DCIPhreak
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Posts posted by DCIPhreak
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The other thing I wanted to say was:
Hey Phreak, if you never let your kids get beyond "control", you are closing them off to the world of jazz. Most jazz players don't play with what you would call "quality" yet they are good at what they do...let them experiment and see what THEY like. Don't be so stifling of creativity.
I am closing them off to jazz? I guess I am wasting my time each week after school in "stage band" rehearsal.
They play with great style, and don't play past their best quality sound.
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You seem to think that there is just one universal tone color that all brass music should be played with. There isn't. Tone quality and color is something that needs to be changed and adjusted based on what type of music is being played. What works in some mediums doesn't work in others. So, yes, there are times when brass instruments should be played with a little bit of an edge. There are even some times when they should be played with a level which would be considered crass in other mediums. This goes for drum corps, concert band, and orchestral music. There are times which the sounds you generalize as "harsh" or "bad" are simply fitting to the type of music that is being played.
Well, thats all fine and dandy if you want to teach your students to do that, but I will never allow my students to play past quality on their instruments.
On a side note, isn't it funny that I was critical of more than one corps, but only one set of fans is getting defensive? Why is that?
HMMM
PHREAK
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Maybe a bit off topic, but it's funny to me that people complain all the time on here about DCI changing for the worst and focusing on the wrong things, which some people say has resulted in the activity becoming much less exciting, and then when PR does a show where they play with old time power and energy (the antithesis of the Cavaliers if you ask me), many people complain that it is "out of control." Both sides are entitled to their opinion, I'm just saying that it's obviously impossible to please everybody. So, if you don't like a certain corps brass, like some of the people in this thread don't particularly like PR, or I don't particularly like Cavaliers, it's not necessarily because one was better or worse, it might just be because the two hornlines value different things, PR valuing power and Cavies valuing ubercleanliness. 'Cause to say PR wasn't as good because they weren't "taught the right sounds with their horns" is flat out RIDICULOUS. They were taught by two of the finest tuba players, and, at that, brass musicians on the planet. To question the pedagogy of Sheridan and Pilafian is just silly and makes you look ignorant.
So because regiments tubas overblew and had pitch issues, made harsh, angry sounds at the end of their show, we should accept it as being correct because two of the best tuba PLAYERS worked with them? That's stupid. Fact is, they didn't sound good at times.
If they were taught the right sounds, they didn't use them in finals.
PHREAK
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Why is loud good? Why can't it be Quality over Quantity??
You might want to ask Shostakovich, Dvorak, Janacek, Bartok, John Adams, Stravinky, Beethoven and many other composers that very question.
Have you ever heard the Chicago Symphony playing the Planets or Shostakovich 1? When those guys open up it is the loudest thing you've ever heard. And it's great. I doubt that any of the band clinicians that know so much about quality would ever say that "this is the wrong way to play" about these performances.
Volume and quality playing can do and should exist together. Bad playing is bad playing, loud or soft.
out,
Derrick
Sure they open up and play loud, but they do it with quality, they match eachother, and they don't play so loud as to alter pitch, like some corps do.
And yes, some of these very good band directors would say that some of those "professionals" do play with bad sounds...and yes, they do.
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For those yet to get their CD, don't drink the... "I'm going to sound cool and smart by bashing one of the all time greatest drum corps performances" Kool-Aid!
Thats funny. I didn't bash the regiment. I merely stated that you could in fact hear the problems. There WERE problems. THAT is FACT. Now if I would have said "####, PR sucked this year" THEN I would have been bashing them!
PHREAK
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Phantom Regiment:
They are very loud. The tuba intonation stuff is very exposed in the main hit of the Canon..almost offensive. Finals night, I thought they had the 4th best brassline, but now I think they should have been 5th
Some of you people kill me. I've read various comments such as, "almost offensive," "almost too loud," "almost out of control," etc. etc. etc... You remind me of the story of Louis XIV when his carriage pulled up precisely on time, and he huffed, " I almost had to wait!" Its called drum corps!!! Its supposed to be very loud. (By the way, the only thing I heard out of control during the Regiment's performance on Finals night was the audience.)
Recently, someone sent an email to Elvis Costello, saying (paraphrasing, here), "I recently attended one of your concerts, and it was so loud! I felt like I was being assaulted all night! And at times there was distortion in the amps. I've been to two of your concerts, but I can assure you, this was my last!" Elvis' response - "Its called rock 'n roll...Bye, bye." Drum corps is a heart-centered, adrenaline-rush experience. As long as it hasn't been entirely castrated by all the wanna be concert band clinicians out there, its supposed to skate right on the dangerous edge of being out of control. Just like rock 'n roll. That's why the 2003 Phantom Regiment consistently connected with the crowds they played to like nobody else.
And this mentality, my friends, is exactly why some HS band directors won't let their kids march drum corps until after they graduate. Unless, of course, they go to a corps run by those "wanna be concert band clinicians" who might actually be there to teach the kids something about making the right sounds with their horns.
Why is loud good? Why can't it be Quality over Quantity??
PHREAK
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Yiou think Phantom should be fifth because of what you heard on a recording. These are professional recordings, but in now way do they represent the real thing. Many of the "flubs" you hear on any recordings are because of physics and how sound travels..especially with equipment. It's nice to have memories of these events, but nothing ever replaces seeing and hearing it live. They were 4th at Orlando and they will always be 4th.
