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Time to Say Goodbye, after 15 years


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2 hours ago, garfield said:

You also forgot opening up the idiom to another 60% of music kids, and their parents.

Imagine the ability to start a new corps if your instrumentation looks nearly identical to the HS and college bands most of them came from.  Is it easier to birth and grow new corps with common instrumentation?  Notwithstanding all of the other challenges of starting and running a corps into sustainability and competitiveness, at least the new corps won't have to retrain it's MM's.

So, a very real question is how the varying voices of instrumentation will be judged.

 

Hey I remember that easier to start a new corps refrain before. It was when DCI went to all key and one reason was easier to start new corps as members could bring their own instruments. Would keep costs down for new corps and one reason why all key didn’t bother me that much.

Problem was it didn’t work out that way and never did get a read why. Moral is don’t expect too much from the changes

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42 minutes ago, deftguy said:

You are making an assumption that economics is driving Ray's decision to leave. Yes he recorded the Blue Knights years ago, but he has more recordings that go beyond Drum Corps that are excellent and have sold. Releasing a recording on the SACD format is not going to make you wealthy, so you better love what you record more as much as the money you make from it.  As a sound engineer and mixer, I record stuff because I love the sound of the instruments, the music, and the talent behind them both. Half the stuff I have recorded was not for sale, and the other half would barely make a profit. No need to go into his motivation because he already stated what his motivation was for leaving....it is clear. I understand his motivation for leaving, and cannot fault Ray one bit for it. I also cannot fault anyone who continues to enjoy what they are seeing on the field. 

Everyone has a line in the sand for what they will support, and that line is different for different people. We need to respect lines, not criticize them - we are not all the same, or have the same taste. For some it was amplification of the pit. To others it was the added sound effects, live voice, or the run from set to set and bark. I hated the addition of live solo voices and the lack of drill, but that has not chased me away. Woodwinds would absolutely be my line. 

And yet that’s not what I said. 

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2 hours ago, garfield said:

You also forgot opening up the idiom to another 60% of music kids, and their parents.

Imagine the ability to start a new corps if your instrumentation looks nearly identical to the HS and college bands most of them came from.  Is it easier to birth and grow new corps with common instrumentation?  Notwithstanding all of the other challenges of starting and running a corps into sustainability and competitiveness, at least the new corps won't have to retrain it's MM's.

So, a very real question is how the varying voices of instrumentation will be judged.

 

The real question is how many people will like, and how many won’t like the sound of woodwinds in drum corps. Or will it be called band corps? 

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2 hours ago, garfield said:

You also forgot opening up the idiom to another 60% of music kids, and their parents.

Imagine the ability to start a new corps if your instrumentation looks nearly identical to the HS and college bands most of them came from.  Is it easier to birth and grow new corps with common instrumentation?  Notwithstanding all of the other challenges of starting and running a corps into sustainability and competitiveness, at least the new corps won't have to retrain it's MM's.

So, a very real question is how the varying voices of instrumentation will be judged.

 

IMO judging not really an issue. Competitive HS marching bands have been judged for decades with all sorts of varying instrumentation. You judge what is presented, instrumentation-wise. 

 

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3 hours ago, MikeD said:

That is what the parents of brass, percussion and guard do now. What is the issue adding WW? 

Plus, kids already ask their parents for double that much for other summer music activities, that can also be done at their HS or college.

Guard is far from free in many HSs too

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25 minutes ago, MikeD said:

IMO judging not really an issue. Competitive HS marching bands have been judged for decades with all sorts of varying instrumentation. You judge what is presented, instrumentation-wise. 

 

and who are many if not most of the judges in the band world.....Drum Corps people

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1 hour ago, GUARDLING said:

Guard is far from free in many HSs too

But closer to the free side than $5k / season. There aren't many competitive bands around me, but the school system implemented a policy where students couldn't be charged more than $50 for an activity. I guess that's more fair to students where money is really tight, but it killed the few competition bands that were around. So in the end, I'm not sure it was really as fair as intended.

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I think it is highly unlikely to have a WW section in the corps proper. I can see the day that a solo WW or two are used as featured solos or as a small group from the pit.

If that’s the case, would many of the legacy fans bolt for the door? How would they react if a Benny Goodman type clarinet solo opened Rhapsody in Blue? Would that be the end of drum corps for you? 

Edited by Jurassic Lancer
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