GUARDLING Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 What you say is true-- corps staff decides the drill, choreography, uniforms, guard equipment, music arrangement, etc. Completely non-corps-related adults manufacture the costumes, the equipment, the instrumetns, etc. Those things make up one part of the product that's judged on the field. But the larger part of the product is the execution of that design by the members. And whatever points you get from having good drill or nice uniforms pales in comparison to the points you get from members executing the drill and choreography. After all, if the execution is poor, then the design scores fall as well. But electronics lets designers intrude into the performance of the design as well. A five second voice clip can be recorded by a non-member, loaded into a synth by a non-member, played through PAs set up by non-members and mixed live by non-members. The only thing a member is required to do is to press a button on a MIDI controller at the right moment. That amounts to a lot of impact on the performance with next to zero actual achievement on the part of a corps member. Compare that to the achievement of a corps member performing that voice section live. There are many moments when the synth sound generated by a single member holding down a handful of keys on a keyboard generates more sound than the other ~100 musical-instrument-performing members on the field. And that sound was professionally designed ahead of time etc etc. As long as the keys are hit at the right time, there is no way to make a mistake or play out of tune. Even playing too loud or soft is out of the question, since the volume is controlled by a staff member off the field. It's sort of like if you had robots out there doing the rifle tosses, and "controlled" by corps members pressing buttons on remote controls at the right moment. Sure you could get some really impressive and perfectly executed tosses going, and it might be more beautiful and better in every way than humans could ever achieve. But... what exactly would be gained? Would the show be better? Would the corps' missions be enhanced? Would the members learn something more? To me, a synthesizer is no different than a rifle-tossing robot. It just happens to be cheaper and more widely available at the moment. To be sure, incredible member achievement can be made using a synthesizer (see Crown 2011), but making synth and other electronics such a large part of the tonal landscape and pre-recorded material in particular seems to be pretty antithetical to the ideals of DCI. Thanks for the considerate response. I can see where you come from and maybe even agree with some of it. weight of something is or can be another issue . I would also ask you to think about. that a little. do corps make these manufactured decisions at this time of year and why. Like Cadets feeling the need to make the changes uniform wise for the guard. How much will it help or hurt? Could be alot either way. We are a very visual medium today and it all carrys alot of weight. I have sat in more meetings than i can to think about over these very things. Crazy sometimes. I do think in the future you will see more and more of the total production and enhancements as if it were a total stage production. You mentioned about rifles tossing by machine. well, lol, actually way back in the 80s a guard did this with flags and it was a hoot and received huge praise from audience as well as judges. It happened winter and summer. effect is effect. I get ya though and you point of view. Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pudding Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Called me old school or whatever but to me the pit and anything from the pit (including electronics) should always be the 'seasoning' on the food....not the food itself. This is the old mentality of "Brass is the cake, battery is the icing, front ensemble is the sprinkles". That's just not how things are done anymore, and it really isn't how things should have been done ever. All sections of the ensemble, electronics or not, contribute to the sound of the corps. To say that the sounds from the front ensemble should serve only to decorate the sound coming from the "real corps" is demeaning to the status of the front ensemble; no wonder the segregation exists, not only in corps but in so many school bands, between the marching members and the front ensemble. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) This is the old mentality of "Brass is the cake, battery is the icing, front ensemble is the sprinkles". That's just not how things are done anymore, and it really isn't how things should have been done ever. All sections of the ensemble, electronics or not, contribute to the sound of the corps. To say that the sounds from the front ensemble should serve only to decorate the sound coming from the "real corps" is demeaning to the status of the front ensemble; no wonder the segregation exists, not only in corps but in so many school bands, between the marching members and the front ensemble. why do we never see Percussion ensembles in symphony orchestras out front ? They have them always positioned in the back. Is this something also that ( your words ) " isn't how things should have been done.. ever " ? Shouldn't stationary Percussion sections become front ensembles for all the world's symphony orchestras by now ? Some of them 300 years old. Whats holding THEM back after centuries of unchanged positioning, do you suppose ? Edited July 27, 2015 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pudding Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 why do we never see Percussion ensembles in symphony orchestras out front ? They have them always positioned in the back. Is this something also that ( your words ) " isn't how things should have been done.. ever " ? Shouldn't stationary Percussion sections become front ensembles for all the world's symphony orchestras by now ? Some of them 300 years old. Whats holding THEM back after centuries of unchanged positioning, do you suppose ? Why are the brass always behind the strings? Why are the cellos always to the right of the violins? That's just how the orchestra is put together. Percussion instruments have no problem cutting through the orchestra's sound, so they go in the back. There's nothing innately good or bad about it, it's just a placement. By that logic, the front ensemble in a drum corps should be the most important section, since they are always in the front. Don't try to twist my words to match your own viewpoint or ask leading questions, instead try to see things from a different perspective than your own. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THeShadeOfNight Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Anyone else hear the Jurassic Park theme playing in the background of this thread? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappybara Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Anyone else hear the Jurassic Park theme playing in the background of this thread? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) try to see things from a different perspective than your own. I do attempt to see things from a different perspective than my own. Sometimes I am persuaded to alter my opinions when provided compelling new information I had not considered before. How about you ? Do you try to see things from a different perspective than your own ? Edited July 27, 2015 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 performance wise the kids dont get enough credit. they have to be spot on with the timing of hitting the button. singing is hit or miss. my big issue is the new trend of samples playing during section features in drum breaks, covering up the section features! oh and goo is still an issue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleran Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 no wonder the segregation exists, not only in corps but in so many school bands, between the marching members and the front ensemble. How many of those corps/bands require their pit to do PT or marching blocks? As long as front ensemble remains stationary, and not participating in half of what makes a marching & music group unique (ie. - THE MARCHING half) ... then there will continue to be segregation, regardless of peoples' feelings regarding the musical importance of the front ensemble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 DCI really needs to nail down Best Buy as a future Corporate Sponsor, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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