corpsband Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to belittle the accomplishments of modern guard. I understand the overall physicality of the role is vastly increased. But one of the things you said highlights one of the modern trends I dislike: "for most of a typical show *someone* is spinning." As you said, Someone. Not Everyone. In fact, for a majority of the show, Everyone is hardly ever doing the same thing at the same time. The greatly increased difficulty of modern drum corps is achieved partially, IMO, by having fewer kids perform it. Is it visually appropriate to spin unison work for most of the show? We certainly don't expect that from the music side -- drum corps or not. And the "someone" I referred to is typically 10 or 20 kids -- not a soloist or even small group. Not a whole lot of 35-40 guard members each doing their own thing is most shows I've seen. But you may have 3 separate groups of flags each picking up different musical lines in the ensemble. Or perhaps doing layered work to the same musical line. Visually - I dont see anything at all being easier. I'll pass on the music commentary -- it would take the thread OT. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaos001 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I do enjoy a large ensemble moment a lot more than small group work. For instance, the end of the third movement for Regiment consisted of a block of guard tossing a double 45 on flags while the other girls tossed 6's (?) on sabres. Guards today are better with the demand involved and the opportunities to be in WGI or scholastic programs. The only issue I have is with overwriting. Some things on the field just can't be seen from the box...wasted effort it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccerguy315 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I kind of understand the idea behind the OP, but it seems weird... "guards are too good so they should do something else"? I dunno... I mean, do you complain when horn lines play really well and really in tune? Should they do something else? The trumpet soloists always hit their high notes... should they do something else? If you are looking for "inferior" execution you can just watch corps 5+ and skip out on the top few corps I guess? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I do enjoy a large ensemble moment a lot more than small group work. For instance, the end of the third movement for Regiment consisted of a block of guard tossing a double 45 on flags while the other girls tossed 6's (?) on sabres. Guards today are better with the demand involved and the opportunities to be in WGI or scholastic programs. The only issue I have is with overwriting. Some things on the field just can't be seen from the box...wasted effort it seems. youre right..its 2 different kinds of writing......there are many who over wright. for me those great block moments are all the better because they come out of nowhere and great when you see all of a sudden that huge colorful moment.....it wouldnt be as effective if the whole show were those moments IMO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaos001 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 youre right..its 2 different kinds of writing......there are many who over wright. for me those great block moments are all the better because they come out of nowhere and great when you see all of a sudden that huge colorful moment.....it wouldnt be as effective if the whole show were those moments IMO Indeed. Appropriate things at the appropriate times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 This isn't just a guard thing, it applies to music, too. Look at BD in, say 09 and 10. How much difficulty, really, is there in those ensemble brass books? Almost all of the difficulty in 2009 is in solo and small ensemble passages. How often is the whole ensemble performing at once? And when you attract the level of performers BD does, I certainly understand showcasing soloists, but again: balance. I agree with a lot of what you've said, but I think you picked a bad example. BD's 09 and 10 shows were really challenging from an ensemble perspective. It's all in how the pieces fit together (especially considering the stage), rather than number of notes and such. But again, I do think there's something to your argument. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I am a brass guy and with that being said i am already uninterested in guard, but i too am amazed when a rifle or a flag are dropped. Aside from costumes the guard work doesn't really fit with the shows imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbones7480 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 In my opinion. Modern guards are too spread out.. esp. the rifle lines. I think it was more affective when they stayed close together. The rifles are much lighter in weight than the old days, so they actually twirl them more like batons now, which I think looks sloppy. my opinion 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindap Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Indoor, outdoor and parade guards in different venues need alot of thought about staging. I watched drum corps on a little laptop in 2011. My impression was that Crossmen's guard was melodic and Santa Clara Vanguard had texture. I found them to be interesting :D This weekend I'll watch again to try and figure out why I have this opinion ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calileadsop Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 Are guards too good and therefore more boring? No and most definitely! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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