JimF-LowBari Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I remember seeing a piece of music Bowser had way back when we were in the Chocolatiers, and it had all these "symbols" and "marks" over the notes...I asked him WTF?!?!? He said it was for the people that didn't know how to read "real" music, it was "drum corps" notation. he said that the majority of the horn players didn't know how to read so they learned it that way. The music came "pre marked".. IIRC, he also said that most of the stuff that they "stole" from the Rebels (through Bill Tabeling, who was the horn instructor at the time) was like that as well. That kicked in a pair of stray thoughts that may have answered an old question I had: 1974 our concert was a putrid version of 2001 Theme going into McArthur Park. Idea just sounds bad and we played it even worse. LOL, only played it in public twice and didn't even play it at Carlisle went we marched the half of the show we knew. Thanks to that Jim Jones DVD that is for sale I now know what we did that night. Anyway years later I buy 1973 DCA CDs and the Rebels are playing the same concert. They played it better but still kinda cringe worthy (sorry Colonel Crawford). Wonder who begged for a copy of the chart. Other stray thought was there was some sheet music in the piston/slide I played for a few months (teeth still hurt). Threw out the music long agao (dumb###) but now remember 25 or 6 to 4 was one of the charts. Image the Bari part for that in the early 70s da da da da dahhh (repeat using same freaking note). Just checked corpsreps and possible the horn came from the York White Roses as they played '25' a few years before. LOL, probably came out of Toomeys cellar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaminbenb Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 That kicked in a pair of stray thoughts that may have answered an old question I had: 1974 our concert was a putrid version of 2001 Theme going into McArthur Park. Idea just sounds bad and we played it even worse. LOL, only played it in public twice and didn't even play it at Carlisle went we marched the half of the show we knew. Thanks to that Jim Jones DVD that is for sale I now know what we did that night. Anyway years later I buy 1973 DCA CDs and the Rebels are playing the same concert. They played it better but still kinda cringe worthy (sorry Colonel Crawford). Wonder who begged for a copy of the chart. Other stray thought was there was some sheet music in the piston/slide I played for a few months (teeth still hurt). Threw out the music long agao (dumb###) but now remember 25 or 6 to 4 was one of the charts. Image the Bari part for that in the early 70s da da da da dahhh (repeat using same freaking note). Just checked corpsreps and possible the horn came from the York White Roses as they played '25' a few years before. LOL, probably came out of Toomeys cellar. 95% of what Hershey played were either charts stolen from the Rebels over the years, or recreated Rebels parts... (made from maybe a set of soprano and mellophone charts...the bari's and contra's were probably just root notes) I did the same dumb things with music that was left in old cases...I found a bunch of old Middletown drum parts in an old drum case and tossed them, I seem to remember tossing some old timpani parts when I got mine in 1979...who knew to keep any of that stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Jeff- you're right about that 1977 video of Westshore- definitely the Glenn Miller medley from '77. Fun wo watch, too. Jim, speaking of piston slide-- there's a good Frank Dorrite story he told us BITD about when he was playing one of those in the old days and evidently, some of the pitches were sharp as tacks so you really had to gank the slide out. One of the vets told him "Joo know how to play dat note? Hit yourself in da face!" I hope Frank sees this post and can corroborate. I saw Danny Fitz play a piston slide French horn at DCA I and I in I thnk 1992 or 1993. Danny won with the blasted thing, and was FANTASTIC. You'd have never known he was playing one of those unless you watched him. Superb display, and very memorable. And yeah, a lot of guys used some kind of x and o system or + and 0 system to mark fingerings as well. I have no clue which was which, I never used it, always marked 1 and 2 when needed. I think Jim's one piece for G-D bugle is notated that way alon with the actual notes. When I think of Choclatiers, I think of Teddy Arndt at Serenade with that set of trips and my old friend Andy Grider. Hey, Boom- you know Bob Wolfe was ex-Choclatiers? Talked to him about it. Man-- knowing some of the cast of characters like T-Schell, Ben, Andy and Bob, and Teddy, Louie, Happy Birthday JJ, and Dickie, Dear God, that corps must have been even more like a Pirate ship of scurvy cut-throats than we were in that era!!!!!! The Bucs were more like the Errol Flynn/Sea Hawk, clean cut types, at least in public. I'm sure I could get good stories out ofbender and some of the others I know if I asked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaminbenb Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Jeff- you're right about that 1977 video of Westshore- definitely the Glenn Miller medley from '77. Fun wo watch, too. Jim, speaking of piston slide-- there's a good Frank Dorrite story he told us BITD about when he was playing one of those in the old days and evidently, some of the pitches were sharp as tacks so you really had to gank the slide out. One of the vets