Drum Corps International Finals: Fill & Download for Free

Here are the top corps lined up for the finals of Drum Corps International.Marching bands are a big part of life in schools all over the country and some of the best and brightest musicians and dancers are selected to join these traveling bands each summer. The maximum age is 21, but they perform music at a very high level while presenting intricate productions that would not be out of place among professional Broadway shows. This is the best of the best, representing all races, creeds, and regions of this great country. I get chills and a swell of pride whenever I hear a top drum corps or marching band.

“Why is marching band not a sport?”I’d argue that it IS a sport, it’s just still in the growth stage.DCI (Drum Corps International) has regional teams (corps) which are highly-selective and compete with each other for a shot at the championship.High-level DCI events have been televised on national TV for a while now, shown in movie theaters, and advertised on the national stage.Tickets to finals are like $150.Now, it hasn’t gained enough traction to start paying the athletes yet, but there is enough money going through the activity to (modestly) pay a full staff.I realize marching band is a very different activity than, say, football. But it checks most of the boxes for what I consider a sport to be.Cheers!~ J.T.

Well, to whoever asked this question--this is MY first question to answer here on Quora. Hope I can bring a bit of understanding.The marching band has been a part of American culture since the very beginning. Coming from a military tradition, marching bands have provided music and "cadence" (tempo) to troops. John Philip Sousa, known as the "American March King", certainly "upped" the level and notoriety of the modern marching band not only with his many march compositions, but as the conductor of the Marine Band and then his own popular band. Before even football came to the school, Notre Dame formed the very first collegiate marching band in 1842. Marching bands flourished and while not nearly as highly regarded, was AND ARE a mainstay at football games across the country beginning at the collegiate level, then later, at the high school level.(Pictured is the VERY first known "formation" of a marching band--used in 1907 by the Purdue All-American Marching Band)Marching bands, like I said, have been a part of the American landscape for a very long time, but you ask when and how did they become popular. I too have noticed with the past 5 years that there has been more use of drumline in music videos and real high profile events, like the Super Bowl halftime, in support of major music stars. I think this sudden boost in popularity probably owes itself to the movie Drumline, starring Nick Cannon, from a few years back. While laughably NOT a very good movie, it DID present the marching band activity as a whole in a fairly positive light (although it featured a style of marching band called "show band" which is only one of a few styles of marching bands in America).(Pictured is Nick Cannon in a still from the movie "Drumline")I would like to think though that the modern, competitive marching band has been "noticed". Within the last decade or so, there has been a very big increase in the sophistication and complexity of competitive "field show" productions by high school marching bands. That has shown up as well in the collegiate marching band scene, with more and more programs doing more complex and hence, entertaining, half time shows.(Pictured is a marching band with Madonna at the Super Bowl, 2012)There's one final part of the answer, and that's the drum and bugle corps activity. Drum and bugle corps, often referred to as "marching bands on steroids", are often private non-profit youth organizations that provide a higher level marching arts experience for the performer. These corps practice during the winter and spring months, and travel extensively in a nationwide tour of competitions, culminating with a week long World Championship. This activity has been in America since the very early 1900's, and has been competitive for nearly as long. In 1972, Drum Corps International (DCI) was formed to bring a level playing field (excuse the pun) and a standardized approach to adjudication for the competitive drum and bugle corps' across the country. The activity has been enjoying an upward trend in popularity after a particular dismal time (often referred to in the activity as "the dark years") of the mid to late 90's, with more complex and amazing field show performances as well as more groups being formed across the country.I am certain that this activity, which is hard to differentiate from the lay person from a "marching band", has also helped to bring a level of popularity that is being seen today.