In 1972 both drum corps and its lexicon drastically changed with the formation of the Drum Corps International or "DCI," an organization containing the top twelve members of its yearly championship. By banding together, the top corps essentially blackmailed contest promoters into guaranteeing certain minimal amounts for each appearance. Though this guaranteed amount still remained relatively insignificant compared to the cost of fielding a corps, DCI membership became a major goal for all the better corps, and constant "touring" substantially contributed to a corps' attempts to remain "DCI caliber."

Paradoxically, just as the incentive of joining the DCI including making more money, the cost of touring to keep that membership cost money. Many financially weaker corps succumbed, and a major incentive for merging, which again raised the cost of touring, became to get the size necessary to remain competitive. In the 1970s, then, corps constantly merged, disbanded, reorganized, and revamped, until by the 1980s only one hundred junior corps remained though each one included perhaps double to triple the membership of a 1960s corps. With membership corps far less stable than before and needing to increase in size, every corps wishing to "make the night show" at DCI needed to find new sources of membership and new methods of raising money.

The DCI provided another motive for more active recruiting by revamping the old VFW rules. Execution categories on the judges' sheets fell from ninety to forty-five points while GE categories rose from ten to twenty-five points. Thus the most entertaining corps held an advantage over a "clean" well-executing corps, and usually a larger corps could arouse more excitement on the judges' marking sheets than a smaller one. In the seventies, then corps frantically searched for new players and new show ideas to make their presentations more exciting; both these quests ultimately changed the content of drum corps and its language.

Traditionally, corps musicians held a fanatical double loyalty. While most would desperately cleave to the corps they entered, drum corps members and fans possessed an equal loyalty to the drum corps activity as a whole. At the least, most members allotted their drum corps loyalty on a seasonal basis, and various taboos prevented corps members from simply "jumping corps" in midseason.

The DCI undermined this sense of loyalty in two ways. First, the extinction of many corps freed a lot of players from their traditional loyalties. Second, the need of corps to "merge" meant a lot of flux even have the most stable corps. In short, changing corps became much more common even if members’ traditional loyalty to the drum corps activity remained adamant.

At the same time, corps recruiters began to attract players never before involved with corps. The DCI considerably aided these efforts by allowing the gradual introduction of two-valve bugles, which cut the time necessary to convert from a band instrument to a corps horn to a few minutes. These newly recruited musicians, drawn from high school and college bands, possessed the traditional musical training 1960s corps often lacked; learning "by rote" passed into extinction by the end of the 1970s. As the insularity of drum corps changed, so did its language.

Armed with sheet music and scores, instructors introduced the jargon of classical musicians into drum corps, though corps jargon retained some peculiar terms such as a "charge." Louder became "double forte," the band version of the more musically correct term "fortissimo" though "triple forte" or "fortissimo" still translated into "fucking loud." Most words associated with concert bonds and orchestras entered corps jargon.

While corps recruiters combed the high schools and colleges in search of new musicians, instructors, directors, and the newly-dubbed "show designers" searched for other forms of inspiration for the corps show itself. The first, strangest, and probably least useful attempts in these directions concerned the so-called "total show concept," i.e., taking an artistic program dranw from another medium and adapting it to a thirteen minute corps show format. These attempts varied from the sublime to the purposely or accidentally ridiculous.

In the former category, the Des Plaines, IL Vanguard's "West Side Story," incorporated dancing and a mock rumble, Great Bend/Kansas Argonne Rebels' "Jeans Christ Superstar" featured arrangements perhaps more interesting than those in the Broadway original, and the Bayonnne, NJ Bridgemen's "A Chorus Line" presented a tights-clad color·guard in a high-kicking finale. The Garfield Cadets probably introduced the most controversial of these "total shows" as its "No More War" show dramatized an anti-Vietnam position. Among the more ridiculous, Finnleyville, Pennslyvania's Royal Crusaders' "Old Time Religion" distributed hymnals and even church programs to the audience. Within about two years, the "total show" concept largely faded, but the idea of adapting the music and motions of other forms of entertainment into drum corps shows remained. Unlike corps of the sixties, seventies drum corps would play and perform more than marches, show tunes, and medlies.

