SYMPOSIUM ADDRESS: Tradition vs. Simplification: The Debate Over Keys Ryan Williams Almost everyone in our country has heard of marching bands. These are groups of people that get together and play music while moving around a football field, making shapes and patterns that morph and shift from one to another. But there is another type of marching ensemble, called drum and bugle corps. In my experiences, I have found that not many people know about drum corps, as participants in the activity call it (to say "drum and bugle corps" is just too much for the tongue). In the cult known as drum corps, there are three factions: junior corps, senior corps, and alumni corps. Alumni corps are just that: groups of drum corps veterans (or just "vets") that get together just to have fun and play. Senior corps is drum corps where people are all ages, and work only on the weekends, as they have normal lives to lead during the week. The final type, junior corps, has limited membership, based on age, and the competitive season is a 60-day, non-stop tour across the country. Each type of corps has it's own "umbrella" organization, or circuit, that schedules where and when shows are, and maintains lists of which corps are participating. The organization that runs the junior corps activity is Drum Corps International, or simply put, DCI. Each circuit imposes certain guidelines for membership and in the case of DCI, the rulebook states members must not be older than 21, the exception being when a member turns 22 during the competitive season. The way corps differs from marching band is in the composition of the ensemble. In a marching band, you have the typical percussion sections and the color guard, and the wind section, made of flutes, clarinets, saxophones, trumpets, horns, trombones, baritones, and tubas. A drum corps horn line is much different. The typical horn line has soprano bugles which are similar to trumpets, mellophones which are a style of alto-voice or midrange, roughly similar to french horns, baritones which are valved instruments pitched in a range similar to that of the trombone, and finally the contrabass bugles (or simpler, contras) which are much like tubas. In addition, some corps use flugel horns, which are a cross between sopranos and mellophones, and also the euphonium, which Wayne Downey describes in the 1993 DCI Finals broadcast, "is like a big baritone." The one thing all of these drum corps instruments have in common is their key: G. This means that when a bugler plays a "C" on his bugle, you will actually hear a "G" as if it were played on a piano. This past January, however, the DCI Rules Congress was given a proposal to allow corps to use instruments pitched in any key during competition. This proposal was voted on, and passed by a 17-3 landslide. This now means that a corps can use an instrument other than a bugle (bugles of any size) to compete in their shows. There are some restrictions on this, however. For instance, a corps cannot use a trombone, as it has a slide rather than valves. Also, a sousaphone or concert baritone would not be accepted, as they are not "bell-front marching brass" (Drum Corps World). In laymen's terms, this all means that the instruments used need to be shaped basically like a trumpet (but larger) and they all must use valves to control pitch, not one slide. I feel that this rule change will not be beneficial to DCI in any of aspects mentioned by the people that proposed the rule. The proponents of this change led by David Gibbs and Wayne Downey, both of the Blue Devils, and also George Hopkins of the Cadets of Bergen County and YEA, have many reasons to support this change. Their first reason is money. They feel that a corps would be more financially stable by using the instruments in any-key, as they would be more inexpensive. Another point they give is security. There are only two manufacturers of bugles, and some people are worried that they might stop making bugles. A third justification is the transition from corps to band. Currently, musicians have to change from one key to another between the two activities. One of the supports of the rule change feels this should be eliminated. One of the biggest reasons for anything in drum corps, and one of the most serious, is money. All drum corps survive on donations, award money, and member dues. From this narrow income, the corps must pay instructional salaries (the people who teach the corps), artistic salaries (the people who create the shows), administrative salaries (the people who run the corps), transportation fees (touring and getting from show to show), equipment (horns, drums, guard equipment, etc), and finally housing and meals (keeping the kids alive). By switching to the instruments of any key, the corps will suffer monetarily. Every few years, each corps also needs to put out a fair amount of money to replace and/or purchase instruments. This becomes an extreme drain on the bank account, as instruments start at $550 each for a soprano bugle (Kanstul). Naturally, as the instruments get larger, they become more expensive. The typical horn line in a drum corps will have roughly 15-20 soprano players, 10-12 mellophones, 15-20 baritones, and 8-12 contras. Calculating cost from here, 20 sopranos at $550 each costs roughly $11,000, not counting shipping, insurance, and taxes. In contrast, to purchase 20 trumpets of equal quality from Selmer Musical Instruments, makers of the Bach brand brass instruments, the corps will be paying roughly $1,000 each, resulting in an initial cost of $20,000. At this point, the corps would have saved $9,000 by sticking with G-bugles as opposed to trumpets. By calculating everything out for the mellophones ($685 bugle/$1400 marching), baritones ($900 bugle/$1875 marching), and contrabasses ($4600 bugle/$6350 tuba), the corps would save a total of $50,580 (Kanstul). The only other bugle manufacturer, DEG Music Products, sells their bugles at a higher price (though not necessarily better quality), and the regular marching brass for a slightly lower price, though the difference is still extreme when calculated for an entire horn line. This brings up another point used to argue in favor of the rule change. There