splitter

If you haven't recently checked the Colts website, an update has been posted today including the eulogy presented by Greg Orwoll at the funeral.

Both of the Colts drum majors are still on tour and doing well, however one of our pit members had to go home for a few days (doctor I think). He's been conducting a few parts in the show including the end of the ballad while the drum majors switch places. I assume that our brass guys cleared this with the judges... Hope that answers everyones questions

That was 80-82, sop player...he was my high school band director.

I honestly can't remember what Greg said when we changed to the new open audition system. I don't know that we've even had someone that it would affect yet. Greg is ultimately the one who decides all this, and if you really wanted to know all the nitty-gritty I'm sure he'd love to hear from you. When I marched though (01-02) there was a clause (?) where if you tried out somewhere else and made it, then realized that you had made a mistake and shouldn't have left Colts that you could come back, but you had lost your automatic contract and had to audition for Colts again if we had any spots left. You had to have gained a spot in another corps though, and we weren't going to kick someone out of the corps who had made the commitment from the beginning to the Colts just to take you back.

Hi George!!!! :) Was glad you could come out with us for awhile last year! We still do not offer specific positions within the corps - last year we got to tour with too many high brass players and not enough low brass players (difference of three I think). We asked around, and two members stepped up and took up the contra and one a baritone. Quite a switch, but it all worked out. I think the new "rule" was partly implemented because the vets wanted to push each other in the off season. It's definitely working - kids are coming in more prepared then ever, and I like it! They're really starting to push the staff, and that's a good thing. I'm excited for this year - each section at the dog and pony yesterday sounded (and in the case of the guard - looked) better than ever. Now I just gotta fix all the posture in the hornline, teach technique, etc!!! Can't wait. B) LeAnn Splitter Visual Tech 03-06 Soprano (2nd) - 01-02

I think they held up well. The only problem we had was the valves getting jammed whenever there was dust in them, but that was cause the kids gernerally weren't used to such tight valve tolerances and weren't running water through them very often. I don't think we had any other real problems. Of course they were brand new...if we don't get new ones we'll see how they last.

I hear you man... The Colts' postcards were in sporadically the last few weeks of the season...mainly because putting them vertical (on the wheels on the back of the frame) was not really safe. So we took them out of any show we didn't have a wide enough gate to go through. Which is why they weren't in at Nightbeat. And don't be sorry that we didn't have them in at Semis...the vis staff was thrilled not to have to deal with them for the last show of the season.

Because I took a week off end of June so I could find a new apartment, and then a week off end of July so I could move, although it turns out I can't move until I get back from tour - thankfully I worked it out with my landlord so I could wait until then cause I'm supposed to be out of my apartment on semifinals day...whoops! So really I've just spent the last few days practicing my butt off to make up for the too many days on tour where I spent too much time working on the props to practice. See ya in Indy

You would've thought...but it didn't happen for whatever reason. Several prototypes were constructed but as far as I know they were vetoed before staff saw them cause they weighed too much, so we didn't see them til they appeared end of June. Apparently we had some mis-information on the finals gate size as the staff was assured the props would fit through after we made necessary modifications which basically made it too time consuming to disassemble outside a gate and reassemble inside it. We would have been ok as long as we didn't have any low, narrow gates. Surprise was had by all when I was talking to a Cascades vis staff guy in San Antonio who told me that the finals gate itself was just such a low, narrow gate. Thus the reconstruction apparently happening. :( As far as the previous post asking if the postcards are helping or hurting scores, I doubt they have much affect at all, but not having heard the Vis Effect or Ensemble tapes I don't know for sure.

