oldtimedrummer Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 There are other reasons people can get attracted to drum corps other than a bunch of brass players playing really loud. No kidding Einstein. I never said that it was a ..."bunch of brass players playing really loud", that attracted me. I said it was the unique quality of brass AND percussion. I am a drummer you know. Please don't put words in my mouth. I'm sure there are many other qualities that attract people to drum corps, although I doubt that singing and props rank very high on most peoples list. I started in Drum Corps in the 60's, so the great visual designs hadn't yet come to fruition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimedrummer Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 (edited) DCI learned a little trick over the years that can be summed up in two words - "Think Lazy". That's not intended as a knock on anybody, but why grab kids off the street when you have band directors doing all the preliminary work for you? :P I think it's more along the lines of "Think Smart". Edited March 16, 2007 by oldtimedrummer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musiqman205 Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 My band director got me into the activity and i havent looked back since the only problem is that my family isnt very supportive me doing drum corps because of the money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtreme0204 Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Being an ex-music business major (I hated it mainly because of some of the things related to "bubble gum pop", that and I love teaching), you'd be surprised how the teenage age group still dominates music sales in amost every music category to this date (including classical, experimental, a-capella, etc.). But as most people said, appearance and "cool factors" really come into play a lot. Here's an example- American Idol's first cut is mainly based off the person's looks (they get to sing something like 30 seconds of music a piece). Statistically speaking, the teenage crown spends more money on music than any other age range (and this includes live venues- which DCI would be lumped under). As much as we hate to admit it, DCI is pretty much a business, and thrives off of making money. Although they are probably semi-worried about keeping the older fan base, catching this ever spending younger population is what it is about (and keeping the audition #s higher by catching this crowd). This is just my guess here- but i'd imagine that they are also thinking about keeping the marching members entertained throughout an entire season also. Last guess tonight is that as the coordinating staffs seem to get younger and younger- this "bubbe gum drum corps" may tend to be the new trend. on the other part that this topic seemed to grow into- it seems as though some people are forgetting that not every corps used narration. and when it comes to amps- if you're not in a front ensemble or do not understand that it needed to happen to maintain good sound quality while playing (and a better technique that is not harmful to the player), then you probably will never understand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrothgar15 Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 Two questions...why is G so "perfect" as you say? The fact that DCI held on to G Bugles for so long, when any minute they could have simply switched to Bb/F, shows to me that the organization still considered it important to retain elements that were ingrained in tradition and were completely unique to drum and bugle corps. Once the Bb/F change was implemented, I believe, a large chunk of this uniqueness was destroyed, and the slippery slope officially commenced. If we can replace traditional G Bugles with concert instruments, why can't we include amplification as well? If we can include amplification, why not singing and narration? If we can include singing and narration, why not electronic sounds as well? If we can include electronic sounds, why can't we expand the spectrum to include woodwinds and strings? This is why I believe the Bb/F change was so significant. I presume no one said, "If we can ground a timpani, why can't we..." or "If we can add another valve to this bugle, why can't we..." Just speculation, though. To answer your question. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 The addition of B-flat and F instruments in 2000 is the latest instrumentation change. I asked what the last NEW instrument permitted in drum corps was....Bb/F is just providing more key options with the same ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 2000 (any-key brass).But maybe I should have said expansion of legal equipment, to encompass any-key brass, amps, and the seemingly inevitable electronics.. The 2000 change did not introduce any new instruments to drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 So DCI has to constantly abandon old fans and replace them with new fans like your car's air filter?We can't figure out a way for the old fans to bring new fans themselves and pass on love of the activity to the next generation the way it happens in sports fandom? They are not abandoning old fans. Shows are packed with old and new fans. Their marketing is targeting new fans, as the old ones know about drum corps already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegimentContra94 Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 K. Well I'm glad we cleared that up. Thank you for the lively debate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2CoolVK Posted March 16, 2007 Share Posted March 16, 2007 (edited) If a corps sang or used electronics really, really, mind-boggling well, there would be far less complaints. Edited March 16, 2007 by 2CoolVK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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