Jeff Ream Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 40 minutes ago, seinphan said: IMO, with the exception of SCV, the execution of the battery has declined since all of the body work and scripted, contrived over emoting has become the norm. The kids are performing drum books that have little to do with the actual overall musical package much of the time and with the drum judge now farther away, the attention to detail and focus on rhythmic clarity with even further diminish. I don't want to go back to a time where the drumline mowed the 50, but getting back to a time where the focus was on playing the drum and creating music rather than creating a body move with a funny face while simply playing noise that someone wrote for no musical purpose would be a step in the right direction. I love the fact that the one group who is unapologetically "music first" has been dominating this ridiculous era of acting over drumming. Watching a drumline groove to 8's? EIGHT ON A HAND? Really? Not to mention, most of the parts that are intended to "groove" really don't actually groove. Bridgemen grooved. Hard. The Thurston XMen lines grooved. They grooved hard. I haven't heard a drumline play a phrase that threw down and grooved since SCV RamRod IMO. The current SCV is a clean, musical machine but the music, appropriately so, doesn't groove because the music doesn't call for it. Sure, the kids these days are indeed playing harder and harder books than ever before. Are the executing these books as clean as ever? No, not even close. Are the books they are being asked to perform contributing positively to the overall musical picture? IMO, no. I always ask myself, would Stevie Wonder dig it? Would Stevie Wonder be able to sit and listen to this stuff and be musically intrigued without the dancing around and scripted, contrived facial emoting? I seriously doubt it. odd, i found some sweet grooves in SCV last year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 so the safe zone....2 feet onto the field. you mean where the sidelines is cluttered with props, guard equipment/costume change parts, and in some cases wires....not exactly safe. While I haven't judged percussion from the field in a few years, even then that area commonly referred to as the "sweet spot" was not exactly a safe zone. And it doesn't matter what we say, they'll do what they do. I know there was the issue with the OC corps, and of course Mr. run through whatever he had to to get there, collisions for the most part are few and far between. It just takes a brain, eyes and ears to do it right. And let's be real....if the drum guys hadn't fought, it'd be upstairs where in a dome all you'll hear is brass, amps and rim shots. We'll have to see how the judging community handles it, and wait to see if it leads to a massive #### up in who ends up being a Sanford winner. I bet staff feedback will also reviewed. if finals were outside i'd just shrug and say whatever. But since the DCI model continues to push for indoor venues, there needs to be some level of adjudication on the field. For now, this is what we have to live with, and i guess, secretly pray it crashes and burns on them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 11 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said: even then from field level that's a very slippery slope. No more slippery than the Front Ensemble listening back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skevinp Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 15 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said: We'll have to see how the judging community handles it, and wait to see if it leads to a massive #### up in who ends up being a Sanford winner. I bet staff feedback will also reviewed. How could we know if the Sanford winner is "wrong" when we ourselves are not on the field? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 33 minutes ago, Stu said: No more slippery than the Front Ensemble listening back. correct. but why do they listen back? so the sound UPSTAIRS line up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said: correct. but why do they listen back? so the sound UPSTAIRS line up! So you as a perc judge are on the track in front of the front ensemble; they are phasing with the battery; you avoid adjudicating that aspect because a) it is a slippery slope, and b) that is just an upstairs issue to address. Ok we got it. Edited January 14, 2019 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv4corps Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 (edited) On 1/12/2019 at 7:51 PM, BRASSO said: I can appreciate those fans that still want their judges to be as close to the MM's they are judging as possible, especially in the execution oriented captions. That said, if we watch ( for example) the on field Percussion judges, most of the time, they are seen running, weaving,. dodging, with them looking left, right, behind, to make sure they are not about to be run over by MM's in visual moves all around them. How much REAL concentrated observance of the percussion playing is really be taking place, when that judge's concentration levels to that is certainly being heavily distracted ? Just for the heck of it, watch ( for example ) Jeff Prosperie judging Percussion of any Corps on Youtube. Holy Mackeral. He's seen most of the time, running, weaving, dodging, full speed like a maniac out there. Is he going to be compromised in his observance skills of the Percussion sections if he's put on the sidelines where he can better concentrate on the task he has been assigned ? I don't think so. His observation abilities might actually be better enhanced if anything, imo.. The antics of the field judges can sometimes play like a show within the show... and are quite distracting for sure! As an onlooker, one is constantly on edge, fearing that a crash will occur. I agree, if it is that distracting to watch from the stands, it could only be more so for the judge him/herself. Edited January 14, 2019 by luv4corps 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 43 minutes ago, skevinp said: How could we know if the Sanford winner is "wrong" when we ourselves are not on the field? i am sure the drum community will speak up LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 15 minutes ago, Stu said: So you as a perc judge are on the track in front of the front ensemble; they are phasing with the battery; you avoid adjudicating that aspect because a) it is a slippery slope, and b) that is just an upstairs issue to address. Ok we got it. And the staff would rightfully murder you in critique and protest to the caption head because you're discussing Ensemble issues on your sound file... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 11 minutes ago, Stu said: So you as a perc judge are on the track in front of the front ensemble; they are phasing with the battery; you avoid adjudicating that aspect because a) it is a slippery slope, and b) that is just an upstairs issue to address. Ok we got it. if I am on the track and it sounds like there is an ensemble issue, i am going to very carefully defer the call to upstairs. Sound travels at different speeds. https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=rMPfLctjXbY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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