wallace Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Am I weird to say that I actually liked Crown's percussion book? More so than Cadets and BD? I know it wasn't clean. But to me it fit the music much better. As a brass guy... all i hear from most lines is notes notes notes. I know a lot of corps primarily write the horn book first with probably a pit outline in place along with that. It makes sense.. most the music arranged includes melody and harmony... so you would need to arrange that first before you add completely original music to arrangement of the source music. It then makes sense for the battery composer to write a score. I feel like Crown's writer really wanted to use the drums to enhance the music. Not to overpower it. Or distract from the horn book. I find Crown's complete musical arrangements much more in sync with each other than other corps. Even BD where they supposedly write everything basically at the same time? I guess that could work too... I just don't like how they choose to arrange? I try to stay away from talking about drum lines because I could easily make a fool out of myself. But clean vs dirty I can't tell as easily as musical and fitting to the music vs ramming notes or just drumming because we can. Maybe Crown was ramming notes? I mean the horns surely were... Drum parts are usually the only thing that is truly original music in the marching activity when the whole show itself isn't original music. I feel like some writers are trying too hard to make the drumline stand out at alltimes. Save that for the drum break. I'd rather everything be in balance. And maybe that is why Crown had decent analysis scores. That and especially in the dome... you can't hear what is clean or dirty unless you are right on top of it... because if you take a step away it gets LOST... so the box wouldn't be able to make any real call. I'm really just getting into the world of drumlines... it's a weird one that is for sure. Drum arrangers need to be careful so as not to relegate percussion to accompany the brass rather than be an equal musical partner. Purple Pants Bandos would have a conniption fit if Crown's brass played nothing harder than a quarter note in a major scale while the percussion section laid down a track. Well, as long the ensemble is pleasing to the ear why should the brass section try to be the best in history? The Cadets won drums because the arragements fit the music spectacularly with a wide range of rudimental variety and techniques that required an array of different motor skills. Just the muscle control exhibited alone was nothing short of staggering. We can say the same thing about Crown's horns. They were astonishing! Why are you tolerating drum arrangements and performances from the percussion section that are not on the same level as your brass? Why is just good enough--good enough? DCI has always had batteries that are/were arguably among the BEST of rudimental drumming in the world. Why are you advocating an erosion of this skill set? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywhopper Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 The Cadets won drums because the arragements fit the music spectacularly Actually the percussion sheets don't reward fitting the music. That's what the MA sheet is for. The Cadets percussion line was astounding, no doubt. They won drums for displaying immense skill with an incredibly difficult book. But their arrangements often did not fit the music at all. The best argument in favor of these sections I've heard is that they were part of the Side X Side theme in that they intentionally did not fit. I'm fine with generating some rhythmic dissonance if that's what you're going for, but don't call it harmony. Why are you tolerating drum arrangements and performances from the percussion section that are not on the same level as your brass? Why is just good enough--good enough? DCI has always had batteries that are/were arguably among the BEST of rudimental drumming in the world. Why are you advocating an erosion of this skill set? This is a ridiculous thing to say. Fact is that Crown's battery and front ensemble arrangements were very challenging and spectacularly fun to watch and listen to. So they aren't the best percussion in DCI. You can be sure they did *their* best. And if some people felt their percussion arrangements were ultimately the best overall, get over it. If you can only enjoy the top percussion line and feel the need to #### on all the rest, you have a very sad life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranintothedoor Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Garfields_Kid mows the yard. When I came home a couple days ago I found this. He had cut it into the grass, then spray painted the colors. "PPb" is in the middle, e=mc2 at the top, and "DCI Champs '13" at the bottom. It's quite large and he did it free-hand. I had to get a 16' ladder to snap a pic of it. I gave him a pretty good score for design, but I dinged him in execution because the left and right tips of the crown are out of alignment. /> Still, I thought it was pretty />, and it will stay in the grass for several weeks as a nice reminder. Awesome! I hope my daughter, now a year old, will be just as into this activity as I am... seems like it's a great way to bond, judging from you post. