zigzigZAG Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 (edited) Lots of vitriol on this topic in several other threads. Why do we insist that people and activities don't get better through the years? A top horn line of today does things that other horn lines simply didn't or couldn't yet imagine doing, have more demand (marching and playing), and have better technology (3 valve bugles to name one). Most importantly, they have the benefit of all the years of previously great corps and horn lines to learn from. Name almost any area of human achievement - basketball, skateboarding, computer code writing, dance, bowling, drum corps - and you'll find that in general, the performance level is constantly rising. (Granted, there are a few areas where achievement is even, such as writing. Hard to find someone better than The Bard today, but still, you have so many different styles, so much more of the human experience described, new forms, etc., you could still make a case that if Shakespeare were born today, he would be an even better writer than the Shakespeare of his era.) I watched the great skateboarding documentary "Dog Town and the Z-boys" last night. Every day the level of performance rose as the kids experimented in playgrounds and empty swimming pools, pushing the limits, eventually going vertical over the lip of the pools, and on and on. Technology improved too. People learn new tricks, new possibilities, learn to imagine differently, push each other harder to achieve. Same in DCI. A high school football team today is significantly better than 40 years ago. Like 35-0 better. So much more training, skills camps, complexity of play books, etc.. Same in DCI. I'd bet that any top 10 corps of today would probably win gold at any contest in the 80s. Because they're better - more demand, better design, more skilled marchers and players who have received better music education over the years. Think about what women's sports were 40 years ago, and what they are now. A good girls high school volleyball team would DESTROY most college vball teams of 40 years ago. Or basketball. Ever watch highlights of college or pro basketball in the 50s? Very slow moving, dribble dribble dribble, and maybe a layup. Today's good high school teams would beat college teams of the 50s easily. Ever watch how low the demand was for guard in the 60's and 70's? Dance was barely heard of, and so that's a skill they didn't need - so they marched and spun. Moving flags left and right, some spinning, maybe a few tosses here and there (avoid mistakes at all costs, so aim low) and marching here and there was a lot what you saw. DCI guard of that era doesn't even compare to a good high school band these days. Still, my favorite show of all time is Garfield '87, in part, because that show transcended the limitations of that era. But that show wouldn't place in the top 5 today. Maybe not in top 8. So new is better than old. Edited July 16, 2014 by zigzigZAG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFZFAN Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Poop 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzigZAG Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Poop Yessir, the kids these days couldn't hold a candle to the poop back in the golden days of poop. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornTeacher Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Better or worse will always lie in the eyes of the beholder. "Different," however, will always be true. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAZZER Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Name almost any area of human achievement - basketball, skateboarding, computer code writing, dance, bowling, drum corps - and you'll find that in general, the performance level is constantly rising. Well, yes and no. As one who has completed over 30 marathons and ultramarathons, I can provide an example: Yes, the BEST performance level has gotten faster. Records broken aplenty. No, the overall performance level has gotten slower. More people finishing marathons now at a slower average time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 new doesn't always equal good, and good is as subjective as the judging used today. Sure high school sports as you mention have more complex playbooks etc....and also see far more serious injuries even with improved conditioning. Look at pro sports...best science money can buy for sports medicine, but there are more injuries that are more severe. In MLB, the average starting pitched used to go every 4 days and rack up anywhere from 200-300 innings a year. relievers could go 3-4 innings. now starters get pulled around 100 pitches, relievers are specialists that max do 2 innings and Tommy John surgery is far more common. old drum corps had great things and not great things. new drum corps has great things and not great things. it's really just this simple, and why can't we be happy and accept that for what it is...the blunt truth. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rifuarian Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Guess it depends on what you mean by "better". Some things have been gained, others lost. The corps and their members perform at a higher level, no doubt about that. And off the field the corps are better run and the members are (mostly) treated better. On the flip side you have far fewer and far fewer participants. The cost of marching has risen much faster than the rate of inflation, so even those who can afford to march have shorter marching careers than they might have had in earlier decades. And while I support the changes that have come to drum corps in the past 15 years I have to admit that there's a certain uniqueness to drum corps that's been irrevocably lost in that time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistolpete Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Name a current boxer who could have beaten Ali in his prime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skevinp Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Continual advancements give us the opportunity to do greater things but they can also weaken us by making it easier to do things. In the future we will be better and worse, smarter and dumber, healthier and unhealthier... It is interesting to compare drum corps from different eras, but not really fair to judge the participants based on those comparisons. They were all working with different materials. To maintain the status quo would be increasingly less challenging, so it is good that we continue to push the envelope as it creates new challenges. The trick is to push the envelope in ways that make sense. Just as something isn't automatically worse because it is different, it isn't automatically better either. I think that is why we place so much scrutiny on the leaders of the activity stewards of its development. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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