While drum corps became interested in the external world as a source of membership and inspiration, the outside world gradually became interested in drum corps. DCI tours reached new areas of the country, especially the south, encouraging the formation of new corps. The same goes for the DCI Championship which, with famous high-note hitting trumpeter Maynard Ferguson as one of its announcers, aired on PBS. The DCI event proved particularly attractive to musicians, whether fans or observers.

Perhaps ironically, given the traditional disdain corps members held for marching bands, drum corps became an overwhelmingly important influence on that activity. High school and college band directors discovered what they termed "corps style marching" and rapidly incorporated it into their shows; eventually a knowledge of corps style became almost a job requirement for high school band directors. By the late seventies approximately one half of the college and high school marching bands had overtly or covertly, as the phrase went, "gone corps." Other band musicians studied corps breathing techniques which had developed as an almost scientific pursuit of volume. The traditional boundaries between drum corps and the marching band world and that of the outside world in general considerably softened during the seventies. While joining a corps or even becoming a fan required a considerable effort, traditional hostility towards the "rookie" or drum corps neophyte ultimately disappeared or at least diminished.

Several new word sources altered and added to corps jargon. Since drum corps respect winners, each new source tended to follow the particular competitive fortunes of a corps or a group of corps. The Santa Clara Vanguard's success probably most introduced serious classical music into drum corps, but the jargon of classical musical largely overlaps that of standard musical jargon. A classical musician traditionally applies words such as chord, tonic, etc. simply with a bit more diligence than a jazz or concert band musician. The Phantom Regiment, from Rockford, IL, have more recently attempted to adapt a ballet, "Spartacus" by Khatchaturian, to corps, but thus far no new words seem to have entered corps jargon from this attempt.

A probably more important source of new words followed upon the competitive and popular success of the Bayonne, NJ Bridgemen. Formerly the Saint Andrew's Bridgemen Corp, connected with a parish church located across the river from New York City, in 1976 the Bridgemen left their church sponsorship and their conservative Catholic background behind, and indulged in the wholesale incorporation of the more outrageous aspects of off-Broadway musicals. As a start, they hired Drum Corps' first "show designer," Bobby Bonds, who combed the streets of New York, purportedly found the best-dressed pimp, and dressed his horn line similarly. Bond's First show featured "A Chorus Line," then a Broadway hit, which incorporated costume changes, pink tights, and dancing. Bonds also hired drum corps' first, but not last, "choreographer" to coordinate the chorus girl's, i.e. flag line's, dancing.

Quickly corps fans and scribes started to use Broadway slang to describe the Bridgemen's new show and then applied these words to other corps. If fans could consider the contest field as a "stage," then the center of the front line would hold an imaginary curtain. Soon corps members discussed "staging" rather than "formations," and the first number of a corps show become either the "opener" or even the "curtain-raiser." The Bridgemen, meanwhile, became evolved into even stranger entertainment ventures, including throwing frisbees on the field, but many Broadway terms entered the lexicon in their wake.

While the Bridgemen primarily effected the M&M vocabulary of corps, the Blue Devils ultimately changed the musical language of drum corps more than any other corps. Drum corps had heretofore generally avoided any modern jazz riffs unless tehy became popular tunes first. The Blue Devils, however, played serious jazz. By the late 1970s, they became the premier contenders in almost every championship, and by the early 1980s every corps was attempting to emulate the Blue Devils. Through this some corps simply developed musically incomprehensible programs ending in complicated, musical presentations. With this interest in jazz, corps musician’s lexicon incorporated a number of jazz terms. Musical·lines became "licks" and "riffs" and the onomatopoeic term "bow" for a falling line. During the 1980s, jazz words dominated horn line even as it dominated horn line shows or, to use the jazz term, "books."

