Talent level

[Jeff Ream]

12 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

One of the few times I can back at Jeff for all the short jokes he throws my way. 😆😆😆😆😆

stand eye to eye with me and say that

[Jeff Ream]

2 hours ago, greg_orangecounty said:

Ayala was very good too, but not Chino Hills level good.  Ayala wore complete mesh head and face coverings, which made me wonder how they were able to see or breath.  

I thought high school music programs especially in CA. were at low funding levels.  Someone is shelling out a TON of money.

Forgot to mention my pet peeve; oversized pits.  They were all huge.  One group had 19 vibraphones, marimbas, and xylophones.  🙄

sweet! lots of voices and layering to be heard!

[ironlips]

Re Talent level:

The raw talent was just as high back in the "old" days as it is right now. What's different is the quality of the training. Today's instructors "stood on the shoulders of giants", the old-school drum corps teachers who not only passed on their teacherly skills but encouraged the young bloods to get a formal music education, something few of them had.

It wouldn't be any easier for today's drum corps snare player to cut a 1972 Anaheim book than for that era's Kingsmen kid to play in a current line, but they are equally talented. They simply have been trained for different skills.

I did a Bluecoats camp several years ago and brought along a single valve, slip slide G/D soprano bugle, circa 1963, for demonstration. The kids were fascinated, naturally. Several wanted to play it and I promised that the first one who could figure out the C major scale could keep the horn. These players were all studying privately.

You can guess the result, but I gave the horn to the kid who came closest anyway. "Your next assignment", I said, "is to figure out the chromatic scale. See you next camp."

[IllianaLancerContra]

17 hours ago, ironlips said:

Re Talent level:

The raw talent was just as high back in the "old" days as it is right now. What's different is the quality of the training. Today's instructors "stood on the shoulders of giants", the old-school drum corps teachers who not only passed on their teacherly skills but encouraged the young bloods to get a formal music education, something few of them had.

It wouldn't be any easier for today's drum corps snare player to cut a 1972 Anaheim book than for that era's Kingsmen kid to play in a current line, but they are equally talented. They simply have been trained for different skills.

I did a Bluecoats camp several years ago and brought along a single valve, slip slide G/D soprano bugle, circa 1963, for demonstration. The kids were fascinated, naturally. Several wanted to play it and I promised that the first one who could figure out the C major scale could keep the horn. These players were all studying privately.

You can guess the result, but I gave the horn to the kid who came closest anyway. "Your next assignment", I said, "is to figure out the chromatic scale. See you next camp."

Agree talent level for strongest players in any given Corps BITD & today is same; I think a major difference is the talent level of the weakest players today far exceeds the weakest players in a Corps from 40-50 years ago.

[ironlips]

"talent level of the weakest players today far exceeds the weakest players in a Corps from 40-50 years ago. "

We just have different definitions of "talent", I think. Mine involves potential. I agree that the "weaker" players today have had more training, no question.

[Jurassic Lancer]

1 hour ago, ironlips said:

"talent level of the weakest players today far exceeds the weakest players in a Corps from 40-50 years ago. "

We just have different definitions of "talent", I think. Mine involves potential. I agree that the "weaker" players today have had more training, no question.

Which begs the question: are those who can afford private trumpet lessons the same demographic that can afford drum corps? 

[ironlips]

"Which begs the question: are those who can afford private trumpet lessons the same demographic that can afford drum corps?"

There's no doubt that the demographic served by today's competitive drum corps activity is quite different from that of the '50' -'70s group. All of them are great kids. They just live in a different economic strata, for the most part.

This does not mean that drum corps can not "succeed" at a grass-roots neighborhood level, and serve that community just as well as it did in the past. I hereby volunteer to teach anybody, anywhere who is willing to do this, strictly pro bono. 

[Jurassic Lancer]

24 minutes ago, ironlips said:

"Which begs the question: are those who can afford private trumpet lessons the same demographic that can afford drum corps?"

There's no doubt that the demographic served by today's competitive drum corps activity is quite different from that of the '50' -'70s group. All of them are great kids. They just live in a different economic strata, for the most part.

This does not mean that drum corps can not "succeed" at a grass-roots neighborhood level, and serve that community just as well as it did in the past. I hereby volunteer to teach anybody, anywhere who is willing to do this, strictly pro bono. 

👏👏👏👏 👏 

[Weaklefthand4ever]

11 hours ago, ironlips said:

"talent level of the weakest players today far exceeds the weakest players in a Corps from 40-50 years ago. "

We just have different definitions of "talent", I think. Mine involves potential. I agree that the "weaker" players today have had more training, no question.

Very true. When I marched, I feel that it was at the tail end of the "show up to every rehearsal, work your ### off and keep showing up until they tell you to leave" era. Yes, of course people got cut at camps. Hell, I got cut at a PR camp. But the work ethic seemed to be a much bigger piece to my eyes. Did I have private lessons? Yes...yes I did. Tough, grizzled old former Presidents Own cat. But more than anything, he taught me to make mistakes boldly, learn from them and put in the work. 

Kids now have an advantage. The internet is their instructor. And honestly, they're INSANELY talented. I'm sorry, but to my eyes and ears, they're just better than we were (or at least I was) in the late 80's. Granted I was never fantastic (hence the username,) but rather "just good enough."

In response to original statement, I agree with most here. The rudiments are there, they're just...layered. BD did a nifty little 9 stroke open roll into PDD's (paradiddle-diddle) a number of years back that sounded like some new form of super human hybrid speed roll. Nope...just doing a tight 9 and then going straight into PDD's makes it sound like you just Doc Brown accelerated to 280 BPM is all. 

[Terri Schehr]

28 minutes ago, Weaklefthand4ever said:

Very true. When I marched, I feel that it was at the tail end of the "show up to every rehearsal, work your ### off and keep showing up until they tell you to leave" era. Yes, of course people got cut at camps. Hell, I got cut at a PR camp. But the work ethic seemed to be a much bigger piece to my eyes. Did I have private lessons? Yes...yes I did. Tough, grizzled old former Presidents Own cat. But more than anything, he taught me to make mistakes boldly, learn from them and put in the work. 

Kids now have an advantage. The internet is their instructor. And honestly, they're INSANELY talented. I'm sorry, but to my eyes and ears, they're just better than we were (or at least I was) in the late 80's. Granted I was never fantastic (hence the username,) but rather "just good enough."

In response to original statement, I agree with most here. The rudiments are there, they're just...layered. BD did a nifty little 9 stroke open roll into PDD's (paradiddle-diddle) a number of years back that sounded like some new form of super human hybrid speed roll. Nope...just doing a tight 9 and then going straight into PDD's makes it sound like you just Doc Brown accelerated to 280 BPM is all. 

In the 70’s, we rehearsed for three hours an evening in the summer three or four days a week with weekend shows.  They have a lot more rehearsal time now.  Truth be told, I’d never do drum corps now.  I had an outside life in summer besides drum corps.   We had a week off mid season so I could hang with my normal friends. No way would I devote my entire summer to this.  Sorry, but I just wouldn’t.

We were mostly hobby players who accomplished pretty much considering we had limited rehearsal time and a short trip at the end of the season.

Edited April 2, 2022 by Terri Schehr