I hear that DCI is now allowing Sousaphones and trombones?

[David Richoux]

http://youtu.be/tSxFRBaKrJo

(Maybe not breaking news, but I didn't hear it until today...)

[imperialbari]

Very mean!












And very, very funny!

[Ken Herrick]

There is something to be said for "tradition". Drum & Bugle Corps is something I grew up with - Kewanee Black Knights.

I remember the USMC Corps coming to Melbourne in 1980 for the Tattoo - it was "Drum and Bugle Corps" Very good music and just plain fantastic precision drill - military style. One hell of a show.

Maybe, some things should just be the best at a certain thing instead of trying to be good at everything.

"fession' here, I've been out of the loop for some time on this so am only talking from my experience.

Golly those ole Getzen G bass bugles took some pumpin.

[ECUorchbound]

Hopefully I can shine some light on this. I've marched with Carolina Crown in 2010, 2011, and 2013.

The rule says that corps are allowed to use ALL brass instruments, including trombone, french horn, concert euphonium, and yes, the sousy. The main purpose of this was to allow newer and upcoming drum corps to be more successful with less resources. At the beginning of any drum corps, the amount of support, sponsorship, and funding is low, and you have to work with what you got. So by implementing this rule, younger and new corps have a better shot at competing at the same ranks with corps who have been more established. This mostly applies to Open Class corps who are starting (That's the new classification of Division II and Division III).

This rule is not only for this purpose. It also allows corps to experiment with different tone colors in music and to have special features. This purpose is used more by your World Class (Division I) corps. A good example, Spirit of Atlanta has a dixie band-esque duet feature between a trumpet and a trombone. Sounds fantastic and makes sense for the style. Other corps using this to their advantage include Santa Clara Vanguard and Madison Scouts.

I believe this rule was put in place to expand the activity, not only from a design standpoint, but for an outreach as well. More corps are most likely to start up in new places, which gives kids an opportunity to march drum corps. Marching drum corps was one of the best things I've ever done in my life and it's made me the person I am today. If more people have an opportunity to experience that or better, than I think having a trombone or a sousy in the mix ain't so bad.

Hope this helps!