thewsquared

Am I the only one that thinks that Crown 2012 was more demanding both musically and visually than 2013? Both are beyond ridiculous though

I just want to see Phantom use a trombone as a weapon to kill someone with. Maybe like a sliding guillotine or spear thing.

I think you make a great point in bringing up the reselling of instruments! I'm sorry that I forgot that. Very valid point! I really only see one issue with that. Not all corps march notable horn brands. At least in Texas where I've grown up, Conn was always the big dog in student model horns. Every high school and junior high in the area used Conns. That being said, it wasn't terribly uncommon, and is actually becoming more and more common, to find a Yamaha horn in the mix. They have actually been gaining a lot of respect as good horns both intermediately and professionally (stefan dohr actually has a very famous recording of Schumann's Konzerstuck on a Yamaha triple. That and the entire Berlin Philharmonic did a trial run of their new horns and were very pleased with them). But King and Jupiter? I don't believe King has ever been a household horn maker and Jupiter definitely hasn't. Therefore, the resale value on those horns would be far more limited compared to corps that march Yamaha. As far as trombones go, I can't comment because I have zero experience with trombone brands. It's just a good thing most corps march Yamaha imo, or they'd have a hard time selling their horns

Love this quote. I completely agree with the idea of not molding the activity to suit others if it means destroying our tradition

I apologize if you think my comments are ignorant. However, I am very well aware of the difficulties of playing horn. I've played it for almost 8 years now. If anything I may be ignorant of the baritone and underestimate it's potential

Oops, I did not realize I forgot the Four in Four Seasons. Thanks for catching it

My switch wasn't quite as extreme as that. I went from horn to mellophone, so i already had experience with valve combinations, but none with my right hand. The simple way to say it is I just practiced. I looked at a fingering chart, saw what notes had different fingerings than horn and adjusted my mindset. In less than a week it was no problem at all, except for the occasional weird key signature.

Why bother even posting this? Does it contribute to the discussion? Does it offer an insightful look in to your opinion on the matter? Or perhaps it's just another thread overexagerrating the impact these changes will have on the activity? If you choose to post something for humor it could at least be original

On a more serious note, I don't quite understand this drive that DCI seems to have towards wanting to be more like marching bands. As far as I knew, the marching bands of the world were the ones that were busy copying us, not the other way around. At least that's what it was always like in my marching band.

Really excited for a great Oregon Crusaders year! They'll rise through the ranks in no time if they can get that pesky school system issue sorted out. Glad to see more inception this year!!!! As for Cavaliers, I'm going to believe because I really love them but I hope they're careful with how they arrange their music. I just can't see them doing Mahler or Shostakovich. Then again, I couldn't see Crown doing it and they killed it so I have faith

Come on guys, the inclusion of french horns is OBVIOUSLY so DCI can make even more money by having an excuse to sell the seats on the back side of the stadium right?

There has been a lot of uproar recently, some positive but mostly negative, about the decision to allow Drum and Bugle corps to allow the use of ALL brass instruments, meaning that horns, trombones, and sousaphones are now allowed. However, the big question on everyone's mind, including those that are in favor of this rule change, is how exactly it will be implemented in to shows. Let me start of by saying that as a primary horn player and FMM hopeful, I still am not happy with this change. So why is that? Shouldn't I be enthusiastic about the most beautiful instrument in the world (imo) being allowed in to the loudest activity in the world? The obvious answer is yes, but I say no. So why is that? Let me first lay out the general consensus as to how this change benefits drum corps. 1. It attracts kids to the activity that otherwise would have been turned away in my opinion, this is a yes and no answer. Yes, if a corps chooses to implement a FULL trombone line or a full horn line it will attract more people to the activity that otherwise may have turned away at the fear of learning a new instrument. This especially applies to horn players in my opinion, where many teachers will dissuade their students from taking part in drum corps in fears that the mellophone will ruin their beautiful horn embochoure. But I don't see corps fielding full lines of these instruments or marching them at all if they do. They're cumbersome, difficult to write drill for, and just overall FAR more expensive than their counterparts. 2. It adds color to the ensemble Did we really need more color in the first place? This is a niche activity for niche people. You never hear people argue about adding more voices to a choir, where there are really only 4 voices, so why is there a need to add more voices to a drum corps where there are already 5 voices (mellophone, baritone, euphonium, tuba, and trumpet) PLUS snare, quads, basses, and a whole myriad of pit sounds. And if that's not enough for you, you can always add vocal performers a la Crown to add even more color to your show. Sounds like plenty of texture to me. 3. Use as Solo and Ensemble Instruments In my opinion, this is THE BIG one and the BIGGEST disappointment I took from this rule change. The argument here is that these new voices will only be used as solo or ensemble instruments for a show. Why do we need this? All that THIS does in my opinion is discredit the performers and their ability to adapt rangr and playing styles to sound like any number of different instruments. For example, take Stravinsky's firebird suite. When performed in a drum corps, the Berceuse and finale solos are almost always performed by a baritone player. For a baritone, the finale solo is generally pretty high up in their range, yet I have really not heard a bad interpretation of this solo which never fails to amaze me. It's always performed beautifully, as though it actually were a horn player playing. Now however, they can just pull any average horn player and have him play the solo in a much more comfortable range like every other horn. You might be wondering why playing something EASIER is a problem. Why not master it fast and sound amazing with less work? What if someone told the Canadian Brass not to perform Vivaldi's Four seasons because it was easier for a violin to play it? Then no one would have the opportunity to be awestruck at how amazingly they can play that ridiculous music that wasn't even written for their ensemble. The same thing mentioned with baritone can apply to mellophone as well. In the Bluecoats 2010 show they micd a soloist to sound more like a horn. But he still had to play with an absolutely beautiful tone quality to achieve the effect they wanted. Or even the SCV soloist from last year. He demonstrated not just the way that a mellophone can cut through an ensemble, but also how beautiful and rich its tone COULD be when mastered. If replaced with a horn, it would have limited the different styles of mellophone playing heard in that show. In short, the inclusion of these instruments takes away from the extreme level of talent that these petformers possess and instead allows it to be handed off to instruments "better suited" for that playstyle. If making things easy was the goal, the marching arts wouldn't exist in the first place Well those are my thoughts on this issue. Feel free to comment and contribute more to this discussion as you see fit

