Einstein On The Beach
-
Posts
2,737 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Einstein On The Beach
-
-
I love the argument that adding woodwinds and electronics makes a drum corps a marching band.
That would mean that a high school or college band that only marches bell front brass and percussion makes them a drum corps. Ohio State needs to change the name of their "marching band." And fast.
Or maybe there's a bit more to the definition of a drum corps and a marching band. Maybe I'm crazy.
I think I need to break out Luke Skywalker circa Hand chop off-age....
-
So Einstein-on-the-Beach, I'm not really questioning what you have said, there are valid points on all sides of this argument and I appreciate your arguments. What I AM questioning is why somebody who is "done with drum corps" has posted almost 3000 posts on a drum corps forum. I'm not trying to run away fans or anything, but how can you honestly sit there and say you are done with drum corps and continue to frequent drum corps forums. I must agree with Chris (Randomnoise) on this one: You sound a little bitter, or maybe just confused. I just call it like I see it. It doesn't make sense to me. Am I missing something?
Well I'm glad that you're capable of doing a psycho-analysis via the internet :)
Anyway, I'm an argumentative and frank person for the most part, anyone who knows me will tell you this, and it's easy to argue/debate on DCP. You know how you have an itch on your arm, and you keep scratching it, and it still won't go away so you scratch harder? Well DCP is nothing like that, but I had to scratch my arm for a second so I thought I'd mention it.
I've had this name for 2 years now, I've racked up a few posts it seems, but that's mostly from back and forth stuff. It's just easy to get in a "foight" here and I'm not one to pass up a waxing. And yeah, I can definitely see how someone can view what I say as cynical, or bitter, I just see myself as an honest guy trying to do his best in the world.
Now as far as drum corps, yeah, I am done with drum corps wholeheartedly for the most part. To the extent that I don't want to march again, I want to focus on my future musical career, but as far as the interest I've had in the activity for the past few years, well yeah. There's still an interest there, I didn't completely erase it from my life. I have friends who march, did march or are going to march. Doing what you suggest is highly irrational. And to be quite honest, I'm not in the business of making sense to people on the internet I don't even know, and never will know. I'm sorry if that hurts you.
-
Don't you guys have jobs/school
-
So now that the B-flat horns are the "now" as far as many DCI hornlines go, there are a new amount of emerging chord progressions that come around. As many know the Blue Devils have their "Space Chords" and that has become one of the most popular and one of their signature warm-ups during their horn arc. My question to everyone is this: Are their any hornline progressions out there besides the Space Chords or no?
Yeah, millions
It's not that hard to just slap some chords together and give them to your hornline
Okay, maybe not millions. But you get the idea, it's no big woop.
-
It's not. A young man a year younger than I (so now a freshman in college) is quite possibly the best trumpet player in the state of Alabama, maybe the southeast. The only reason he is not sitting in the principle chair in the UA Wind Ensemble is because he's a freshman (and the graduate trumpet player isn't shabby, either).
But he has no desire to do drum corps. I think you'll find a lot of kids that think the same.
Nor should he do drum corps, it fudges up your playing big time
That's what the synthesizer is for :P
-
You could go the way of Rockin' the Suburbs and record all the parts yourself....
I hate you both right now
-
Do you know if he's also taking over the position of brass caption head? I noticed that Bob is no longer listed on the website..
Bob Barfield and Mike Shapiro are gone. They will be (or have been) replaced.
-
Are we insinuating a group professional sound or an individual professional sound? They're not mutually inclusive.
Yes and no, but you should stop by Tanglewood, EMF, or some of these conservatory prep schools some time, there are plenty of talented 21 and unders. I don't see why that's so hard to soak in.
-
Yes, and they are all separate genres. Thanks for making my point.
Historically, orchestras didn't have Eb clarinets, they were big with military bands. That changed too.
Conservativism is boring, unless you're talking about the death penalty
-
So, when I marched way back when, was I stifled creatively? Was I held down by the man, left with only my crappy brass and percussion? If only I had known the liberation that narration would have offered me, as an artist, how free I would have felt. I couldn't even have imagined how woodwinds and synthesizers could have lifted my soul. Little did I know the prison I lived in...Again, barf.
That's the whole thing...this whole "balance" thing seems to have accelerated as of late and made things...unbalanced.
I dunno, but I've talked to people who marched in my corps before they bought Bbs and they had nothing but awful things to say about G bugles, and these were REALLY good players too. So I dunno, that seems pretty stifling. I dunno if corps with more money for better bugles feel the same.
-
My opinion on narration is based on how it's been implemented in DRUM CORPS SHOWS, including the corps I marched. You make a spurious conclusion in quoting my post and assuming I am against vocals of any kind. I actually like it when corps sing A Cappella. If synths, woodwinds, and other things are implemented as well as narration, then we're all in for some very long summers.
Drum Corps historically is Brass, Percussion, and Guard. Why start messing with a formula that works and try to homogenize it? Why turn drum corps into marching band?
