From: bignate@next02wor.wam.umd.edu (Nathan W. Holland)
Subject: Marching Band vs. Drum Corps
Organization: Workstations at Maryland, University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 23:26:07 GMT

Please let's not have this article turn into a big bitter argument between  
corps people and bandspersons, WE'RE ALL MUSICIANS.  WE have all worked  
hard, been bitched at ruthlessly, marched great shows, made freinds for  
life and collected memories which all of us will never forget.  Just  
respect others opinions as their own, and keep an open mind.  There is  
alot of stuff from corps that is similar to M.B. and vice-versa.  Some  
things may not be so similar.
	A lot of bands have been using corps ideas for years now and have  
benifited greatly from them.  Corps ideas are based on efficiency and  
effectiveness.  And alot of band directors out there have taken note of  
this and modified certain techniques to fit their ensembles needs.  My  
band director here at Maryland thinks that drum corps is taboo in respect  
to applying some of the concepts to the college band field, but he is  
slowly coming around, slloooowlllyyyyy.  It would really suck if that dude  
who flamed hard and doesn't read this article anymore were a band director  
somewhere and was totally turned of to D.C.  Think of all the potential  
knowledge he would be cutting away from himself and his marching group.   
This article could be a place of exchanging ideas and learning, but it  
could also be a forum for squabbling.  If I wanted that I'd turn on"Day's  
of Our Lives".
	It is really hard to compare Corps and Marching Band.  I've done  
both.  Both have been equally rewarding.  I'll never forget winning over  
the Syracuse crowd when the Maryand Band played Motown in the Carrier  
Dome, that was my first real "buzz" after a marching show.  I will never  
forget marching next to the contras of Vanguard, the Cavies and the  
Devils, going on for retreat in Dallas with the stadium lights off,  
fireworks exploding and the Marine Drum and Bugles corps playing "God  
Bless America".  Everybody who participates in marching band also is  
usually studying for exams, doing homework, working part time etc.   
Everybody in Drum Corps has made a commitment to one thing for an entire  
summer, to march their best, every day for three months day in day out.   
They have put their life on hold so they can do this "one thing".  They  
can't do summer school.  Can't earn money for car insurance or books in  
the fall, and spend a pile of money to be there, but it is worth it.  Drum  
Corps probably is a more intense experience, but most of it is the because  
of the nature and demands of the activity.  NOT BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WHO DO  
IT ARE NATURALLY MORE PERFECT HUMANS AND ARE SUPERIOR TO OTHERS.  Yes by  
the end we do march better, we do understand a great deal about marching.   
I would hope so, if I'd spent my whole summer and all that I came away  
with was a sixth place finish and a cheesy little medal, that would have  
been a waste of and entire 10 month process(1st camp to Finals).  Many  
people who only participate in M.B. also knw a great deal about marching.   
Neither group ( MB or Corps ), has cornered the market on field  
performance.  They exist for both similar and different goals.  There are  
some things you can do in Corps, that you just can't expect from a band,  
like painstakingly working within reach of perfection.  There are things  
you can do in band that can't be done in corps, such as cover a larger  
amount of musical repertoire, and relax a bit more and enjoy yourself  
while working hard to make something really exciting.  I guess what I'm  
trying to say is each group is great in it's own right, and the  
differences are just differences, not necessarily better or worse, just  
different.  Instead of comparing the two and saying "oh this just blows  
this away", try to take the good things from one and see where the other  
might benifit from that.  I hope that some of what I've attempted to  
relate helps some to understand what goes on in both, most of you knew all  
this already but I really felt like typing today, I guess.
	One last thing, if you have't participated in both, think before  
you flame on that which you do not have first hand experience with, you  
may really be stepping hard on that which someone holds dear and without  
really having any clue about what your talkin' about.  

Take it easy,

Nate                            
CADETS OF BERGEN COUNTY '91            MIGHTY SOUND OF MARYLAND
Contrabass                             '88-92
abc's                                  GO TERPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Newsgroups: alt.drumcorps