The Anti-Narration BD Thread

[Jeff Ream]

i woudlnt call it a large ensemble. in fact at one point is 10 people while the brass was playing behind them.

[MikeD]

i woudlnt call it a large ensemble. in fact at one point is 10 people while the brass was playing behind them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Large as compared to their total horn line size.

And yes, at one point they were not all singing, but for a lot of it they were.

Still doesn't compare to 1 or 4 people in front of 60+ horns.

Mike

[Jeff Ream]

and thank god they dont do that...it'd ruin the moment

[MikeD]

and thank god they dont do that...it'd ruin the moment

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What Bush does works very well for them...if they could just find 4 or 5 more trumpets. My sister-in-law's son is one of the trumpets they DO have.

As did Crown's last year with their vocalists.

There is more than one way to create a great show, and IMO both corps did that.

BTW...saw your review...it was a good one. Joe Itkor has created a nice pit book for Bush (was he playing at Bucknell, or was their 'regular' female timpanist there?).

Personal "the more things change" note: Brigs do "Orange Colored Skies?. I played that in the first competitive corps I marched with, in 1968. Bucky Swan was our horn guy (he seemed to be the horn guy for just about the entire GSC back then! :P ).

Bucknell also has a wonderful theatre, in addition to the field. I played a concert there with a community band I belonged to back around 1990, the Hanover Wind Symphony. The director was an alumnus,

Mike

[NR_Ohiobando]

Heh, you're using the word "need" in conversation with people who put on silly looking uniforms, expend vast amounts of energy playing an instrument or twirling a flag, moving at high speeds around a football field, all the while not only giving up their summer and the prospect of a job, but paying to participate in an activity that most of society thinks is "nerdish" at best.  You want to talk about needs??  I can think of any number of things I "need" more than drum corps.

The truth is, we don't need to be participating in drum corps at all.  We don't need amps, but then we don't need to be forming hornlines or drumlines either.  Nobody participates in drum corps because they need to.  They participate in drum corps because they want to.  So saying that we don't "need" amps may be absolutely correct, but it would be just as correct to say we don't need a drumline.  Or a colorguard.  Or a hornline.  But we want those elements there because we enjoy them, and find them entertaining.  And now, two years into the amp experiment, more and more people are saying that they enjoy some of the uses of amps.  Really, when you consider why we're out on that field in the first place, isn't enjoyment all the justification you need?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not for me it isn't B) If you're doing it in the first place(or rather, if you're making the show in the first place), you better be doing it right

Anyways, the definition of "need" is something I could argue about for a while, but the point I was trying to make was that you can still make the sound you want the audience to hear without the use of an amplifier. It isn't possible to create a horn sound without the use of a horn, the sight of a colorguard's work without the use of a colorguard, the sound of a percussion section without the use of percussion intstruments(and don't give me any synthesizer #### because that's illegal ) You need those things. If you already have the pit percussion instruments that work...why would you need anything to aid them? Part of me is hating the amps because they're new & innovative and I don't like them(I don't believe electronics have any place on a field); I'll admit it. But, part of me also looks at the corps and thinks "why would they buy the electronics if they don't need them? They sound just fine without them..."

Not true in really large stadiums (as I have performed in).  The pit in particular benefits from amplification.  How you ask??? Well, we like to put lots of emphasis on musicianship in the activity, and banging the #### out of keyboards so the audience can hear them does not really equate with being musical (and yes, that is what was/is done without amps, if you were wondering).  I remember one year at Finals with my corps where people were complaining about not being able to hear the pit during the ballad (when they were the only section playing, and playing closer to the way the actual instruments were meant to be played).  1.)And since when were football stadiums designed to be as acoustically friendly as concert halls???

Also, other instruments are now able to be used, such as BD using the udu last year (which would never have been heard without being amplified.  And no, I didn't march BD, so I am not biased in any way.)

You're right, because there are bigger things to me in life than 'the downfall of drum corps b/c of amplification.'

2.) Well, people seem to still love Cavies and Scouts... they use amps.

3.)There will always be some new thing to ##### about:

Assymetrical drill:  Oh my God, the downfall of drum corps (####, Pete Emmons is at BD, maybe that's the problem  )

TWO VALVES!!!:  WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!!!

THREE VALVES!!!!!!!!!: THE WORLD'S ABOUT TO END!!!

Bb:  Boy, how soon that was forgotten due to the new heresy........