Jazz served corps particularly well also because it contained so many words for ecstatic states of musical involvement. Drum corps members had labored in vain to describe the states of mind reached by individuals during an inspired performance. In the sixties a corps could only get "on," but in the eighties the same corps could "cook," "get off," "play hot," "really jam," and, though corps musicians used this improperly, "wail." Finally "hype" proved the most indispensable term in eighties drum corps. Jazz provided the word with the connotations for extraordinary, extra-corporeal performances; when a drum corps "hyped" the term implied an enlightened state of musical ecstasy. On the best night of the year, with all members "on," a corps could conceivably "hype the shit" out of a show.

Since corps members and fans become so emotionally involved during a show even with the words lifted from jazz, drum corps jargon still lacked enough emotional words, and accordingly used words already carrying a heavy emotional charge. Instructors, directors, and even parents tended to swear far more in contact with a corps than they would otherwise. "Shit" and "fuck" served as adjectives, verbs, and nouns; even extinct cuss words such as "pud" help fill the void.

Perhaps the most insulting word in the lexicon is "suck," and this logically fits the activity. Drum corps horn players constantly attempt to "blow their faces off" in practice and performance and to produce as much volume as "sucking out," making no noise at all, shows total failure as a corps musician. Everything in drum corps that "sucks," then, lacks in value. What would in other situations mean sexuality serves as a description of performance.

Like swear words, sexual terms also carry a heavy emotional charge, and using them shows the desire of the musician to overcome the conventionalities of language as his experience surpasses the normal. The best horn line or drum line really plays with "balls out," and the only dynamic level surpassing "fucking loud" is "balls out." Jazz, perhaps the only music activity as emotionally involved as drum corps also borrowed many sexual terms for its lexicon, and years have made the jazz pseudo lexicon much more extensive in this respect.

Drum corps jargon thus incorporates a basic vocabulary of military terms, adapted for drum corps usage, and a number of words borrowed from other forms of entertainment as diverse as modern jazz off-Broadway productions, and even ballet. To these words corps lexicon adds a thick covering of swear words and sexual terms, some original terms, and some proper names of the corps themselves to form a lexicon at least partially incomprehensible to an outside listener.

American Flag section (n). An American flag bearer and three or saber or rifle guards.

balls out (n). Play as loud as possible.

baritone (n). 1. baritone-voiced, two-valve bugle playing in the same range and with the same mouthpiece as a baritone horn. 2. One who plays the same instrument.

blank (n). A person marching in place of a playing member but not playing any instrument.

Blue Devils (n). Concord, California drum corps that dominated corps competition into the early part of the seventies and introduced modern jazz into drum corps.

book (n). the musical selections of a corps' field presentation (Jazz).

box, the (n). The stadium announcer's booth in which GE judges sit during competition.

Bridgemen

Cavaliers, the (n). A Park Ridge, Illinois drum corps, though they always called themselves the "Chicago Cavaliers," whose execution-oriented show dominated drum corps during the 1960s.

charge (n). A high point in a number during which members play while simultaneously march forward.

Curtain (n). the front of the show only refers to the color guard (Broadway).

clean (adj, v). 1. A well-executed action incapable of having points taken away on a judges sheet. 2. To Practice and eliminate errors from the field show .

color guard (n). Members bearing flags and rifles, but usually not including the color guard section (Military).

color guard sergeant (n). Director of tile color guard and, occasionally, assistant conductor of the horn line.

color presentation (n). A number, usually patriotic, during which the American flag section parades to the front of the field; once a required portion of a corps show, now a rare occurrence (Military).

company front. (n). A formation in which all players or color guard members form into a single line.

concert or concert number (n). A tune in which all playing members of a corps, except soloists, remain stationary.

contest (n). A drum and bugle corps show in which all or all but one or two of the participating corps competes for money, place, and prizes.

contra (n) contrabass bugle, 1. The corps version of a tuba. 2. One who plays a contrabass bugle.

contract (n). A signed document stating that a member will only march during the season with the undersigned corps.

cook (v). To play exceedingly well and with enthusiasm. (Jazz)

corps (n). Singular and plural. A drum and bugle corps (Military).

curtain-raiser (n). The first number in a field show.

dragoons (n). a Darien Heights, Michigan corps immortalized in When the Bugles Call My Name.

