JimF-LowBari Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Never got that getting POed being called a band as 99.9999% of times people didn’t know better. So why act like a jerk if someone cared enough to ask. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 3 minutes ago, JimF-LowBari said: Never got that getting POed being called a band as 99.9999% of times people didn’t know better. So why act like a jerk if someone cared enough to ask. BITD, I never hesitated to draw the comparison to newbies when the difference was stark and poignant. But I stopped doing that when the differences disappeared, around a decade ago. It's band. Really good summer band, but it's band. Only one more vote will make drum corps look exactly like HS marching band and college music majors - it's primary recruit pools - and I'm surprised the step hasn't been taken already. And it's so close now that, for practical purposes, any instrument is allowable in drum corps now. And those who poke fun at 21 pages of talk of disdain at A&E will now have four more pages about drum corps vs. band in this same thread to poke fun at, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 On 10/21/2019 at 4:29 PM, Mello Dude said: Save the fact they used instruments that were "unique" to a certain subset of the marching arts. They were still "all brass marching bands". That is all I was commenting on. As to "uniqueness", I don't care about that. I care more about quality in every area...instruments, education and most important, the quality of the experience members have while they participate. None of them have ever been greater than today in the marching arts, IMO anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 5 minutes ago, MikeD said: They were still "all brass marching bands". That is all I was commenting on. As to "uniqueness", I don't care about that. I care more about quality in every area...instruments, education and most important, the quality of the experience members have while they participate. None of them have ever been greater than today in the marching arts, IMO anyway. And truly, from a MM experience perspective, there's little doubt drum corps is a heck of a deal for the experience and could probably charge twice as much and still fill audition halls. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mello Dude Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 (edited) 9 minutes ago, MikeD said: They were still "all brass marching bands". That is all I was commenting on. As to "uniqueness", I don't care about that. I care more about quality in every area...instruments, education and most important, the quality of the experience members have while they participate. None of them have ever been greater than today in the marching arts, IMO anyway. Indeed Drum corps has ALWAYS been a type of marching band/unit. Quality in what way? Certainly not playing, because little if anything is done like this in the real world of music. The amount of progression in a student is based on the instruction today at teh top end is not a lot and possibly is gimping them. Top corps today IMHO HURT players with the mindset the drill into them. I swear if I have one more "breath duh" or "dut" head person tell me it's the only way to come in together I'll barf. It's expensive, almost unattainable for people that could REALLY benefit from everything corps offer. I thought that the interaction(people), hard work and discipline were the #1 thing I got out of corps. Life long friends you spent years marching with and still hang with today. I get the new style, but as for marching and music in the real world...gotta say not really IMHO. Edited October 22, 2019 by Mello Dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 On 10/21/2019 at 6:14 PM, garfield said: Ugghh! You just MAKE me want to correct you! EVERYONE else besides you can believe differently and you're STILL the only one in the room who's right. Right? But... Yes, of course. And it's judged and rewards points and sponsorship and demand from future MM's can determine success or failure. This is not artistic expression like Caravaggio or Bernini. Who's this? A distant cousin twice-removed, maybe, to this guy? (Don't hate me, I couldn't resist.) And thanks for being specific in your use of 'you'. That said, you miss the point. The Michelangelo or Caravaggio "Art" that people see today IS the art in its original form. Sure, each's artistic talent and maturity morphed in their lives, but fans still witness and experience it live, as the art was when it was created. I exaggerate for effect and point - I'm not interested in G-horns and carrying tymps at all. My point is that one can put Mr. Angelo () up against almost any modern artist and his work still holds up to judgement of peers and fans. Not so in drum corps, where all things older than last year are banished as too old to repeat, and increasingly, "down-rewarded" for NOT being avant-guard enough. You can't compare a '75, '85, '95, '05, or even '15 show to this year, "today's design". I've overdone my point. To me, it is perfectly valid to call drum corps a "form of artistic expression". Yes, the performances are "performance art", at least as much as a ballet or Broadway show would be. The performers are interpreting the desires of the designers. True, it is not the same expression as Bernini or others of that form of art, but I don't think the poster claimed that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 11 minutes ago, Mello Dude said: Indeed Drum corps has ALWAYS been a type of marching band/unit. Quality in what way? Certainly not playing, because little if anything is done like this in the real world of music. The amount of progression in a student is based on the instruction today at teh top end is not a lot and possibly is gimping them. Top corps today IMHO HURT players with the mindset the drill into them. I swear if I have one more "breath duh" or "dut" head person tell me it's the only way to come in together I'll barf. It's expensive, almost unattainable for people that could REALLY benefit from everything corps offer. I thought that the interaction(people), hard work and discipline were the #1 thing I got out of corps. Life long friends you spent years marching with and still hang with today. I get the new style, but as for marching and music in the real world...gotta say not really IMHO. I am certainly not comparing the methods of the marching arts to other forms of music. If my desire is to be a top end brass performer in an orchestra or other ensemble, drum corps in and of itself is not the be all and end all. I do not agree that it is a negative, but it is certainly not the main focus of training for those types of players. I am comparing marching arts of today to marching arts of the past. It is not expensive as compared to other summer activities, such as an Interlochen type of experience. The people interactions have been great in every era, for sure. The quality of the total experience provided by corps today is, IMO, unmatched. Drum corps back in the day was a very shoe-string and unregulated activity the further back you go. I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg_orangecounty Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 1 hour ago, GUARDLING said: We I believe are most of us involved in the activity today. WE, as in most bitd , including me felt we were so superior and made fun of the band geeks, learned 1st hand where our bread was buttered starting in the late 80s early 90s. Our own snobbery wasn't helpful, respectful or true by then. If you want to define major league is another thing. It is our branding BUT there are some corps that would not be considered that if we actually put some guidelines or parameters attached to that assessment or branding. There was also another side to this . Many band directors felt Drum Corps ruined serious music students and some forbid their students or tired , who wanted to march drum corps. Im sure there are still some of them today as there are some who still feel superiority within the many facets of our activity somehow actually makes them superior and have the right to look down on this so called other world that actually feeds ours. JMO We never thought, made fun of, or cared about marching bands as they were not on our radar. They were a different species. And the snob card was only used against the Velvet Knights if they started chit with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 1 hour ago, JimF-LowBari said: Never got that getting POed being called a band as 99.9999% of times people didn’t know better. So why act like a jerk if someone cared enough to ask. IMO those 99.9999% were 100% correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg_orangecounty Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 2 minutes ago, MikeD said: The quality of the total experience provided by corps today is, IMO, unmatched. Drum corps back in the day was a very shoe-string and unregulated activity the further back you go. That was not my experience at all. But your comment interests me as I wonder what the touring experience is like for kids today? I.E. do they still sleep on gym floors? iIf the answer is “no” then they DO have it better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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