WilberSoprano

Sorry for straying from the topic. Yes, I should have thought about my response a bit more. Perhaps it wouldn't mix well. The tuning problems would be amplified if played in unfriendly keys. Then again, it would be an interesting experiment... Anyhow, with a bit more thought to the response, G certainly has its advantages as far as timbre goes. I enjoyed Surf's '05 show when they switched back to the Gs. Then there's the Spartans, who, well, sound great. Judging from the 50-50 split in the pole at the time of this post, it seems that this old(ish) argument is not really one that can be resolved.

Well, that is if you can get past the mouthpiece change--while Cs can use the same mouthpieces as the Bb/G instruments, it isn't the best idea to do so. I've played on both keys, and I honestly have to say that I like Bb better, not only for tuning reasons, but because a lot of music was simply written to be played with a Bb's timbre. However, Gs should still have their place in today's corps. It would be interesting to see a line that includes both Bb and G instruments. For example, think of a trumpet section and a soprano section in the same line. The sopranos could play different music from the trumpets in the same way that many pieces of brass band music contain both trumpet and cornet parts. A sop could act as a link between the mellos and the trumpets (unless one also wants to include flugels as well). Of course, it depends on whether or not the corps wants to play with a mix of timbres, or stick with the raw power of a traditional line . Then again, a line of Bb, F, and G would make warmup exercises a little more difficult... Either way (sorry in advance), there are solos that don't sound too good on Gs in general. They make great ensemble instruments though!

This will be my 6th year marching and I'll have two more years after this one. I love drum corps and if I could make myself a few years younger for the purpose of marching, I DEFINITELY would. I'm all for marching longer--hell, I'd want to. The problem, as previously mentioned, is the fact that going to college and/or having a job/career starts right after high school. I guess that this post isn't really necessary, as it is just a repetition of things that were already said. However, not all of us are music majors. I know that many pre-meds work over the summer in hospitals. Furthermore, there are science majors who work in labs over the summer. Finally, what about internships? All of these start in the early 20's. This change would cause some major problems. Life is not fair, that is evident. I understand that this does not apply to everyone; I'm just adding my $0.02.

yes

3-valve Getzen soprano; Citations

I use a 3-valve DEG soprano, and though it has passed down through numerous corps members and it has more dents than my car, it has only gotten about 5 cents sharper.