Congrats to the Blue Devils – DCI 2017 Champions

The Concord Blue Devils won their 18th DCI World Championship on Saturday night in Indianapolis. The Blue Devils scored a 98.537 in their final performance. The Santa Clara Vanguard (97.600) won 2nd place and The Cadets (96.875) placed 3rd. The Blue Devils had an amazing year, winning every competition leading up to finals. The Santa Clara Vanguard placed first in percussion for their final performance.

For complete results and recap analysis, check out DCI.org. Congratulations to The Blue Devils.

Were you there or did you watch it live? What were your favorite moments of the season? Leave a comment and let us know what you thought of the 2017 DCI season.

Roger Carter’s “SRC JAM”

After a long week in Dayton, Ohio, the 2017 WGI World Championships are a wrap. It was a great week for everyone involved. Check out the WGI.org website for a full recap of the week’s events.

Today’s video features Roger Carter (and Roger Carter) performing the SRC JAM. Go to VicFirth.com to download the play-along track(s) and PDF. You can submit a recording of yourself playing Roger’s SRC JAM. Click the link above for the submission details.

Please let us know if Vic Firth selects you for a video. Post the link in the comments below.

Congrats to the Bluecoats – DCI 2016 Champions

percussion_education_2016_12

Last night, in Indianapolis, Indiana the Canton Bluecoats captured 2016 DCI World-class championship with a score of 97.650. This was the first time that the Bluecoats have won the DCI Championship. Their show pushed the boundaries of visual design with the use of large red slides that were moved throughout the field. Over the past couple years, the Bluecoats have continued to innovate in the DCI competition and this year they were rewarded for their handwork and dedication to the art form. Congratulations to all the corps who participated. The top 5 groups are listed below. For a complete recap of the 2016 DCI Championship, visit DCI Scores.

1) Bluecoats – 97.650
2) Blue Devils – 97.250
3) Carolina Crown – 97.088
4) Santa Clara Vanguard – 95.300
5) The Cavaliers – 94.025

Full disclosure: I am the percussion product manager for Yamaha Corporation of America. I attended the DCI competition as a Yamaha employee.

Metronome Sound Delay 2.0 – Watching vs Listening

Earlier this week, I posted a video called Metronome Sound Delay Explained by Andrew Rogers. In the video, he charted how the metronome is heard on the football field. This is always an issue for marching bands and his video was a great illustration of how to improve the use of the metronome on the field.

The video instantly became viral and was shared and viewed over 15,000 time since it was posted. Today’s video is an update to the original video. Brad Sparks, former Madison Scouts & Colts member, as well as Brass Staff for the Madison Scouts took the general principal and created an updated document that he is making available on Andrew’s site. You can download a copy here.

Thanks again Andrew and Brad for this amazing resource!

Metronome Sound Delay Explained

The use and misuse of the metronome is always a hot topic. I wrote and article called Metronome Strategies for Improving Your Timing. This video talks about sound delay as it relates to marching band and drum corps on the football field.

When is it okay to listen metronome or drumline? Based on where the metronome is located on the field, who can listen to it? How much time do I need to anticipate my entrance? For more information and to download the handouts, click here.

Thanks to Andrew Rogers for putting together this video and supporting documents. Well done!

2015 Carolina Crown

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfGXJS9GfSk

Tonight is DCI finals in Indianapolis, Indiana. Carolina Crown has been in first place for the past two nights. After watching this video, I am sure you can see why they have been at the top this season. Good luck to all of the corps tonight. [Note: YouTube pulled the original video I had posted due to copyright infringement by the person who posted it. Here’s a video of the show, but be sure to check it out on the DCI.org site when it is released.]

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