DCA (n). Drum Corps Association. DCA members include the top 12 members at the DCA champions, composed of the strongest remaining senior corps.

DCI (n). Drum Corps International. DCI members include the top 12 members at the DCI champions and "associate members" include the next 12.

dress (v). To look either right or left with hands together and elbows in the sides (Military).

drill (n, v). 1. The marching and body movements, excluding playing, of a show. 2. Practicing a show's matching and maneuvering (Military).

drum and bugle corps (n). 1. a non-profit musical organization formed to fire a marching unit. 2. a marching unit competing each summer for place, prizes, and scores and drum corps shows. 3. An activity involving drum and bugle corps.

drum corps (n). Singular and plural. 1. A drum and bugle corps. 2. An activity involving several drum corps.

drum corps bum (n). A parent or staff member who appears to devote all his time and money to either watching or working with drum corps.

drum corps nut(n). A fan who plans all of his leisure activities around attending drum corps shows.

drum line (n). A corps' percussion section, which utilizes a wide assortment of different instruments.

drum major (n). The conductor of a drum corps during its judged performance.

exhibition (n). A show in which one more corps plays for entertainment instead of score.

exit (number) (n). The last number of corps show in which it leaves the field or ends its performance on the field.

Fall (n). A rapid dropping from one pitch to a lower one.

feeder corps (n) A corps of younger members formed by a major corps with the sole purpose of training future members for that major corps.

field show (n). Field arrangement of corps members at any point in a show (Military).

file (n). A line of persons standing one behind another (Military).

finale (n). 1. The assembly at the end of a show, during which the announcer awards prizes and places money. 2. The last number of a corps' show.

flag (n). 1. A six-to-ten foot banner of either wood or metal used on the field. More specifically any banner under seven feet. 2. One who carries such a flag.

flugel horn (n). 1. A two-valve repitched version of a standard concert flugel 2. A flugel horn bugle player.

fold (v). To cease operations for an indefinite period.

French horn (n). 1. A bugle-shaped, two-valve version of a standard concert French horn. 2. A french horn bugle player.

front and center (n). A command given after the corps have assembled on the field that calls the drum majors forward to receive their places and prizes (Military).

GE (adj) General effect. The subjective appeal of any portion of a corps' field show as recorded on a judge's sheet.

headchopper (n). A maneuver in which one corps member ducks while another passes a flag or instrument over his head.

hole (n). A place in the drill arrangement in which no one is marching but corps members retain the interval (space).

horn (n). Any bugle of any type played by a drum and bugle corps.

horn line (n). The buglers within a drum corps.

horns to the box (v). A manuever in which while playing the horn line changes the angle of its horns so that the sound goes straight to the GE judges in the stands.

hot (adj). Playing or performing with inspiration. (Jazz)

hype (v). To perform with enough enthusiasm to attain an extremely high state of emotional involvement in the performance (Jazz).

jam (v). To play in a manner that imitates the extemporizations of jazz improvisation but in fact is usually preplanned (Jazz).

judge (n, v). 1. An evaluator of corps performances. 2. To evaluate a drum corps performance.

junior corps (n). a drum corps composed of marching members who are less than 22 years of age

kettle drum (n). A drum corps version of a timpani drum with counterweights applied to make it possible to march on the field.

lead (n). A musician playing the first part (Jazz).

lick (n). A difficult musical passage (Jazz).

line (n). A group of corps members standing abreast (Military).

