DCP NewsFeed Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Laynie Metskar DRUM MAJOR Laynie Metsker is from Milford, Ohio, and is a sophomore at the University of Colorado Boulder studying Music Education and Bassoon Performance. At CU, she holds leadership positions in the Golden Buffalo Marching Band and the collegiate chapter of National Association for Music Educators. Read the rest of the article here.View the full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ContraFart Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Maybe I am old. However this many drum majors is probably the only thing I do not understand about modern drum corps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOC Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, ContraFart said: Maybe I am old. However this many drum majors is probably the only thing I do not understand about modern drum corps. It seems to me, that the high majority of a corps show does not need to be conducted. Only one DM is needed to begin/continue the show. It still drives me batty when DM's are conducting no one. The newer DM's are probably used in leadership rolls during rehearsals as they learn how to be a DCI DM. They have to come out of camps/ST knowing how to wave their arms. At about the 10 minute mark of this great performance, if I had the talent, I'd leave the conductor's stand and sit in a pre-positioned chair and enjoy the musicians. Their eyes are glued to their music stands. Edited January 5, 2023 by TOC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkbass98 Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Given that 2 of the 5 named are listed as Conductors while the first 3 are listed as Drum Majors leads me to believe that maybe they’re MM that will be relied on to conduct at specific spots in the show? Similar to the old school MM backfield conductor when needed BITD. Or…I guess it could mean that, given the lesser experience of the 2 Conductors on their bios, they’ll be asked to conduct as a DM would but not necessarily have the administrative duties a normal DM would? Sort of like a DM understudy. Either way you slice it…yeah, that’s a lotta DMs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fighterkit Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 As someone who was dm for a corps recently It’s not like the old days where you could just have one guy conducting. With all the visual responsibilities as well as props and whatever. Having three is crucial. There’s gotta be back ups if you can’t see the head and when facing backfield you need someone there too. I did my last season with just two DM’s and 3 rehearsal assistants (which was a lot but it ensured all the major captions could have a met running all the time) Running just two on the front sideline was extremely challenging, especially in terms of backfield playing but you learn to get used to it. Halfway through the season the other DM got hurt and that threw another wrench into that whole DM game, and made my job a lot harder as the only DM and as such I’d never wish less than three people on a team It was a lot more common to have 2/3 dms where one of them would run met, but nowadays a lot of corps are contracting 4+ dms/conductors and having two run met permanently other than shows so the main dms can be on the podium and conduct the show. Typically yes, conductors are understudies and there to learn the role and run met and will transition into the full role in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSnareDrummer Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 9 minutes ago, fighterkit said: Typically yes, conductors are understudies and there to learn the role and run met and will transition into the full role in the future. Pardon my dinosaurusness. Met? Is that as in metronome? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fighterkit Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 7 minutes ago, OldSnareDrummer said: Pardon my dinosaurusness. Met? Is that as in metronome? Yea. Most corps run DB-90’s for the met and it typically makes staff’s life easier if someone runs it for them 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevingamin Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 On 1/12/2023 at 1:34 PM, fighterkit said: Yea. Most corps run DB-90’s for the met and it typically makes staff’s life easier if someone runs it for them Bloo Alumni used Tonal Energy on an iPhone. I was amazed at how programmable it is, and that's on top of the tuning functionality which I originally bought it for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fighterkit Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 2 hours ago, kevingamin said: Bloo Alumni used Tonal Energy on an iPhone. I was amazed at how programmable it is, and that's on top of the tuning functionality which I originally bought it for myself. We used it occasionally as well. It's great, but it just simply isn't loud enough for drum corps needs IMO. It gets drowned out pretty easily and we only ended up using it exclusively for chunks with tempo changes. I really want the next DB to have that functionality as well because it would be amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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