Einstein On The Beach Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 I'm sorry, but I just don't understand why this is an issue. From what I understand, a drum corps is brass and percussion. If you add woodwinds, won't it just be marching band? No, it will be an even more awesome drum corps Somehow, I just can't imagine a flute or a clarinet blowing me out of my seat on the 50 - and yes they DO look ridiculous when they march. I bet I could march clarinet more bad ### than anyone else here. I know plenty of BRASS PLAYERS that look ridiculous when they march too. Hell, some of them are even in our precious drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dciguy01 Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 ...which brings me to a compromise with the following...SOLUTION - Make a proposal where limited use of woodwinds could be allowed. Such as "one improv sax soloist in the pit" or "flute or clarinet soloist"....but NOT a full section. Or...if you were to have a "section"...make it "small" such as a "quintet". The other suggestion I would make is a time limit to how long a woodwind voice could be used. In a case like this, I would see no more reason to stop calling it "drum corps" than I would to stop calling a concert band a concert band with an occasional violin soloist. I would also feel satisfied knowing that the majority of my time at a drum corps show would be spent enjoying the sounds of brass and percussion. This would also give woodwind players aspiring for drum corps a place in the activity. and this is where the flood gates get opened up. You allow one woodwin, then you have to make allowances for a full section. It's like anything in life. "I hope you brought enough for the entire class, Billy!" Dear God it's not even funny how vehemently opposed to the idea of WW in DC I have become... :ramd: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dciguy01 Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 I bet I could march clarinet more bad ### than anyone else here.I know plenty of BRASS PLAYERS that look ridiculous when they march too. Hell, some of them are even in our precious drum corps. Because we all know one example of one person marching better than a few others constitutes a fact :sshh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raphael18 Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 I bet I could march clarinet more bad ### than anyone else here.I know plenty of BRASS PLAYERS that look ridiculous when they march too. Hell, some of them are even in our precious drum corps. Well, don't we think highly of ourselves. I can think of clarinet players that have marched at all levels that might have something to say about that (including myself). That's a pretty big claim to make. The claim isn't that brass players are in some way better (though I personally prefer it), it is that woodwinds don't have a place in drum corps. I've seen some pretty sub-standard marching in the best of groups, however that isn't the issue - it's about the group, not the individual. In fact, I would take the group that works harder and better together over the one that is made up of talented people that don't work well together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicalgoofbal Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Or...DCI can permit WW in drum corps...the better alternative IMO. IMO!! Then go watch a marching band show! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dash Fieldpaint Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 No, it will be an even more awesome drum corpsI bet I could march clarinet more bad ### than anyone else here. I know plenty of BRASS PLAYERS that look ridiculous when they march too. Hell, some of them are even in our precious drum corps. My point is, you can take the 20 most bad ### brass players from SCV, give them clarinets, and have them march and move in every way that makes SCV look like SCV and they would still look completely ridiculous. This is all just my opinion of course. Oh, and, should I ever see you marching a clarinet down the street I'll be sure to move to the other side. We might have been fooling ourselves with the BUGLE portion of the drum and bugle corps name, but most of us are pretty sure that it's been only BRASS and only PERCUSSION from the very start. I'm not sure that it really matters what we want. The people that matter are the people that vote every year. Out of all of them, who wants woodwinds besides Hopkins? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashofthunder Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 I am a saxophonist, and learned baritone so I could march. I'm about to enter my second summer in drum corps, and when I come back I'll be marching in my fifth and final year of high school marching band. I love both, and I think that each has a lot to offer. I would like woodwinds to have a summer marching band circuit just like drum corps, so that woodwind players can experience a summer without having to spend a ton of time learning a new instrument. But would a separate circuit be feasible? A marching band consists of woodwind's, brass, percussion, guard, and occasionally electronic and/or stringed instruments. I think that the circuit would have a tremendously difficult time attracting a good number of talented brass players, percussionists, and guard members. Why? Because nearly all of the good ones will be in a well established and highly competitive drum corps. I would dare to assume that the above reason is one of the largest reasons for why a separate marching band circuit would not work. I do not want woodwind's in drum corps. I love the raw power of a brass line, and the blended sound that only comes from a choir of brass instruments. The thing is, there is NOWHERE else where the "drum corps sound" can be found. I hate to use the "I dunnit so you can do it too" approach for woodwind players who want to march drum corps, but, yeah. If, however, dwindling interest in the marching arts forces drum corps to allow woodwinds to avoid folding from low membership numbers, I will gladly support the inclusion of woodwinds, but only to keep the summer marching activity from going away forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwillpayne Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 (edited) Saxes, I can stand. In a marching band. What cracks me up is seeing flutes and pics go to the box, or seeing the crisp power of a clarinet section snapping the horns to playing position. My argument against woodwinds? Forget history, forget tradition, just realize that woodwinds look ridiculous when marched. LOL. "crisp power of a clarinet"..... Visually speakin, woodwinds are not what you want in a drum corps. i really don't know what i would do if they were allowed. Probably become interested in an activity that everyone else is into....like alcoholism...... Edited May 25, 2007 by cwillpayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 I do not believe there is enough corps to sustain D1 drum corps and an anything goes division. It doesn't look like there will be any time soon. Too bad, because that could solve this situation.Sorry Mike, you are way of base here. That's like saying a string quartet is the same as a symphony orchestra. Sorry, but I am not. DC and MB are the same activity, not even close to your example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Mike, it's still a brass choir with percussion. That's still different than brass, woodwinds, strings, and percussion. It's about the "fundamental" sound change.Going from bugles to "just" brass instruments may have changed the sound, but it wasn't a change like this. Besides, we already have marching bands.... Let's keep the diversity. I don't think DCI will ever let the sound change so drastically. I don't know if they will. And I don't care, really. I happen to think they should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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