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kcbari

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Posts posted by kcbari

    Let's pretend this happened.....what do you think would happen in

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    There aren't many "discarded" G horns left that have much life left in them...wouldn't be a great investment in the future even if they were cheap...and God forbid you (or anyone else) is the person responsible for keeping them in playing condition. That would be a job akin to having to teach me how to pirouette.

    In 2000, I did not notice the difference between Cadets' and Cavaliers' horn line quality while viewing them live. Cadets had B-flat horns and Cavaliers still had G. When I received the CDs, minus the visual stimuli, I was stunned. The difference in clarity between the two B-flat lines—Cadets and Blue Devils—and the remaining G lines was astounding. At that point, I called a director friend of mine and told him I hoped he was planning on making the switch, because once a brass judge closes their eyes to shut out everything else and focuses specifically on the quality of sound...it's all over.

    For once I gotta disagree with you.

    I sat at Finals in 2000 and could clearly hear a bright, pinched sound from Cadets compared to the Cavies (in addition to not hearing Cadets finish any phrases in their closer on the cd recordings)...and this from a guy who normally hated the Cavies.

    BD, on the other hand, was truly a step up on the Bb and should have won brass in 2000 (and Cadets should have won brass in 2001).

    chasing a ring/ not what you think

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    I marched Star in 1989 because of the cost and because I had friends there already.

    Only once tour started did it really sink in how serious this group was...camps were truly nothing next to the intensity of that staff once we belonged to them on the road (remember, no cell phones, just letters and the occasional collect call home). They truly remolded our minds into the machine of excellence that became the Star hallmark...I would not trade it for the world.

    Someone please explain e=mc^2 to me, because I really don't like/g

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    Being an old guy and very music focused (drill is secondary to my --hoped for--emotional response to music), I fell asleep during the quarter finals performances of several corps, Blue Knights being one of them.

    So many corps' designs are the same anymore that I was bored by all but 4 corps..."motivic fragment, drum/run, same motivic fragment up a 1/2 step and faster, drum/run, same motivic fragment up ANOTHER 1/2 step but now with a mellophone counter-melody...chord...pose to hide dirty drill set, fade into next motivic fragment section of show...".

    Yep, I'm a cynic.

    I miss emotional responses to the power of the performance in the moment by the kids in front of me instead of intellectual "appreciation" for the designers' purported "cleverness".

    Bah, time to go smoke a cigar and wonder where my gray hairs came from so fast...;-)

    • Like 1

    Someone please explain e=mc^2 to me, because I really don't like/g

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    As I may have said before (and say to my students all of the time):

    Opinions are like noses; we all have one, and we only get to pick our own.

    After that, it's a good idea to make sure that you have an informed opinion so that people can't blow you out of the water with facts that destroy your position (are you listening, politicians?).

    Another thing I tell my kids is: lack of knowledge is ignorance. Ignorance is OK...once. Willful ignorance is way past stupid. Avoid this. Whether you agree with facts or not, learn them so that when you take a stand, it is strong.

    Someone please explain e=mc^2 to me, because I really don't like/g

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    None of this is going to make sense without at least skimming the link, sorry.

    So I found this, figured you would love it. http://waltzofwords....n-on-beach.html

    I for one have always disliked the extremely common, "we're all sheeple and our lives are so routine, but I'm the different one" moral. I think it's dated, no longer contributes to social commentary, and just needs to be retired. (Yes, I recognize and laugh with you at the irony inherent in those sentences). That being said, I pretty much never listen to music and consider what the social commentary is. When I listen to music I want to be taken to that place where only music can take me. I'm very selfish in that music is all about me, nothing and nobody else. So that right there is why e=mc^2 cannot possibly ever appeal to me.

    So, my problem with the poem/short story comes from my love music as a form of emotional expression far beyond any other art form. And in this show they covered up the music with the spoken word! That sort of decision just drives me crazy. First time I watched e=mc^2, the first thing I said (read:shouted through the house) was, "You idiots, let the music talk!" There are very few instances of words moving me to tears the ways music can. And part of me feels that if you can't tell the story without the narration (somebody said that somewhere on this thread), then you've got a story that simply doesn't belong on the field. Music can be so extremely beautiful. We all know that. My late grandmother used to say that music is either true or it isn't. Music that is true: 2009 Ballet for Martha. That music strikes a chord inside even the most callous of people. Somehow, it touches everyone who hears it. Music that isn't true: To take the pressure off Crown, and onto my beloved Cavaliers, 15 Minutes of Fame. That show just didn't touch people.

    And I know it's demanding, but I think all music ought to touch the people who hear it. I think all of us have that song, or section from a show, that we consider ours. It's practically sacred to you. That moment can fill you with joy on some days, but on others it brings you down so low, that up seems impossible. And, we secretly loathe when other people say they love that moment too, because its supposed to OUR moment.

    Neat link, good read.

    Never give up thinking. You're doing a pretty good job of using your brain. Having taught public school for 20+ years, it's always refreshing to come across a young person who is willing to consciously step outside of the box that their parents gave them (their box of beliefs may be fine, but it should be accepted on its own merits, not just because they felt that way).

    I am a doughnut.

    • Like 1

    Someone please explain e=mc^2 to me, because I really don't like/g

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    Counting: My quick search found that apparently the counting is supposed to be "...an interpretation as a reference to the mathematical and scientific breakthroughs made by Einstein himself." And I'm sorry but as someone majoring in math education and dating a physicist, that just rubs me the wrong way. YES, Einstein was a genius. YES, he shaped modern physics. However, more modern physics is finding that he may be completely wrong. I protest that such beautiful achievements be referenced by counting over and over again to the number 8. Yes, I know that musically 8 is convenient to count to. But I mean come on. The equation is squared, and 8 is a cube. To me, that's like drawing a line and saying it exists in 2 dimensional space. It's just silly.

    Poem: Couldn't find the name, someone help?

    Good job on the research. You now have the information about "Einstein on the Beach" to have an informed opinion. Whether anyone agrees or disagrees with you is immaterial because you are speaking from the standpoint of knowledge.

    Keep going...

    • Like 1

    Make Your Passion a Career

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    I've been a band director for 22 years.

    Whenever a student comes up to me and say they want to be a band director, my reply is always, "What did you think about when you woke up this morning? If it was anything other than band, pick another career and keep music as a loving hobby. If it was band, you might be crazy enough to make it."

    Band directing is not a job, it's a lifestyle...one that--in order to achieve at the highest levels--can consume much of your life. The benefits of helping kids can be huge, but so can the costs, and the costs are getting higher as all teachers are asked to do more with less for fewer people who actually know what is happening or even care.

    When my son was 3, he was very confused on the weekends when I was home...he didn't understand because I was usually away (on average, something to do on 30 out of 36 school weekends). That lead me to rethink my priorities...but I still wake up thinking about band.

    • Like 4
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