HockeyDad Posted August 25, 2009 Share Posted August 25, 2009 We're talking about brass music played on a football field, outdoors (most of the time) by amateur musicians, the vast majority of whom won't end up playing music for a living, right? And one big purpose of the show is to get people excited and cheering. That's what I thought anyway. I always wonder why we like to compare it to the New York Philharmonic. Well, it's not. And you can play differently depending on what you're trying to do. So if PR's mellos sound too shrill for you, well maybe, just maybe.....you could consider that's the effect they're going for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchromik Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 I would hope that in a World Class drum corps that there is not a level where we say this is 'good enough' for a bunch of amateurs. The very nature of competition means to push beyond your own limits, to exceed the levels achieved by your competition, to move beyond what has been done before. To settle for 'good enough' is to defeated by those who will not settle. There are tons of amateur groups of musicians who achieve good enough and who's purpose is to get people cheering, there called marching bands. The competitive nature of drum corps means reaching for new heights of performance. It isn't an orchestra, or a jazz ensemble but if that is the highest form of a given music style what is wrong with trying to achieve that level of performance? Of course you are on a football field in less then optimal acoustics, but shouldn't your goal to be to play better then what anyone thinks is possible? To play better then your competition? To play better then what came before? Shouldn't your reach always exceed your grasp? Standards change with time. Groups come along from time to time and push what we think is possible forward. The judging community moves along with it. What is box 5 today will be box 3 tomorrow. You are free to program and perform anything you want, and approach it's performance any way you want. But if it is out of step with what your competition is doing, what the judging community expects, what the current audience expects, then you cannot expect the accolades of the fans or judges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Re: Phantom, their '08 line was good, but in others, especially 2006, there are moments where they are cutting through with un-matched edge and stick-outs. After the trumpet feature in the opener of Faust there is a build-up to a slow half-step 8th-note trill where you can hear at least 5 individual mellophone sounds, which becomes especially obvious when a player on side 2 cuts out near the end of the figure. I hope you are not judging them (or anyone) based solely on a recording, particularly on what a shotgun mic picks up at some random moment on a DCI championship recording. The CDs often have individual stickouts that were actually properly blended/balanced in the live performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poprocks Posted March 3, 2010 Author Share Posted March 3, 2010 Just remembered this thread and decided to bring it back up again! Bearing in mind that finals recordings and such have no been made available, has anyone's opinions on this phantastic mello section changed? IMO the finals recording shows some over-hyping in places. I remember being there at finals and feeling the same way. It was the last show, and they got a little carried away in some places (namely, the big hit in the swing section). But I know better than to think that they're always like that. Any thoughts/hopes for this section's future? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Register Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Just remembered this thread and decided to bring it back up again!Bearing in mind that finals recordings and such have no been made available, has anyone's opinions on this phantastic mello section changed? IMO the finals recording shows some over-hyping in places. I remember being there at finals and feeling the same way. It was the last show, and they got a little carried away in some places (namely, the big hit in the swing section). But I know better than to think that they're always like that. Any thoughts/hopes for this section's future? Thoughts, with JD's writing they're always going to be the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrinkinOuttaCups Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 I've always thought that they're one of the most crass mellophone lines in DCI. The ending of Phantom '07...just god-awful. No mellophone should ever sound like that, in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noneofyourbusiness Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 I've always thought that they're one of the most crass mellophone lines in DCI. The ending of Phantom '07...just god-awful. No mellophone should ever sound like that, in my opinion. Agreed. My favorites are Crown, Cadets, and Blue Stars. Lots of notes played very cleanly, and with a nice, mello, open tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyRyder_FMM Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Suncoast Sound had some balsy mid horns back in the early to mid 80s. A nice mix of mellos and flugals. IIRC, the mellos played on french horn mouthpieces with adapters, which gave them a nice sound, but created some odd intonation issues with certain notes that they had to overcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Sorry... but what is wrong with edge. I hate when people complain that phantom goes to the edge. Have you listened to the best orchestras performing the pieces that phantom does? Firebird???? Saw the philly orchestra a year ago do the complete ballet... let me tell you, when they got to the finale, they were peeling lacquer off their bells. And it was AWESOME. Brass players are SUPPOSED to explore that edge. I hate when I see teachers discouraging brass players from playing loud. It is your job to TEACH them how to control that, and maintain good sounds. Do some corps go overboard sometimes??? Yeah.. .Phantom isn't the only ones guilty... I'd say Gino and the Cadets are just as guilty as JD and Phantom. And so is just about every corps out there. Edge is good sometimes, a lot of pieces call for it when played properly. A lot of the great classics. With edge you take chances. When you use emotion when playing, you take chances... BUT THAT IS WHAT WE DO IT FOR, to perform, TO TAKE CHANCES, put a little bit of ourselves out there on the line. ####### GO FOR IT. PERFORM FOR ME. I can forgive a bad sound sneaking in if you PERFORMED FOR ME. AND that is what the PR mello line does, they PERFORM. That whole horn line PERFORMS. And I thank them for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 It depends on the year. I thought 03 and 07 had aggressive mellos that never really sounded good. But 04 was nice as was 08. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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