Tradition or Competition

[jimthetuba]

With all the changes in uniforms, and design I'm curious how y'all feel about the idea a corps may have to shed some of its traditional roots in order to find greater success on the score sheet. 

[oldbandguy]

I like it when your tradition is COMPETITVE SUCCESS!

[GUARDLING]

4 minutes ago, jimthetuba said:

With all the changes in uniforms, and design I'm curious how y'all feel about the idea a corps may have to shed some of its traditional roots in order to find greater success on the score sheet. 

That all depends what you want to call traditional.It also depends who you may be talking about. Talking in general I dont think answers the question due to the fact that corps control more directions than one thinks.

So is it where corps want to go?, some want to go? It certainly cant be none want to go.

[BoaDci]

Why do you think Im a Blue Devils fan? (joking)

[ShortAndFast]

It doesn't work in DCI to ignore the competition. Groups that fall in placement lose income and have a harder time recruiting which causes them to fall in placement ...

If the current game is props, spandex and trombones, you'd better have props, spandex and trombones. We can wish it were otherwise - that DCI adjudication allowed groups with a wide variety of styles and aesthetics to succeed competitively as long as they achieved excellence - but I don't think that's ever been the reality in this activity.

[Liahona]

2 minutes ago, ShortAndFast said:

It doesn't work in DCI to ignore the competition. Groups that fall in placement lose income and have a harder time recruiting which causes them to fall in placement ...

If the current game is props, spandex and trombones, you'd better have props, spandex and trombones. We can wish it were otherwise - that DCI adjudication allowed groups with a wide variety of styles and aesthetics to succeed competitively as long as they achieved excellence - but I don't think that's ever been the reality in this activity.

very insightful post

+1

[jwillis35]

I totally understand the need for both. We all love some tradition. And some is a good thing. When a drum corps creates an identity that works for them they should stay with it for a while.  Sometimes too much tradition makes it hard to evolve, move forward, come up with new ideas.  My H.S. band is like that. They can't get out of their own way because of tradition.  Spirit of Atlanta ran into that years ago.  How many southern Dixie songs can you do before it's time to put it to bed and move on? The Troopers have also run into this. It's a difficult thing to overcome. Phantom Regiment is presently struggling to find a new voice and show style while not completely leaving their tradition of classical music. 

On the other hand, a little tradition and a fresh take on things can be achieved.  We have seen this in DCI in recent years, but in an odd way.  

• If you had not seen drum corps for 25 years and we took you to a Crown rehearsal last year (without telling you who it was) you would have seen the show, the stage coach, and heard the music and thought Troopers. 
• If we took you to a Bluecoats rehearsal last year without telling you who they were you might have though Madison Scouts with a super modern visual program
• If we took you to a Carolina Crown rehearsal in 2015 you might have thought they were the Phantom Regiment. That's the kind of music, arranging style, and sound we have long come to know Phantom by. 

All of these corps have traditions, and many of them are not show related. But when it comes to show style and sound, I think the activity and the corps do better when they keep an eye out for better and newer ways to stage their productions. For a long time corps like The Cadets, Blue Devils, and Cavaliers were able to hold onto a style of performance and modify it slightly over the decades. They found what works for them a long time ago and that obviously led to lots of Championships and top 3 finishes.  But we've seen 2 of those corps have to rethink their style.  Right around 2008 the Blue Devils began to redefine their visual and musical style and it has brought them into a new kind of performance style.  They still retain their swagger, but their uniform changes slightly each year, and the type of music and visual style of performance has become more open-ended. 

 

Edited June 24, 2017 by jwillis35

[emc2]

3 minutes ago, jwillis35 said:

I totally understand the need for both. We all love some tradition. And some is a good thing. When a drum corps creates an identity that works for them they should stay with it for a while.  Sometimes too much tradition makes it hard to evolve, move forward, come up with new ideas.  My H.S. band is like that. They can't get out of their own way because of tradition.  Spirit of Atlanta ran into that years ago.  How many southern Dixie songs can you do before it's time to put it to bed and move on? The Troopers have also run into this. It's a difficult thing to overcome. Phantom Regiment is presently struggling to find a new voice and show style while not completely leaving their tradition of classical music. 

On the other hand, a little tradition and a fresh take on things can be achieved.  We have seen this in DCI in recent years, but in an odd way.  

• If you had not seen drum corps for 25 years and we took you to a Crown rehearsal last year (without telling you who it was) you would have seen the show, the stage coach, and heard the music and thought Troopers. 
• If we took you to a Bluecoats rehearsal last year without telling you who they were you might have though Madison Scouts with a super modern visual program
• If we took you to a Carolina Crown rehearsal in 2015 you might have thought they were the Phantom Regiment. That's the kind of music, arranging style, and sound we have long come to know Phantom by. 

All of these corps have traditions, and many of them are not show related. But when it comes to show style and sound, I think the activity and the corps do better when they keep an eye out for better and newer ways to stage their productions. For a long time corps like The Cadets, Blue Devils, and Cavaliers were able to hold onto a style of performance and modify it slightly over the decades. They found what works for them a long time ago and that obviously led to lots of Championships and top 3 finishes.  But we've seen 2 of those corps have to rethink their style.  Right around 2008 the Blue Devils began to redefine their visual and musical style and it has brought them into a new kind of performance style.  They still retain their swagger, but their uniform changes slightly each year, and the type of music and visual style of performance has become more open-ended. 

 

The  same as the past 20 years

[Tim K]

Whether tradition works depends on the corps and how it is used. Corps have grabbed items out of their tradition bag of tricks and it has worked well. Other corps have done the same thing and it has been lackluster at best.

Over the years I have known people who marched with many finalist corps: 27th Lancers, Boston Crusaders, North Star, Blue Stars, Madison Scouts, Sky Ryder's, and Bridgemen to name a few. Many marched with these corps when the tradition we associate with them was established. I knew many when they marched. They loved being competitive. This is not to downplay tradition, but competition is a huge part of drum corps.

[BlueStainGlass]