is concern, a justified concern, that there are only two manufacturers of bugles, Kanstul and DEG. If one of these companies were to discontinue the manufacture of bugles, or cease to exist altogether, the other company would then have no competition in the market, and then increase the prices of the bugles. On the other hand, if something was to happen and both of these companies would no longer be able to provide bugles, then the whole activity would be in trouble. The only other way to obtain an instrument pitched in G is through Yamaha, and the only selection is a tuba with special slide attachments to extend the tuning slide to lower the pitch (Kelley). This means the only instrument you could have is a contrabass bugle, but no sopranos, mellophones, or baritones. If you think about this argument logically, no company would discontinue production of any product if it held a 50% market share. There is too much potential business for these two companies to justify the loss of profit by shutting down bugle production. "What about marching bands?" You may ask. The concert and marching band market is not sufficient for these two companies to cancel production of bugles. When it comes to regular keyed instruments, there are a myriad of manufacturers, such as Selmer, UMI, Besson, and Yamaha, that have a strong hold on the market because of their mass production and good deals for beginners. Kanstul and DEG do have some business in this market, but their real money comes from the estimated 230 drum and bugle corps world-wide (Sherry). In an ideal market environment, each of the two manufacturers would then have at least 115 corps to supply with instruments. This is nearly $10 million income for each company. By using common sense, you can see that company would not be intelligent to give up this market. Additionally, when asked about the cost of re-supplying a corps with regular marching brass rather than bugles, some of the 17 proponents have suggested that some corps members could use their own instruments. When asked about this, the majority of members have replied "No way." The typical age of a DCI corps member is around college age. Anyone in college who would have spent the money to buy an instrument would have shelled out enough money to purchase a professional model, or one step below. The reasoning behind this is, anyone in college who would buy an instrument would be a music major, someone who is going to be a professional musician someday. Judging again by the Kanstul price list for 1999, a good quality trumpet would cost anywhere from $1400 to $2400 and up (Washington Music Center; Kanstul). Going back to that common sense argument again, you can see how a person would be reluctant to put an investment such as that through the wear and tear of a summer tour. This wear and tear consists of anything from excessive heat to damaging blows from the color guard equipment. A professional level trumpet isn't made to handle this sort of torture, though soprano bugles are specifically designed to be beaten mercilessly (Stewart). Drum corps instruments need to be able to withstand a great deal of abuse. Periodically, a member may pass out (drum corps is a summertime activity), and the horn may hit the ground. Or two people may clang their horns together, unwittingly (hopefully). It's also possible that a horn might get kicked over a break from rehearsal. And of course, loading and unloading the equipment trucks can cause wear and tear. Another argument (an argument with which I disagree) that the proponents have used to persuade this change is one that involves the musicians. Wayne Downey, the arranger and brass caption head for the Blue Devils, has said that he knows of many music students who have a difficult time making the transition from drum corps to band, and vice versa. This transition he is referring to is that of the key of the instrument. When you play on a bugle, certain pitches are played without using the valves, and with a certain embouchure (the way your lips are set). When you play on a regular instrument then, the same embouchure is used, but with different fingerings. On top of this, a slightly different tone comes. After spending a minimum 18 hours of your weekend playing in one key, it feels odd to change to a different key and have different sounds come from the horn. Though Downey makes a logical argument, the argument provides an excuse to people with aspirations of becoming a professional musician to be lazy and undisciplined. A good musician, especially one who is training to be an educator, should be able to make a transition from one key to another very quickly. This would take evidence in the job of a band director. A high school band director will have one period of each day where he works with a full band, and the rest of the day he works with each individual section. He, or she as the case may be, does not have the luxury of a few hours to make a transition from one key to the next, or the luxury of having everything in the same key. A high school band is made up of instruments in many keys, and the director needs to be able to relate to any key at any given moment. The drum corps horn player can begin to develop this skill by making the transition from his or her g-bugle to a trumpet in Bb, a trombone in C, or a French horn in F, or any number of other instruments. The biggest argument against the change does not involve numbers, statistics, or education. It involves the biggest thing to a drum corps: its fans. Though all the corps spend hours upon hours practicing and rehearsing with very few, if any, fans at rehearsal, when it comes to show time, the fans make all the difference in the world. When a corps is performing, the best way to help the corps increase its energy and entertainment level is crowd reaction. John Wessner, Physics Department Chair at Towson University, says that the difference in keys would not affect the sound to the point of making a noticeable change, even to an experienced drum corps vet. Though a single instrument may hold true to this, the overall sound created by the organization will be affected. If you would take an 80-piece marching band, all brass, and compare it