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WGI starting a Winds division


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Current day guards need taped/recorded music because presicion and repetition still exists in addition to all the multiple responsibilities in movement and expression. If a guard had to work with a live musical group, each and every performance would be impovisational theatre. I recommend against this concept,

Interesting: Then you need to inform the current color guards of the Blue Devils, the Cadets, The Cavaliers, et al that they also need to use just recorded music for their performances; because apparently the respective horn lines and drum lines for those guards cannot keep time within the context of precision and repetition enough to support all the multiple responsibilities in movement and expression of those color guards and, as you say, every performance by a live musical ensemble is an improvisational theatre.

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What's sort of your thing: that you believe/agree with Stu that WGI is all about visual and your disappointed with this inclusion of winds? If that's case I think at the very least we should wait & see before judging what WGI Winds will be like. WGI Percussion is definitely NOT all about visual, and IIRC Music is weighted more than visual. Groups who are strong visually and in effect but weak in music don't succeed: I would argue the opposite, actually. In 2010 Pulse won WGI Independent World with an incredibly clean music performance, beating out Rhythm X who had a much stronger visual package but dirtier finals run musically.

I'm not sure if you're still of age to participate or not, but I've known plenty of brass players who either learned enough about guard to participate with WGI Guards, or learned percussion instrument to perform with WGI Percussion. I know that's little consolation, and I personally would likely not have wanted to participate in WGI enough to pick up a flag or learn a brass instrument (I'm a percussionist who did participate in WGI while marching drum corps) so I get where you're coming from. Maybe this will be a new outlet for brass people who need to scratch the competitive marching itch during the winter time before spring training starts for their drum corps

That I like there being a new outlet for marching brass performance.

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Interesting: Then you need to inform the current color guards of the Blue Devils, the Cadets, The Cavaliers, et al that they also need to use just recorded music for their performances; because apparently the respective horn lines and drum lines for those guards cannot keep time within the context of precision and repetition enough to support all the multiple responsibilities in movement and expression of those color guards and, as you say, every performance by a live musical ensemble is an improvisational theatre.

Glad you're interested. Guard members hear more music than play it.

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SCV tried the live narrator thing a couple of years back with their John Henry show. Meant that every performance was a little bit different, and they had to adjust as the show went on if the timing changed. Very risky concept, as there's so much that can go wrong in a show.

The narrator was Wayne (hugs) who knows music, movement, guard, story telling. Winter guard has evolved much faster than drum corp and is familiar with adjusting.

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I was having a discussion with a friend about this subject, and we both came to an interesting conclusion. He's a lifelong percussionist and did WGI for a few years. We both decided that it's a cautiously good idea. On the good side, this does allow more people to compete and perform, which is always a great thing and should be the goal. The downside though is that it creates more costs for programs, and could create a feeling that competitive high schools "need" a WGI winds program to go along with their percussion and guard programs. So while it allows more kids to perform, it could add another divide between the big schools that can afford all of these programs, and the smaller ones that can't.

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The 'shame' I was refering to was the specific non-allowance for a live musical ensemble to accompany a Winter 'Guard' performance; and this non-allowance fits into the belief structure that Winter 'Guard' is all about the visual; and that Winter 'Guard' has thus religated the musical aspect over to being nothing more than a mere background recording. Again, disallowing a live small jazz combo to accompany a Winter 'Guard' show is what I find to be a shame.

And as for the influence this mindset is having on other marching activities: There is no denying, without being obtuse, that while Winter Drum Line scoring may still be 60% on the musical side, what has been and is happening is that those with the All about Visual belief structure within the realm of Winter 'Guard' are having more and more design influence in the realm of both Winter Drum Line and DCI show designs.

Live music actually is allowed.

From the 2014 WGI Color Guard Rule Book:

4.3.2 Performers playing musical instruments or singing using a 115/120-volt power source

provided to allow amplification is permitted in the competition area.

A few groups have tried it, but it never really caught on.

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Live music actually is allowed.

From the 2014 WGI Color Guard Rule Book:

4.3.2 Performers playing musical instruments or singing using a 115/120-volt power source

provided to allow amplification is permitted in the competition area.

A few groups have tried it, but it never really caught on.

Thank you for posting the WGI clarification; and I am glad to know that about WGI. I was responding to the posting by Nukeme70 where apparently the Texas Color Guard Circuit Independent World Class does 'not' allow for such an ensemble and just figured it also applied to WGI.

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Glad you're interested. Guard members hear more music than play it.

And how does 'guard members hearing more music than playing it' factor into your contention of them needing, requiring, demanding only recorded music to support all the multiple responsibilities in movement and expression in winter guard? Especially when guards have already been doing those complex things to live music in other marching arts such as DCI, BOA, TOB, UIL,ad infinitum?

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I was having a discussion with a friend about this subject, and we both came to an interesting conclusion. He's a lifelong percussionist and did WGI for a few years. We both decided that it's a cautiously good idea. On the good side, this does allow more people to compete and perform, which is always a great thing and should be the goal. The downside though is that it creates more costs for programs, and could create a feeling that competitive high schools "need" a WGI winds program to go along with their percussion and guard programs. So while it allows more kids to perform, it could add another divide between the big schools that can afford all of these programs, and the smaller ones that can't.

Though a valid point, I think if a school program gets caught up in that kind of arms race it's because of a faulty educational philosophy. I used to run an indoor percussion and indoor guard program at my school until last year. Both were kind of small and neither was successful, and the staff (consisting of myself and my wife) were spread thin. We dropped the indoor percussion group this year and combined forces to run the Winter Guard. A huge difference! All the horn kids who were interested picked up a flag, the ones who weren't practice more (had a kid make All-State!!) and the into-it percussion kids joined an independent group with great staff and lots more resources/opportunities that I could never provide.

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A few posters have wondered what the wind ensemble swill do as far as Soundsport is concerned. It probably will not have any more of an impact than Drum Line Battle had on WGI percussion ensembles. My guess is that if anything, the wind ensembles could help Soundsport. I watched both Drum Line Battle and Soundsport last year and while I enjoyed both, I was not overly moved nor did I think it was an idea that will last, but I did not have the best viewing spot at Drum Line Battle and Soundsport needed a better venue, so I am more than willing to concede that I may be very impressed next time around and attempts at doing something is better than doing nothing at all. However, of the two, Soundsport probably needs more of a boost so if WGI wind ensembles help it, great.

Actually I have thought that small winter ensembles that include brass/percussion/guard would work well for WGI and since so many guards are affiliated with high schools, wind ensembles, that include, dare I say all winds (before I get too many eggs thrown at me, I do not support instrument changes in DCI) makes perfect sense. Drum corps having the brass/percussion/guard ensembles and schools having wind/percussion/guard would be the best of both worlds.

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