PeeWee Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 I agree with this post for the most part. The shows that appeal musically tend to stand the test of time. There are some exceptions, when a show is just visually stunning, but then again I can't remember what the corps played. With regards to SCV this season, when I walked away from the Birthday Dinner (March), I thought, "Ooooooh yeeeeeah!!! This show is going to kick it in high gear!" And musically it does. Friggin' AWE-SOME music!!! ^OO^ And that, after all, is what will be remembered and recorded on the APDs and CDs. I still have faith that the visual half will catch up to the musical half. I know it's been done before, so I know it can be done again. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 to make the music become the main point of drum corps again.. you need to do away with the whole competition aspect of it..80's.. music was great, 90's music was still good.. but you need harder drill to win now.. cavaliers skyrocketed this idea with hard drill and have done well in the 2000's. you can't have amazing drill at the rate its going.. and still have amazing music to go with it.. thats why most people will say that they're favorite music comes from the 80's and early 90's.. most importantly.. with corps that WIN!!.. corps that don't win but have great musical programs usually finish up 3rd at best... tempos are going up, music is going down, if you had dci do away with scores, you'd have better music to sell on your cd's, i hate hearing feet in the sound these days.. and although that is what they teach you to avoid.. its inevitable with the more and more demanding visual design is required for corps to have a chance to win. most people listen to drum corps more than they watch it.. this is just a problem that cannot be undone .. and you can thank the evolution of drum corps for that.. and you can CERTAINLY thank the cavies for taking it past the point of return... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> i'll disagree. last year alone, SCV, Cavies and Phantom showed you can run your ### off and not play whole notes fo 11 minutes. the problem is because everyone is trying to be "art" and instead of educating the audiences, they are losing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Devil Legend Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Good angle on this, I agree for the most part, except............ I'll use "The Canyon" for example. Not only was the music ########, but the drill at the end of the production was equally sweet, so in this example, both entities came together nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Good angle on this, I agree for the most part, except............I'll use "The Canyon" for example. Not only was the music ########, but the drill at the end of the production was equally sweet, so in this example, both entities came together nicely. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> "The Canyon" was a piece in which I was afraid to breathe, lest I had somehow interacted with the production in a negative fashion. It was mesmerizing, haunting, minimalistically melodic, throbbing, and beyond wonderful...a few short moments that still give me goosebumps musically and visually. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 I agree that a fundamental part of what makes a corps good is the novelty we all feel when we hear an awesome piece of music for the first time. A lot of pieces that drum corps play become "instant classics" for fans who might never have heard the music otherwise. I know that's true of me, and many that I know. Some will always just want to hear their own tried and true favorites all of the time, and they will only find pleasure in watching and listening to shows on recorded media. I pity them. I say thank goodness corps are willing to try new things musically, otherwise drum corps would be nothing but the same dull round over and over and over...sounds a bit like the argument DCI made when they separated in the first place. eh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laconic913 Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 i'll disagree. last year alone, SCV, Cavies and Phantom showed you can run your ### off and not play whole notes fo 11 minutes.the problem is because everyone is trying to be "art" and instead of educating the audiences, they are losing them. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Why can't it be both art and education? In fact, when you put it that way, how can it be art and not be education? The number of pieces and composers the marching arts have introduced me to is staggering. I typed out a full paragraph listing some of these but I'm not going to bore you. Suffice it to say that a good many corps inspired me to track down the original recordings of pieces they played, and to try other pieces by certain composers, and I'm a better musician for that. I wouldn't have half the exposure, the education, I have without drum corps, and some of the shows...most of the shows, even...that I gleaned these things from aspired to be art, in my mind, at least. Some will say I'm in the minority. They're probably right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardman Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 The reason being - great composers are known because their music is great. Let their music speak as well as it can. This is what has made great drum corps show. (counterargument - "So you are saying that original compositions of drum corps today are horrible and the arrangers do not know what they are doing? You jerk!") Well if you think that I am a jerk, then OK. COUNTERARGUMENT - "But it is the visual side that has evolved and is so exciting." "Visual has made the best drum corps shows." 95 Scouts is something reflective of how a drum corps show should be. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Take it easy there, chief...seems like you have a split personality... :P As far as the Scout's '95 show being reflective of how a drumcorps show should be...well, I loved that show, but I don't want ALL of the corps to be like the Scouts. I like a little variety. cavaliers skyrocketed this idea with hard drill and have done well in the 2000's.this is just a problem that cannot be undone .. and you can thank the evolution of drum corps for that.. and you can CERTAINLY thank the cavies for taking it past the point of return... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This looks like you're "blaming" the Cavaliers for the drill problem...but maybe you're saying, "They're so good at drill, they keep raising the bar..". Could you clarify? Why can't it be both art and education? In fact, when you put it that way, how can it be art and not be education? The number of pieces and composers the marching arts have introduced me to is staggering. ...and some of the shows...most of the shows, even...that I gleaned these things from aspired to be art, in my mind, at least. Some will say I'm in the minority. They're probably right. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You're in the minority. :P But seriously, drumcorps is NOT art. That is taking the activity WAY too seriously. It is a bunch of really awesome, talented kids marching around a field and playing/spinning/tossing flags. That's all. I too have been introduced to LOTS of new music through drumcorps. I used to go out and buy cds of the artists that the drumcorps were playing pieces from. In fact, I was introduced musically to Harry Connick Jr. because the Blue Devils played a song of his in '92. I have purchased about ten of his albums over the years. But, I don't find myself purchasing much music anymore. Why? Well, because drumcorps (until last year) seem, for the most part, to have moved away from "accessible" music. Thankfully, that trend seems to be ending. Bring on the music! B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Not talking about individual shows here, but my favorite DCI seasons were when there was a mix of easily known and new (to me anyway) music. DCI starting moving towards almost all corps doing "less accessable" (hate that term) music in the mid 80s or so. Yeah, yeah back to my cave ook, ook, ook. ^0^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 Why can't it be both art and education? In fact, when you put it that way, how can it be art and not be education? The number of pieces and composers the marching arts have introduced me to is staggering. I typed out a full paragraph listing some of these but I'm not going to bore you. Suffice it to say that a good many corps inspired me to track down the original recordings of pieces they played, and to try other pieces by certain composers, and I'm a better musician for that. I wouldn't have half the exposure, the education, I have without drum corps, and some of the shows...most of the shows, even...that I gleaned these things from aspired to be art, in my mind, at least. Some will say I'm in the minority. They're probably right. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> honestly? most fans dont want to be educated. they wanted to be entertained. do you go to NASCAR to learn what makes the resistor plate so important? do you go to see a MLB game to learn why fastballs pitched on the seam have more pop than those pitched off the seam? no. you go to be entertained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarVoyager Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 I agree Jeff. Entertainment should be first before all else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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