Who marched drum corps?

[CJ Krause]

yup

[TubaRay]

I did not and I am glad I did not.
i am not fond of what it is doing to high school bands in Texas.

We did fine without it back in the early days.

I, too, am concerned about what effect it has had on the high school bands in Texas. I don't believe it has been a positive one.

[tubaribonephone]

Drum Corps is stupid.

Here we go again!!!!! Ok, seriously, if you don't like drum corps, then say/type it some were else. It's pointless and very annoying when you come into a forum and just say something is stupid (viewtopic.php?t=9214&highlight=dci+finals+tickets he said it before 7 posts down) especially when TubaAlex was "just wondering" about "Who here has marched in a drum corps before?" Just leave your little, stupid comments to yourself Josh07.

As for TubaAlex's question, I wish I could march in a drum corps not only for the excitement of performing in front of a very, very large crowd but also for the rush of putting everything you have into a 11 minute show and making friends that will last for a life time. Plus you get to work with some of the greatest brass instructors and marching instructors around (this is something I'm looking forward to when I try out for The Cavaliers). Patrick Sheridan and Sam Pilifian worked with the Phantom Regiment Drum Corps for the last 2 years not to mention a ton of other profesional musicians that worked with many other Drum Corps from not only the U.S. but all over the world.

Oh, and in my closing of this post, I would like to be a hypocrite and say,

JOSH07 IS STUPID!!!

[tubaribonephone]

I did not and I am glad I did not.
i am not fond of what it is doing to high school bands in Texas.

We did fine without it back in the early days.

I, too, am concerned about what effect it has had on the high school bands in Texas. I don't believe it has been a positive one.

It might be a Utah thing, but it really helps out here. It keeps the students playing through out the summer and keeps them in shape. But I don't know how it works in texas so I can't say to much.

[danB]

Mike Roylance (Boston Symphony)-marched in a corps in Florida

Jobey Wilson (Triton Brass 5tet)-marched Cavaliers

Guess neither of them are from texas though.....

d

[Leland]

Been marching since '87, most often on 2-valve horns, and always in G. Been at virtually every level of competition.

"Higher, faster, and louder" is fun, no doubt about it. But the successful hornlines are the ones that can do "lighter, cleaner, and softer" better than anyone else.

Loud is easy. Uniformity of shaping & interpretation is hard.

If someone doesn't "get it", then they don't. Doesn't bother me.

[Gorilla Tuba]

I marched with Blue Devils in 87 and 88, VK before that. Drum Corps is a good thing if you keep it in context. As much as I love to watch corps, my College Bands is about as un-drum corps as a college band can get... while actually still marching and playing. I guess scatter/ scramble bands are even farther away from corps than what I do.

[Leland]

Just a reminder for everyone to keep the debate civil. Yes, this isn't as bad as an email list, where everybody sees every response to a discussion and things can get blown way out of proportion pretty quickly.

But, still, there's no reason to stoop to posting attacks.

[J.Harris]

Howdy, I marched with the Madison Scouts summerof 1990. Contrbass of course. I had agreat experience and am glad I marched. Made college marching band the next fall rather bland however.

[Charlie Goodman]

About the "higher, faster, louder" thing...

I think that for drum corps, that's what appeals to people. I know Madison always proves to be a crowd favorite, and a lot of it's because they dare to make their show entertaining. Yeah, Cavaliers have got a lot of very difficult stuff, but they don't seem to have the panache of the Scouts, and I think part of that is because Scouts aren't afraid to make their shows high, fast, and loud. I think if you're looking for subtlety and quiet grace, a football field shouldn't be the first place you look.

On a somewhat related note, I went to a Corps show here in Kalamazoo a little while back and saw a senior corps called Chops, Inc. I'd never heard them before, but I thought they put on one heck of a show, and they had a trumpet soloist that wasn't beaten by anyone for the rest of the night, which included Madison Scouts and Cavaliers. Anybody else familiar?

[Leland]

On a somewhat related note, I went to a Corps show here in Kalamazoo a little while back and saw a senior corps called Chops, Inc. I'd never heard them before, but I thought they put on one heck of a show, and they had a trumpet soloist that wasn't beaten by anyone for the rest of the night, which included Madison Scouts and Cavaliers. Anybody else familiar?

When I saw them during DCI Finals in Madison '99, they had one of the most inventive shows of the week, changing gears into different styles almost every few seconds at times. I think they were the only corps that year to play on "tri-toms" made from upside-down Igloo coolers. Lots of fun.

