byline Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Past few decades. I know this is semantics, but: I was always taught that a few translates into three, a couple = two. So, if you're talking about decades, then I'd say "couple" would be somewhat more accurate, because the Scouts' guard wasn't having any problems in the '80s. That was the transition period between them and Cavaliers, since the Cavaliers' guard did become the more dominant of the all-male guards during that decade, but I would not describe any of the '80s Scouts guards as "struggling" or an "Achilles' heel" for the corps . . . not by a long stretch. In fact, come to think of it, I wouldn't have said that about any of their guards until the last few years, so I think the original poster's statement is really more accurate. Were they as dominant in guard in the '90s and '00s as they were in the '70s through the mid-'80s? No, but they weren't slouches, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medeabrass Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Saw on the Madison Scouts' Twitter that they put up a video from their December camp last year (for this season, but it was in '09, so...yeah. That's kinda confusing). Anyway, it has clips of the hornline playing "Rhapsody in Blue." You can check it out here:http://vimeo.com/8548887 Honestly, I'm impressed...not with the sound, because 1. Everybody sounds good standing still, and 2. It's December. But what I'm really impressed with is the arrangement. It sounds like honest-to-god "Rhapsody in Blue," and less like "Hints on a Theme of Rhapsody in Blue, because we're being all esoteric and ####." Dare I say it, but it actually sounds...melodic! Scary, I know. Still, I'm looking forward to hearing the full thing eventually. That's Jim Prime for ya. I'm so happy he is back in the activity again not only to hear his arrangements again but also for how he will influence other arrangers and the direction of the activity in general. On a side note, it sounds almost identical to the arrangement Jimmer wrote for Brass Theater in '94. Anybody else wonder if the selections they've chosen will provide enough "up tempo" moments to keep them competitive? Obviously, we haven't heard everything but this is something I've wondered about ever since their music was announced. On the other hand, I know that this design team prefers "quality over quantity" per se and would much rather put something in the drum corps' wheelhouse that they can perform at an extremely high level as opposed to giving them something over their head that will never be clean. I'm very excited to see this corps this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medeabrass Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I thought it sounded good but didn't care for the arrangement. I really could have used a huge hit right after the high note. Jimmer is known for adding some "ear candy" towards the end of the season. I wouldn't be surprised for him to tweak things according to the progress of the corps over the summer. I always loved it when he came to rehearsal with his manila envelope full of goodies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medeabrass Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 This middle segment with all the runs is very much like the original. Not at all like the offering of 1975 or 1985. I will only say this:The wall of sound is built and experimented with in the months of Jan - April. It sounds like right now they are working on phrasing, shaping, timing and fingers. Once that is mastered ... I expect the sheer terror of raw power to be forthcoming. If someone is at the camps and has witnessed VOLUME exercises being done ... please clue us in. I want to hear all the dirty details. I'm not sure if anything has changed in Donnie's teaching but we never really worked on volume much until maybe the last couple of weeks of the season and even then it wasn't stressed that much aside from playing with a consistent characteristic sound, balance and blend, etc at all volume levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 That's Jim Prime for ya. I'm so happy he is back in the activity again not only to hear his arrangements again but also for how he will influence other arrangers and the direction of the activity in general.On a side note, it sounds almost identical to the arrangement Jimmer wrote for Brass Theater in '94. Anybody else wonder if the selections they've chosen will provide enough "up tempo" moments to keep them competitive? Obviously, we haven't heard everything but this is something I've wondered about ever since their music was announced. On the other hand, I know that this design team prefers "quality over quantity" per se and would much rather put something in the drum corps' wheelhouse that they can perform at an extremely high level as opposed to giving them something over their head that will never be clean. I'm very excited to see this corps this summer. Yeah, the stuff we've heard so far seems VERY true to the original. I'm getting the impression (could be wrong) that this could be an "old school" music book combined with a more modern visual design. I really want to see that happen, if for no other reason to see how it would be scored (though it sure seemed to work for SCV last season). I am also curious to see how Jim Prime's arranging style has evolved since his last foray into World Class drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medeabrass Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Yeah, the stuff we've heard so far seems VERY true to the original. I'm getting the impression (could be wrong) that this could be an "old school" music book combined with a more modern visual design. I really want to see that happen, if for no other reason to see how it would be scored (though it sure seemed to work for SCV last season). I am also curious to see how Jim Prime's arranging style has evolved since his last foray into World Class drum corps. Probably the best way you could get an idea before the summer is to listen to Blast...of course, I guess those arrangements are 10 years old now...wow time has flown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scerpella Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 This middle segment with all the runs is very much like the original. Not at all like the offering of 1975 or 1985. Actually 1975s version was fairly similar to a transcription early on. As the season went on lots of slicing and dicing was done. The specifics scale runs you were talking about were there. What they did IMO was take out everything that was less than captivating to the listener Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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