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Field judges restricted to front sideline in 2019


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4 hours ago, GUARDLING said:

I think you overstate exactly what I have said many times in the past BUT moving forward. I do remember when guard judges were moved a distance and even the argument as to why then are we still doing difficult things that are not seen from a distance.  I didn't change that factor at all. 

AS far as percussion all I can say is several years back when I was involved with drummers, ( WGI )the last thing they wanted was all the window dressing that was starting to be presented in their activity. It was a fight all the way. THAT has changed drastically now with today's members( like you say ) ( at least in my experience ) but has not changed the level in which they are taught and play. I have had to deal with...and I mean deal with..lol. Drum staff that insists on high quality and challenging their members and has presented 2 gold medals and multiple WC finals, so I also have learned ( as I always knew ) balance is the formula.

and now visual calls the show there too

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14 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

and now visual calls the show there too

I think part of that is like brass, everyone plays exceptionally well, spreads are tighter and atom-splitting as a result. The quality of musicianship in this era, ridiculously good. Groups characterized as "bad" now would destroy a lot of groups from maybe as few as 10-15 years ago. A good or bad visual package...  the visual panel will leap in and separate over it easily.

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3 hours ago, BigW said:

I think part of that is like brass, everyone plays exceptionally well, spreads are tighter and atom-splitting as a result. The quality of musicianship in this era, ridiculously good. Groups characterized as "bad" now would destroy a lot of groups from maybe as few as 10-15 years ago. A good or bad visual package...  the visual panel will leap in and separate over it easily.

Since you brought in brass as your example....

While the quality difference today may manifest itself in the WC lower placing corps level, I disagree with your assesment. Brass instruments have changed (G v Bb) and arranging style has changed (melodic phrasing v underscoring visual). But to say the musical skill sets of the youth today are better in the top 12 is an insult to performers like Al Chez, Christopher Martin, the brass players from Star or BD or Scouts.... It is like saying that the brass performers in Tower of Power today are way better than the performers were 20 years ago. It is just not true.

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6 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

totally different environment when you're in a far smaller venue without 70 brass added to the equation.

You’re right! Harder to hear clearly based on each facilty being indoors.  Since I’ve taught and/or designed in PIW and PSW for 10+ years, what you hear on the floor 5 feet away from a battery sounds much different in a gym halfway up the bleachers. There’s echo and different environmental factors of each room.  So if we REALLY care about understanding how clean they’re playing, then the only option should be to put judges on the floor! 

Edited by rmurrey74
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6 hours ago, Stu said:

Since you brought in brass as your example....

While the quality difference today may manifest itself in the WC lower placing corps level, I disagree with your assesment. Brass instruments have changed (G v Bb) and arranging style has changed (melodic phrasing v underscoring visual). But to say the musical skill sets of the youth today are better in the top 12 is an insult to performers like Al Chez, Christopher Martin, the brass players from Star or BD or Scouts.... It is like saying that the brass performers in Tower of Power today are way better than the performers were 20 years ago. It is just not true.

While of course there were the star players of any era who would be just as good today, I agree with the poster that top-to-bottom, from leads to 3rds, the quality of musicianship today is just amazing. You have HS lead trumpet players not even making a horn line today with the audition process that is in place.

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11 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

and now visual calls the show there too

And the drum people I have worked with who happen to be some of the best in the country have never said or felt they were sacrificing quality or not challenging their students musically. At least I never heard it, and I think very much like guard people I'm very sure I would have heard it over the years...lol In my experience they ( drum staff ) have always been very vocal on what they wanted and how they wanted it presented. Maybe it's just the staffs I have been lucky to have been a part of.

 OR, Maybe they didn't want me to hear..lol

OK I'll stay out of the drum threads now...😁DUDE!...LOL

Edited by GUARDLING
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1 hour ago, MikeD said:

While of course there were the star players of any era who would be just as good today, I agree with the poster that top-to-bottom, from leads to 3rds, the quality of musicianship today is just amazing. You have HS lead trumpet players not even making a horn line today with the audition process that is in place.

But..... Back then there were hundreds of corps and the dues were small. Now very few corps and the dues are high. Onl, again only those really serious are auditioning today. That is a huge difference.

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19 minutes ago, GUARDLING said:

I think our audition was " Breathing " back then..lol

Well if you were a horn player you stuck your face at the right end of the horn.... (no face plants into the bell)... But if in reference to BigWs post he said 10-15 years back 

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