Joe Baker wrote:FWIW, we'll be at the DCI show in Murfreesboro, TN tonight. Anyone else going?
I wish I'd seen this sooner...
I was there. I was impressed with the Cavaliers. They looked and sounded much better than in Memphis. I was disappointed that the Blue Coats had not imporved as much as I expected.
Who was it that had the big contra soli, up front? Phantom Regiment?
It was cool, but should be better by finals:)
I need to get the audio from the show, and look for a video.
Joe Baker, who has never been in a corps, but would join a Sr. corps if there were one within 100 miles.
I hear Music City Legend is looking for a baritione to fill their last hole. With two practices before Scranton, it a crunch.
See the schedule for dates/time.
It's about the same distance for you as I travel for rehearsal with the Jackson Generals.
The show was great. I just couldn't get over the sound of the Cavs contras! When they played their encore number, I was standing just at the end of the contra line. My gosh, I would give anything to have a sound as clean and full as the guy on the end closest to the stands. I would love to take those who argue that it's all about "louder/faster/higher" to hear this guy.
As to the Nashville corps, that 100 miles is a pretty hard limit. In a couple of years, when our youngest is in college, I'll be a lot more amenable to traveling a couple hundred miles to play music; but for now I just can't afford the time. I WOULD definitely want to play baritone, though, rather than contra. My neck and shoulder already cause me quite enough trouble, thank you!
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Joe Baker, whose son bought a CD that night of historical recordings of the Madison Scouts (from the mid-60's to sometime in the last couple of years), and who was astonished at the overall improvement in playing since the mid-to-late '70's.
"Luck" is what happens when preparation meets opportunity -- Seneca
I marched with the Reading Buccaneers in '96-'97. I would still be there if it wouldn't be so difficult to make it to camps from Iraq. Those dang blackhawk flights never are reliable....
Joe Baker wrote:
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Joe Baker, whose son bought a CD that night of historical recordings of the Madison Scouts (from the mid-60's to sometime in the last couple of years), and who was astonished at the overall improvement in playing since the mid-to-late '70's.
This is an interesting point as well. Some folks who aren't keen on drum corps are using as their point of reference shows they saw (or those who gave them that opinion saw) in the 60s and 70s, before corps made the jump from simply blowing their brains out to a genuinely musical experience.
And before some vet who marched in this era starts yelling at me... of course not all corps in the 60s were unmusical, but today even smaller or non-top-25 corps strive for musicality while that would have been less common 30 or so years ago. A lot of this has to do with the availablity of musical instruments with a fuller set of valves (though still not enough for some of us tuba players.. "when can I have my five valve contra?? That low B would.. uh.. really come in handy on the field?") and higher quality instruments in general.
TheChiefofStaph wrote:A lot of this has to do with the availablity of musical instruments with a fuller set of valves (though still not enough for some of us tuba players.. "when can I have my five valve contra?? That low B would.. uh.. really come in handy on the field?") and higher quality instruments in general.
Nah, that's not it. It's all about teaching style, really.
We had the same set of 2-valve G horns in the junior corps where I marched and taught over nine years, and during that period we had three distinct approaches to teaching the hornline. The instruments didn't change, but the resulting sounds got progressively better as we went along.
Joe Baker wrote:_____________________________________
Joe Baker, whose son bought a CD that night of historical recordings of the Madison Scouts (from the mid-60's to sometime in the last couple of years), and who was astonished at the overall improvement in playing since the mid-to-late '70's.
Interesting... to many in the drum corps activity, the 1975 Scouts hornline is considered to be one of the best ever. I was 8 at the time, so I have no personal reference point considering the poor quality recording made in that era.
They really did some amazing playing on those 2 valve bugles. I think the changes in instruments (more valves, not restricted to G bugles) is a really good thing. However, you can't blame any musical issues on the horns. The K80 euphonium I played in Blue Devils was every bit as nice as anything made today.
None the less, on the whole, the musicality has greatly increased in drum corps. It always took great playing to win. But today, even the lower tier corps are making pretty good music.
