group. So part of it is that they don't show it to students, to keep them at that level. Some directors sadly stay in the business just to collect the pension and coast until retirement.

I suspect you're right, but the larger number, I'd bet the data would show, is the group of directors who place little emphasis - and no competitive benefit - on marching band. To these directors, music education is about "rounding-out" the experience to emphasize the quality of the musical interpretation and performance at the individual level. Competition, the root of DCI, is of little benefit, these directors believe, and takes away from the general musical education they find most important for their kids.

The primary music education sponsor in Ohio is an advocate of the "no competition" mentality.

[MikeD]

There are some old band directors out there that, to not put this badly, are okay with settling for a certain level of quality. A level below that of a DCI-level group. Or even a top marching group. So part of it is that they don't show it to students, to keep them at that level. Some directors sadly stay in the business just to collect the pension and coast until retirement.

That is true.

But...to be fair there are also directors who just do not like the idea of marching band at all, let alone competitive marching band. I know of some of them as well. They run amazing concert bands, including entering them into competitions, but they give very short shrift to marching band in any form, just doing the minimum needed for football game support.

And others spread all along that continuum.

With so many HS bands across the country (25K+), you'll find a huge variation in band programs and how they are focussed.