Drum corps' attitude toward change is an interesting blend of evolving as an activity and maintaining the status quo. If you look back throughout drum corps' history, there have been major rule modifications and trends that have altered it forever. One idea has been a topic for decades.

Will drum corps ever allow woodwinds?

Drill moved away from symmetrical forms in the late 1970s and early '80s. The formation of the front ensemble, or “pit,” happened in the 1981. Then came electronics in 2004 along with the move from G bugles to B-flat bugles in the early 2000s.

More recently, in 2014, Drum Corps International made a rule change that brought trombones, French horns, and sousaphones to drum corps.

Now the question of woodwinds' status is being brought to the forefront. It’s been a topic of discussion before on most if not all of the message boards and social media threads.

How would it look?

There are a ton of factors to think about when it comes to adding the woodwinds to the pure brass sounds of a drum corps. First and foremost would be the number of performers. 

Would you add more members to accommodate woodwinds? Or, would you reassign within the 150-member limit that exists already. 

Then, comes balancing the woodwinds into the brass. Do you compensate the woodwinds volume disparity with sheer numbers? Or do you create a small “chamber” ensemble that is mic’d throughout and the speakers become the equalizer to the brass?

The common argument for is one of inclusion: Of the makeup of all corps-aged musicians, including all wind instruments, only roughly 20 percent play brass instruments. When putting together the best marching talent in the world, why leave out roughly 80 percent of the population? 

As DCI has slowly expanded the listing of available brass instruments, the argument, no matter who proposed the rule, has always been one of inclusion and timbre. When trombones and French horns were added in 2014, the argument for the rule was to allow brass arrangers to pull from as many pallets and timbers as possible. The front ensembles, they argued, could use literally any percussion instrument, so why limit brass? 

So what do you think? Should woodwinds be incorporated in drum corps?