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Posted

I've always liked timpani and the sort of arrangements they bring. So, with this ever-so-smallest tidbit of their upcoming season, I approve! 

Since ticket sales for my home show (DCI West) open up tomorrow, this marks the beginning of one of my favorite parts of the DCI season - show predictions and speculation! 

Keep those tidbits and rumors coming! 

  • Like 4
Posted
On 1/31/2026 at 8:09 AM, NewArpege said:

Really?  I would have bet on a return to jazz this year….bach is like the furthest thing from that. 

lol Bach was the first jazz cat. Coleman Hawkins and Bill Evan’s are just a couple of many jazz musicians who were inspired by Bach

  • Haha 1
Posted
1 hour ago, Brian Tuma said:

lol Bach was the first jazz cat. Coleman Hawkins and Bill Evan’s are just a couple of many jazz musicians who were inspired by Bach

Aye. I remember this from music theory class.  Bach's use of counterpoint to create polyphony came into jazz strongly.  Them cats knew their stuff.

  • Like 2
Posted
2 hours ago, Brian Tuma said:

lol Bach was the first jazz cat. Coleman Hawkins and Bill Evan’s are just a couple of many jazz musicians who were inspired by Bach

I really lol’d at your sentence “Bach was the first jazz cat.”  I hope BDs show starts with that narration. 🫣🤪

  • Like 2
  • Haha 3
Posted

After scraping BD's website, I found some data and created a spreadsheet. I noticed the following trend for the years:

2008: 0.46753 (vets to hornline ratio), 1 (Brass Caption Rank at Finals), 2 (Finals Overall Placement)
2009: 0.47368, 2, 1
2010: 0.44156, 1, 1
2011: 0.63636, 3, 2
2012: 0.50667, 2, 1
2013: 0.56757, 3, 2
2014: 0.68831, 1, 1
2015: 0.46753, 3, 1
2016: 0.57143, 3, 2
2017: 0.47436, 2, 1
2018: 0.39474, 3, 2
2019: 0.51316, 4, 1

------(COVID)---------
2022: 0.05882, 3, 1
2023: 0.32292, 2, 1
2024: 0.50562, 3, 3
2025: 0.50000, 5, 4
2026 (as of 2/2/26): 0.55435, TBD, TBD

Here is more data I found on BD's hornline sizes over the years:

2008: 24 tpt, 12 mello, 29 euph, 12 tuba (77 total)
2009: 24 tpt, 16 mello, 24 euph, 12 tuba (76 total)
2010: 24 tpt, 17 mello, 24 euph, 12 tuba (77 total)
2011: 24 tpt, 16 mello, 25 euph, 12 tuba (77 total)
2012: 24 tpt, 15 mello, 24 euph, 12 tuba (75 total)
2013: 24 tpt, 15 mello, 22 euph, 13 tuba (74 total)
2014: 24 tpt, 15 mello, 26 euph, 12 tuba (77 total)
2015: 24 tpt, 17 mello, 24 euph, 12 tuba (77 total)
2016: 24 tpt, 17 mello, 24 euph, 12 tuba (77 total)
2017: 25 tpt, 16 mello, 24 euph, 13 tuba (78 total)
2018: 24 tpt, 16 mello, 24 euph, 12 tuba (76 total)
2019: 24 tpt, 16 mello, 24 euph, 12 tuba (76 total)

---(Member limit increased from 154 to 165)---
2022: 27 tpt, 20 mello, 24 euph, 14 tuba (85 total)
2023: 27 tpt, 24 mello, 30 euph, 15 tuba (96 total)
2024: 27 tpt, 21 mello, 27 euph, 14 tuba (89 total)
2025: 26 tpt, 21 mello, 28 euph, 13 tuba (88 total)
2026 (as of 2/2/26): 31 tpt, 19 mello, 27 euph, 15 tuba (92 total)

Anyways, I am a BD superfan and a nerd who likes to keep track of these things. Wondering if anyone finds this data interesting.

