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BlueStar98

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Everything posted by BlueStar98

  1. Does anyone regularly (consistently each season) rehearse on concrete for move-ins and/or camps?
  2. Does anyone regularly (consistently each season) rehearse on concrete for move-ins and/or camps?
  3. Does anyone regularly (consistently each season) rehearse on concrete for move-ins or camps?
  4. Have there been problems with finals in Indy? I guess I haven't noticed them. Is the travel the issue for you CA guys? That would be a challenge for sure.
  5. I buddy told me that (rumor, I know) they performed at Allentown and the judges didn't have any All-Age sheets to judge them on, so they were on World Class sheets. The sheets had them somewhere around 7th...I wasn't there...
  6. Any teachers out there? Rubrics my friends! The sheets give numbers based on the criteria performed. In otherwords, the numbers are associated with what the box requirements are. Not all sheets in evaluation are the same. I march Star United, and we got like a 97 at mini corps. Does that mean we were that close to Bucs? I think not. If someone gets a "10" or "100", it just means they've maxed out what that box is saying they did. To me, if multiple groups are coming close to 100, then the sheets may need to be adjusted to be more stringent or specifc. I'm agreeing with some others here. 100 doesn't mean perfect, it just means they've accomplished all that is being asked. What something better? Get the sheets to be harder! edit here... This is, of course, if the sheets are being judged appropriately by someone who really understands them.
  7. I'm dipping my toe back onto the forums here... I'm a Star guy and one of the regrets I have about Friday night is that I don't really get to see too many groups. I go onto youtube and check them out later, but it's not the same of course. I have really enjoyed Mass Brass, Golden Eagles amd MB (I taught with a buddy who plays there) but haven't gotten a chance to see as much as I'd like. I guess I can't state who should be first, second or whatever. We don't talk much about competition, but when we do, it is about how everyone is likely better than last year. It's interesting to hear peoples different perspectives on the whole entertaining thing. My first year was '07 and I had guys come up to me and say how professional we looked and sounded, instead of robotic, which is just interesting to see where tastes are. I just thought I'd state that I have really enjoyed my experience in DCA. Playing in concert bands/orchestras in the area is great stuff, but not quite the same crowd reaction.
  8. I could be wrong, but didn't Caves also place 7th in '96 after winning?
  9. I just realized why I'm never on forums. Sorry guys. I should have known better. Good luck in your discussions. I'll take my ball and go home. Alan may have something with comparing horns though. Go check it out and see what you think. Sit down with a tuner, after warming up and see what happens. My bad on not making my point more clear...If the equipment is in better working order, you can take the kids FURTHER(what I meant), not easier(what I didn't). In my opinion, the construction of Bb's is better, and you can take them further. Man, you'd think I killed someone's dog or something. Yikes guys.
  10. If you think this is an easy button, it's time to get off the computer and start getting around town on your horse and buggy. A whole lot of kids I've taught deserve a little more than to be told what they did was easy. Nice argument.
  11. It seems like we are just talking to ourselves in this forum, but I'll throw in a thought. I certainly agree and empathize with those who desire bugles for straight volume. I am not an old school guy....I aged out in '98 with a bugle, but taught div III, II and World Class…the latter using Bb. You simply can spend less time working on tone quality and intonation with Bb's. You get a better product, faster. Ultimately, it's about the kids, but no one would come if the product was not good or did not improve. If you like the sound of G lines, more power to you. My mama always said, there is no accounting for taste. Soon though, all those Jr. Corps kids are going to come up the ranks to Sr. Corps and say, WTF is with this out of tune, dinosaur G thing? G horns were such an important part of our identity and history, but I don't see (or really want to) how they are going to survive. Not to put too fine a point on it, but anymore, G's are like an axe where a scalpel is needed. Playing in tune with yourself (use a tuner), and your part of the chord, makes you sound louder. Is this in question?
  12. You may want to double check the registration. Star United is from Indianapolis!
  13. Somethings I noticed while watching...most of my comments are brass focused. I only saw Bluecoats, Cavs and Cavaliers Alumni. I really enjoyed Bluecoats, a lot. The boxer concept is strong and they use it. Design wise, the only negative is that you end up watching the boxers more than the rest of the corps. The hornline is very good. There is still a bit of feet in the sound in the high brass in longer stretches. They play some hard stuff and are starting to accomplish it. A couple of memorable licks for sure. They do a little singing and standing in a block, that I suspect is going to have something added in. Once cleaned, this will be very fun and impressive show to watch. Cavaliers were very, very clean. Quality of sound was fantastic. All the basics of playing and marching well were BOX 5 level. The front ensemble had some really interesting sounds that were very appropriate to their show. In terms of design, I personally was not excited. I really wanted to be, really. I found myself bored most of the time. They (brass) seemed to play every once in a while and usually crescendo-ing long tones or pitch bending. The last movement had some meat, but I never went WOW. This reminds me of when I saw Cadets in '06. I hope there is much more in store for demand in this show...additions and such. This is all in realitve terms of great performers. Cavaliers Alumni...were, well, KICK ###. It was so much more than I was expecting of these guys. There had to be 120 guys out there. There were 2 movements (I think) of actual drill and it wasn't really terrible. They played some medleys of classic Cavaliers stuff...um 19 snares I believe! I'm not trying to be a total jerk here, but there was more demand in the alumni horn book than the Jr. Corps. And it was really fun...not kidding and I am NOT an big fan of old school stuff. If these guys can keep something going THEY SHOULD DO DCA. Surprise of the night.
  14. Wow, I was sure of it. I suppose that's why I can't find it. Thanks so much!
  15. Does anyone know the name of the Philip Glass piece they used? It's also on the movie, "No Reservations", but it's not listed on the soundtrack. Drop me an email Jeff@JeffAppel.org
  16. The third space C for everyone will accomplish your goal...however... You must keep in mind that an instrument in the key of G has varied AND intense intonation tendencies. Using a tuner on a daily even hourly basis is not a bad idea. Frankly, for a bugle it's a necessity. But if you would like to take the next step in being in tune, create an intonation map. Meaning, have a chart of each pitch on the horn and use your tuner to write down how many "cents" sharp or flat each note is. This is best accomplished with one person playing and one using the tuner (people tend to try and make the note in tune with lips if they look at it by themselves). You can use the valve slides on the horn to adjust the intonation of each note. In some cases you may need to adjust aperture. I know the sops on the kanstuls have something called a tune-any-note option or TAN. It's a little awkward, but with some time and a LOT of practice on the horn you can get used to it. You can find an intonation map here: http://www.jeffappel.org/Lesson_Resources.html Simply use the trumpet map for everyone. I'm still developing it a bit, but this should help. Also, the size of your mouthpieces may be a bigger issue than you realize. The bugle is a bigger horn, in a lower key. Consider this analogy, a bass trombone player would never play on a 12c (very small) because the mouthpiece is not appropriate for the larger horn. It appears all the pieces you have listed are very small and for beginning 7th or even 5th grade lips! Something like a 3c for sops and 6 1/2al for baris. Drop me a line and we can discuss options for this. Good luck with your tuning adventure!
  17. I think there were II/III sheets at the show, but I don't know if Kilities were on them. From performance, I didn't feel like Kilites beat them. However, they were, as always, a ton of fun.
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