The "Music Corps Should Do" thread

[xandandl]

Please understand, I don't want to get the thread off on a tangent, but in earnest, who do you believe has the ability to compose really good pieces for drum corps that work as instructors now?

here lies both the problem and the challenge.

Drum corps is a competitive activity that is more and more limiting the involvement of non-matriculated musicians and students of other interests who just happen to play a musical instrument. As the shows become more technically proficient and demanding the part-time musician is limited by technical expertise (and sometimes native ability.)

Current judging of the activity includes the general effect caption which has an aspect of audience engagement and response as well as proficiency, emotion, and nuances.

Music with which the audience is unfamiliar takes longer to elicit a strong response during these short weeks of the season.

What is technically appealing to the musician and faculty sometimes is not appealing in the same way to the audience and paying ticket holders.

Against the duel between design and performance is a third side of the triangle the successful composer/arranger in drum corps is forced to consider and master.

Edited April 16, 2015 by xandandl

[skevinp]

Yeah, that's why I started it.

Was surprised to see it going 7 years later.

Lance was in hiding all these years, waiting for the statute of limitations to relieve him from liability for any really bad shows that originated on this thread.

[Lance]

Some corps have played around with Jenkins' stuff from Adiemus albums.

I think this has potential to be fun for percussion and brass if a couple of good arrangers got together.

"Ceridwen's Curse"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBPeBhqa4gw

[N.E. Brigand]

I'd also love to hear The Divine Comedy . . . on the field.

You mean Robert W. Smith's composition? It's certainly been performed "on the field" before, just not in drum corps. One Ohio high school band I saw playing it last fall had some excellent solos but was otherwise pretty dull, with each movement introduced by inapt selections, in poor translations, of Dante's poem. (Besides, if you're going to quote from Inferno, why not shake the audience up by citing the passages where Dante places four different popes in Hell--including one who was still alive when the poem first appeared?)

Or were you referring to the Irish pop band by that name?

[Dmlkmen]

Since the Overture from Dancer in the Dark is one of my favorite ballads, I think we need to see some more from Bjork. All is Full of Love would be a great ballad.Hidden Place would take some clever arranging, but the visual possibilities with the piece could be very cool. I see other songs like Hyperballad and Human Behavior working as well. In the "pick your corps to play it" category, naturally its Bluecoats. But Oregon, Blue Knights,and SCV could make it interesting too.

Hidden Place

http://youtu.be/OnjWKA0JsJo

All is Full of Love

http://youtu.be/yDYMfm0JQOE

Edited April 16, 2015 by Dmlkmen

[mingusmonk]

You mean Robert W. Smith's composition? It's certainly been performed "on the field" before, just not in drum corps. One Ohio high school band I saw playing it last fall had some excellent solos but was otherwise pretty dull, with each movement introduced by inapt selections, in poor translations, of Dante's poem. (Besides, if you're going to quote from Inferno, why not shake the audience up by citing the passages where Dante places four different popes in Hell--including one who was still alive when the poem first appeared?)

Or were you referring to the Irish pop band by that name?

It certainly has been performed on the field by drum corps too. Only once in World Class.

Edited April 16, 2015 by mingusmonk

[Dmlkmen]

Reflection from the Tool Album, Lateralus, interests me a lot in terms of how a ballad could have both yin and yang .Electronics could enhance this to being a great piece on the field, as well as some innovative percussion:

Reflection

http://youtu.be/ja3LGFY1i0o

[N.E. Brigand]

It certainly has been performed on the field by drum corps too. Only once in World Class.

I definitely sit corrected! Sorry, should have checked before posting.

[Triple Forte]

Ah, gee. These are my favorite genres and I remember when they were considered daring and on the edge for a corps to do them. Along came Mr. Royer and Santa Clara mastered them while Cavies played Lizt's Les Preludes.

I would like to see our design teams come up with different pieces from these genres...even if the present MMs weren't alive the last time their corps or any corps played them.

Sorry to stomp on your favorite genres but you have had more than enough offerings for the past good number of years :)

Look at this list.....come on people..there has to be more areas corps are willing to explore than just Classical, Symphonic, Wind ensemble genres

http://www.musicgenreslist.com/

[thefrontensemblenerd]

Well focusing more on the whole Popes in hell, fire, blazing hornline excitement with Inferno...I could see Crown or SCV pulling off something like that.

In fact SCV's 2011 show could have had that sort of potential I think had it not been based mostly on percussion music, albeit I really loved that show.

Why aren't more Latin/Jazz fusion arrangements played in drum corps btw? I think that given the instrumentation that they would work very well with the activity...
As far as innovation and music outside of the wind ensemble/classical/symphonic genres I feel like Bluecoats have pulled off that sort of thing well in the past few years.