liebot Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 I appreciate when a hornline plays out of control throughout a good portion of the show. One of my favorite hornlines of all time is the Madison Scouts 1995 hornline, due to the fact that they were able to move beyond "control" and enter into the realm of "pure energy." I really dislike when a hornline maintains control throughout the entire show, I need moments where they just let loose. If I want to hear a controlled sound, I'll go see a wind ensemble play. You probably don't like Crown's hornline then, because they play with a pretty controlled sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Yeah, Madison' 95 hornline was very controlled. They were able to stay musical and blow faces off all at the same time. That's where the energy came from, for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liebot Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 The whole thing about playing in tune being louder, IMO, is a crock. It's a trick to encourage the players -- who always want to play louder ;) -- to pursue good intonation. Wrong. It's science. Sound waves vibrating at the same exact frequency resonate louder than waves vibrating at slightly different frequencies than one another. You're misinterpreting what people are saying and assuming they mean in tune = loud which is clearly not the case. Just playing in tune doesn't make a horn line loud. But if you put two hornlines together and have they play the same chord with the same exact wind and embouchure and all other factors stay the same, the one that's playing in tune will sound louder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leland Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 (edited) Wrong. It's science. Sound waves vibrating at the same exact frequency resonate louder than waves vibrating at slightly different frequencies than one another. On the scale of a few dozen brass players spread around the field, it hardly matters. I've heard that happen exactly once, and that was in SCV 99's ballad push from the baritones -- and it was either prelims or finals, but not both nights. You're misinterpreting what people are saying and assuming they mean in tune = loud which is clearly not the case. Just playing in tune doesn't make a horn line loud. But if you put two hornlines together and have they play the same chord with the same exact wind and embouchure and all other factors stay the same, the one that's playing in tune will sound louder. I'm not the one doing the misinterpreting. I'm restating what people have said. Edited September 2, 2008 by Leland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mn trumpter guy Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 The whole thing about playing in tune being louder, IMO, is a crock. It's a trick to encourage the players -- who always want to play louder ;) -- to pursue good intonation. Louder is louder, and there's no way around it. Star '92 and BD '88, two exceptionally well-tuned and balanced lines I've heard, were also two of the quietest hornlines among their peers... and, honestly, they just didn't get the same kind of crowd reaction as other, louder corps.I've known two different approaches to getting a balanced, loud sound. One is to let the players crank it up early on, then rein them in later to bring the really loud ones in line with the rest. The other is to make them play with good control and balance at the beginning, even if it's a bit quieter, then have them push the envelope more and more as the season progresses. The result is pretty much the same. Firstly, have a hornline play a chord out of tune, then have them play at the same dynamic, but IN tune. there IS a difference, even if it is just in terms of power- there is a difference. See 'science' comment. Also- No one said anything about sacrificing loudness for tuning; drum corps is an educational activity- kids need to learn how to do both, and they can (see PR 08, CC 08, etc.) Secondly; there is a third approach: A mix of the two, if you will. This summer, we were let loose, reigned in a bit, but mostly we just worked on getting everyone louder, then listening. I found it to be more intuitive then trying to remember how a certain dynamic felt; you just play what you think it is, and then listen to everyone else to balance. Wrong. It's science. Sound waves vibrating at the same exact frequency resonate louder than waves vibrating at slightly different frequencies than one another. You're misinterpreting what people are saying and assuming they mean in tune = loud which is clearly not the case. Just playing in tune doesn't make a horn line loud. But if you put two hornlines together and have they play the same chord with the same exact wind and embouchure and all other factors stay the same, the one that's playing in tune will sound louder. You probably don't like Crown's hornline then, because they play with a pretty controlled sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salad315 Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Wrong. It's science. Sound waves vibrating at the same exact frequency resonate louder than waves vibrating at slightly different frequencies than one another. You're misinterpreting what people are saying and assuming they mean in tune = loud which is clearly not the case. Just playing in tune doesn't make a horn line loud. But if you put two hornlines together and have they play the same chord with the same exact wind and embouchure and all other factors stay the same, the one that's playing in tune will sound louder. Meh, I've heard the science. In reality, i dont much agree with it. Oh, I understand how things are supposed to work and all that, but I've pretty much never actually heard a hornline get 'in tune' enough for it to matter. Maybe if all things were equal, like you said, you would be right. Since we NEVER will have a hornline play as loud as pr 08 or cadets 07, AND as in tune as cavies 02, I guess were going to have to pick one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTNK Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Skipping the elaborate theoretical and pedagogical debates, I am going to just say that if your drum corps hornline sounds like a 200 member high school show band, you're doing it wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahler8 Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Since we NEVER will have a hornline play as loud as pr 08 there have been tons of hornlines louder than PR 08. 1 or 2 of them in the same year as well. Great hornline, but not the loudest of 08. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salad315 Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Skipping the elaborate theoretical and pedagogical debates, I am going to just say that if your drum corps hornline sounds like a 200 member high school show band, you're doing it wrong. If your WC drum corps sounds like a 30 member drum corps hornline, you're doing it wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salad315 Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 there have been tons of hornlines louder than PR 08. 1 or 2 of them in the same year as well.Great hornline, but not the loudest of 08. AND you took my quote COMPLETELY out of context. Thats a pretty epic fail...i never said pr 08 was the loudest of all time, learn to read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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