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Can someone explain the G Bugles?


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Not a musician by any stretch of imagination, but have been in the presence of hundreds of G brass lines over the years. I did prefer the audience impact of G lines over today’s configuration. To this untrained ear, the G equipment projected stronger, in a more ‘soaring or cutting’ way. The major, well-instructed, G lines of the past really ripped through in a unique way.

No doubt, the utility of using those older brass instruments today has passed, and for good reasons. Brass charts are now written for a more diverse objective, it seems.

For me, the epitome of G brass was the writing and instructional style of New York Skyliner’s Hy Dreitzer. I couldn’t care less if his product was technically ‘clean,’ or proper.  It just worked for me at the time.

Today’s lines are quite impressive, for sure.  I am not complaining about how the craft has evolved. For someone else who is a true musician, today’s product is understandably superior in many ways. In the end, what’s better for the musician of the era is of greatest importance. 

I remain grateful continuing on as an ‘innocent bystander’ watching everything unfold over time.
 


 

 

 

 

 

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When one considers that this was 50 (!) years ago, it's even more impressive. These were middle and high school kids, instructed by the incomparable Sandra Opie, later a premier brass adjudicator and Hall-of-Fame member.

These horns had only one valve.

Listen to the 2 and 3 valve lines of the 80's and '90s, particularly Phantom, Blue Devils and Cadets to hear what evolved from what Sandra and the Rebels initiated.

Avoid the temptation to compare to today's brass sections. They are a different breed of cat.

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3 hours ago, ironlips said:

When one considers that this was 50 (!) years ago, it's even more impressive. These were middle and high school kids, instructed by the incomparable Sandra Opie, later a premier brass adjudicator and Hall-of-Fame member.

These horns had only one valve.

Listen to the 2 and 3 valve lines of the 80's and '90s, particularly Phantom, Blue Devils and Cadets to hear what evolved from what Sandra and the Rebels initiated.

Avoid the temptation to compare to today's brass sections. They are a different breed of cat.

I just assumed those bugles from the early 70s were valve/rotor horns. Now I’m even more impressed at what they achieved. 

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37 minutes ago, Brian Tuma said:

I just assumed those bugles from the early 70s were valve/rotor horns. Now I’m even more impressed at what they achieved. 

I would have thought that or at least piston/slide. I started 1974 and we had just bought new piston/rotors. Before that had a piston/slide bari for practice but that was second hand off a disbanded corps iirc. No idea of what corps had before that as was inactive in 1973

Edited by JimF-LowBari
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46 minutes ago, JimF-LowBari said:

I would have thought that or at least piston/slide. I started 1974 and we had just bought new piston/rotors. Before that had a piston/slide bari for practice but that was second hand off a disbanded corps iirc. No idea of what corps had before that as was inactive in 1973

I marched in ‘77 and had a valve/rotor Olds Ultratone bari that had already seen years of use-abuse. Lol

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i loved g horns for what i perceived to be greater volume and power, but there were very few corps that could produce a really nice brass sound year year with them, imo.  i know that will bother some people, and that's fine. 

within a couple of years of the switch to b flat, i went from really loving the brass ensemble sound of maybe 4 corps per year to double that.  

i remember being worried about the b-flat shift sacrificing power for musicality for a bit back in 2000....until i heard the first big hit from the cadets live.  

Edited by Lance
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9 hours ago, Brian Tuma said:

I marched in ‘77 and had a valve/rotor Olds Ultratone bari that had already seen years of use-abuse. Lol

We bought the Duratone (flat finish and cheaper...). With the exception of plastic rotor linkage that broke on some horns they held up pretty well for DCA usage. Used mine 74-79 but took care of it

Edited by JimF-LowBari
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6 hours ago, ironlips said:

When one considers that this was 50 (!) years ago, it's even more impressive. These were middle and high school kids, instructed by the incomparable Sandra Opie, later a premier brass adjudicator and Hall-of-Fame member.

These horns had only one valve.

Listen to the 2 and 3 valve lines of the 80's and '90s, particularly Phantom, Blue Devils and Cadets to hear what evolved from what Sandra and the Rebels initiated.

Avoid the temptation to compare to today's brass sections. They are a different breed of cat.

Most of us were from the area right around the small town of Great Bend Kansas, Sandra taught us how to play.  An amazing teacher and great person! 

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16 hours ago, Brian Tuma said:

I just assumed those bugles from the early 70s were valve/rotor horns. Now I’m even more impressed at what they achieved. 

They were single valve horns, with rotors. Mastering chromatics required both hands simultaneously.

For an example of that mastery, check this:

http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/2009/03/off-the-record-legends-of-the-one-valve-bugle-part-1/

Edited by ironlips
add'l info
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