Drum Corps United Kingdom
Drum Corps United Kingdom (DCUK) is a governing organization for drum and bugle corps in the United Kingdom. DCUK operates the British drum corps circuit which holds drum and bugle corps competitions for corps across the country. It is part of the national charity - Marching & Performings Arts UK
 Drum Corps United Kingdom Main Logo | |
| Type | Drum and Bugle Corps |
|---|---|
| Location | United Kingdom |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Current champions | Kidsgrove Scouts (2018 Open Class), Concord Allstars (2018 Junior Class) |
| Website | DCUK.org.uk |
Competitive Corps participate in competitions between the months of June to September, traditionally the British Drum Corps Championships takes place on the weekend before last in September. Competitions occur at sports arenas (i.e. athletic tracks, football or rugby grounds) and are judged by a panel of approved and training volunteer Judges on general effect, visual performance, and musical performance. Every year, each drum corps prepares a single new show, approximately 8–15 minutes in length, and carefully refines this throughout the entire summer year. This focus on a singular show takes advantage of the large amount of time needed to honing and refining a modern drum corps program, with a momentum that continues to build up to the last performance of the season, the Drum Corps United Kingdom Championships. DCUK finals has been held at the Select Security Stadium since 2013.
DCUK is strategic partner of Drum Corps International and through this partnership offers DrumLine Battle and SoundSport in the UK.
Points System
Each corps is marked in eight captions, Music Effect, Visual Effect, Field Music, Field Percussion, Ensemble Music, Colourguard, Field Visual and Ensemble Visual.
DCUK partners with five other European organisations with regarding to its Judges and Judging System to enable Corps to compare scores across Europe.
Musical composition and instruments
A typical DCUK show revolves around one central theme, for instance Frank Sinatra or Jazz, with songs fitting for the style.
Many Drum Corps performances begin with a Prologue which is usually linked into one of the main tunes that the corps is playing in the show.
The most typical Corps consists of:
Brassline
Soprano Bugles (High Pitched)
Mellophone Bugles (Medium Pitched)
Baritone Bugles (Mid-Low pitch)
Contrabass Bugle (Bass Pitch)
Marching Percussion
Bass Drum
High Tension Snare Drum
Tenor Drums (quads)
Static Percussion
Arrangement of Static Orchestral Percussion instruments for instance:
Visual Members
The visual section of a drum corps is referred to as the Colour Guard, these marching members are there purely for visual decoration. Using flags, wooden sabres and rifles as a norm, however on rare occasions a drum corps show can revolve around the colour guard performance with the use of props.
External links