On another thread, John Tomaszek talked about the drum lines of some corps he saw at Rockford. I answered:

John, that is what irks me about the drum lines now. They are all the SAME. Nothing unique .. and NO real rudimental drumming. Just fancy sticking and visuals.
And the drum sound is terrible.. no tonal response, just like playing on table tops. BAH!

Bring back real drum lines.. Blessed Sacrament, Boston (1960s), Black Knights, Norwood
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Yes, using large drum lines does create some very good dynamic and visual effects. Even some 'difficulty' due to large lines being exposed to some errors. And, they pl;ay at very high tempi and move a LOT!. BUT .. the stuff they are playing is VERY simple.

What are YOUR reactions to all this? (Forget the 'pit' instruments)

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What did you do in the Corps? drummer; quartermaster 1964-66; asst. drum instr. 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

I don't know how simple the parts are. Saw BD at practice and while everything is not as wall to wall notes as we used to play, the timing and sticking on some of the "simple parts" was certainly interesting - and with the motion - I would say difficult. I think most corps do include some real rudimental drumming to show their chops - but the overall intent is the sound. (OK the drums do sound like crap - but it's the big picture). I would say the bass parts far exceed anything we ever did from a difficulty standpoint and the multi-toms exceed what we did especially when you add in the drum to drum movement.

What did you do in the Corps? Tenor, Snare, Ass't Drum Instructor

What years were you a Corps member? 60-69

I agree with John. It's a different type of difficulty now. There is no way they could play the rudimentally-tough stuff we did moving the way they do (standing on the 50-yard line wasn't so tough). And while the lines are bigger than we marched in the 60's and most of the 70's, they are actually smaller than the height of the huge lines in the late 70's and early 80's (34 total members in 1980 Spirit, including 11 snares). Part of the reason they don't seem to be doing as much is most lines aren't featured quite as prominently as past eras; the "drum solos" of today are more musically and generally woven into the overall program more. Maybe what has happened is that, as John said, the bass and tenor parts are WAY more difficult than we had, so the snare parts are less to keep the sound from becoming chaotic. And, of course, the pit has to figured in there as well in the overall sound.

Personally, however, I'd rather play the parts we played - much more fun!

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

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

Yes, John is correct about the multi-tom and bass parts. The bass parts are interesting and, often, VERY difficult since they split patterns among the players. The multi-tom stuff often seems overdone, just for show.

And, yes, the drums sound terrible.
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What did you do in the Corps? drummer; quartermaster 1964-66; asst. drum instr. 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63