told him "Joo know how to play dat note? Hit yourself in da face!" I hope Frank sees this post and can corroborate. I saw Danny Fitz play a piston slide French horn at DCA I and I in I thnk 1992 or 1993. Danny won with the blasted thing, and was FANTASTIC. You'd have never known he was playing one of those unless you watched him. Superb display, and very memorable. And yeah, a lot of guys used some kind of x and o system or + and 0 system to mark fingerings as well. I have no clue which was which, I never used it, always marked 1 and 2 when needed. I think Jim's one piece for G-D bugle is notated that way alon with the actual notes. When I think of Choclatiers, I think of Teddy Arndt at Serenade with that set of trips and my old friend Andy Grider. Hey, Boom- you know Bob Wolfe was ex-Choclatiers? Talked to him about it. Man-- knowing some of the cast of characters like T-Schell, Ben, Andy and Bob, and Teddy, Louie, Happy Birthday JJ, and Dickie, Dear God, that corps must have been even more like a Pirate ship of scurvy cut-throats than we were in that era!!!!!! The Bucs were more like the Errol Flynn/Sea Hawk, clean cut types, at least in public. I'm sure I could get good stories out ofbender and some of the others I know if I asked. When I joined the Choc's, I was only 13, and pretty much couldn't do anything...had to behave myself, not by my choice, either...I LEARNED a LOT that year, but still kept pretty clean cut.... But the older folk, THEY were crazy drinkers..in fact they used to sell beer at rehearsals (the Community room over at Briarcrest in Hershey) and it was a party...any bus trips we took were pretty wild for the most part. I didn't learn to drink (at an age not quite legal) until the next year Truthfully T-Schell was pretty tame in those days...he was just trying to get himself established as a "serious" instructor...heck, he was only like 19 or 20 so.....(it wasn't until our band days that he got SEVERELY corrupted!) Buc's? Clean cut? not on your life!!! The 79 version had a bunch of former Chocolatiers. (the contingency "East" of Hershey, those who were more "West" went to... WESTshore life works out that way sometimes) As I met people from that "era" over my tenure, they knew how to cut loose, trust me! (now when I got there, there was a "heavy" Crossmen influence, at least in the drumline, so things were pretty crazy there ) So I knew a LOT of people in the 79 and 80 corps...not to mention Skee, who was my high school drum instructor all four years (more on that later) Not the swarshbucklers you thought they were..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 Bruce Fausy, a real blast from the past- haven't seen him in years! Last I knew, lived in the Sunbury area and a friend who was a low brass player at Shik ran a dog grooming shop that took care of his dogs. I'm unsure what happened to him, I'd have thunk that I'd have ran into him in one way or another at a show somewhere after 1990ish.... Didn't he march Bucs for a bit in the late 70's, Ben!!?!?!? he's done in MD now. was tabbing for TOB for a while Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 95% of what Hershey played were either charts stolen from the Rebels over the years, or recreated Rebels parts... (made from maybe a set of soprano and mellophone charts...the bari's and contra's were probably just root notes) I did the same dumb things with music that was left in old cases...I found a bunch of old Middletown drum parts in an old drum case and tossed them, I seem to remember tossing some old timpani parts when I got mine in 1979...who knew to keep any of that stuff. I have every note of warmups and show i've ever played or taught or written Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaminbenb Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 I have every note of warmups and show i've ever played or taught or written I have probably most of what I was handed over the years (including little slips of paper with 4 measures on it)(in fact, I was just IN that briefcase this morning, there was a key on my key ring that I wasn't sure was for, it was that case) But the stuff found in cases is what I should have kept. I was just tired of stuff falling OUT of the case every time I pulled my drums out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 I think now with digital storage, as long as people back up stuff and such, it'll be easier to archive documents like that. I know a lot of the drill guys are happy they can do that, especially with the way drill is written now with 2-4 count transitions even written out to clarify the moves... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 I think now with digital storage, as long as people back up stuff and such, it'll be easier to archive documents like that. I know a lot of the drill guys are happy they can do that, especially with the way drill is written now with 2-4 count transitions even written out to clarify the moves... makes it easy to steal stuff and reuse it too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaminbenb Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 makes it easy to steal stuff and reuse it too Heck Schell would have gone crazy if he had that! During our writing sessions, we'd get to a point and he'd be "Ok, I'm just going to stick this part in from that...it works musically and it fits" Then there was his "stock" drum to drum ditty that he stole from one of WSM's drum solos....oh yeah...cut and paste! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.