percussion judges in drill

[garfield]

Challenging the DCI performers to achieve drumming heights beyond their own expectations, subtle musical nuances which add the special flavor much like the ingredient in your favorite food in which you love but cannot quite place, advanced art so fine that only a special few can partake; that is what is kept alive with the percussion field judge in DCI. Move the judging off of the field, especially move the judge up-top, and Death to Smoochy will become a reality. Do not believe? Just look at a top BOA battery book from the 1990’s and compare it to a book written for BOA battery lines today. In the nineties top BOA lines were playing subtle yet complex musical-licks created in DCI such as Cheese-Chutuddas; today, because the BOA judging is up-top, most of the BOA snare lines are merely playing accent patterns, buzzes taps, crescendos, decrescendos, and other concert band oriented musical phrases. Why? Because of BOA initially moving the percussion judge up-top then eliminating the percussion judge all together. And today with DCI being the follower, not the leader, of many other aspects of BOA, an elimination of the DCI percussion field judge would likely follow the same battery-writing path which has occurred in BOA; maybe not to that extreme extent, but the DCI battery-books would likely be dumbed down. Just sayin’.

Not likely, but definitely.

What would be the incentive to push the boundaries?

[garfield]

it's far easier to hear the battery percussion than brass. yet brass judges dont find it necessary to obstruct the performers.

if the battery is playing at a level which is imperceptible from the perimeter / front sideline, then quite frankly they are not making a contribution which matters to the production.

This argument misses the point. The issue is not about hearing the battery; a line playing pp won't be heard from the sidelines let alone the box.

Would you suggest that the battery only play when the book calls for mf volume or louder? Otherwise, they're not making a contribution, right?

The point is especially invalid when one considers the volume level of the amped pit.

[garfield]

nope. it's simple risk vs reward. there's no benefit to a note that can't be heard from the edge/front. there IS benefit to keeping an idiot from running around in the middle of drill he doesn't know well enough to be safe.

there's nothing special about percussion vs. brass. and the brass guys manage to sample safely.

This type of argument is made by people who think that drum corps only exists for the fans.

[garfield]

If one has to be on the field to know how good it is, then how can you, yourself, know that it's exceptional?

Read the drum book and compare it to the field judge scores. Pretty simple.

The field judge does it in real time. I have to read it after (or see as much as I can from the stands) then see how it's rewarded by a qualified field judge like Prosperie or Kennedy (among others).

[skevinp]

Read the drum book and compare it to the field judge scores. Pretty simple.

The field judge does it in real time. I have to read it after (or see as much as I can from the stands) then see how it's rewarded by a qualified field judge like Prosperie or Kennedy (among others).

So you can do it from the stands, but a qualified judge can't? I don't understand.

[garfield]

It depends on what you mean by "exceptional percussion musician". IMO sometimes in the quest for rhythmic precision, we lose musicianship. When was the last time a corps actually used true rubato on the field? Also, I believe this quest also eliminates particular types of music. By our judging standards the Basie band would get killed in execution, but yet there was no band that swung harder. And what about aleatoric music? Don't get me wrong, I love the performer's technical abilities. Some of the technical passages being performed on the field is truly amazing. But the older I get, the more I realize sometimes it becomes a crutch to hide a lack of musical understanding.

Is there a "true" rubato? Regardless, I contend that rubato writing definitely is used in arranging. Delayed 5's and 7's have become somewhat commonplace and, while I grant that most battery techs may not instruct the definition of rubato, they certainly teach the idea of untying from the met and letting it flow. The real mastery comes from when you can get a whole line to be so in-tune with each other that they can play rubato together. I did this in high school with two other snare players and, as a player, the feeling is electric.

And while I'm certainly anxious to hear aleatoric percussion on the field, it makes sense and can be used in so few circumstances of a common 11 minute drum corps show that I think its teaching is best left to the class room or conservatory. At it's roots, drum corps is a timing exercise where aleatoric writing is hard to justify.

Edited July 25, 2016 by garfield

[garfield]

So you can do it from the stands, but a qualified judge can't? I don't understand.

No, even as a percussionist I can't do it from the stands. That's the point. I have to read the score then compare to how the field judge is rewarding it. The field judge does it in real time and sees/hears it up close where attacks, timing, and musicality can be judged accurately. That judging quality is lost on the sidelines let alone in the box.

[Jeff Ream]

which is why i said front sideline /perimeter

I'd almost be ok with that because when I judges on the field you could get some great ensemble cohesion from the sweet spot behind the pit.

But then bands weren't corps loud or again, in a dome

[Jeff Ream]

it just illustrates the point a little more dramatically. with perc judges in the box until halfway though the season, the never get enough reads to "learn" the drill.

just not worth the risk.

Actually they should have been watching and making notes.

[Jeff Ream]

So you can do it from the stands, but a qualified judge can't? I don't understand.

From the stands you do it on what you hear, which at times may not be much