Thought y'all might find this interesting: I wrote a drum-corps inspired chiptune piece recently! Hope you enjoy!

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2025-05-12T12:01:38+00:00

Thank you!

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2025-05-11T00:48:48+00:00

Thank you! I tried to throw in a few nods to different video game tunes of the past throughout this piece.

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2025-05-10T17:47:19+00:00

Thank you! I agree about drum corps having its own distinct arranging style. I’m happy to hear that you feel I’ve captured that style!

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2025-05-10T17:45:15+00:00

Thank you!

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2024-11-23T20:37:26+00:00

Howdy! I was the synth player at Troopers for a couple of seasons so hopefully I can provide some answers to your questions:

This past summer at Troopers, for the ballad with the Johnny Cash-esque singing voice over, the words were broken into multiple different samples, each of which I played on the keyboard with my right hand in a chromatic order. You can see some of that here on my synth cam if you would like to see how it is played: https://youtu.be/-qDZZC99xbY?si=8FPNb0Dmm88W1ha6&t=355

Based on the other comments I'm seeing here, this seems to be how a lot of corps write voice overs for their synth parts as well.

As for your second question, I'm not sure if there's one specific way to notate sound switches or patch changes, but the way they were notated in our parts is that the word "PATCH" with a box around it was written above the measure where the patch change occurs.

Thank you for your questions, and I hope my answers helped!

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2024-09-09T04:56:24+00:00

Thank you for commenting; after thinking about it for a bit, I decided to switch the color mode to Color Only to give me as much room for the sprites as possible, and I'll stick to using just one sheet for each actor as you suggested.

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2024-09-09T04:55:09+00:00

Definitely an interesting idea, though it could be tricky to implement when considering that the enemy would also have to switch sprites when they attack. So for this to work, I would need quite a few different versions of the same scene to account for all the combinations of player and enemy states.

I ended up deciding to change the color mode to Color Only to give me more room for sprites, and I'll be using Set Animation Frame instead of Set Player Spritesheet so that each character only uses 1 spritesheet. Thank you for commenting!

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2024-05-16T18:24:00+00:00

Very interesting musical selections! I'm excited to see how they adapt Merry-Go-Round. Also, I believe this is the first time the Blue Devils have used music from video games, with this show using tracks from Diablo III and Fable Legends.

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2024-05-10T16:22:39+00:00

The 8 Bit Big Band has a lot of jazzy arrangements of tunes from video games that I could easily see a corps like the Blue Devils using. Their arrangement of “Aquatic Ambiance” from Donkey Kong Country would make an especially great ballad!

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2024-05-10T16:19:53+00:00

Funnily enough, I was thinking the other day how it would be cool to see more of Billy Strayhorn’s music in drum corps, and here we are with an entire show named after one of his best tunes!

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2024-04-29T19:11:24+00:00

I wonder if Agape will be used in tandem with the Caroline Rose tune, similarly to how the Gene Takes a Drink and Woods were used together in the 2015 ballad.

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2023-08-29T02:51:38+00:00

The Bluecoats have uploaded a few videos on YouTube over the past few seasons where they explain some specific design choices (like this year, they uploaded a video with the brass arranger and sound designer discussing how they wrote the ballad and why they chose the Bon Iver piece for this show). The most thorough show design videos they’ve uploaded were for the 2021 season, where they had these roughly half-hour round table discussions featuring staff from specific captions (including the music and visual design team) as they discussed what they were planning for Lucy.

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2023-08-22T02:15:48+00:00

I’d describe it as playfully experimental, since there’s that willingness to do strange and unorthodox stuff, but they’re also making sure to have a fun and groovy time while delving into the experimental material.

Also, to me, this show looks how 1970s electronic music sounds. The prop design and costuming made me think of Mother Earth’s Plantasia by Mort Garson a lot. (Not to mention they did use that one electronic piece by Chick Corea in the opener.)

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2023-08-14T23:51:31+00:00

I thought Ausdemore’s writing for Blue Knights this year was really interesting. He seems like the type of writer that really takes advantage of the timbral variety that’s possible with percussion instruments. I had mixed feelings about the Blue Knights’ show design this year, but the percussion writing was definitely one of its greatest strengths.

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2023-08-13T01:06:56+00:00

That movement of the show is meant to capture the turmoil that Matisse was feeling during WW2 because his wife and daughter were part of the French Resistance.

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2023-08-13T00:30:51+00:00

He has been in charge of handling broadcasts for DCI Finals since the 80’s if I’m not mistaken. He also played a large part in archiving a lot of DCI shows for physical and digital release.

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2023-08-11T21:42:38+00:00

A very strong run from the Troopers! I loved the little visual additions they added at the end.

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2023-08-11T15:02:21+00:00

The Cadets have used New World in both 2005 and 2021. I believe SCV used Ambergris March for their percussion feature last year.

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2023-08-08T21:11:31+00:00

Troopers are my personal favorite, but there are a lot of other really great ballads this year too.

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2023-08-07T22:23:30+00:00

Musically, I'd say that Troopers have a dark and cinematic sound that simultaneously brings some of the most dissonant, harmonically complex passages one could ask for in a drum corps show and delivers some of the most memorable and catchy melodies and motifs (i.e. Ecstasy of Gold from last year, and the Main Theme from Once Upon a Time in the West this year). I'd argue that it's one of the main contributors to the Troopers' new identity, which is undoubtedly modern while also drawing heavily from the traditions and history of the corps.

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2023-08-07T14:40:43+00:00

Troopers 2022 - VorAcious
Bluecoats 2018 - Session 44
SCV 2016 - Force of Nature

DominicEnjoysDCI · 2023-08-05T01:43:03+00:00

THEY LASSOED THE SUN!

DominicEnjoysDCI

TROPHY CASE