A. Douglas Whitten
Associate Director of Bands
Assoc. Professor of Tuba & Euphonium
Pittsburg State University
Ok, I never EVER get in the middle of this debate, becuase I generally don't have feelings about Drum Corps one way or another. BUT, I think we are missing a good point in this, and many other discussions that come up on the board. Excuse me while I digress.
The majority of the music playing population on the planet are amatuers. Many joined band/orchestra for a sense of belonging to something. Maybe they weren't adept at a sport or computers, perhaps they didn't have the mental facility to be on the chess team. Musical orginizations make for a familial atmosphere. When you ask someone what they remember most about their formative years, chances are they will say the band/orchestra they were in or a sports team they were on. Music fosters a sense of community, gives people a chance to hang out with people of their own temperment and builds life long alliances that may or may not help them somewhere down the road.
If Drum Corps further this sense of community and the teamwork that everyone needs to be successful, then they are a good thing. It only becomes bad when it becomes an obsession rather than a joy. In this sense, it is no different than overbearing coaches or parents. In the right context, they fill the need for humans to feel part of a greater whole. More often than not, music is a subserviant to this need.
As long as a certain group promotes the good things inherent in their activity, everyone benefits. As a nation of primarily amatuer music makers, we need as many outlets as possible to further our love of music, but again, more importantly, we need to provide a safe, positive way to fulfil the need to congregate with ones with whom we share a common bond. I love the growth of community bands, brass bands, amatuer groups of all types because it fosters more than just music.
Bravo to the DCI's and the rest of the groups that give all of us a chance to pursue our hope of making music. It makes life special. Not everyone is cut out to be one of the big boys, but this doesn't stop us from dreaming, no matter what our skills or our situations.
I was thrilled to be accepted by the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps at the Navy base in Memphis,Tenessee back in 1960. They let me play snare drum. Big fun!
Unfortunately a few weeks later I was transferred to A and E school at Jacksonville,Florida. There was no drum and bugle corps but they needed a company bugler and I was the guy who owned the Olds Ambassador cornet. I asked to be relieved of the assignment because of foot lockers being thrown at me out of third-story barracks windows after I woke those guys up at five in the morning.
The actual teaching in drum corps is pretty phenomenal. It is a competitive activity, so the best are selected, both teacher and student, whenever possible. Drum corps is not for everyone, but it does have significant value, much the same as any summer camp or activity.
High school band directors have legitimate reasons for not recommending participation in drum corps to their students. Granted, it has nothing to do with the teaching level in drum corps, nor should it. It does have to do with the activities the student will miss out on at home while htey would be on tour. Quite often, a drum corps candidate from a high school band would be a leader in their HS band, and their absence from summer camps and activities could be detrimental to the HS group. Also, HS bands are more about family and community spirit among its members, and the only time you can do a HS band is when you are in HS. A kid that comes back to his HS band after tour has missed a lot, from learning the show(yes I know they pick it up quick), to missing out on several weks of bonding with his friends, to dealing with the differing levels of intensity in the approach to the activity. The best advice is to tell HS students to wait until college to do drum corps, so they don't miss out on high school...in most cases.
This brings me to my next point. Drum corps need to stop jerking kids around, especially when they are in HS. When they audition for a corps, they need an honest assesment. If they are good enough, put them in the corps, if not, send them packing. I used to support my HS students that wanted to audition for drum corps. Now I tell them to wait until college. I had three students audition for corps this year, and all three where lied to and jerked around for MONTHS, and only one actually made it to tour. They all had to miss major activities in other groups they were involved with (letting down those groups in the process) because they were being led to believe they had a shot...in February, March and April and May. One corps ended up asking a kid to commute to spring training from NC to Chicago every day during his finals, and another corps gave away a kids spot two days before tour, after spring training. If you need them to be an alternate...tell them, thats all. But if you don't want them, send them home. Kids recover from rejection.
HS kids should not be in drum corps unless it is a rare circumstance.
Tony Granados
Triangle Brass Band and Triangle Youth Brass Band, Music Director
at the overall improvement in playing since the mid-to-late '70's.