to a 50-piece horn line from a drum and bugle corps, you would get much more sound out of the corps, as it is the nature of the instrument. Even the most "musical" of drum corps fans can appreciate the sound produced when 50 or 60 horns suddenly pop up to the top of the stands and let out a sound that is capable of peeling the skin off your face. I have yet to see any marching band produce this same sound-with the exceptions of the Big Ten bands, such as Penn State's Blue Band. Even in this scenario, Penn State has 400 playing members, whereas DCI horn lines are around 70 people or less. If you would take the bugles away from the drum corps, they'll be nothing more than a college band that plays in the summer. The power and sound they are known for-the power and sound of the bugles-will be stripped away. One of the reason given by Peter Bond, a brass instructor with the Phantom Regiment, is quoted to have said, " There is a certain exclusivity to it. 'I marched with the Madison Scouts' elicits a different reaction than 'I was a section leader in the U of XXX Marching 500.'" What Bond is saying in his quote is that a person who marched in a drum corps in any respect has a bit of an exoticness that isn't found anywhere, even in being in charge of a large section in a large and powerful college band. The corps that he referred to, the Madison Scouts, are known for the incredible sound that they can produce. I would venture as far to say that they can play louder than any marching band, even one with 500 members. This is something I can speak about from experience. My high school band was a powerhouse in the competitions, but after the first of my now four years of drum corps involvement, people began to look at me in a whole new light. This was all because I did something different, and something more extreme. The other kids in the high school didn't quite grasp the full concept of what it was; they just knew that anyone who did it had to be good. If corps begin to change over to use any-key instruments, this will begin to take the exclusivity out of. People will just be doing year-round marching band, not drum corps. Taylor Jenkins, a member of the Crossmen Junior Drum and Bugle Corps and student at Towson University, has remarked that although many of the members in the DCI corps really do not support the change to any-key instruments, they really won't put up a fuss about it. The fuss will come, however, if and when attempts are made to allow woodwinds in corps. People who are still more toward the middle of the change are resting on the argument that a bugle hasn't been a bugle for a long time now. The Harper Dictionary of Music defines a bugle as a single pipe with no valves of any sort to adjust the pitch. Going from this point you can say that drum and bugle corps no longer uses bugles by any means. However, the Harvard Dictionary of Music is a bit contrasting in saying that a bugle generically describes any valved brass instrument. What the drum and bugle corps activity defines the bugles as is a valved, brass instrument pitched in the key of G. This means that anything, whether it is a single pipe of the military bugle up through everything including the new 4-valved contrabass bugles now used by the Madison Scouts, is a bugle. Steve Kelley, veteran of the Crossmen Junior Drum and Bugle Corps and also the Reading Buccaneers Senior Drum and Bugle Corps, and tuba major from West Chester University in Pennsylvania, described the current instruments as "bastardized hybrids of bugles and concert horns." He goes on to explain, " [it] has been going on ever since the first valve was added." Though his point is valid in accordance with Harper's Dictionary, it does not coincide with the definition accepted by society. The drum corps world accepts any valved brass instrument in the key of G to be a bugle. The valves are just added to allow the corps more freedom as far as melody is concerned, and also for intonation purposes. Dr. Wessner, a bit humorously, said, "If they play in tune, it isn't a drum corps," (interview). Humor aside from this, corps have been notoriously stereotyped as out of tune and "annoying" (sounding) ensembles. The addition of valves to the bugle have not changed it from being a bugle, however, they have allowed us to be more musical when it comes to being in a corps. In considering all the evidence and facts for and against DCI allowing the corps to use instruments of any key, you can easily see that there is much more to support the side that wishes to keep with the traditions of drum corps and remain the same. All things must change at some point, but drum and bugle corps are not at the point to make this extreme of a change. At a time in which the activity is losing too much of its membership to jobs and summer laziness, these corps would only be hurting themselves by taking away their most well known characteristic-their bugles. Works Cited 1) Drum Corps World, March 1999 issue. 2) The Harper Dictionary of Music, Christine Ammer, 1960 Harper & Row Publishers, New York. 3) Harvard Dictionary of Music, Willi Apel, 1969 Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge Massachusetts. 1) DCI Summer Music Games PBS Broadcast 1993 (original air date unknown). 1) DEG Music Products, manufacturer and dealer of instruments. Phone interview April 29, 1999. 2) Kanstul Musical Instruments, manufacturer and dealer of instruments. Phone interview April 29, 1999 3) Washington Music Center, major dealer in musical Instruments. Phone interview with trumpet expert, Mark, May 3, 1999. 1) Sherry, Dave. Dave Sherry's Comprehensive Drum Corps Web List. http://users.ids.net/~dsherry/drumlist.htm. Site visited April 29, 1999. 2) Kanstul Musical Instruments. http://members.aol.com/kanstulmus/. Site visited April 29, 1999. 1) Jenkins, Taylor. Member, Crossmen Junior Drum and Bugle Corps. E-mail dated April 20, 1999. 2) Kelley, Steve. Member, Reading Buccaneers Senior Drum and Bugle Corps. E-mails dated March 22, 1999 and April 28, 1999. 3) Stewart, Scott. Director, Madison Scouts Junior Drum and Bugle Corps. E-mail dated April 20, 1999. 4) Wessner, Dr. John. Chair, Towson University Physics Dept. E-mail dated April 28, 1999.