FA+
Shop
GO THE ACADEMY!!
10 years ago
==Hello, welcome to my journal!==
So the Super Bowl is today, which is apparently a big deal or something, but I heard that The Academy was going to be performing for fans outside of the stadium!!
Many of you have no clue who The Academy are, or what they do, so let me edumacate you a little. xD
The Academy is a Drum Corps (pronounced 'Drum Core'), and they are based out of Arizona. A drum corps is basically like a very very very VERY good marching band that perform at a level higher than your average marching band, and it is one of the most under appreciated things you can do. It requires as much work as any other sport, many times more work and dedication than a lot of sports.
ESPN did a study a while back on one of the members of a drum corps' drumline, and this guys heart rate shot to 180 just from hearing the music being rehearsed while he was on the sideline, getting the vital reading equipment hooked up to him. When he actually went out there, his heart rate went over 200 bpm. And that's without a shirt on, in shorts and tennis shoes, not the stifling uniforms that you have to wear during a performance.
Marching is not just walking and playing an instrument, oh no. xD It is SO much more difficult than that. You have to squeeze every muscle from your core down while marching, but not at the same time, in very precise moments so you can re-step or change directions in less time than it takes to blink. While holding a chunk of metal in front of your face, or having a percussion instrument that weighs easily over ten pounds, up to sixty (!!) pounds with all of it's weight in front of you.
Whilst doing this, you have to keep your upper body relaxed enough so that you look NATURAL while doing this, and try not to let your upper body move around. If you do move around while playing your instrument, you get a terrible tone that's shakey and uneven, and you can easily tell when somebody is like that when you listen to the whole band play, because of the way sound works. Some corps don't even march the same as others, some do right foot step offs instead of left foot, some do high knee marching, it all varies. But you have to look EXACTLY the same as everybody else.
Not even the part where you have to simply run is easy or as simple as it looks. The running people do when normal marching just won't allow you to make it to your dot is called 'jazz running', and it requires skill and technique to pull of correctly. You have to do all of these things, while also cycling in between watching the drum major, listening to the drum line, dressing side to side to make sure you're still evenly spaced between the two people next to you, dressing to the front side line or the hashes to make sure you aren't too far forwards or backwards, etc...
Did I mention you're playing an instrument with more musicianship that most high school symphonic bands? That means constantly breathing and pushing air through your horn. The only time you can rest is when you aren't playing in the music. Since drum corps are only brass and percussion, that moment is during the percussion feature, or at other small moments. You have very few moments you can actually rest and catch your breath.
And don't even get me STARTED on the visuals, acting, and dancing you have to do. xD
Let me link a few videos so you can see what I mean. ouo
Understand now why drum corps are so exciting to watch? xD If you watched all of those videos, maybe save for the Carolina Crown one since that one is the full show, which is around 13 minutes long, you are instantly my friend. ouo If any of you want to talk drum corps, hit me up with a message!
TL; DR
DRUM CORPS IS AWESOME, WANNA KNOW WHY, CLICK THE LINKS ABOVE AND TURN YOUR VOLUME UP TO ELEVEN. =u= That is all.
Many of you have no clue who The Academy are, or what they do, so let me edumacate you a little. xD
The Academy is a Drum Corps (pronounced 'Drum Core'), and they are based out of Arizona. A drum corps is basically like a very very very VERY good marching band that perform at a level higher than your average marching band, and it is one of the most under appreciated things you can do. It requires as much work as any other sport, many times more work and dedication than a lot of sports.
ESPN did a study a while back on one of the members of a drum corps' drumline, and this guys heart rate shot to 180 just from hearing the music being rehearsed while he was on the sideline, getting the vital reading equipment hooked up to him. When he actually went out there, his heart rate went over 200 bpm. And that's without a shirt on, in shorts and tennis shoes, not the stifling uniforms that you have to wear during a performance.
Marching is not just walking and playing an instrument, oh no. xD It is SO much more difficult than that. You have to squeeze every muscle from your core down while marching, but not at the same time, in very precise moments so you can re-step or change directions in less time than it takes to blink. While holding a chunk of metal in front of your face, or having a percussion instrument that weighs easily over ten pounds, up to sixty (!!) pounds with all of it's weight in front of you.
Whilst doing this, you have to keep your upper body relaxed enough so that you look NATURAL while doing this, and try not to let your upper body move around. If you do move around while playing your instrument, you get a terrible tone that's shakey and uneven, and you can easily tell when somebody is like that when you listen to the whole band play, because of the way sound works. Some corps don't even march the same as others, some do right foot step offs instead of left foot, some do high knee marching, it all varies. But you have to look EXACTLY the same as everybody else.
Not even the part where you have to simply run is easy or as simple as it looks. The running people do when normal marching just won't allow you to make it to your dot is called 'jazz running', and it requires skill and technique to pull of correctly. You have to do all of these things, while also cycling in between watching the drum major, listening to the drum line, dressing side to side to make sure you're still evenly spaced between the two people next to you, dressing to the front side line or the hashes to make sure you aren't too far forwards or backwards, etc...
Did I mention you're playing an instrument with more musicianship that most high school symphonic bands? That means constantly breathing and pushing air through your horn. The only time you can rest is when you aren't playing in the music. Since drum corps are only brass and percussion, that moment is during the percussion feature, or at other small moments. You have very few moments you can actually rest and catch your breath.
And don't even get me STARTED on the visuals, acting, and dancing you have to do. xD
Let me link a few videos so you can see what I mean. ouo
Cavaliers 2011 XtraordinarY Drum Break w/ Upside Down Drumline
Cavaliers 2011 XtraordinarY Closer
Carolina Crown 2014: Out of This World Practice Run Through
Bluecoats 2014: TILT Closer (This is so exciting you have to watch this. :D)
Santa Clara Vanguard 2014: Scheherazade: Words 2 Live By, Opening Hits (This is easily the loudest corps of 2014. Why? 24 Trombones. >:D TWENTY-FOUR. Before 2014, DCI corps weren't even allowed to have Trombones, French Horns, or concert Euphoniums. But they changed the rules this year, and damn did Santa Clara Vanguard take advantage of it. Turn your volume up to eleven and bask in the glory of a true wall of sound).Understand now why drum corps are so exciting to watch? xD If you watched all of those videos, maybe save for the Carolina Crown one since that one is the full show, which is around 13 minutes long, you are instantly my friend. ouo If any of you want to talk drum corps, hit me up with a message!
TL; DR
DRUM CORPS IS AWESOME, WANNA KNOW WHY, CLICK THE LINKS ABOVE AND TURN YOUR VOLUME UP TO ELEVEN. =u= That is all.
