tubaribonephone Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 I was just curious where show designers/coordinators get their ideas for shows from? I'm mostly curious about musical selections but also want to know about shows as a whole. I'm on staff for a high school group and we have come up with a few show ideas but have struggled with finding musical selections that we feel would fit the shows. We do have an arranger we are working with who has given us some ideas but I just thought I'd ask on here. (I couldn't think of a better place to ask this question but if the topic needs to be moved, that is fine as well.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7567BC Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 I was just curious where show designers/coordinators get their ideas for shows from? I'm mostly curious about musical selections but also want to know about shows as a whole. I'm on staff for a high school group and we have come up with a few show ideas but have struggled with finding musical selections that we feel would fit the shows. We do have an arranger we are working with who has given us some ideas but I just thought I'd ask on here. (I couldn't think of a better place to ask this question but if the topic needs to be moved, that is fine as well.) Let me ask for clarity sake; you have ideas for the show but can't land on the music? What ideas would you have that now require music? Props, costumes, flags, rifles, sabers, etc., etc. I ask because I think it is more conventional or typical to determine the musical selections first and develop from there. The music being the starting point. That could then lead you in a number of directions but it first establishes your personality and how your group wishes to be preceived and presented. What is the group capable of? How talented or skilled are they? How teachable are they? What is your end goal? Can the teachers teach it to the group? The worst thing is to come up with a program that the group can't pull off. Best of luck to you. I am sure you can find out a lot from the DCP'ers. Theya re a helpful lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actucker Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Design inspiration can come from anywhere. I might hear a piece of music that I've never heard before and it sets off a whole idea, or I might walk past a poster and it triggers an aesthetic. I keep a running note on my iphone of design ideas and snippets. SoundHound often gets a workout when I'm out and about. That's part of the reason I'm never without my phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranintothedoor Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 I personally start with a piece of music or genre and grow out from there. I typically don't start with a visual idea... unless it's really an obvious, hits-you-over-the-head kind of an idea. The show idea's growth should be natural and unforced. If it's a huge leap of connection between elements, the audience will struggle to understand your intent. At least, that's what I have. I'm sure there are others on here who have more experience and better insights than I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubaribonephone Posted March 7, 2013 Author Share Posted March 7, 2013 Let me ask for clarity sake; you have ideas for the show but can't land on the music? What ideas would you have that now require music? Props, costumes, flags, rifles, sabers, etc., etc. I ask because I think it is more conventional or typical to determine the musical selections first and develop from there. The music being the starting point. That could then lead you in a number of directions but it first establishes your personality and how your group wishes to be preceived and presented. What is the group capable of? How talented or skilled are they? How teachable are they? What is your end goal? Can the teachers teach it to the group? The worst thing is to come up with a program that the group can't pull off. Best of luck to you. I am sure you can find out a lot from the DCP'ers. Theya re a helpful lot. Yes, we have show concepts that we are liking and some music to go along with them that we believe our group could pull off, but we are having some problems figuring out additional music, or just some music in general for a few of our ideas. That being said, I'm not looking to DCP for help with choosing music (not that I'm accusing you of saying that), but I was just curious how people go about coming up with ideas or music for their own groups. On the other side though, we have a long list of music that we would love to put on the field but we're having problems putting a decent show concept together. We still have plenty of time to come up with our show, and I know we will eventually get everything worked out, but like I said, I was just curious about other people's process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schnitzel Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 http://www.marchingroundtable.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpaul Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 As atucker said, inspiration can come from anywhere. There's no one way to do it. Sometimes you find a great piece of music and build a concept around it. Sometimes you have a concept and find the music to fit. It sounds like you have pieces for several different ideas so, keep looking and how they develop. See which one comes together first. (And don't throw away the ideas you don't use. They can be a good starting point for next year.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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