So I'm working at a different school today, because it's Spring Break and they shut down most of the county, making administrators who don't use vacation time go to places other than our own campus. I'm at a local high school, and I hear drumming. So, since otherwise I'm surfing the net and playing solitaire, and because I know the band directors here, I go to investigate.

The snare and tenor lines are practicing, separately. I watch the snares for about 30 minutes, lead by a current member of the Cadets of wherever-they're-from-this-year. They spend the entire 30 minutes practicing a HAND VISUAL! This begs several questions:

1) Do any of you remember spending this kind of time on a HAND VISUAL? Most of us can't remember enough non-playing time in our shows to allow for this complicated a move, let alone spending that kind of time on it.

2) WHY are kids practicing during Spring Break?

3) WHY are they practicing marching band in March?

I'm assuming they are competing in one of the winter drum line/guard circuits, but should marching really be a year-round event in our high schools? Remember, I'm an eleven-year drum corps veteran, and have a music degree, so I really do understand it all. But when I was a high school band director, once the last football game was done, the marching equipment was put up until after Spring Break, when we started guard and percussion one night per week in preparation for the fall - strictly an audition situation to set the line and reduce the size of the guard.

Sometime in the 80s band directors decided they could all be drum corps, but without the talent level of the corps they have to rehearse SO much more to achieve the same results. Is ANY of this educational?

OK, off the soapbox again...

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Bob:

1. HAND visuals???
2. SOME band directors are crazy!!
3. Some high school bands actually do compete in
summer contests. Some of them are very good.

Besides, practice keeps them off the street and out of the bars!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Hand visuals? You bet. How about all the "high sticking" - sticks straight up or the little swing to the outside the tenors did in Drifting and Dreaming? Certainly not as flashy as today's lines but we had someone watch from the side for alignment and looked in the mirror for symmetry.

What did you do in the Corps? drum

What years were you a Corps member? 61-69

So that is what they mean by "hand visuals"?

Yes, we used to do a lot of of visual stick work!

Especially when we went to Wisconsin to be judged by a certain Badgerland drum judge who LOVED that stuff. We always added a lot of stick work to the show.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

I'd say that the practice doesn't just keep them off the streets it shows dedication to what they are doing--really have to like and want to do what you're doing to deal with practice when everyone else is on the beach or goofing off. I believe all of us were like these kids and would have been practicing during spring break if the corps instructor scheduled it.

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone--Cadets 1959 through 1961 Imperials 1962 through 1966

I understand, and agree with, most of what you're saying. What I'm questioning is the EDUCATIONAL relevance of doing marching band 24/7/365. And this is what's causing the current crop of band directors who put marching ahead of everything else. It has become nearly impossible for kids to be involved in anything other than band, and I don't think that was the original intention. If you knew how much money and time is invested in performances that last 5 minutes, you'd be amazed.

If the mainstream media, who hate public education anyway, ever got hold of this...

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Bob: There are ALWAYS people who get carried away with things and overdo it! Not new. Sometimes it is a personal glory thing, sometimes it is the parents who drive it. Sad but true.

All youth activities should be kept in perspective.

As far as modern drumming goes, there is some good drumming and some bad. I appreciate good "rudimental" drumming, with fine technical ability. But, it is almost impossible to do that when running around the field like a clown.

It is even difficult to present a good musical show when doing that. (Sound projection, dynamics, etc). But, that is what the "new" drum corps and bands like to do. Go figure!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

I don't ever remember a drum instructor teaching a "stick trick," let alone practice. I thought all of these visuals were made up by idle drummers as they stood bored on the 50 yard line when M&M instructors were teaching the horns the drill.

Chris Lambesis is here! Good to hear from you, Chris. And you're right - it was always the guys in the line who made up the stick visuals, and it was done OUTSIDE of drumming practice.

But the days of standing around being bored because all we did was go up and down the 50-yard line are long gone.

Keep hanging out in here!

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Golly. Rudimental drumming.

Remember the 26 American drum rudiments?

Do you think that any of the "modern" drum corps play any of these anymore? How could they when they march at high speeds and run all over the field?

I am sure that some people still do this. The indoor percussion venue is an example. I remember seeing the Swiss group (the Top Secret drum corps) doing some great drumming. (Some of their stuff was Swiss rudimental based).

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Through the years, drummers have added "rudiments" to the list that are really just fancy patterns of the original rudiments. I'm not sure what the official method of designating something a "rudiment" used to be, but now I don't think anyone is monitoring this type of stuff.

And Dave, I still have Arsenault's recording of those rudiments and the solos on the flip side. And he's on the cover in a Skokie Indians uniform, although I don't think he ever actually marched with them.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Bob, you are right. There are MANY variations of the standard "26" rudiments. I don't know who defined the original 26 ... one of the original "old farts" I guess.

I remember the record that you mentioned. I may even have it here yet .. in some long forgotten place!

No, I don't think that Frank Arsenault ever actually marched with the Skokie Indians. I could ask Dick Brown about that, since HE did march with them. Note that it was Dick Brown who wrote all of the music for Skokie (and all the corps Frank taught). Frank couldn't write music.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Bob Shreffler recently mentioned rudimental drumming in a few posts (including the inability of the Blue Devils drum line to play "ratamacues" ... a favorite 'rudiment'.

Actually, (for those who aren't "old time drummers"), rudiments are just established patterns of drum beats taught as the "basics" for marching drumming.

BUT, that was in the days of MARCHING (in a military sense) at a speed of 120- 132 beats per minute. NOT the breakneck speeds of today's corps .. AND with sideways and backwards movements!

Actually, there is NO WAY a drum line could do the intricate and difficult rudimental patterns of the past.

BUT, the stuff they DO now is also difficult. Why? Very large drum lines (high exposure to timing errors), intricate intra-segmental work, and extreme movement!

So, everything tends to even out.

NOW, if they would learn to properly TUNE those drums (so they sounded like drums again) and got rid of those terrible Kevlar drum heads.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958- 63

I believe Percussion Arts Society was the first to standardize the 26 standard rudiments. Then came the Scotch and Swiss rudiments which created more. It now seems that many have morphed so much that the true definition of the rudiments are lost. To be honest, with the velocity that is present in today's drills, it would be very difficult if not impossible to play the rudimental style of the 60s or 70s. I, like so many others, also hate the sound of kevlar heads. That's why I listen more often to past recordings of drum corps rather than current shows. I simply prefer the sound of corps from the 60s, 70s and 80s to the sound of today.
The kids today do impress me with their skills, but the arrangers are off in space somewhere.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Jerry, it wasn't PAS who standardized the American rudiments. That was done years before by the NARD .. Nattonal Association of Rudimental Drummers. And the Swiss rudiments were created centuries before in Switzerland!

Have to agree about the current corps arrangers

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958- 63

Dave,
Forgot about NARD. Might have been thinking of them when I put down PAS. Senior moment. LOL

Yeah, I think the only things they can do with any clarity when running around the field are singles, 16th note patterns with accents and some 6/8 rolls. Anything else has to wait for them to be semi-parked or stationary. That's why so much emphasis is on the pit during those heavy drill oriented sections. It has become apparent that the music is written around the drill instead of visa-versa, which is obviously no new thing. When watching any of the drum lines, although they still are somewhat impressive, they no longer play the more difficult rudiments and take a more "band" approach to field drumming. There isn't much difference between them and a good band drum line, with the exception of the upper level pit performers in drum corps.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

actually, evem my answer isn't 100% correct. Most of the American rudiments were being played by musicians in the Revolutionary Army and other units of that era. I think that NARD may have been the first to actually write them down and organize them!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63