How come most drum corps don't march 6 Bass drums? It seems like it would be a good choice, with 5 basses playing mostly pitched stuff and Bottom bass being the cannon. IT would just open up more options, much like Sixpacks compared to quints. So is there any big reason why they don't?

Sometimes the music doesn't call for it. Some people prefer 5 basses. Hell, some people even prefer just two or three basses. It's preference, dude. Also, it's a little harder to clean up 6 basses than it is 5 or 4.

Plus, its a balance issue. While you could easily fit the sound of 6 basses into the sound of a corps hornline, the traditional balance is with 5. And many writers prefer writing parts for 5...

Like the other two said, it's about preference. Some colleges and high school lines march 6 basses or MORE. Heck, I saw a line last year with 11 basses and the snares, tenors, and cymbals to match. And lets not forget the 2000 Olympic Marching Band. 2000 band members, probably meant 30 something of everything, including basses. I believe that they had 4 of each size from 16" - 32". Perhaps someone else can answer that?

Anyway, back to topic, I don't think Drum Corps march 6 because they've found that they get the perfect balance with 5. The split parts and pitch differences are present, plus they get the boom with the bottom bass.

If they needed more boom, they'd probably just go bigger. Which would be very unfortunate for that person.

But that's just my two cents. Cheers.

The first parade of the year I saw a middle school marching band with seven basses. They were good...for a middle school marching band of course. I can't really see a corp having seven basses...ever.

I know Jersey SUrf marched 6 basses once. And they marched 4 (Though I bet its because someone dropped out)

Spirit had 6 this past year... i know madison has done 6 before.... its not something that NEVER happens, its just fairly rare.

I think the reason.......is cuz alot of bass music. is only written for 5 bass drums. and if your playing split parts than the 6th bass dosent have anything to play. 5 seems to be about the rite number. our line has 4 and we have a good balance with rest of the line/band. word up.

Thats because the arrangers write for what they have.

I just think it opens up a lot more options to have 5 mainly for pitched parts and then the 32" cannon.

I think 5 basses is the perfect number for writing bass music.

i agree.......idk if you ever really need 6 basses. unless you have a really big line. with like 10 or more snares and 5 or 6 tenors. but or biggest drum is a 28 inch and we still get that cannon affect.

This thread is about drum corps not using 6 basses. It is not about middle schools, colleges, or high schools. Stay on topic.

yea i agree 5 basses is good but u have to think about it. im most drum corps the caption head and the ARRANGERS write the music so in my opinion they can have 6 if they want, but i guess they just like 5.

Someone delete Cradle's post, please.

Don't just think it's because of the Arranger's liking. It also depends on the size of the band. Having a huge 30-32 inch cannon can drown out certain parts. And like I said, it's harder to clean a 6 person Bassline than it is a 4 or 5.

Seeing as almost every Division 1 corps is over 100 people, I'm sure drowning out isn't a problem. And if 10 snares can be clean, I'm sure 6 basses can be clean.

Madison Scouts used 6 basses in 2001 and 2002 I believe. 01 for sure i know that. Correct me if i'm wrong about '02

I think one reason is just that it sounds better. For instance, you can do an eighth note split straight down and up the drums (123454321) and it is a perfect 4/4 measure. With 6 basses it wouldn't turn out like that.

Also, don't forget the personell issue... why have a 6th marching member to play a part once in a while (not to mention the strain on that person physically because of the drill) rather than having concert bass drum in the front ensemble that plays the same role, and that person can play multiple instruments.

Forget about strain, dude. That just makes them all the more hardcore. Think about the guys/gals who marched Timpani and those gigantoid 34's and 36's. Cannons, man, \m/

i have to agree, and sometimes things get really dangerous, i march a 28" and if youre marching on a wet field, or theres some sort of unforseen complication, the risk is inncreased 10-fold, yeah, i myself almost went down today, because the mud on the field was so bad, yeah, that might very well be hardcore, but sometimes it gets a little ridiculous

So let me understand this: You guys are saying that if there are only 5 bases then carrying the 32" bass is acceptable, but when there are 6 basses, carrying the 32" is bad. Am I misinterpreting this?

I marched the 32" for three years. My back is fine. My knees, on the other hand, have been better.

Yeah, the splits wouldn't be too great. With 5 basses, you can do 16th splits 123454321, but if you had 6 basses, that'd turn into a 5-let 12345654321. There'd be some cool triplet 123456654321 splits though...
Well, we'll get a taste during DCA this year. White Sabers are marching 6 basses.
One other reason is that in DCI, it'd be one less person to use in other spots. Like someone said before, you could put the "cannon" in pit to play bass, as well as gong, cymbals, sleigh bells...they could be multi-faceted. However, if you put the person on the field, he or she would only be used to do those cannons, and wouldn't be much of a benefit. 5 basses make more sense in general.
Who knows, maybe a trend will start and there'll be a bass revolution. I'd like to see a 9-bass line, each tuned differently, do 32nd splits up and down all day long. It'd be awesome.

I think the best way to have a 6 bass line is to have 1-5 do the normal parts and number 6 play unison parts for an extra punch.

^Exactly

you really only need 5 basses. and quints. the extra drum adds minute flavor.

My highschool line has six basses, but that's for parades. One of mine is a football player, he still gets the job done, but it does make more sense. The only way it does is if you have the right kind of music for a six drum bass line, or you will have to double up on high and low bass notes in music. We have to do that and I think it takes away from the sound of the music.

i play bottom bass at my high school an we march 5....i barly have any parts as is....i would hate to think how little notes 6 bass would have....