Lancerlady Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Well, to get into the technical aspects of it, the mellophone mouthpiece used (and you MUST use this mouthpiece--at least everywhere I've been) is ultimately much closer to a trumpet mouthpiece than a horn mouthpiece. The cut of the cup is much more shallow and steep than a deep, conic horn mouthpiece, and this causes a complete and total difference in tonality control. Simply put, this contributes to the mellophone sound's tendency to spread and lose tone quality VERY quickly at loud dynamics (in addition to it being a mediocre instrument), completely changing the approach to tone. The partial differences wreak havoc with my ear over the course of 3 months, putting me back on horn with decreased accuracy, and the muscular embouchure demands for playing high on a trumpet-style mouthpiece are completely different from playing on a horn mouthpiece, meaning that some of my finer face muscles are diminished both in strength and control.I've been playing horn (double horn--Bb/F) for going on 11 years now, and I started as a concert musician. As a music major in college, I will never have an audition on mellophone, and my proficiency on mellophone will never really enter into account for my professional criterion. But still, I go on DCI tour and come back for college auditions in the fall--unable to play as loud, as high, as accurately or as proficiently as I did before I left. I suppose I should say "technique" as opposed to "embouchure", but either way, DCI isn't that good for my technical abilities as a musician...and I find that to be unfortunate. Wow, I guess I am one of the lucky ones. I was a concert French Horn player as well and I was able to switch from playing concert horn and also play the trumpet in jazz band. I attributed it to what I learned in drum corps. For me it was the opposite, it really enhanced my playing ability to be able to play more. I started out on trumpet in jr high so it was easier for me to switch I suppose. I guess being lucky that I had an instructor in drum corps who gave me one on one lessons (which I understand is rare these days). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoltonH178 Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Wow, I guess I am one of the lucky ones. I was a concert French Horn player as well and I was able to switch from playing concert horn and also play the trumpet in jazz band. I attributed it to what I learned in drum corps. For me it was the opposite, it really enhanced my playing ability to be able to play more. I started out on trumpet in jr high so it was easier for me to switch I suppose.I guess being lucky that I had an instructor in drum corps who gave me one on one lessons (which I understand is rare these days). To be fair, I am trying to at least approach a professional level of proficiency on my concert horn, so my woes regarding embouchure problems are more of a concern than they are for most people who will be involved in drum corps...I can play any instrument in the hornline, and obviously there's more to being a musician and especially a music educator than your proficiency on your primary instrument, and that's why I march. As a student professional though, it is a bit of a setback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDCorno Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 <<Mellos produce a basically similar sound, and are much more stable...?> I disagree. Mellophone sounds nothing like french horn - and they're not any more stable, especially depending on who's playing them. <G> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDCorno Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 We usually have four, and they play a single part.One other thing - now there are F Marching horns (lika a descant - fingerings similar to Mellophone). They are much easier to play and march with. Hopefully some brave soul in control of a good hornline will give them a try. Well said, oh F.O.N.. I'd also like to rebut the assertion that french horns don't have adequate volume. I recall our line pretty much peeled lacquer off instruments from 100+ yards. LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mello - Benji Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Well said, oh F.O.N.. I'd also like to rebut the assertion that french horns don't have adequate volume. I recall our line pretty much peeled lacquer off instruments from 100+ yards. LOL. I agree completely. If you get good players behind the horn, volume shouldn't be an issue. During Legends, our "mellophone" section was 3 Bb french horns and we could easily (ok, not that easily, but we could) play over our hornline (19ish people) when we needed to at loud dynamics (>FF). Definitely really easy to frack on though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrothgar15 Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Ever since a certain female bragged about playing french horn (is it really french?) they stopped making them for drum corps. BTW, this female's name is never to be mentioned on DCP. Hey...I'm gonna tell Grandma Catherine what you said! :angry2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuriousMe Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 I agree completely. If you get good players behind the horn, volume shouldn't be an issue. During Legends, our "mellophone" section was 3 Bb french horns and we could easily (ok, not that easily, but we could) play over our hornline (19ish people) when we needed to at loud dynamics (>FF). Definitely really easy to frack on though. Well yeah, but a 3:19 ratio of Fr. Horns to the hornline is going to make it easier to be heard than a 6:70. We had a pretty-good, lead mello line in '89, made up of half French players and half trumpet players (the soloist that year, Ken, was an amazing French player). I don't think it's a case of the French not being loud, but it's a comparison thing....all other things being equal, players can get more a lot more (quality) volume out of mellos. Just my opinion....YMMV. Peace, CuriousMe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDCorno Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Well yeah, but a 3:19 ratio of Fr. Horns to the hornline is going to make it easier to be heard than a 6:70. We had a pretty-good, lead mello line in '89, made up of half French players and half trumpet players (the soloist that year, Ken, was an amazing French player). I don't think it's a case of the French not being loud, but it's a comparison thing....all other things being equal, players can get more a lot more (quality) volume out of mellos. Just my opinion....YMMV. Peace, CuriousMe I disagree. You can get a perception of volume from a mello, just like you can with a soprano/trumpet due to the register and absence of the low partials. When it comes to sheer volume, a well-played french horn takes the cake. We did some decibel testing when I marched BD, and the two loudest players were french horns - and it's not as if the rest of the players were slouches... <G> We easily exceeded 100 decibels, and no other instrument was close. The presence of a wide spectrum of partials gives a dense sound quality you can't find elsewhere in a horn line. This includes altos and all of the other bastardized creations that have been used in a quest to replace french horns. The actual quest itself acknowledges that there is a need to fill this gaping hole in the sound of a horn line. It's almost like listening to music with your midrange speaker blown. You just don't get the whole picture sonically. With all due respect to the BD horn line this year, there was a real need for a french horn voice. Certainly they sounded fantastic, and with the identifiable BD sound - but they had more of a mellophone-centric Cadets sound to them. I can appreciate that sound for what it is, but some of the uniqueness was missing. This is the most disturbing aspect of what corps has become. They all have very similar sounds to them now - you didn't see that in the past. The only corps that sounded a little unique was Carolina Crown, probably due to the arrangements. The Bb "bugles" don't sound good outdoors, but don't get me started on that... I'd hope that at some point french horns would make a comeback. I don't buy the "small mouthpiece" and "not enough good players" arguments against using them. They're excuses. To paraphrase Tom Hanks, "there's no excuses in drum corps!". Perhaps too many brass staffs take the easy way out. Trumpet players are a dime a dozen (no offense intended), so it's EASY to come up with an alto/mellophone line. I was an "OK" player when I joined the BD, and owe a lot to the brass staff there for making me a strong player. A good brass program will yield good players, no matter what they play. Hopefully brass staffs will see the benefits of a french horn voice and take steps to bring them back into the activity. It will take a little bit of work, but the positives are well worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomnoise Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Ladies and Gentlemen - Dave Tuttle!! Well said, my friend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDCorno Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 I do have to agree with the original poster, who referred to the mellophone as a "weapon". LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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