some old corps photos

[SBrancheau]

I completely get what both you and Nancy are saying about the differences in style, especially for the guards. I think it's important to add that there were other, more fluid styles, as well (I thought of those as the West Coast style, and then there were equally distinctive Midwest and East Coast styles), and while those tended not to be recognized as a "trained" style, they were every bit as trained as variations on the more military style. And in my experience, the more fluid style was harder to pull off. I can't really explain why. I think it's because "snap" is a more naturally intuitive response, and it's all self-contained as one sharply defined movement, whereas the more fluid style has multiple gradients of movement that make it more complex.

I agree with this completely. When you are teaching a fluid move, there has to be some "reference points" so that it's more uniform. For example, moving the silk from left to right in 4 counts, it's easiest to clean when you say, "1 is at the left 45 angle, 2 is straight in front of you, 3 is at the right 45 angle, 4 is back at right shoulder arms". Well, there's more subjective opinion about the speed and angle of those counts!

It is interesting that there was a "style"...East, West, Midwest. From the Midwest, I did push spins (and I actually prefer them for fluidity than drop spins) in high school and BOTH in college. With drop spins, one has to be careful not to "flap" the elbows.

[byline]

With drop spins, one has to be careful not to "flap" the elbows.

Yup. I constantly had to remind my guards to relax their elbows (and also keep the flagpole only one inch off the ground). Easier said than done! Once we cleared that technical hurdle, I found drop spins much easier to clean because of the "drop" position at the midpoint.

[pearlsnaredrummer77]

I helped build their double tenors, actually! when I was deciding between Garfield and BS, I spent a lot of time at BS rehearsals. Boby Thompson put me to work (a pretty neat way to get me involved!). We took old single tenors, stripped them down to the bare wood, and rebuilt them, inc gluing on that GREAT tiger striping, my favorite drums in that era. I ended up in Garfield, as I had more friends already there, but it was close!

How did you guys wear them-without a harness? (a little before my time)

[HornsUp]

How did you guys wear them-without a harness?

VERY carefully.

Edited October 13, 2010 by HornsUp

[MikeD]

How did you guys wear them-without a harness? (a little before my time)

Snare web slings. We wore three, one over the left shoulder and one the right. The third went around our back to keep the drums from bouncing around.

[drumno5]

Snare web slings. We wore three, one over the left shoulder and one the right. The third went around our back to keep the drums from bouncing around.

Of course, they bounced around anyway. Multi-tenor was an adventurous proposition back in the day

Fred O.

[MikeD]

Of course, they bounced around anyway. Multi-tenor was an adventurous proposition back in the day

Fred O.

I played triples in Garfield in 71...you are absolutely correct. No truth to the rumor that the bouncing is why I switched to baritone in 72!

[pearlsnaredrummer77]

Snare web slings. We wore three, one over the left shoulder and one the right. The third went around our back to keep the drums from bouncing around.

Talk about suffering for your art! Ugh!!!

[Tansea]

EGG BEATERs!!! I saw a High School band bass line using egg beaters a few weeks ago and ran around like a mad man!! The sound was amazing, especially with the modern heads!

Mike, as you may remember, folks used all kinds of different drums; there was no exact formula, that's for sure! I can recall seeing everything from a standard 10"x28" "scotch bass" drum down to little 20" or 22" drum set kicks (complete with the T-handles still on them!)

For a look two masters of the craft in action, check out this link (sorry, my tech skills are meager - I couldn't figure out how to post the photo!):

http://www.bsgoldenknights.org/album/1969/...umquartette.htm

And look at those killer 14"x16" snare drums - tiger stripe, baby!

regards,

Fred O.

Edited October 14, 2010 by Tansea

[lindap]

Yup. I constantly had to remind my guards to relax their elbows (and also keep the flagpole only one inch off the ground). Easier said than done! Once we cleared that technical hurdle, I found drop spins much easier to clean because of the "drop" position at the midpoint.

I can't remember if we did drop spin or push spin. All I remember was adjusting technique based on the age, the size and the experience of that guard at that point in time. edit: drum lines and guard were historically tight, dut or count, drumspeak or singing the rep brought us all closer to the music, the horn line. When all lines worked together...magical, indescribable

Edited October 17, 2010 by lindap