BOA Bans Ensemble Amplification. Is DCI next?

[jjeffeory]

43 minutes ago, ZTWright said:

I just want to know, from anyone, the last time they saw a marching band and/or drum corps not march Trumpets because they can be replaced in the pit. Anyone? Because in my career as an educator I've yet to see it happen. The worst I've seen/heard is one of three things:

1. Thunderous Goo coming from the synth trying to make up for a lack of bass/Tuba. Which in the case of small bands without a Tuba, this is understandably done to add depth to their sound. Anyone who disagrees obviously hasn't worked with a band who has 9 winds.

2. A sound patch was used during a solo. This could have been because the kid was sick. I don't know. I've only ever seen this happen once and it was quite noticeable as the kid wasn't even moving their fingers. Clearly the staff didn't prepare the kid for that performance, and likewise shouldn't have even happened, just continue without the solo. Hold up a sign that says "Kid got braces" or something. Not that I as an educator condone that, but I would much rather that be done than a recording of the solo be played while the student stands in front of the mic like they're playing said solo.

3. The entire band is mic'd. The current Class A champion in BOA is a prime example of this. Each instrument had a mic attached. I seen this first hand, up close. They wouldn't have produced nearly half the sound that they did without those mics. There is no way that 20 winds are going to produce the amount of sound that Bourbon County is with almost 100 winds. 

Technology is and will continue to push the activity. Banning technology will restrict the artistic expression and will eventually kill the activity, but it won't replace Trumpets on the field. I promise.

I've seen small bands use a synth to bolster the entire ensemble's sound. So, bass, low, mid voices, and some high voices. I wouldn't call the sounds trumpet, tuba, trombone, or whatever though...

For marching band, I'm more forgiving. Those are scholastic programs. Membership is limited to whomever lives in an area.

With drumcorps, THAT started off being more restrictive in instrumentation, and part of the charm is keeping the instrumentation different than other types of marching ensembles...

[MGCpimpOtimp]

29 minutes ago, Lance said:

i never said or implied that there would be no trumpets in dci.  

tuba sections have already been reduced over the past decade because they've been replaced by the very thunderous goo you mentioned and converted to guard/pit spots. 

sheets are objectively visual heavy so i see reducing acoustic sound production, replacing it with amping smaller sections, and converting those spots to visual/percussion continuing, especially with the anything goes mindset.  talk to me in 5 years.  i'll be happy to be wrong.

pretty sure i'm not.  

People said the same thing in 2009 when synths passed, the same thing when all brass passed, and yet Hornlines today are bigger than ever...

[jjeffeory]

1 minute ago, MGCpimpOtimp said:

People said the same thing in 2009 when synths passed, the same thing when all brass passed, and yet Hornlines today are bigger than ever...

Tuba lines are smaller than ever and the pit is doubled in size.

The hornlines have all just tended to get to 80 or so instead of 72, but there hasn't really been much growth in hornline size. It's mostly guard and pit that are bigger than ever.

[Lance]

14 minutes ago, MGCpimpOtimp said:

People said the same thing in 2009 when synths passed, the same thing when all brass passed, and yet Hornlines today are bigger than ever...

that can happen when corps size limits are increased twice.  i don't think that's been a good thing, either, but the antecedents of that conversation go beyond this.  

tuba lines are smaller because they've been replaced by thunderous goo.  

and plenty of corps have already strategically placed small groups of trumpets/mellos/whatever right in front of the mics in the front of the field so they can sound fortisssisisisisisisisisisisisisisisismo while the rest of the section runs to move equipment or scatter wherever.  and i'm not just talking about micing soloist/small ensemble features.  everything i'm talking about is already happening incrementally.  

obviously i don't like these aspects of current dci i'm talking about, and i'm pretty confident in my assessment that DCI will soon be little more than WGI with a group of horns about the same size as a battery section all mic'd up.  more opportunities to maximize the visual-heavy sheets and certainly more cost-effective which is really the main driver of these changes, imo. 

i know there are plenty of peeps to replace me as a fan when/if it ever becomes too WGI-ified for my taste.  i don't take it personally lol.  

[Lance]

also, does this mean i've officially become a dino?  is there a special handshake i need to learn?

 

[denverjohn]

2 hours ago, gbass598 said:

Then let's run on rechargeable batteries. 😏

Enslaved Chinese Uighurs digging for cobalt and lithium will get right on those batteries.

[cixelsyd]

1 hour ago, ZTWright said:

I just want to know, from anyone, the last time they saw a marching band and/or drum corps not march Trumpets because they can be replaced in the pit. Anyone?

I have seen marching bands go without trumpets (or name any other section), and mimic or replace their sounds via pit-based electronics.  But I did not interview every such band to ascertain their motivation/reasoning for doing so.

Quote

Because in my career as an educator I've yet to see it happen.

Good for you.  I guess your career has permitted you to focus on your own successful ensembles, and not notice what is going on around us.

Quote

Technology is and will continue to push the activity. Banning technology will restrict the artistic expression and will eventually kill the activity, but it won't replace Trumpets on the field. I promise.

If this was "Technology of America", then fine.  But I could have sworn they called it "Bands of America".

[TheOneWhoKnows]

2 hours ago, ZTWright said:

Technology is and will continue to push the activity. Banning technology will restrict the artistic expression and will eventually kill the activity, but it won't replace Trumpets on the field. I promise.

I'm not suggesting banning technology. I'm suggesting the banning of recorded sounds, electronic sounds that replace otherwise playable acoustic instruments. 

You can say you promise it won't replace trumpets all you want. Until someone goes and does it. It's already being done in bands across the country. Just because it hasn't made the main stage yet doesn't mean it won't. And it will. There will come a day someone goes for it and tries it. And I believe that to be a disservice to the activity. 

[Terri Schehr]

1 hour ago, Lance said:

also, does this mean i've officially become a dino?  is there a special handshake i need to learn?

 

No, just a silly walk.

[KVG_DC]

22 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said:

No, just a silly walk.

Which one?