SynthLine09 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 So to my ears, Carolina Crown sounded hands down way better than anyone else at finals. The balance and blend they had during hits, not to mention sheer volume, was freaking astounding. I'm wondering where the justification is in the Blue Devils and Phantom placing higher than Crown in brass is. Is it something specific I'm not hearing? *side note, not trying to start anything here, phantom and bd both sounded awesome, I'm just wondering what everyone else thought they did better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsbari Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 First, a quick lesson in sound. If you are an in tune and in tone ensemble with proper balance... the sound will naturally be bigger. Basic physics. Crown does a fantastic job of making sure that the sound produced by each member of the hornline has the same sound. Crown and Blue Stars both require that section members all play on the same mouthpiece to help produce that uniform sound throughout the line. This may not be the case at BD or Phantom (anyone know the answer to this?), which could be part of what you are hearing or not hearing. The big thing with judging however is that its judging. It's all opinions. I'm sure these opinions were not uniform between judges, nor were they the same all season.. there may have been flip-flops in opinion. Just as you think Crown should have won high brass (an opinion you share with many, including me), the judges made their opinions that Phantom and BD were better finals week. That's all there is to it. Hope that helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louielouie Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 So to my ears, Carolina Crown sounded hands down way better than anyone else at finals. The balance and blend they had during hits, not to mention sheer volume, was freaking astounding. I'm wondering where the justification is in the Blue Devils and Phantom placing higher than Crown in brass is. Is it something specific I'm not hearing?*side note, not trying to start anything here, phantom and bd both sounded awesome, I'm just wondering what everyone else thought they did better. easy. I totally disagree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 (edited) ....Crown and Blue Stars both require that section members all play on the same mouthpiece to help produce that uniform sound throughout the line. This may not be the case at BD or Phantom (anyone know the answer to this?).... It's taxing my memory a bit and I can't really confirm it, but I think that the Cavs used to have all brass sections on "prescription" mouthpieces except the sops who were allowed to choose their own. BD is usually pretty specific about it. Not sure about the Regiment though. Edited February 13, 2009 by Piper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liebot Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 The most important thing here is that there's a difference between the sound that reaches the box and the sound down on the field. While Crown may have sounded the best from the stands, you have literally no way of knowing what they sounded like down on the field from a person-to-person basis. That is what the brass caption is judging - individual consistency at a very microscopic level. People always talk about how they thought so and so should've won brass in whatever year - you really have no way of knowing which corps sounded better on the field from an individual standpoint, so you really have no ground to stand on when it comes to questioning the decision of the brass judge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarchingXylo Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 To a point, the judges aren't judging the fantastic brass sound you're hearing... they are judging CONSISTENCY; of articulation, sound quality, dynamics, inflection, etc... And not only that, but they do it on the field, a place you are not. My thoughts are that the judges heard, at field level, the regiment and devils be more consistent player to player than Crown. Do I think from the stands that Crown has the best brass section? Sure. At field level, where the Ott is won... not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Brass Guy Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Phantom Regiment and BD have fantastic hornlines year in and year out. They probably get the reputation and the benefit of the doubt. But don't get me wrong, I think they were both better then Crown musically this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SynthLine09 Posted February 13, 2009 Author Share Posted February 13, 2009 Thanks for the opinions everyone. I forgot about the field judge. Not really a fan of the field judge counting towards the brass score. You can sound good individually, but if it doesnt sound good when it hits the stands then whats the point.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry S Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Not to worry, Crown is on a planned and deliberate slow burn to the top and they have consistently made wise growth choices so as to stay on track. This approach will pay off in a big way. BIG WAY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbc03 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Thanks for the opinions everyone. I forgot about the field judge. Not really a fan of the field judge counting towards the brass score. You can sound good individually, but if it doesnt sound good when it hits the stands then whats the point.... There is a little caption called Music Ensemble that covers what it sounds like when it hits the stands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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