Drum and lyre corps

A Drum and Lyre Corps is a marching ensemble consisting of strictly percussion instruments and a color guard section. The Drum and Lyre corps originated in the Philippines, as it is easier to finance than brass bands or a drum and bugle corps. The instrumentation of a drum and lyre corps consists of a typical marching band (snare, tenor, and bass drums, and cymbals) with the bell lyre section. The lyre sections consist of bell lyres,the glockenspiels,is a set of tuned metal bars arranged on a tray or in a frame in keyboard fashion for marching band. as well as vibraphones and marimbas. During competitions, drum and lyre corps usually include a pit section which consists of the typical pit instruments used by drum and bugle corps.

Compositions

A standard Drum and Lyre Corps has 4-48 members. There must be only one leader in a group. This leader serves as the conductor. He/She leads the band in parade and exhibitions. He uses a conductor stick and must be shown with respect by the band.

The main part of the band has two sections: the drum and lyre section.

The Lyre section make up the majority of the band. They play the melodic part of the band. A member of the band that consist this section is called a lyrist. In bigger bands, the band may add a bass lyre, a bell lyre with a lower range of keys and sometimes a grand lyre, a bell lyre with a wide range of keys.

The Drum section serves as the accompaniment of the band. It is composed with a group of snare drums, tom drums and bass drums (melodic and non-melodic) and sometimes clash cymbals .Sometimes, they add tambourines, woodblocks, triangles and maracas in this section and assign them to a specific member carrying a snare drum or a lyre.

Most DLCs in the Philippines sport a color guard section similar to US drum and bugle corps.

Competitions

Numerous Drum and Lyre Competitions are held in the Philippines commonly in each municipality or a city. In a parade, they are always accompanied with majorettes. They compete in the form of exhibitions. There is no national exhibition for these but there are regional competitions. But competitions are also held in many towns and cities in the Philippines commonly in celebration of a festival.

Naga hosts the Regional DLC and Majorette Exhibition of the Bicol region regularly. This event is hosted by BFARCIL. The latest event was on September 12, 2015.^[1]

References