Re-hash of an old complaint...

[camel lips]

The manufactures of these fine instruments know the difference.

Kanstul and DEG BOTH classify The G line of Bugles as Sopranos and Contras.

Thier line of B flat Marching brass are classified as Trumpets and Tuba's.

www.kanstul.com

There are a bunch of us dinosaurs that are proud of our drum corps heritage and insist that you call a soprano bugle a soprano and a B flat marching trumpet as a Trumpet.!!!!

Edited August 17, 2005 by camel lips

[Bob Brady]

Umm....because a mellophone is NOT a marching french horn, it's a real instrument.  There is no charge to lead here...there are both marching french horns AND mellophones.  Baritones ARE baritones, and Euphs ARE Euphs...I don't really see your point.

As far as your mid-voice argument...there were some corps that called them altos...no big deal there.

I don't see why you felt the need to come into this conversation, guns blazing, and not really add anything intelligent to it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Gotta speak now Nikk.

At one time there WAS an Alto horn, it was a slightly larger bored soprano with somewhat less tubing. It's range was BETWEEN a soprano and mellophone.

We carried them in the late 70s,early 80s.

[JimF-LowBari]

Gotta speak now Nikk.

At one time there WAS an Alto horn, it was a slightly larger bored soprano with somewhat less tubing. It's range was BETWEEN a soprano and mellophone.

We carried them in the late 70s,early 80s.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually think the Glassmen carried Altos' a lot more recently. Last year Lancers bought a bunch of 3 valve G Altos from the Glassmen(?) so the mid range horns would have a matched set.

[Bob Brady]

Actually think the Glassmen carried Altos' a lot more recently. Last year Lancers bought a bunch of 3 valve G Altos from the Glassmen(?) so the mid range horns would have a matched set.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh Most likely Jim.

I was just speaking from when I marched......You know,back in the Stone Age!!! :P

[RegimentContra94]

Apparently so.

Here lies the ugly reality of DCI.  It's not the first time.  The pit was driven by similar motives.  Saxamaphones are next.  Get this... you can call saxes soprano, alto, tenor and bass.  They need to reserve those words for the woodwinds section.

Staff guys and corps directors have been selling this thing out for so long it's beyond recognition.  But, what can we expect when the directors and instructors are high school and college band directors nine months out of the year?  If you want a drum corps, hire drum corps guys, not band directors.  I know a lot of those band directors are drum corps guys too, but there is a conflict of interest.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This is crap. There is no conflict of interest in working with both a corp and a band. It isn't like one is a democrat and one is a republician. Here is where I get ###### off, when somebody pulls out the old Drum Corps is such an elite activity and we are all so special because slept on gym floors for a couple of summers and band people are beneath us, though really I would guess 90 % of folks involved in corps are also or have been in a band.

Nikk, I always liked to call them sops and contras as well. I was drum major of my college band the summer after I marched and I had a hard time making the switch. The non-corps trumpet guys in the band had no idea what I was talking about when I was yelling "sops, your out of line!"

[Eggbert]

This is crap.  There is no conflict of interest in working with both a corp and a band. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's not really the conflict of interest I meant, although it appears to be when taken out of context. Obviously, band guys do corps and corps guys do band and always have.

[kiltiekemo]

I too am an old dinosaur. And I agree 1000% with Nik about keeping some of our heritage alive. It just seems that every year corps is becoming more and more bandlike. #### I played in band and my son does now. But both of us love drum corps for being corps and NOT band. The corps we're with right now has staff that constantly refer to our sops and contras as tumpets and tubas which drive me CRAZY. So much that I have to respond everytime by commenting to call them by their proper names which drives the staff to correct themselves lest they inccur the wrath of a old, cranky, crazy DINOSAUR!!! Besides I'll just take my toy home and won't play nice anymore. b**bs

[drumlinetchr]

I think we need to face the facts, it's not drum corps the way we used to know it. I'm not against the changes if it is what the kids that march want, after all isn't that what drum corps was about in the begining? Getting kids off the street and give them something constructive to do????

I am currently in Japan and the drum corps movement is strong here, but I went to a parade last week and watched a (what I thought was a corps) warm up. The even played "In the Stone" (Bridgmen) and it sounded great. Come to find out it was a high school brass band. I later watched the Yokohama Scouts warm us and spoke to the Director who told me the differance, Drum Corps are in "G" and brass bands are in "Bb" made sense to me.

[kevingamin]

Again, from Webster himself:

a valveless brass instrument that resembles a trumpet and is used especially for military calls

We haven't been playing bugles for years.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We haven't been eating bugles for years, either.

[kevingamin]

Umm....because a mellophone is NOT a marching french horn, it's a real instrument.  There is no charge to lead here...there are both marching french horns AND mellophones.  Baritones ARE baritones, and Euphs ARE Euphs...I don't really see your point.

As far as your mid-voice argument...there were some corps that called them altos...no big deal there.

I don't see why you felt the need to come into this conversation, guns blazing, and not really add anything intelligent to it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I always thought we called the mid-horns in Glassmen when I marched "altos" because they weren't good enough to be called "mellos". :D