Crossmen closing in on top 12.

[CrossmenAlumni]

Have a question about The Crossmen's 2007 "Metamorphosis" music design? Feel free to ask me, but please be specific by referring to timings from the audio at www.yataforluda.com.

I'll try to answer as quickly and as briefly as I can. Only serious and intelligent questions will be answered.

Enjoy the music,

Aaron

Here's one...

In Meta 2, in the original arrangement you wrote, there is a moment where First Circle gets overlayed on top of what the pit is doing for their feature. Then in the background, the trumpet "siren" segment takes place, intended I guess to be played backfield or at different directions around the stadium to create a neat little musical effect. That trumpet part has since been removed from the show, although the part is still being played in the pit. Obviously, there are some rhythmic demands to that part that are quite challenging in relation to tempo and everything else going on during the show there, and I can see how it would be a pain to clean. Yet without that trumpet part, it seems as if that whole section of the show really suffers from a "what's going on?" moment. Musically it sort of lays there until they start building up to the neat little unison jazz lick. I can still hear the siren part in the pit, though it doesn't come off as prominent, but I'm not sure anyone else would even know it's there unless they heard the original parts you wrote. I guess I look at it as a missed opportunity at creating a very nice musical effect...which is one area the corps seems to be struggling.

Any insights into why that part was removed? Or if there is any chance on adding it back in or substituting something else during that part of the show to create more musical interest at what seems to me to be a lull in the musical presentation?

Thanks for your work and creativity. Love the show! :)

[Aaron Guidry]

Gary,

That is a great observation. I'll explain:

As you noted, and referring to the audio at www.yataforluda.com from 5:05 - 5:18, there is an effect portion of the show referred to as "The Siren." This two-note motive is based on the repeated two notes at the end of the Hindemith 2 melodic line. Not only was The Siren to be an effect, but it was also thematic, which, to me, gives a musical effect even more credibility. I extended that two-note motive over the bar lines (which at that point are 5 + 5 + 5 + 6) to create a polyrhythmic/polymetric feel, as well as added dissonant harmonies to recreate a siren. I always heard the crescendo/decrescendo as a pan effect on the field, coming from different aural directions. (As an aside, the inspiration for that segment of music came from listening to The Beatles' "A Day in the Life.")

There was a definite visual/drill idea to match this musical idea, but as sometimes things go, it didn't work. The Siren has gone through numerous melodic rewrites, but with every rewrite, the effect I was going for was not recreated on the field. In the meantime, as you noted, the answer has been to put that motive in the pit. As the corps got on the road, other issues took dominance, but over the next few weeks, I hope to see The Siren make its way back into the brass parts in some capacity.

Thanks for the question!

Enjoy the music,

Aaron