History of Drum Corps and Yamaha

By Troy C. Wollwage 01-14-2017

Partnering and innovation for success at DCI.

Yamaha has been supplying drum corps with quality instruments for over 30 years now. At first it was just marching percussion, then brass. Now our Pro Audio systems are also being used. We are proud of the drum corps who have played Yamaha instruments over the years, and of their place in our shared history. This trip down memory lane provides insight into the drum corps, their success at Drum Corps International (DCI) and the related innovations that have come from Yamaha.

Here are some of the accomplishments each year, along with a timeline. As you can see, each drum corps has been notable in its achievements:

Longevity. In 2015, the Madison Scouts and Yamaha celebrated 30 history of working together. The Cavaliers and Yamaha celebrated 25 years of marching together in 2010.
Placement. The corps that use Yamaha instruments have consistently done extremely well, having won 18 DCI Championships, 14 High Percussion Awards and 10 High Brass Awards.
Commitment. In the beginning there were a limited number of groups using Yamaha Percussion, and the competition was tough among music instrument manufacturers. Since then, the number of groups using Yamaha instruments has grown from zero to over thirty-four. In fact, more drum corps play Yamaha Percussion than any other brand of percussion instrument.
Product Development. Over the years, the number of Yamaha products available to drum corps has grown. Yamaha has taken its time, completed the required testing and ensured that the products that are released to the marketplace are the best possible instruments with the most advanced music technology available.