Rock bands, historically, were rhythm section instruments and a singer. Then people started adding samplers, and rappers, and turntables, and saxophones. Some have played with orchestras. It's not "homogenizing" it's just what music does. I don't understand why drum corps is so conservative artistically considering the very liberalness of the activity's infrastructure and how people act. Quite a dichotomy.
-
Umm, when was the last time you saw artistic expression that was scored? This drum corps is "artistic expression" for artistic expressions sake is a bunch of hooey. I wonder how many marching members consider themselves "artists" while on the field? These lost souls who just need to express themselves through music. We can't limit their creativity. That would be like caging a beautiful wild animal. Let the poor souls roam free, don't reign them in with medieval regulations. Just let them express!!!
Barf.
Umm....that's why I wanted to do drum corps
That's why a lot of people do drum corps.
That's why a lot of people are even involved in music in the first place, if not all of them. I don't know why you got into it, but don't condescend to those who do. This post is just pathetic.
-
<**>
What!? I'm asking for your forgiveness!
Our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name my kingdom come thy will be done give us this day our daily bread
-
No one. You don't know the way we run our program and I'm offended you would make such assumptions.
I'm glad all my hours spent in sectionals working on all our pieces with one of the graduate students in the horn studio aren't paying off. Same goes for every section and their subsequent help from the cream of the music crop here at UA. I'm also sure Dr. O, our BD and drill writer, and Klesch, our arranger, are happy to see you dogging them. Props my man, props.
Uh oh, I hope they don't read what I wrote
Please forgive me :sshh:
-
A lot of groups actually take the activity, musically and visually, very seriously.
What's serious about playing the Chicken Dance for thousands of drunken frat boys while moving through 5-6 pages of drill? I'll just say that when I have the opportunity to go to a school that doesn't have a marching band, or at least doesn't center their culture completely around the (now crappy :() football team and the marching band, I'll definitely take I'm sorry. I have nothing against the kids having fun and whatnot, rooting for the team or whatever gets your rocks off, but taking "the activity musically and visually very seriously"? Come on, who're you kiddin.
I'll believe it if I hear it. I think that's fair, no?Oooooh a skeptic
-
So you actually expect a group of 17-21 year olds to be able to effectively execute a professional sound?
Of course. Does this seem impossible in your eyes? It certainly isn't.
Sorry, but there's no way I'll believe that.I believe it, he came from a pretty good band program
-
And I came from a high school band program whose 8-member saxophone section could probably overpower your mellophones. What's your point?
Well college football pep bands are obviously the pinnacle of musical achievement.......
Except for Ohio State, those guys are actually pretty #### good. Too bad they don't have any woodwinds :(
-
From a band with 30+ saxophones, 40+ clarinets, and 30+ piccolos... no, you can't hear them. Our 25 member mellophone section can overpower the entire woodwind section. That's the case in a lot of marching bands. Just the nature of the instrument(s).
Yeah, that's called bad balance and blend. I don't really care about The 200 Dollar Band, I'm talking about creating a professional refined sound. There's more to music than the immature ubiquitous pissing contest of who can play louder. If you want loud 24/7 go lean your ear next to a car engine.
-
Make sure that when you play, your sound is like a super heated laser, and you want to burn that laser right through the brass caption head's brain. Also, take a listen to some bulldozing sites, for this is what you want to achieve in your tone quality.
-
I believe this composer has written pieces with narration. Would those pieces automatically jump to the front of the line for consideration?
No he hasn't, where did you get that from?
-
the way I see it, you can't hear woodwinds half the time anyway, so why bother?
That's the 10th grade high school marching band brass player answer
I don't buy it
What's next? "I hate oboes because they sound like ducks". Come on people. Your high school band isn't the measuring stick of what is good or bad for drum corps, unless you went to Carmel or something. In which case, go Indiana!
-
Myron Rosander has a liver disease which could possibly be terminal, he's been in the hospital for at least a year now. I'm really surprised SCV or no one else has released some kind of press release. But no, he definitely didn't write drill for anyone in 2007.
-
I'm not sure where you think people are renouncing something before we've heard it, because I believe we've all heard marching bands before.
Okay?
-
Huh? Your post completely misses the point. In relation to were Drum Corps is headed, are we to ignore or change all of the rules to the point that we no longer recognize what's happening on the field as drum corps? The sports analogy is very valid. As I have pointed out before, all of these people are artists, but when a painter puts down his brush and uses clay, he may still be an artist, but what he is now creating is not a painting, and when he uses clay he is not a painter. At some point, (and I don't claim to know where the line is for all fans) Drum Corps will no longer be drum corps. For me, we are approaching that line.
It still fits under the same umbrella. I'd buy your argument if drum corps suddenly turned into baseball teams, weren't playing music but playing........baseball. Though a baseball game in itself can be considered a pretty musical event.
Either way, no, I don't buy it. An artist is still an artist whether he's painting or molding clay. Same purpose, same ideas, altered materials.
Those unhappy with narration, woodwinds, et al...
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted
It ain't drum corps cuz drum corps' gotta be looooooooouuuuuud