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Trends in horn writing.


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I was standing watching Jason Buckingham lead a Crossmen brass warm up at a show. He was giving the horn line some relax and chill time. He turned his back to the brass and started chatting to the staff, and in ear shot was another corps warming up. They were going through show segments. It was basically just LOUD CHORD then 16th runs up and down the major scale. And each show seg was basically the same thing just in minor instead of major, or only one section did runs this time. Anyway he flipped out a bit and basically said he hates that stuff. And how unmusical it is. I wish I could remember the exact quote. Maybe he'll see this and share his thoughts on the matter. But I liked his thoughts. And i'm glad he is the brass caption head at my corps and that Chuck Naffier is the brass arranger. They both get music. They both get drum corps. They get phrases and how to get the corps to make music.

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Sometimes a melodic line doesn't showcase the performer, or generate any kind of musical or visual impact.

I would assume that a show designer is looking to showcase the strengths of their particular corps and they would want to write to accomplish that.

To me, smart arranging is writing a book that shows off your performers while not creating too much unnecessary risks.

I like original shows on the marching field and have never liked how phantom tries to bring pieces like Nessun Dorma to the field. Drum Corps needs to be doing new things, in every facet. If I want Nessun Dorma, I will watch the opera. I want something I havent heard or seen before!

Of course you are entitled to your opinion and I respect that...

...however, it takes far more ability to musically interprut a melodic phrase spread out on a football field with balance, sensitivity and ensemble clarity than it does to ram a bunch of notes at one dynamic that has absolutly nothing to do with the musical content. I never really understood this until I sat as a member of my college orchestra years ago, in the percussion section and really dug into how my few notes complimented what was going on elsewhere in the ensemble. It creates a whole new appreciation for what the composer intended. Why would people pay $50, $75 or more to hear an orchestra play music that has been heard and played for centuries? Because each performance is unique and the beauty is in the subtleties that each ensemble can bring. That is what amazes me about Phantom and what they have done, they can capture the nuance and sensitivity that nobody else does at this time.

This borders on blasphamy coming from a Blue Devil alum but it is really how I see things at this time. I love the activity, I really do, but I feel like, more often than not, I am sitting watching a combination of an aerobics class and a brass methods workshop rather than a musical interprutation that stimulates my artistic sensabilities. (Good lord, I am waxing poetic here and I don't mean to.)

Just a different viewpoint...

Dan

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Tuba features beyond one measure; beyond a farting stinger; beyond non-readable garbage.

Real notes, covering all registers, for entire musical phrases.

Thank you, Doug Thrower, for bringing your own brand of "Concerto for Drum Corps."

Tuba features beyond one measure; beyond a farting stinger; beyond non-readable garbage.

:felloff:

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My issue with today's horn aranging trends is that it is technique for technique's sake. It has really spelled the death of melody for the most part. The mold one must fit into in order to be competative has little room for melodic development. The shows have become centered around visual development with musical accompanyment instead of the other way around. That is one reason I would rather watch BOA Grand Nationals than DCI finals. That is also the main reason I have grown to love Phantom so much over the last several years. They are one of the few corps that seem to take efforts to be sensitive to the melodic content of their genre. With so many modern corps, their shows seem to be a 13 minute brass technical study instead of a musical development and performance. I know it is old school, but I miss the days of the sanctity of a melodic line.

Just my opinion and I know that this view would not be a top 3 focal point.

Dan

Uhmm..Phantom is not the only corps playing Melody... Open your ears! Lots of corps are playing melodies more so this year even!

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Easy champ...my ears are fine. If you read my post I said Phantom was ONE of the few corps, not the only. I realize that there are others, but, in my opinion, nobody is doing it as consisantly or as well. That is just my opinion, as you have yours. No harm, no foul, but no need to get huffy.

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My issue with today's horn aranging trends is that it is technique for technique's sake. It has really spelled the death of melody for the most part. The mold one must fit into in order to be competative has little room for melodic development. The shows have become centered around visual development with musical accompanyment instead of the other way around. That is one reason I would rather watch BOA Grand Nationals than DCI finals. That is also the main reason I have grown to love Phantom so much over the last several years. They are one of the few corps that seem to take efforts to be sensitive to the melodic content of their genre. With so many modern corps, their shows seem to be a 13 minute brass technical study instead of a musical development and performance. I know it is old school, but I miss the days of the sanctity of a melodic line.

Just my opinion and I know that this view would not be a top 3 focal point.

Dan

When I first stumbled on this thread I thought it was about something like this:

il_fullxfull.150258300.jpg

:tongue:

And I fully agree with this post because I see it happening in drum books, too.

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My issue with today's horn aranging trends is that it is technique for technique's sake. It has really spelled the death of melody for the most part. The mold one must fit into in order to be competative has little room for melodic development. The shows have become centered around visual development with musical accompanyment instead of the other way around. That is one reason I would rather watch BOA Grand Nationals than DCI finals. That is also the main reason I have grown to love Phantom so much over the last several years. They are one of the few corps that seem to take efforts to be sensitive to the melodic content of their genre. With so many modern corps, their shows seem to be a 13 minute brass technical study instead of a musical development and performance. I know it is old school, but I miss the days of the sanctity of a melodic line.

Just my opinion and I know that this view would not be a top 3 focal point.

Dan

First of all, I don't mind this thread going in this direction one bit. I figured there would be a few who would be less positive on today's trends and that is perfectly fine. However, one thing you said made me scratch my head a bit.

The shows have become centered around visual development with musical accompanyment instead of the other way around. That is one reason I would rather watch BOA Grand Nationals than DCI finals.

Strange! I think BOA is more "visual development with musical accompanyment" and less "melodic" than DCI is. I'm pretty sure most who are current on both circuits would agree. In fact, I've even heard some critics say that it's BOA's evolution that moved DCI in that direction.

Personally, I don't mind it. I think the stuff that's going on out there in both DCI and BOA is all great stuff. I'm just surprised you see the DCI to BOA comparison in the context that you do. Oh, and for the record. I happen to also prefer BOA designs over DCI designs. But for the opposite reasons as you. I think designers take greater risks with top BOA programs than they do with top DCI programs and I like that. And many of the designers in the top 12 of both circuits are the same.

Edited by stevedb1975
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