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Field judges restricted to front sideline in 2019


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13 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

I just want music to be a 50/50 partner 

With the on field numbers around 76 brass to 18 battery and the brass and guard are the bulk of mm in the drill visuals, I feel your percentages are off.

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3 hours ago, Stu said:

Encouragement to execute flams poorly because now they will not be adjudicated. Now that is rich!

I never said they wouldn't be adjudicated. How about we just start considering the entire sheet more holistically instead of just chastising the 2nd snare on the right because his grace not was 1/2" too high? I think the term on the judges sheet is something close to "rhythmic clarity". You can still judge rhythmic clarity from the front of the field without having your nose buried in the snare line while you probably miss something the tenors are doing 15 yards away.

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54 minutes ago, chasgroh said:

look at my drill from the side...because that, folks, is where the bodies are buried.

Yep. Staff at the Bucs know this and do it constantly. last year, that was definitely where their bodies and pirate loot were buried in spades.

For scholastic purposes... it's still reasonably safe. Movement isn't as insane, most bands in the NE have 30-60 musicians and in the Class A scene, the drill is very careful and conservative and predictable.The better people on visual scout the fringes and do it very well. Musically is a whole 'nother boat, especially with larger front ensembles beginning to appear. How does one hear? Easy answer... you have to place one's self so the Front Ensemble is behind you and you're in that center stage sweet spot where the cats like you like to "Fill the field with color". :innocent: One has to watch for the 20 guard members jazz running in from both sides... One can't get a good listen from the track from say the 40-45 to the 40-45 unless one's reading the FE. Working the fringes doesn't really get you a good listen and enable one to sample everyone musically unless it's a pretty honkin' large band. 

Knowing all of this, here's something to also mull over:

Lots of complaints from school admins... football audiences...(You can read both as massive idiots, I'm all right with that) that what we do is boring and too esoteric. Is it an attempt by these circuits in part to make shows simpler, more watchable, and (GASP) entertaining? It could also be an attempt to save money by making the panel smaller. Sometimes, the answer is to follow the money.

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11 minutes ago, gbass598 said:

I never said they wouldn't be adjudicated. How about we just start considering the entire sheet more holistically instead of just chastising the 2nd snare on the right because his grace not was 1/2" too high? I think the term on the judges sheet is something close to "rhythmic clarity". You can still judge rhythmic clarity from the front of the field without having your nose buried in the snare line while you probably miss something the tenors are doing 15 yards away.

AMEN. PREACH ON BRUDDA.

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10 hours ago, BigW said:

Perhaps. But given the velocities, field coverages.... at the WC level it's become too risky for both performer and adjudicator. Surprised we haven't had the equivalent of the Talladega "Big One" at a show yet. I know the kids do watch out, the judges watch out...but I have a hunch everyone's been too lucky for too long. Yeah, some of the Drill mavens are likely peeved someone on-field detracts from their fantastic design and wanted that dealt with, but I think it's just genuinely been too hot down there for too long at the WC level.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I meant: demand for velocity and other visual aspects made it too dangerous for judges to get close to the battery. A visual requirement thus undercuts what was thought of as musical requirement. Well, we'll see how it plays out.

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Good. Field judges are a visual distraction, a danger to themselves and others, and are unavoidably going to miss aspects of the performance that they really ought to be paying attention to. If you can't tell the difference in execution from the sideline, you can't tell the difference from the stands, and what it sounds like in the stands is what actually matters.

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1 hour ago, gbass598 said:

I never said they wouldn't be adjudicated. How about we just start considering the entire sheet more holistically instead of just chastising the 2nd snare on the right because his grace not was 1/2" too high? I think the term on the judges sheet is something close to "rhythmic clarity". You can still judge rhythmic clarity from the front of the field without having your nose buried in the snare line while you probably miss something the tenors are doing 15 yards away.

Again, you are advocating it is fine to play technique inaccurately provided the adjudicator cannot pick it up due to being a long distance away. But I am advocating that in most cases it is the subtle differences in hand performance of note complexity that seperates battery lines at the top WC DCI level. And as for 'holistic rhythmic clarity', that is exactly what is being adjudicated in BOA from a great distance. It matters not if the judge is a percussionist or a brass specialist; holistic rhythmic clarity is holistic rhythmic clarity. Thus the battery writing there now consists of mostly accent-tap rhythms. Take away the motivation of the line performing challenging and complex notes in their hands for a perc judge accuratly and the result ends up being, at best,  some interesting holistic polyrhythm/hemiola permutation writing with more and more complex tai-chi visual motion added in.

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3 hours ago, George Dixon said:

maybe it's just me but I will be delighted to not be distracted by watching/worrying about the field judges this coming summer (and beyond on media)

If you’re letting a field judge distract you, you aren’t watching right 

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2 hours ago, George Dixon said:

don't be silly 

I know dreaming music gets treated the same as visual is a pipe dream

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2 hours ago, Ghost said:

With the on field numbers around 76 brass to 18 battery and the brass and guard are the bulk of mm in the drill visuals, I feel your percentages are off.

Not when you listen to commentary on the recordings. Music judges spend a huge percentage of time referencing things tied to visual responsibilities. Yet on visual tapes musical demands are rarely if ever mentioned. Commentary is at least 60/40 visual when totalled up

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