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallace Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 (edited) Actually the percussion sheets don't reward fitting the music. That's what the MA sheet is for. The Cadets percussion line was astounding, no doubt. They won drums for displaying immense skill with an incredibly difficult book. But their arrangements often did not fit the music at all. The best argument in favor of these sections I've heard is that they were part of the Side X Side theme in that they intentionally did not fit. I'm fine with generating some rhythmic dissonance if that's what you're going for, but don't call it harmony. I cannot disagree with you more. The Scherzo and Medea alone were master classes in percussion arrangement. It was beautifully done, and the melodies can be heard without the brass playing particularly in Medea. Fact is that Crown's battery and front ensemble arrangements were very challenging and spectacularly fun to watch and listen to. So they aren't the best percussion in DCI. You can be sure they did *their* best. And if some people felt their percussion arrangements were ultimately the best overall, get over it. If you can only enjoy the top percussion line and feel the need to #### on all the rest, you have a very sad life. Need a hanky? Actually, there are many drumlines that I loved this year that weren't in the top 4. Blue Stars is one, and Crown could learn a thing or two from them. I call in question your drumming knowledge if you think those arrangements and performance were spectacular. Yikes! Edited August 17, 2013 by wallace 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumManTx Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 I cannot disagree with you more. The Scherzo and Medea alone were master classes in percussion arrangement. It was beautifully done, and the melodies can be heard without the brass playing particularly in Medea. Need a hanky? Actually, there are many drumlines that I loved this year that weren't in the top 4. Blue Stars is one, and Crown could learn a thing or two from them. I call in question your drumming knowledge if you think those arrangements and performance were spectacular. Yikes! Every person has their own tastes and preferences. It wasn't my favorite but I enjoyed Crowns book this year...just because you don't enjoy it doesn't mean nobody can. Not questioning your knowledge or anything, but if they think that they had a good book, that's their opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrownStarr Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 I cannot disagree with you more. The Scherzo and Medea alone were master classes in percussion arrangement. It was beautifully done, and the melodies can be heard without the brass playing particularly in Medea. All IMO, but I thought the Cadets' Medea felt like a watered down version of Star's in that respect. Maybe it was just because I had Star in my ear, but I thought there was too much going on in the battery writing to match the starkness of the horn parts from the original. The Scherzo was fantastic though, one of my favorite musical moments this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msumello Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 I was so happy for Crown.......LOS was the largest stadium I've ever been in.....I was worried a bit by my seats....I'd gotten so use to watching the shows through the fan network, that I automatically believed I would be on the 50 yard line....I didn't have much to worry about though.It seemed to me that the louder the crowd cheered for Crown, the more confident and relaxed they become. It might be my opinion but I think that might have helped them. I'm sure being relaxed like that relieves some of the pressure. I think this show will be one of the ones that always be very popular, even in the future. It was Crowns first gold medal title, they had a mind blowing brass book, a confident color guard, and or course......the purple pants uniform......If they can keep the staff and improve their percussion, I see a new legacy of the corps winning multiple championships in the future. Go Crown!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaddyt Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Not sure this has gotten as much attention as other aspects of their show, but I have to say, I was #### impressed with how clean they were visually. The unis, by their design, will hide more dirt than others, but I still thought their drill and body work were cleaned incredibly well. If Crown can keep that visual program going (especially in the face of visual juggernauts like BD and Cadets) while maintaining their forte in the brass caption, they should rightfully remain in the thick of things. Especially since you can count on them looking to improve their percussion section. Congrats again Crown on a remarkable season. I'm finding I can't quite get enough of this show at the moment.... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msumello Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 After winning the title this year I wonder how recruitment will play out for next years' Crown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrownStarr Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 After winning the title this year I wonder how recruitment will play out for next years' Crown. All I can say is I don't envy the food truck crew in November. You should've seen it in 2010, coming off of 2nd place in 2009. Hundreds of kids. I want to say in the ballpark of 400? There were easily 30 or 40 kids in the pit room alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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