Featured Columns
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Written by Frank Dorritie
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Friday, 05 February 2010 |
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 Ironically, there exist some individuals who have had a profound effect on the drum corps activity yet are generally unknown to many younger practitioners of the art. It’s the duty of the rest of us to pass along knowledge of their substantial contributions. That said, here’s a story about one of them, a man whose playing set a benchmark for performance on the bugle and whose style was emulated by everybody from Bucky Swan to Al Chez to Wayne Downey to the best soloist you heard at last year’s finals, whether they know it or not:
By the time I began marching with the St. Catherine's Queensmen in the early '60s, Riggie was already a star. We'd listened to his solos countless times on the Fleetwood and Stetson Richmond recordings of the Pittsburg Rockets, and vets like Bill Hightower would often speak of hearing his fluid technique and silky tone live on the field at the big shows.
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Written by Wayne Downey
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Tuesday, 22 December 2009 |
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 Welcome back to the land of “All Things Brass.” This installment of Brass Advantage is “Part Two” of an article written by Mr. Marty Erickson (a fabulous musician, tuba player and a world-class teacher) that was written for both music educators and tuba players seeking advice and counsel from a professional tuba player to improve their performance qualities. This installment includes:
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Written by Frank Dorritie
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Wednesday, 09 December 2009 |
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It’s a blazing hot Sunday afternoon in 1962 and a couple of thousand of us are watching the Garfield Cadets challenge Blessed Sacrament for bragging rights to Jersey and the rest of the civilized world. They build a massive company front, push it forward to the very edge of the sideline and high mark time to the thunderous end of the iconic Berlioz opener, “French National”.
They’re on a mission. The horns are roaring, drums pulsing, the dust flying everywhere, the crowd cheering. Two unison sixteenths, a final fortissimo staccato eighth and it’s over…except for the Roosevelt Stadium roof reverb. It’s still resonating as the corps executes a swift to the rear and the lead baris, in soli, whisper the first phrase of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”, backfield, the two echoes meshing in a dreamy musical ether…
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Written by Frank Dorritie
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Monday, 05 October 2009 |
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Percussion General Effect has been around a long time. In his book “The World in Six Songs”, Daniel Levitin (“This is Your Brain on Music”) poses the following scenario describing why our ancestors who could drum held some distinct advantages:
A small group of early humans are asleep in the pre-dawn, near the embers of the fire circle. A distant sound arouses some of them – boom, boom, ka-boom – and gradually, inevitably, draws nearer, the intensity increasing like some synchronized stampede of a malevolent herd.
And malevolent and terrible they are as they grow ever louder, suddenly cresting the nearby hill, pounding a frightening coordinated rhythm. They are, of course, raiders from a rival tribe, descending on the terrified group, intent on slaughtering the men and carrying off the women, food and anything else of value. Any cohort that can synchronize in tempo in this way is bound to exhibit well-coordinated and highly refined battle skills. The sleepy tribe is doomed, and they know it. |
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Written by Wayne Downey
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Friday, 14 August 2009 |
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Welcome back to the land of “All Things Brass.” This installment of Brass Advantage is dedicated to a topic that I regard as a one of the most important factors in a brass players success, proper lip care and maintenance. The article was authored by Dan Gosling, the ChopSaver Guy and includes invaluable information for brass players that perform indoors or on the marching band field… Enjoy
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