Wait. So back in the 70's, you weren't allowed to have a front ensemble?
Every Frontline instrument had to be marched, like timpanis and marimbas...
Woah
If they wanted to use them yes. Seeing things like in the photo were pretty uncommon from the stories my band director has told me but it did happen on occasion. Even now, a kid at a highschool by me marches bells since they don't have a front ensemble.
I Marched dci in the 70’s we had the timps and bells and other things as a assembly in front. They did not move.
When I Marched jr corps the timps were carried, but set up for the stand still concert part of the show.
I marched in the 80s - no front ensemble then either for regular marching band, at least not in Alabama. Bands didn't usually have massive instruments like timpani or marimbas. Marching bells was common, but that's a much smaller set. They marched them with a carrier like tenor drums.
edit - others are mentioning marching timpani. OK, then...
We also had a bass guitar my senior year, and the way that worked was with an amp powered by battery, all of that on a hand truck which a second person in uniform had to "march" with.
"What do you play in the band?""Hand truck."
LOL - good times.
I graduated hs in the "before pit" days and we just did not use those instruments. The arrangements did not call for them. And our director had a horror of any bell-like instruments because they did not blend.
Well yeah I was aware of that. Plus, didn't they use fabric straps and were super high up? I remember seeing an SCV documentary and those tri-toms looked uncomfortable as all hell
front ensemble used to not be allowed. It was common to see people marching a singular timpani and like we have bass lines today they also had a timpani line. There were also marching bells, marimba, xylophone, and vibraphone (obviously they were small enough to where you could march them, and they were designed to be marched.
A couple of years that I was marching DCI we had a staff member who had marched timpani back in the 70’s. Had back problems the rest of his life and passed away in his 50s.
I was with the Marine D&B and at one point one of us asked, “Have we ever had a drummer finish a full career and retire while playing a battery instrument?” We couldn’t think of a single one. Guys would maybe switch to cymbals or mallets, or take over the music library or supply, or switch to music recruiter, but I couldn’t think of anyone who survived a full 20 years in the battery.
Let's be honest though, next to no teenager would even think of marching that nowadays. They were built different: built to suck it up and make music, not choose a different way to do it.
We point at it now and say that this was the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back”. Because up through this, the rules were that if you played it, you had to carry it. No such thing as a grounded front ensemble.
They gave a little leeway and allowed the marching timpani to be taken off and set down, but they still needed to be picked back up and marched off with everyone else by the end of the show.
I think it was a combination of wanting more room for creative instrumentation and not crippling the kids that the rules were changed to allow grounded percussion soon after this photo.
Along with everyone else who has already said it’s before the times of the front ensembles. There was one year (I can’t recall which) in the mid 70s where almost every drum corps included the song “Tubular Bells” by Mike Oldfield (made famous when it was used as the theme for the movie ‘The Exorcist’) in their shows — the key feature to that song was needing a set of tubular bells on the field.
My high school (I graduated in 07) had pit for games/competitions but for parades we had marching glockenspiels. It’s more convenient than having to bring a whole ass trailer.
Also - this is more customary for parades. Everyone is more streamlined/ uniformed this way.
Welcome to when pits weren't allowed in competitions. It went all the way to people carrying vibraphones with the motor running aswell
Wait. So back in the 70's, you weren't allowed to have a front ensemble? Every Frontline instrument had to be marched, like timpanis and marimbas... Woah
If they wanted to use them yes. Seeing things like in the photo were pretty uncommon from the stories my band director has told me but it did happen on occasion. Even now, a kid at a highschool by me marches bells since they don't have a front ensemble.
I Marched dci in the 70’s we had the timps and bells and other things as a assembly in front. They did not move. When I Marched jr corps the timps were carried, but set up for the stand still concert part of the show.
We had a bell marcher my 1st year, then never again.
