84BDsop Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 And HornsUp... those suckers look HEAVY! Not really...the biggest mass of metal's the bell, and that's no farther away that a soprano. Now the LOW brass....that's where you get issues. The King K-80 euphonium was a beast...all the weight was much farther out in front. And some Dynasty baris/euphs in the early 80s had various placement for the valve cluster. Some were a nice comfortable distance out...others made you stretch your arms to hold the horn properly...something NOT easy to do (check out 83 Cadets....there are a few shots that show it). Weight's an important consideration, but balance is also critical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madalumni Posted January 14, 2011 Author Share Posted January 14, 2011 Not really...the biggest mass of metal's the bell, and that's no farther away that a soprano. Now the LOW brass....that's where you get issues. The King K-80 euphonium was a beast...all the weight was much farther out in front. And some Dynasty baris/euphs in the early 80s had various placement for the valve cluster. Some were a nice comfortable distance out...others made you stretch your arms to hold the horn properly...something NOT easy to do (check out 83 Cadets....there are a few shots that show it). Weight's an important consideration, but balance is also critical. Those King K-80s looked like beasts! I played a Deg Eupho in 89 with the Scouts and that thing was a monster...but when I watch videos of the early 80s Blue Devils, I see those Kings and am very glad I didn't have to play one of those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Those King K-80s looked like beasts! I played a Deg Eupho in 89 with the Scouts and that thing was a monster...but when I watch videos of the early 80s Blue Devils, I see those Kings and am very glad I didn't have to play one of those! I think the rookies got stuck with the euphs back then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 However, what will kill the Frenchie in Sr is what killed it in Jr...the speed of drill makes an already difficult horn even harder to play well. Good point, Sam. I played French horn 11 of my 12 seasons marching.... the last six with DCA's Sunrisers, who had dropped Frenchies for a few years then brought them back for the 1977 season, my first with the corps. It was one of the main reasons I joined Sun.... the chance to play French horn again after one forgettable season on mellophone in my junior corps from NJ. My last season was 1982.... Sun kept French horns for two more seasons and then went back to an all-mellophone midrange section in 1985. Those marching Frenchies, in the right hands, had a wonderful, unique sound. It's been kinda sad to see them go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Those marching Frenchies, in the right hands.... And there's the key phrase. Someone who's never played a concert or marching French is gonna had a hard enough time learning to play the thhing standing still.... And it was SO iffy...the French solo in 87 VK (leading into "California Girls") is a good example...you can hear the player fighting the partials throughout. When played properly, it was a wonderful sound...but the mello's a lot more forgiving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 1984 Freelancers, photo courtesy of DCW. From what I've read they had french horns, mellos and flugels oh my ;-) One of their soloists had three horns...I think they were flugel, mello, and Frenchie....one in his hand and one off each hip like a gunslinger. Don't remember if that was 84 or a prior year, tho. BD that same year had Frenchies and flugels for the alto line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindap Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 One of their soloists had three horns...I think they were flugel, mello, and Frenchie....one in his hand and one off each hip like a gunslinger. Don't remember if that was 84 or a prior year, tho. BD that same year had Frenchies and flugels for the alto line. Thanks for the insight. I know now but didn't before know that Ron Cain played sop solo for so very hard to go in 74. He also played flugel, that I know. We, the staff, lived under the same roof in 76. A soloist in 84 that played all 3 is extraordinary wow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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