When they were only a drumline, they would entertain the crowd while the other corps were setting up for retreat. They would even take requests (well, within reason!), which prompted some girl in Dekalb to yell out, "Freebird!"

[CJ Krause]

yup

[tubeast]

Umm...
I don´t know about Drum & Bugle Corps (never seen one) and always figured it was just a field going band with unique instrumentation different to Marching Band, just like Brass Band vs. Concert Band on stage.

Could some of those who so vigorously make their point of affection for or dislike against D&B-Corps offer some background as to what makes them so determined in their opinion?
Maybe then we´d have a chance to learn something from this thread rather than yelling at each other.

I´d guess all marching ensembles are supposed to entertain the crowd with reasonable musicianship combined with the ability to move in formations that look good.
What am I missing here?

[tubajoe]

I marched with Blue Devils in 88

As for me:
Blue Devils "The Line" 91-92
Phantom Regiment 90

Consulted and taught many others.

Drum corps is my secret dirty musical habit...

Anyone who thinks D&BC is detrimental in any way does not know or understand the activity. The things I teach are the EXACT things that I learned from my (legit) teachers -- good basic fundamental brass playing. A drum corps hornline is NOTHING other than a large brass pedagogy class.

Drum corps alums have played in practically every major symphony and many of your colleagues have been part of the activity.

Precision brass playing + athletic training... how can it be bad?

I will be unable to debate this for a couple of days (will be on the road this weekend) but I am a HUGE advocate for the activity.
Anyone with questions or negative opinions on the activity, I'd be happy to fill them in.
Reply or email me and I'll get back to you next week.

peace
joe



http://www.tubajoe.com

[Bandmaster]

Well, let's see.... Patrick Sheridan and Sam Pilafian teach the low brass sections of the Phantom Regiment and the Arizona Academy drum and bugle corps. Plus Sam also wrote the brass book for the Academy. So something good must be going on at least in a few corps?

The biggest problem is when high school instructors get carried away and want to "emmulate" drum corps and forget that the high school kids can't rehearse 10 hours a day and they also have academic classes and family life to worry about. Realistic expectations must be kept in mind. My personal feeling is that too much time is being taken from musical instruction and applied to visual instruction. Learn to play first... then learn to march!

I marched my first year of drum corps two years ago, at age 50. Before that I taught youth marching band for 30 years.

[bttmbow]

I did two years in a B corps called the Vaqueros in the early 80's, when I was in junior high into high school.

Peter Bond, third trumpet in the MET Opera Orch., was in the Phantom Regiment, and coached them for quite a few years.

I have no regrets.

Chris Hall
METopera, tuba

[GC]

Every band I've ever seen at BOA Grand Nationals has been corps influenced. These ensembles provide an excellent outlet for kids, provide discipline and all sorts of life lessons, and often feature musicianship that is on levels that are difficult to believe. Being corps-style definitely hasn't stopped their teachers from teaching fantastic playing. Maybe some of the complaining teachers need to look more closely at their own methods. Corps style doesn't require "higher, louder, faster"; it's just a choice that fits within the genre, but it's not the only one.

[TexTuba]

Ok here's my take. First off, I LOVE DCI. I am a big fan of it and I love to see it when it's in San Antonio and this new theater thing just rocks. But I do not like the whole "Let's have high school bands imitate the same thing" attitude. Yes, great people have come out of it and have worked with corps. But a DCI-style show should be left off of the high school field. That style of show works for a select few bands in the country. NOT the majority who attempt it. They try it and fail because they shoot for too fast, too loud, and too much movement. Look at the old DCI from the 70s and 80s. They pretty much stay still(well, what is considered staying still by today's standards)and it WORKS. Many corps directors have and still say DCI is a way of doing it, it is not THE way. Personally, I'd take a marching show of Sousa or King and have them move very little if that meant that there was a QUALITY sound and it wasn't killing them to march the show. Bottom line DCI is great but it should be where it is right now. And it should be OFF of high school bands' fields. End rant.

Ralph

[TheChiefofStaph]

I think that corps provides another musical outlet for kids and teens. Since these outlets are becoming rarer in places like our public schools, I'm willing to embrace it.

As for the musical value, I think that Chris Martin (Principal Trumpet, CSO) would (and, for that matter, has) argued that drum corps is a beneficial experience for young musicians.

[ken k]

Reading Buccaneers 1978-1980 and again 1982 - 85 Baritone the first two years and Contra the rest. We wond DCA in 1979 & 1980.

They look like the corps to beat in DCA this year also.

ken k