Year	Drum Corps Playing Yamaha	Finals Location	Product Innovations
1985	• The Madison Scouts becomes the first drum corps to use Yamaha percussion and place 4th • The Velvet Knights begin using Yamaha and place 11th	Madison, Wisconsin	First Year of Yamaha Marching Percussion Instruments in DCI use in White, Chrome, and Silky Silver.
1986	• The Blue Devils begin using Yamaha Percussion and win the DCI Championship and High Percussion Award • The Cavaliers begin using Yamaha and place 3rd • The Madison Scouts place 7th	Madison, Wisconsin
1987	• The Cavaliers place 3rd • The Blue Devils place 4th • The Madison Scouts place 6th	Madison, Wisconsin
1988	• The Madison Scouts win the DCI Championship • The Blue Devils place 3rd • The Cavaliers place 5th	Kansas City, Missouri
1989	• The Cavaliers place 3rd • The Blue Devils place 4th • The Madison Scouts place 7th	Kansas City, MIssouri
1990	• The Blue Devils place 4th • The Cavaliers place 2nd • The Madison Scouts place 9th	Buffalo, New York	Corps-Custom Marching Snare Drum is launched.
1991	• The Cavaliers place 2nd • The Blue Devils place 5th • The Madison Scouts place 7th	Dallas, Texas
1992	• The Cavaliers win the DCI Championship and the High Percussion Award • The Blue Devils Place 4th • The Madison Scouts place 5th	Madison, Wisconsin
1993	• The Blue Devils place 4th • The Cavaliers place 5th • The Madison Scouts place 6th	Jackson, Mississippi	The SFZ Marching Snare Drum and the Black Forest line of percussion stains are both introduced.
1994	• The Blue Devils win the DCI Championship • The Cavaliers place 4th • The Madison Scouts place 6th	Foxboro, Massachusetts	The Red Forest line of percussion stains is introduced.
1995	• The Cavaliers win the DCI Championship and the High Percussion Award • The Blue Devils place 3rd • The Madison Scouts place 4th	Buffalo, New York
1996	• The Blue Devils win the DCI Co-Championship • The Cavaliers place 4th • The Madison Scouts place 6th	Orlando, Florida
1997	• The Blue Devils win the DCI Championship • The Cavaliers place 5th • The Madison Scouts place 6th	Orlando, Florida	Yamaha begins distribution of Randy May Carriers and Stadium Hardware products.
1998	• The Blue Devils place 3rd • The Cavaliers place 4th • The Madison Scouts place 6th	Orlando, Florida
1999	• The Blue Devils win the DCI Co-Championship • The Cavaliers place 3rd • The Madison Scouts place 6th	Madison, Wisconsin	The Multi-Frame I for pit percussion instruments is introduced.
2000	• The Cadets begin using Yamaha brass • The Cadets are named the DCI Co-Champion and win the DCI High Brass Award • The Cavaliers are named the DCI Co-Champion and win High Percussion • The Madison Scouts place 10th	College Park, Maryland	First year of Yamaha B♭ instruments in DCI use. New products introduced included: YMP-203M mellophone, the MTS Marching Snare Drum, and the Blue Forest line of percussion stains.
2001	• The Cavaliers win the DCI Championship • The Cadets begin using Yamaha Percussion, place 2nd, and win High Percussion • The Crossmen begin using Yamaha Brass and Percussion and place 7th • The Madison Scouts place 11th	College Park, Maryland	The Tough-Terrain Frame for pit percussion instruments is introduced.
2002	• The Cavaliers win the DCI Championship and the High Brass Award • The Cadets place 3rd and win the High Percussion Award for the 2nd year in a row • The Crossmen place 9th • Spirit from JSU place 10th	Madison, Wisconsin	The YBB 202-M Tuba and the Multi-Frame II for pit percussion instruments are both introduced.
2003	• The Cavaliers place 2nd • The Cadets place 3rd and win the High Percussion Award for the 3rd year in a row • The Madison Scouts place 8th • The Crossmen place 9th • Spirit from JSU place 12th	Orlando, Florida	New 8200 Series Field-Corps Marching Toms and Bass Drums I introduced. The Tough-Terrain Frame for concert bass drum, chimes, and gongs is also introduced.
2004	• The Cavaliers win the DCI Championship • The Cadets place 4th • The Madison Scouts place 8th • The Crossmen place 10th	Denver, Colorado	The YEP-202M Euphonium is introduced. The YMRD-2900A, a 4.5 octave Acoustalon marimba with Multi-Frame II, is launched and used by four drum corps. Eight drum corps begin using Yamaha Pro Audio equipment.
2005	• The Cadets win the DCI Championship as well as the High Brass and the High Percussion Award • The Cavaliers place 2nd • Yamaha and the Madison Scouts celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the corps using Yamaha and place 6th • Spirit from JSU place 12th • The Bluecoats begin using Yamaha and become the next Top 12 DCI Drum Corps to play Yamaha exclusively. They place 5th, the corps’ highest placement ever • The Colts begin using Yamaha and become the next top 12 DCI Drum Corps to play Yamaha exclusively	Foxboro, Massachusetts	The Tuba-Shield is introduced for marching tubas. “Battery Pack” percussion bags are introduced. Ten drum corps play on Yamaha Pro Audio equipment.
2006	• The Cavaliers win the DCI Championship as well as High Brass • The Cadets place 5th • The Vanguard place 6th • The Bluecoats place 4th, the corps highest placement ever • The Madison Scouts purchase Yamaha Brass instruments becoming the next “All-Yamaha” drum corps and place 9th • Spirit place 12th	Madison, Wisconsin
2007	• The Cavaliers and Yamaha celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the corps using Yamaha, placing 3rd overall • Carolina Crown begin using Yamaha brass and percussion and become the next Top 12 DCI Drum Corps to play Yamaha exclusively, placing 6th overall • The Troopers begin using Yamaha brass and percussion and become the next DCI Drum Corps to play Yamaha exclusively • The Cadets place 2nd • Santa Clara Vanguard place 5th • The Bluecoats place 7th • The Colts place 10th	Pasadena, California
2008	• The Cavaliers place 3rd • Carolina Crown place 4th • The Cadets place 5th • The Bluecoats place 6th • Santa Clara Vanguard place 7th • The Madison Scouts place 12th	Bloomington, Indiana
2009	• Carolina Crown place 2nd • The Cadets place 3rd • The Cavaliers place 4th • Santa Clara Vanguard place 5th • The Bluecoats place 6th • The Troopers place 12th	Indianapolis, Indiana
2010	• The Cavaliers place 2nd • The Bluecoats place 3rd • Carolina Crown place 4th • The Cadets place 5th • Santa Clara Vanguard place 7th • The Madison Scouts place 10th	Indianapolis, Indiana
2011	• The Cadets win the DCI Championship • The Cavaliers place 3rd and win the High Percussion Award • Carolina Crown place 4th and wins the High Brass Award • Santa Clara Vanguard place 6th • The Bluecoats place 7th • The Madison Scouts place 10th	Indianapolis, Indiana
2012	• Carolina Crown place 2nd and wins the High Brass Award • The Cadets place 4th • Santa Clara Vanguard place 5th • The Bluecoats place 6th • The Cavaliers place 7th • The Madison Scouts place 9th	Indianapolis, Indiana
2013	• Carolina Crown wins the DCI Championship and the High Brass Award • The Cadets place 3rd and win the High Percussion Award • Santa Clara Vanguard places 4th • The Bluecoats place 5th • The Cavaliers place 7th • The Madison Scouts place 9th	Indianapolis, Indiana
2014	• The Bluecoats place 2nd • The Cadets place 3rd • Santa Clara Vanguard place 4th • Carolina Crown place 5th • The Cavaliers place 6th • The Madison Scouts place 11th • The Crossmen place 12th	Indianapolis, Indiana	The 9300 Series Snare Drums and 8300 Series Multi-Toms and Bass Drums are introduced. The 6300 Series Timpani, 8000 Series Concert Toms and 9000 Series Concert Bass Drums are introduced.
2015	• Carolina Crown place 2nd • The Bluecoats place 3rd • The Cadets place 4th and win the High Brass Award • Santa Clara Vanguard place 5th • The Madison Scouts place 8th • The Cavaliers place 9th • The Crossmen place 12th	Indianapolis, Indiana	The TF Series mixer is introduced.
2016	• The Blue Stars come back to Yamaha, making them the 8th All-Yamaha Drum & Bugle Corps in DCI World Class • The Boston Crusaders move to Yamaha, making them the 9th All-Yamaha Drum & Bugle Corps in DCI World Class • The Blue Coats win their first ever DCI Championship • Carolina Crown place 3rd and wins the High Brass Award • The Cavaliers place 5th • The Cadets place 6th • The Blue Stars place 9th • The Crossmen place 10th • Boston Crusaders place 12th • The Scouts place 13th • The Colts place 16th	Indianapolis, Indiana	The MONTAGE synthesizer is introduced.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Troy Wollwage is the Department Manager for all things Yamaha percussion in the U.S. He has an MBA from Boston University and a BS in Business Administration from the University of Southern California. Since starting with Yamaha in 2003, Troy has guided numerous product development activities and has managed over 50 events a year. He is an alumnus of the world-famous USC Trojan Marching Band and appeared in the movie “Naked Gun,” as well as numerous TV shows.

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