Summer Music in America

This is really hard to do! 

If you have seen videos on social media with drum lines like “The Top Secret Drumcorps” which is very entertaining, this may not seem quite as flashy. However, it is further up the scale of degree of difficulty including double and triple stroke rolls that are synced up as well as challenging left and right sticking combinations that show dexterity with both hands. 

This is one of the biggest summer youth activities that happens across America in the summer.

A new report from the doctorstv.com talks about the physical risks of traditional sports like football, lacrosse and soccer and explains the youth participation in drum and bugle corps is on the rise. “With brain injuries from contact sports on the rise, an increasing number of student athletes are applying their talents to drum and bugle corps, which offers low-risk activities that are more challenging — physically, mentally and creatively.”

One of the most memorable experiences in my musical career came in the summer of 1986 when I was recruited to join the Denver Blue Knights Drum & Bugle Corp. As a member of this group, I not only participated in a unique musical ensemble made up of brass, percussion and color guard. As a member of the group, I traveled from coast to coast. Some of it was hard, because It involved a lot of rehearsal in very hot weather, sleeping on gym floors and days of spending up to 12 hours on a bus. On the other hand, it was a great way to see different parts of the country. I'm glad to see more young people getting involved.

Drum and Bugle  groups comprise of youth 21 and younger compete against other corps in a contest of marching and music precision.  The competition is overseen by an organization called Drum Corps International (DCI). The drum and bugle corps season goes from the first part of June until early August Culmination with a final championship competition.  
 
It is different than marching band
 
While high school and college marching bands do some similar things like playing music while marching on a football field, the complexity of music, marching and pageantry are far more advanced in a Drum and Bugle show. Drum Corps use only various sizes of brass bugles and percussion instruments, whereas marching bands have woodwind instruments like flute, clarinet and saxophone.  In an article from musicmagic.com, it explains the difference between marching band and drum and bugle shows.