Well technically I think there are 3 members remaining that marched in 01. One in the hornline, two in the guard. Adam, hope you're feeling better! As to the original post - well I know a lot about the staff, but I'm not going to post it...hehe ^0^

To answer some of the questions about the props.... The props are currently 26 feet by 15 feet. The back is about four feet tall to put the postcards at an angle. Only the front, picture part, of the card is in right now...we're still working on logistics for getting the back of the card in. Yes the postcards move around the field. Each song's postcard moves into the focus at the beginning of the song, the corps marches around it, and then it exits at the beginning of the next piece. The drill was written with the cards in mind - the large negative space that used to be found in the drill (with the corps marching around or gesturing towards it) - most noticeable in the Red Pony - is now being utilized. The frames move easily with 1 person...you need 2 to 4 for steering purposes depending on the surface (thick grass vs. turf). At no time was it ever intended for two members to move the prop during the show - always four. As far as how effective they are...I have no idea - since I had to help move them onto and off the field at all three shows they've been in, I've been on ground level and haven't really seen them.

Actually corps are leaving earlier. Before when the entire corps was on the field for retreat we would leave 1.5 hours following retreat. We had to get everyone out of uniform, eat snack, and load the trucks in that time. Now we get everyone out of uniforms, eat snack, and load the trucks within 1.5 hours of getting off the field. In most cases, as soon as retreat is concluded the DMs get on the bus and they leave. If the staff is in critique the corps can still leave and the staff bus catches up. Leaving the DMs with a small support staff would not really be very feasible. Our corps vans travel with the caravan at all times, carry our volunteer cook staff, and we typically do not make our first stop for about 1.5-2 hours after departing a site. It is extremely rare for the caravan to break up, it's only happened once (earlier this year when we were in critique at the second show) in the three years I've been on staff. Whether this is a good change or not, I don't know, but corps ARE leaving the lots earlier.

I will second the Stamp book. Stamp didn't advocate direct embouchure changes, but the buzzing causes the ideal embouchure to happen naturally. My warmup everyday is Stamp buzzing and horn exercises. I started with it last year, and have been very happy with the improvements I've made. Definitely has solidified the embouchure change I made with my previous teacher (not a fun process, don't recommend it unless you really must change - I did, not cool).

We didn't make Finals my age out year, so my last show was Semis (no retreat). Couldn't leave them on the field at the age out ceremony because we still had shows left! So I ended up taking mine home. A month later, I was helping out my college marching band. We had a baritone kid drop on the Thursday of game week. Our band is pretty small (like about 55 that year), so holes are like 8 step gaping spaces. So I jumped in and learned part of the drill on Thursday, marked some second trumpet music with the drill and played the only 2nd trumpet I ever played for that band! I realize that my old black marching shoes from high school are NOT going to last for this performance (about 8 years old at this point!). So.... I grabbed my white MTX shoes from my drum corps time, shoe polished them black and wore them. It actually worked surprisingly well - took about 3 layers to completely coat them, and I had to do touch ups every time I wore them. They look convincingly like black shoes until you look at the white sole... But I actually cheated and used those as my "dress" shoes for the rest of the year. I decided this year I better get some REAL black dress shoes since I'm a music major now and all! :) Was kinda amusing though - walk up to someone, what color are my shoes? ummm black!?! HAH nope, they're white. Ok I was bored, but what the hey!

Look for Yamaha, Getzen, and if you really must - Bach (but whatever you do, if you find one you like BUY THAT ONE, not another one!!!). Can you tell I'm not a Bach fan? I play a Yamaha and love it. I also played a French Besson a long time ago and thought it was a good horn, but don't remember the price on it. Some people like to snap up Olds horns on Ebay, I've never played one, but I've heard they're really good.

I started on an old Conn trumpet that was my cousins. It's a POS...I can't hardly play it any more because it's just so wacky! But I still have it. After 2 or 3 years on that one I ended up on the same cousins Holton MF intermediate trumpet. It was ok.... I finally got a new Yamaha in high school which I still play on... I used the Holton for awhile in marching band until I outgrew it, so I went and bought a King Cleveland at a pawn shop and sold the Holton to a friend. The King's a good horn, except that whoever the previous owner was replaced the 1st and 2nd valve slides and the 2nd valve slide doesn't quite fit...for at least 2 years after I cleaned it I could (and regularly did in pep band) blow it off the horn while playing! I'm not going to clean it again!