just posted the other day on Madison's Facebook page

Also if they play a low brass instrument https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9N-PiQVf34&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Santa Clara Vanguard 89 opener Spartacus Carolina Crown 2008 opening impact

While conn used to be the standard, I have noticed recently that other companies such as Paxman and Alexander have been making big strides in America. Personally, I am more than happy with my Holton that I've played on for the last 2 years

I really don't think there's a way to sum up why company fronts are amazing. Our activity in and of itself is an art form. The famous saying associated with art is that "a picture's worth a thousand words". However, this is a mere understatement of the truth. If you ask a thousand people why they love company fronts you will most likely get a thousand different answers. They'll have the same core ideas (volume, the push, the build up etc.) But no one answer will be the exact same. We try so hard to define these drill moves and impact moments, that we rarely take a moment to just consider that maybe we love them just because. There's no further reasoning needed. We can try to come up with an explanation for why we feel a certain way about company fronts, but in the end it really is as simple as do I like it or not? It just so happens that the large majority of viewers like company fronts, so show designers find clever ways to implement them each year. It really is that simple

Thanks, I'll have to do that from now on.

I guess I should be a little more descriptive about my problem. I had originally purchased the files on my phone and tried to download them straight to that. However, I guess something with their audio fornat doesn't agree very well with androids system. I have no audio file, just the download icon. Whenever I try to open the files from my download screen it just sends me straight to crowns website, where I have already used up my one download. I get it if no one can help and will probably just repurchase the files from their website if I have to

It sounds to me like you guys have a lot of experience with these recordings. Anyone care to explain how I can get these from my computer to my galaxy s3?

I feel like what is Drum Corps Planet coming to would be a more appropriate sub title for this thread

No worries, I was agreeing with your statement and explaining why I found it so much more entertaining than previous years. On the other hand, I have to disagree with you about that BIG sound. Was it rich? Yes, some of the best writing and performing this year. But big? I can't agree with that. The recording really helped to make everything sound louder than it actually was because of the ridiculous clarity. For example, in san Antonio those jazz spikes were very underwhelming imo. Still, its just my opinion and even that doesn't apply all the time.When they made the big brass crcrescendo at the end I was shocked at how loud they got. It had me wondering why they never got that loud all the time in the first place. But regardless, this was a fantastically performed musical book full of rich textures and popular tunes that more than makes up for what I saw as the show's shortcomings. Heres hoping BD continues to craft masterpieces such as this

I guess the synth was so loud that it caused an earthquake

Well this year is a very unique situation for the Blue Devils. Unlike previous years, the Blue Devils are playing a music book this year that isvery close to many fans' hearts. It's not just random chopped up sections of jazz that most fans haven't even heard of like in previous years, but is instead a very loyal interpretation of some of the best bits from a renowned and well known piece of classical literature; well at least as loyal as it can be while still being considered a "rewrite" of spring. I'm sure every fan of the rite of spring, probably a large percentage of the dcp population, found something in this show they enjoyed; whether it be the reference to the opening bassoon solo, the head bob worthy jazz spike section, or just the familiarity of the tunes themselves. I'll be honest, I hsve not been a fan of the last several years of BD shows, but I absolutely love the arrangements of this one. They freaking rock! It takes some classic that everyone knows and presents it in an enjoyable way. That is why this music was so likeable. If the BD continue in this direction in the future I just may be able to overlook the poles on the field

BAC and Phantom here. Auditioning on mello