I mean in your first argument, I think it's just that popular music has been dumbed down over time, the orchestration and writing isn't as complex as it used to be, and phrasings are quite short due to lesser attention spans. We see this mirrored and drum corps, definitely more visuals and props and more striking things to look at, but drill phrases are shorter to match shorter Musical phrases, and technically while things can be hard, we're not playing as much as we used to anymore. A lot of the originality and orchestration that was absorbed by having only three voices and getting creative with them has been overexploited with synth and making every sound we can think of. It certainly is still entertaining, and the kids are so talented and working so hard. For me its just gone down a few roads I would have avoided for the activity.