  • Thanks 8
  • 4 weeks later...
Posted
On 2/2/2026 at 9:47 PM, truck251 said:

After scraping BD's website, I found some data and created a spreadsheet. I noticed the following trend for the years:

2008: 0.46753 (vets to hornline ratio), 1 (Brass Caption Rank at Finals), 2 (Finals Overall Placement)
2009: 0.47368, 2, 1
2010: 0.44156, 1, 1
2011: 0.63636, 3, 2
2012: 0.50667, 2, 1
2013: 0.56757, 3, 2
2014: 0.68831, 1, 1
2015: 0.46753, 3, 1
2016: 0.57143, 3, 2
2017: 0.47436, 2, 1
2018: 0.39474, 3, 2
2019: 0.51316, 4, 1

------(COVID)---------
2022: 0.05882, 3, 1
2023: 0.32292, 2, 1
2024: 0.50562, 3, 3
2025: 0.50000, 5, 4
2026 (as of 2/2/26): 0.55435, TBD, TBD

Here is more data I found on BD's hornline sizes over the years:

2008: 24 tpt, 12 mello, 29 euph, 12 tuba (77 total)
2009: 24 tpt, 16 mello, 24 euph, 12 tuba (76 total)
2010: 24 tpt, 17 mello, 24 euph, 12 tuba (77 total)
2011: 24 tpt, 16 mello, 25 euph, 12 tuba (77 total)
2012: 24 tpt, 15 mello, 24 euph, 12 tuba (75 total)
2013: 24 tpt, 15 mello, 22 euph, 13 tuba (74 total)
2014: 24 tpt, 15 mello, 26 euph, 12 tuba (77 total)
2015: 24 tpt, 17 mello, 24 euph, 12 tuba (77 total)
2016: 24 tpt, 17 mello, 24 euph, 12 tuba (77 total)
2017: 25 tpt, 16 mello, 24 euph, 13 tuba (78 total)
2018: 24 tpt, 16 mello, 24 euph, 12 tuba (76 total)
2019: 24 tpt, 16 mello, 24 euph, 12 tuba (76 total)

---(Member limit increased from 154 to 165)---
2022: 27 tpt, 20 mello, 24 euph, 14 tuba (85 total)
2023: 27 tpt, 24 mello, 30 euph, 15 tuba (96 total)
2024: 27 tpt, 21 mello, 27 euph, 14 tuba (89 total)
2025: 26 tpt, 21 mello, 28 euph, 13 tuba (88 total)
2026 (as of 2/2/26): 31 tpt, 19 mello, 27 euph, 15 tuba (92 total)

Anyways, I am a BD superfan and a nerd who likes to keep track of these things. Wondering if anyone finds this data interesting.

Listen, I love EVERYTHING Blue Devils :bluedevil:

Yes it's very interesting. Huge brass line this year, brass ratio to color-guards 2025: 88/55, and 2026: 92/41. Color-guard group was big last year, this year it's down to 41 from 55, still pretty standard size for BD. But talk about how the brass line is much bigger with more trumpets.. 

Note: earlier up in January it was noted on the forum that BD have two Timpani's this year. I went on the 2026 members page just now, and noticed that they have been removed. I'm wondering if something changed or will they be placed back on the members page. Maybe direction change, or maybe just temporary removed for now.

Does anyone knows anything ?

  • Thanks 1
Posted
7 hours ago, theonlyfizzle said:

Listen, I love EVERYTHING Blue Devils :bluedevil:

Yes it's very interesting. Huge brass line this year, brass ratio to color-guards 2025: 88/55, and 2026: 92/41. Color-guard group was big last year, this year it's down to 41 from 55, still pretty standard size for BD. But talk about how the brass line is much bigger with more trumpets.. 

Note: earlier up in January it was noted on the forum that BD have two Timpani's this year. I went on the 2026 members page just now, and noticed that they have been removed. I'm wondering if something changed or will they be placed back on the members page. Maybe direction change, or maybe just temporary removed for now.

Does anyone knows anything ?

It seems this is a trend. I’m hearing a few corps going this direction.

  • Thanks 1
Posted
8 hours ago, theonlyfizzle said:

Listen, I love EVERYTHING Blue Devils :bluedevil:

Yes it's very interesting. Huge brass line this year, brass ratio to color-guards 2025: 88/55, and 2026: 92/41. Color-guard group was big last year, this year it's down to 41 from 55, still pretty standard size for BD. But talk about how the brass line is much bigger with more trumpets.. 

Note: earlier up in January it was noted on the forum that BD have two Timpani's this year. I went on the 2026 members page just now, and noticed that they have been removed. I'm wondering if something changed or will they be placed back on the members page. Maybe direction change, or maybe just temporary removed for now.

Does anyone knows anything ?

I’m guessing the lower numbers in the guard so far may be due to WGI, and BD may add more after the WGI season is over?

  • Like 1
Posted
1 hour ago, NewArpege said:

It seems this is a trend. I’m hearing a few corps going this direction.

Oh ok.. It feels like another Interesting year

Posted
37 minutes ago, Quad Aces said:

I’m guessing the lower numbers in the guard so far may be due to WGI, and BD may add more after the WGI season is over?

Could be, but let see. 

Have you seen any of the WGI group or nah ?

 

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