M&M (n). Marching and maneuvering. All movements of a corps field show that do not lead to sound production. (Military)

make the night show (v). To reach the finals in a major competition.

marking time (v). To march in time with feet lifted approximately to the knee level.

mercenary (n). A person who moves to a new location for the summer in order to march with a drum and bugle corps located there

merge (v). To combine members and assets for an indefinite period of time.

night show, the (a).1. The finals at a major competition. 2. The final show at the DCI championships.

off the line (n). 1. The first number in a field show. 2. A number in which members march off the starting line to begin their show.

on (adj). Playing or performing with inspiration (Jazz).

on the line (adj). A state in which a corps has lined up and is ready to start its show, but the announcer has not yet given the signal to begin the show.

overblow (v). To Flay with too much volume at the wrong places during a field show.

overhype (v). To become so excited that an individual or corps begins making mistakes.

parade rest (n). A state of comparative relaxation in which a person's arms rest across the chest and feet separate at shoulder width (Military).

pass through (n). A maneuver in which two lines go through one another.

phase (v). To have one section of a horn playing out of synchronization with another .

picture (n). Formation as perceived from a distance.

pike (n). A flag typically over the six foot limit and not used for twirling.

preliminary (n). The early part of a major show, usually held during the morning and early afternoon, from which ten or twelve corps proceed to the finals or night show.

production (number) (n). A non-stationary number that is neither the concert nor the finale (Broadway).

pudd (n). 1. Solid, material body waste. 2. Dried spittle in the mouthpiece of a horn.

pull out all the stops (v). To prepare for the major competitions of a season drawn from pulling out the stops of an organ to play all sounds at once.

push, a (n). The climax of a musical selection during which the corps faces the audience.

rank (n) Several members of corps that are marching a similar drill (Military).

re-entry (number) (n). A selection of a field show during which a court that has exited the field marches back onto the field.

retreat (n) Finale at a show. (Military)

riff (n). A musical phrase repeated several times (Jazz).

rifle (n). 1. A hardened plastic object that resembles an army weapon. 2. Someone who carries end performs routines with a rifle during a show.

ringer (n). An overage member who marches with a junior court

rip (v). To skip from one note to a higher one (Jazz).

rote method (n). A method of teaching the music of a show by indicating the fingering while singing the proper pitch.

sabre (n). A dull-edged, curved sword. 2. One who carries and performs with a saber (Military)

salute (v). To indicate with a hand that a drum major's corps is prepared to enter competition or will momentarily complete its show. (Military)

Santa Clara Vanguard (n). A Santa Clara, California drum corps which dominated competition in the early 1970s and introduced serious classical music into drum corps.

score n. 1. (n, v) 1. The number of points given by a judge for a corps' performance·in a given category or an overall combination of all these individual numbers. 2. A musical arrangement.

scratch (n). A corps that doesn't attend a show it has been scheduled to appear at.

sell the show (v). To perform the music and M&M to its full potential.

senior corps (n). A corps that marches primarily members that are twenty-two years of age or older.

shako (n). A cadet-style hat with a holder for an ostrich plume.

shit (n). Anything disliked by someone connected with drum corps.

show (n). 1. An eleven to thirteen minute marching and musical performance lot which judges evaluate and award place, prize money, and score. 2. A musical contest involving more than one corps.

show designer (n). Someone who coordinates the activities of a corps staff to make a show into a unified musical statement.

slide (n). A movement during which the lower body marches down the field, but the upper body continues to face the audience.

soprano (n). A high-pitched bugle with the same range and mouthpiece as a trumpet. 2.T'he player of a soprano bugle.

squad (n). A group of three to ten corps members performing a similar drill (Military).

squeal (v). To play beyond the normal range of an embouchure by shoving the mouthpiece into the face in order to play very high notes.

stage (v). To physically arrange the events in a corps show around an imaginary curtain at the front center of the field in order to achieve maximum.

suck (v). To totally lack in merit whether playing or marching.

tick (n). A mistake in either playing or M&M that allows a judge to subtract one-tenth of a point from an execution score.

total show concept (n). A field show coordinating all movements and music to create a single effect, often inspired by Broadway.

tour (n). An occasion, ranging from four days to two months, during which a corps and its support personnel travel together, while the corps competes in a number of contests.

tour, the (n). Any tour that ultimately leads to the DCI championship.

Twenty-Seventh Lancers (n). A Revere, Massachusetts drum corps whose innovative use of drill and sabers revolutionized late seventies color guard and drill techniques.

wail (v). To play with inspiration (Jazz).

weep (n). Anyone lacking the proper dedication to a drum corps that would.