Amplification.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

1.) They weren't, but even so, I don't believe in aiding pure sound no matter how quiet the instrument is. I suppose it's one of those "You're so biased" opinions. IMO if you make the sound, SOMEONE is bound to hear it. But, it's one thing that I like to stick to. As for sounding more musical with the aid of a pit; going along with the change from Gs to Bbs, sometimes the slightest difference in sound can mean a lot. I personally would take the unamped pit over the amplified pit(vibes tend to stick out alot). The Bbs aren't as hard to control as the Gs,(more 'musical', but I personally like the sound of the Gs better). Plus, "it's possible to play musically without amps..." We've seen it before many many times, trust me, it's possible. (Cavies 2000, 02, or Star 93 are just off the top of my head).

(I know. It's one of those "You're so biased" opinions. You got me on this one, but we're all entitled to opinions right? But if was possible to do it in the past, I don't see why we need them now. And as for the evolution of the bugle, don't get me wrong, if people want to hear the OLD school bugles again because of this same point I'd go back to the old bugles. Same goes for the old drill, I'd do a show with old style drill if people wanted me to. And as of right now, my opinion means nothing to anyone who's not reading this...so I can't do anything about the amp 'problem'...yet. :) )

2.) You're right, I still enjoy Cavies, Scouts, SCV, etc. But, not as much as I used to. I still wish their staff would get rid of the amps due to the fact that they don't really need them. As for BD using instruments that were never heard without amps...good for them. But I still think they could've done it without the use of amps. If it worked in the past with slightly quieter instruments, I seriously believe it's possible today.

3.) Yes there will. And you bet your ### I'll be here ranting away when saxaphones get introduced into DCI if my dream of becoming a corps director doesnt come true (it's sad but true)

[MikeD]

I personally would take the unamped pit over the amplified pit(vibes tend to stick out alot).

What you call "stick out" is what others call "in balance". for me, the sound of vibes and the mid/lower marimba tends to get lost on the field, and the amps have helped those voices become better balanced. That you think they stick out may be due to the idea that they have been UNDERbalanced for so many years which you have gotten used to, and now they don't have to be. That's my take on them, anyway.

(I know. It's one of those "You're so biased" opinions. You got me on this one, but we're all entitled to opinions right?

That's absolutely correct!

But if was possible to do it in the past, I don't see why we need them now.

You could say that about anything added to corps over the many decades. Before they were added drum corps got along just fine. Once added, there was, in many cases, much kvetching abnd wringing of hands ("O woe is drum corps!"), and then they became the norm. Be it timps, 3-valves, mallets, starting on the field, ending on the field, etc....

Mike

[Guest DrumCorpFan]

If the Blue Devils are able to chant drum speak the past two years WITHOUT the use of amps, then why am I not seeing an argument against the Cadets doing their drumspeak USING amps?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Personally, I don't think it should be done at all, amped or unamped.

[Guest DrumCorpFan]

I'm sorry, does the hornline no longer play through horns?  Does the drumline no longer drum a beat?  Does the colorguard no longer twirl?  So how exactly is drum corps any different than what you described? 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Those things are all becoming quite optional.

[Guest DrumCorpFan]

Not true in really large stadiums (as I have performed in).  The pit in particular benefits from amplification.  How you ask??? Well, we like to put lots of emphasis on musicianship in the activity, and banging the #### out of keyboards so the audience can hear them does not really equate with being musical (and yes, that is what was/is done without amps, if you were wondering).  I remember one year at Finals with my corps where people were complaining about not being able to hear the pit during the ballad (when they were the only section playing, and playing closer to the way the actual instruments were meant to be played).  And since when were football stadiums designed to be as acoustically friendly as concert halls???

Well, you can hear them if the speakers are pointed towards you, otherwise you can't. Without amps, the instruments were struck such that the whole audience could hear them, even from the very top row of the biggest stadiums such as Orlando, Madison and Buffalo, where I have sat.

Also, other instruments are now able to be used, such as BD using the udu last year (which would never have been heard without being amplified.  And no, I didn't march BD, so I am not biased in any way.)

You're right, because there are bigger things to me in life than 'the downfall of drum corps b/c of amplification.'

Well, people seem to still love Cavies and Scouts... they use amps.

There will always be some new thing to ##### about:

Assymetrical drill:  Oh my God, the downfall of drum corps (####, Pete Emmons is at BD, maybe that's the problem  )

TWO VALVES!!!:  WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!!!

THREE VALVES!!!!!!!!!: THE WORLD'S ABOUT TO END!!!

Bb:  Boy, how soon that was forgotten due to the new heresy........

Amplification.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And still another "black and white" person who figures that if someone is against one change then the must be against all changes.

STILL WRONG!

[tinbgith]

And still another "black and white" person who figures that if someone is against one change then the must be against all changes.

STILL WRONG!

       

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I did not say that.

What I wrote about past changes was to show that there are always people who will be totally against a change, and then after not very long, they get over it. Whether we like some changes or not, there is a valid reason behind them.