That might be the funniest thing I have ever read. These are in NO WAY representative of the real thing? LMAO
PHREAK
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Ok, here is my review of the CDs. This is MY opinion, so if you flame, you just look stupid. You can, however, state your own opinion. :-)
I haven't made it all the way through all three disks, but I will review what I have heard so far.
Blue Devils:
Hornline sounds pretty good. Drumline is very clear too, though it does expose some of the dirt. Love the first 4 minutes of the show, and the take five section, but some of it just seems sort of "the same" as previous years. I do think that the first minute backfield is too soft, and hard to hear on the CDs.
The Cavaliers:
I loved this show the first time I heard it, and nothing has changed. There are a few rough spots on the recording, but when your brassline has that kind of clarity, you will hear that stuff. The Ballad was beautiful and comes across very well on CD, and the third tune was the best thing in DCI this year.
The Cadets:
Fanfare was good, though there are lots of chipped notes..more than I remember from finals. Malaguena was good..the percussion makes it great. Rocky Point sounds good on the recording, but its no 1983. Good show, but I think brass wise they should have been third behind BD and Cavaliers.
Phantom Regiment:
They are very loud. The tuba intonation stuff is very exposed in the main hit of the Canon..almost offensive. Finals night, I thought they had the 4th best brassline, but now I think they should have been 5th. The Drumline is greatly improved and comes across well on the CDs.
Santa Clara Vanguard:
How did they not beat Regiment in brass? The drumline was amazing, and I think could have won drums. The show music very enjoyable to listen to. ESPECIALLY the tune with the rockin drum stuff.
I haven't listened to anything else other than Spirit, and I really enjoyed that show.
Overall, the quality of the recordings are good, but not quite as good as 2002. Maybe its because Camp Randall is just that much better.
PHREAK
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Also, speak not what you not nothing about. I am more than "educated" when it comes to the world of music, which I guess is why I was wanting much more from their book.
In short, let me say this to those who feel the need to defend. . .believe it or not, not everyone has to like your corps.
I think that is the root of the problem when it comes to this review. Mystreaux doesn't like the Cavaliers...that is obvious. I would much rather have read "I am not a fan of the Cavaliers, and therefore choose not to say anything" rather than writing MORE on the Cavaliers as to why he doesn't like them than why he DID like the other corps. Its almost a guarantee that in any review of the Cavaliers, he is going to say 1)the music is not hummable and 2) they are scoring too high in GE music.
When it comes to reviews, I feel that "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say it at all", ESPECIALLY when it comes to an adults criticizm of what kids are doing. Those kids chose to be there, they like what they are doing, and ultimately, this is a YOUTH activity, not the NBA finals.
I personally would ask that anyone who writes a review, to remember to not say anything about a corps that might resemble something that would anger you if someone said it about your HS band (that you teach). Different activities, but they are all youth activities.
Also, in writing reviews, I would love to see people keep their comments about a corps strictly to nothing worse than they would say to the corps director. In other words, if you have something to say in a negative fashion about a corps, imagine yourself saying it to the face of Dave Gibbs or Jeff Fiedler, and then see if you would still write it.
To me, ripping the design of a show and praising the kids for their performance is still back handed. If the kids are performing well, they obviously are in to what they are doing, therefore enjoying the product on the field.
As for Hester, bravo...he didn't say anything negative about a specific corps, just something negative about Mystreaux.
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Why does music have to be "hummable"? You know, the first time I heard anything by Schwantner, I didn't leave humming the music, but I sure did enjoy it. Same goes for the first time I heard Maslanka #4, Resonances 1 by Ron Nelson, and many other pieces, even Niagara Falls. But that certainly doesn't take away from the quality of the music.
You should broaden your range of music, or at least learn to listen with some objectivity.
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That depends - what is your conspiracy theory over the Scouts' win?
Here is MY conspiracy theory...
That was the year that someone came up with the bright idea that the top 5 corps going into finals would choose numbered cards that would represent their finals night order. As Madison's drum major stood there dazed and confused, not knowing which card to pick, one of the girls points to one, and VOILA, NUMBER ELEVEN. And number 12 went to the defending champion, who had no chance of winning that year. Of course, BD and SCV went on eighth and ninth.
SCV should've won that year.
Why does what card they picked matter anyway? Madison won semifinals too (by a larger margin than finals) and would have gone on in that place anyway. Change the position BD and Cavaliers went on, and you have the right order anyway.
I think if the audience would have known that Madison won semis, the crowd response might have been even more nuts, and might have given them an even greater advantage (you know what that adrenaline rush is like when the crowd is going bonkers)...
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I was at the show and i honestly think that if it were my choice for scores it would've been Cadets, Phantom, then Cavies. Cavies were sooo, blaaaaaaa <**> . The GE stuff that they did was just too last year. I know it would've been hard to top last year's show, but they could've done a better job.
What are they doing that they did last year? I don't remember them pulling out any of last years stuff.
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There is a negative side to playing contra. It's very addictive!!
I would suggest using a 24aw or similar shallow mouthpiece your 1st season out. It will be easier on the chops.
I might suggest using a regular conn-helleberg. Why not get the right piece and make the right sound from the beginning?
2003 DCI DVD's???????????
in DCI (All) Corps Show & Event Reviews
Posted
There must be something with either your ears or your system, or maybe you have "smart sound" and you don't know it.
My DVDs sound great on my 5.1 system. The softs are soft and the louds are louds. The DVD audio has never been better.
PHREAK