Nex Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Drum corps IS marching band, only w/o WW or electronic instruments at the present time. Think about the changes other than instrumentation that there are though. You have a different visual aspect to nearly every woodwind. No longer is it one basic instrument design with similar methods of holding. Then there's the balance. Woodwinds would need absolutely huge numbers to overcome the current amount of brass in a corps. This means that either we double or triple corps sizes, ruin everything below the Top 5 financially because of it (and perhaps even kill those corps as well), or we reduce the brass numbers down by half or more. Visuals utilizing the horns would no longer be nearly as effective because of the differences in instrument shapes. The sonority of the ensemble would change and we would no longer have a circuit for brass only. They are different in the details. That's why I said you shouldn't over-generalize. The difference you listed is the kind of difference I would give to a 4th grader who wants the differences, but it doesn't address the issues that exist for the real-world and the adults that live in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccerguy315 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 (edited) ok... I'm a saxophone player. I marched my first season of drum corps, last year when I was 20, in Div I, and I am aging out this year. someone made a very good post for you on one of the earlier pages... YOU CAN MARCH THIS YEAR. It doesn't matter if you haven't touched a brass instrument yet. You can march this year. It's up to you if you want to do it. If you want to march at the "best" corps you can, you will march wherever you can this year to gain experience, and then see what you are like in August. There are woodwind players all over DCI, including the "top" corps. Seriously. They wanted to be part of those corps, so they worked their ##### off to get there. Drum corps is not an easy activity. You will be pushed the entire summer. It is an amazing experience. And it will be all the more rewarding if you switch instruments, because you know how much work you put into it. There are people who have played a brass instrument starting in September, and they are on the field in Division I the next summer. So, 1. You can march this summer. Call/email those corps. 2. You will get a chance to march in Division I before you age out. The only way you won't is if you don't try. If you want to march, you will make it happen. But you have to decide you want to do it. I’m sure most kids aren’t willing to go through that (heck, I don’t even know if I’m up to it yet). If you can't imagine putting in so much work, that consists of practicing like, an hour a day, or maybe even less, you wouldn't survive the summer anyway. Figure out if this is what you want to do. If it is, go for it, you won't regret it. Edited January 8, 2007 by soccerguy315 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 No. The entire musical approach is different. A hornline, and a brass section of a marching band of the same size should sound COMPLETELY different. Yes, without WW the sound is obviously different, but the approach is the same. You strive to create the best ensemble sound you can with the instruments at your disposal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nex Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Yes, without WW the sound is obviously different, but the approach is the same. You strive to create the best ensemble sound you can with the instruments at your disposal. The methods used by a hornline are the same no matter what instrument you're playing. Introducing woodwinds requires a different technique for the woodwinds, and perhaps even different techniques among those instruments (reeds versus non-reeds for example. So no, the approach is not the same. You'd be dealing with (once again) good players who need detailed instruction, not a middle school band where it's the same for every instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrothgar15 Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 but the approach is the same. Absolutely wrong. Read what I said again, you misinterpreted it: A hornline, and a brass section of a marching band of the same size with the same skill level should sound COMPLETELY different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicagoFan Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 The musical approach to drum corps compared to the musical approach to marching band is completely different. I'm not sure I follow your line of reasoning. I think, perhaps, you're using "musical approach" incorrectly or, at the very least, assigning far too broad and nebulous a meaning to the term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tank Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 MY GOSH PEOPLE! CALM DOWN!!!! There is not even a proposal to add woodwinds! But there have been. There will be again. In some ways, WWs already exist in DCI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowtown Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 What is so wrong with drum crop that you want to change it so drastically? Why can’t drum crop be drum and bugle crop? we let band be band I like the uniqueness of drum corp It’s odd watching the bandos now twist and jump to the other side in their support of wood winds. You know, many of the arguments most of you have used as to why DCI is not killing DCI you are now using the converse to justify wood winds? Bandos are killing DCI, they have been for years, they use it as a resume stuffer for their band teaching jobs. DCI was best when it was just a bunch of regular, every day folks trying to do something cool. Not a bunch of competitive music majors that are too old for band camp. Yep, use to be we had a real mix of multi-talented people in drum corp. Now, it seems that its mostly myopic bando spending their summer breaks networking and trying to catch a peek of the kids in the shower. Bands can get their own summer circuit. Is anyone on MB planet begging them to relax their rules to let kids up to 21 participate? Think of how many more people could be in bands if they just changed this little rule or 2. Let’s see, I marched with a high school band, a college band and a drum corp…no where near the same thing. In fact, I bailed on the bands because they were not cool, not very good and not much fun. Next to drum corp, the bands were…to be nice, very lacking and very dorky…and you folks know it too, otherwise you wood winds would not be begging to get into a corp, you’d be happy in your band. People act as if marching in drum corp is a right. It’s not, it never was and never will be. Drum Corp is driven and paid for by the fans.. How much money have I given marching bands in the past 20 years? About $25 to see so top show that I did not like and will never go back to again. DCI has over $1,000 bucks from me last year alone. Wood winds would water down drum corp in everyway possible. I would stop going to Drum corp shows if they became marching band shows, I already stated I don’t go to marching bands shows now. Also, don’t forget the coolness factor….marching wood winds are not cool. Drum corp are cool…I would have never marched in an un-cool band w/out class credit. so this electronics things, you wanna use turntable too? make it a real barf-o-ramma-superbowl half time show w/fireworks and guest appearance by Sting? not on my dime if DCI wants wood winds, then we need a new, better drum corp governing body for those real drum corp fans and a radical move such as wood wind may be just be the way to make that happen, so go for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubacurt Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 My school has one of the top bands in the circuit we compete in, and in the 5 years I have marched there, I have played with a plethora of woodwind players. Do you know how many would have marched drum corps if woodwinds were allowed? 2. Now my band is not a huge BOA Grand-Finalist band, but that is still a small number. So my question to proponents of woodwinds is, say membership is increased to 180, taking out 30 to 40 ish for percussion and 20 to 30 ish for guard that leaves ~110 for the horns. In my experience a properly orchestrated wind ensemble has about 1.6 time as many woodwinds than brass so that means 67 woodwinds per corps. With a full slate of div 1 corps there is 26, so 26 times 67 equals 1742. Is there really gonna be that many woodwinds that want to do it, that will be Division One quality? Most of the woodwinds I've met in my band and at music festivals and music camps either don't know what drum corps is or want no part in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Most of the woodwinds I've met in my band and at music festivals and music camps either don't know what drum corps is or want no part in it. Same here, for what it's worth. And those woodwinds that I have known who have marched or wanted to march corps, including myself, knew they would have to learn to play a brass instrument, and had fun doing it. That's one of many reasons I don't see "woodwinds should be able to march drum corps" as a good argument for allowing them in DCI, but that's just me. I'm not going to freak out and say that DCI shouldn't do whatever or that it's going to kill DCI/drum corps/whatever...I just won't be a fan anymore. Very simple, and no reason to lambaste people like Mike who are just offering up their opinions, and justifying them very well, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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