The key of the instrument tells you what concert pitch you get when you play C on that instrument (on a Bb trumpet you get a concert Bb when you play C, on a bass-clef bari you get a C, on an F horn you get an F, and so forth). I think you may be thinking of it backwards. So...a C on the bugle is a concert G so from that I think a concert C (up a fourth from G) would be an F on the bugle (up a fourth from C) As a check for myself - I know that my G sop plays a minor third lower than my Bb trumpet, so if I play an F on the sop it's a D on the trumpet (you have to write the sop a minor third higher to get them to play the same pitch). A D on a Bb trumpet is a concert C...wheew to much thinking this early in the morning! Someone hit me if I'm wrong... B) Hope that helps if it IS right!

The closest thing that I experienced was in 2002. I think it may have been at the Cavaliers homeshow. Anyway, the Royal Air Alumni corps had been placed between Cavaliers and Colts during retreat because the Cavaliers were going to do a presentation to them. This was one of their first shows out I think. (I was on the far left of our block nearest theirs) So we got all lined up on the field and we notice that the Royal Airs guard has formed an arc that spans not only their 10 yards but also went into both our 10 yards and Cavaliers. Now this greatly amused us all - I mean the sanctity of our "lines" must have come from somewhere, and surely wasn't THAT new. So Jared, our horn sergeant, goes over and politely explains the "line" and would they please move to the other side. They moved, but not completely out of our block, but I don't think Jared pursued it. Then we hear from one of the Royal Air horn guys (? maybe drum) say something to the effect of "You want to take it up with me?" in a vaguely threatening tone - which of course reduced us all to trying to contain our laughter since we were all at parade rest and not supposed to react to anything in retreat. So we say that was the day the Colts nearly got into it with a bunch of old school corps alums. Nothing but love for the Royal Airs...but that was one of the most amusing things I've ever heard.

This summer while I was making photocopies in the corps hall (probably of drill), I noticed a press release from the Colts office for our Brass and Brats event. This is an exhibition we do at one of the small schools we stay at during Cornfield Tour. Anyway, I noticed that the release said Bras and Brats...whoops. Unfortunately I didn't catch it until it went out - I saw one paper that didn't even bother fixing it...heh.

No problems here beyond the first 5-10 minutes of my first few camps. Once I found the pitch, I was all good. And whoever said that about symphonic trumpet players...playing sop sure has helped me. I can now switch trumpets from Bb to C to Eb pretty easy...generally don't play the Eb, but I can if I need to. I have also been known to play the F mellophone in pep band, but I don't like to...crazy parts go TOO LOW!!!! I couldn't ever switch like that before I marched a summer on a bugle. So it sure has helped me, don't know what the big deal with making life easier is....but oh well.

Usually takes me about 30-45 minutes to feel happily "warmed-up." However, I include in my warm-up all the things that I should do every day - like all my scales, lip-slur/flexibility stuff, high/low notes etc. If I'm running late to rehearsal, I can warm up effectively in about 5-10 minutes, but I'm not very happy about it.

Yeah dude! Long live the 2nd Sops!!!

I started marching in 01 as more corps were starting to switch. Although at the time I didn't rule any out because of the key of their horns (those with Bb's were either too far away for me to drive to or otherwise not an option, such as Cavies), one of the big draws for me marching was the G bugles. I don't know why, but I guess there's something about a bugle... I was really glad that when Colts got new sops, we got sops and not trumpets. B) And it's helped in pep band when none of our alto saxes or mellophones show up and I get to play the accursed mellophone (nothing against those of you who like the things, just not my cup of tea!). Playing different keyed instruments is no longer a problem for me (especially those in F, G, and C)