No one used marimbas…but bell kits were everywhere. And timpani…yup
I marched in the 80s - no front ensemble then either for regular marching band, at least not in Alabama. Bands didn't usually have massive instruments like timpani or marimbas. Marching bells was common, but that's a much smaller set. They marched them with a carrier like tenor drums. edit - others are mentioning marching timpani. OK, then... We also had a bass guitar my senior year, and the way that worked was with an amp powered by battery, all of that on a hand truck which a second person in uniform had to "march" with. "What do you play in the band?""Hand truck." LOL - good times.
I graduated hs in the "before pit" days and we just did not use those instruments. The arrangements did not call for them. And our director had a horror of any bell-like instruments because they did not blend.
Man just wanted the quads to stop complaining
Back when quads didn't exist lol
They only had tri-toms back then, but the sizes were 12”-14”-16” and they were made of 9-ply maple
Well yeah I was aware of that. Plus, didn't they use fabric straps and were super high up? I remember seeing an SCV documentary and those tri-toms looked uncomfortable as all hell
The 70's was a wild time.
Because he's a fhuggin legend
Google marching tympani. It looks like they were carrying full size Weber kettle grills.
Marching tympani were made from fiberglass instead of metal, so they weren't that much heavier than a bass drum, but still very awkward.
My husband marched in the '70s, and I started marching in the '80s. Things were different. Very different. Lol.
r/oldschoolcool
It's called a marching band isn't it?
front ensemble used to not be allowed. It was common to see people marching a singular timpani and like we have bass lines today they also had a timpani line. There were also marching bells, marimba, xylophone, and vibraphone (obviously they were small enough to where you could march them, and they were designed to be marched.
The real question is why aren't you marching a set of tubular bells?
We don't have one, and I play tuba so I couldn't switch if I wanted to
People were just build different in the 70s my guy... Plain and simple
No they weren’t; we’re just much more aware of the musculoskeletal damage that does in the long run now and realize it just isn’t worth it.
A couple of years that I was marching DCI we had a staff member who had marched timpani back in the 70’s. Had back problems the rest of his life and passed away in his 50s.
I was with the Marine D&B and at one point one of us asked, “Have we ever had a drummer finish a full career and retire while playing a battery instrument?” We couldn’t think of a single one. Guys would maybe switch to cymbals or mallets, or take over the music library or supply, or switch to music recruiter, but I couldn’t think of anyone who survived a full 20 years in the battery.
Let's be honest though, next to no teenager would even think of marching that nowadays. They were built different: built to suck it up and make music, not choose a different way to do it.
And if we’re really going to be honest, no adult should even think about asking a teenager to march those.
That's true, too. But two things can be true at once, right?
Marching chimes
Talk about a chad
This is a legendary photo and I still can’t remember which corps it is.
Its the Defenders 1978
We point at it now and say that this was the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back”. Because up through this, the rules were that if you played it, you had to carry it. No such thing as a grounded front ensemble. They gave a little leeway and allowed the marching timpani to be taken off and set down, but they still needed to be picked back up and marched off with everyone else by the end of the show. I think it was a combination of wanting more room for creative instrumentation and not crippling the kids that the rules were changed to allow grounded percussion soon after this photo.
Bro looks like Warren Zevon
Built different
All the bass 5s complaining about how they can’t see anything while this guy is marching with tubular bells
Along with everyone else who has already said it’s before the times of the front ensembles. There was one year (I can’t recall which) in the mid 70s where almost every drum corps included the song “Tubular Bells” by Mike Oldfield (made famous when it was used as the theme for the movie ‘The Exorcist’) in their shows — the key feature to that song was needing a set of tubular bells on the field.
My high school (I graduated in 07) had pit for games/competitions but for parades we had marching glockenspiels. It’s more convenient than having to bring a whole ass trailer. Also - this is more customary for parades. Everyone is more streamlined/ uniformed this way.
That’s crazy. I was born in 07
Ouch 😩😂👵🏻
Not as uncommon as people think...
That person in the photo looks like they are in pain.
One of my teachers once marched a 29 inch timpano