charlie1223 Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Music is powerful. Words are powerful. Music and words together can create very powerful and emotional moments! The mix is tricky and not every instance of narration/speaking in DCI has been done great... but I get chills and a lot of enjoyment when its done well! So, I'm open to corps of finding intriguing and emotional ways to introduce narration/speech/stories in a drum corps shows. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mello Dude Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 (edited) do you really think Crown believes that they need narration to win?Just asking. If DCI is penalizing or not giving points...ummm yeah. Why do you think most narration feels forced or added? Edited April 29, 2014 by Mello Dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Ruin is probably too strong. I understand why it was used and how it fits in with the show. But I really don't like to listen to the parts of the show that have the narration, which in turn means I don't listen / watch the whole show in my iTunes or on DVD. I prefer Crown's recent (last 10ish years) offerings that did not have narration. It's just not why I go to a show, and it's not why I get excited to see Crown. They have SO MUCH going for them right now, it just feels like a bummer to me that one of the best drum corps of the last 5 years feels that they need to add narration to their show in order to have a chance to win. It made for a better show, so they used it, and used it well. IMO, of course, and apparently the Crown design team's collective opinion too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 If DCI is penalizing or not giving points...ummm yeah. Why do you think most narration feels forced or added? Maybe because 'most' narration does NOT feel that way, especially Crown's show last year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 If DCI is penalizing or not giving points...ummm yeah. Why do you think most narration feels forced or added? I dont believe at all that DCI is penalizing or giving points for narration unless it fits ( like anything else ) in the production. If narration feels forced or added then it just may not have been done well. In the case of Crown last year , IMO it was done very well and very true to the Einstein on the Beach cd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frachel Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I totally agree if you have to really explain, it's probably not worth it BUT on the other hand, it can add to the story line or staying true to the theme ( as in crown last year ) the vocals pretty much were right off Einstein on the Beach. If a person wasn't familiar with it then it probably didn't mean a whole lot. Either way, if there is enough meat in the show, ( not a ga-ga outfit ) narration or not it can be a success IMO. If there is then it can probably stand on it's own with out vocals but then becomes a choice , ( which if done well is fine ) I think the number of people who come away from a show thinking about or even knowing there was a "theme" are a small minority. Nobody I watch shows with says things like "that conveyed a great love story" or "that told the story of spartacus so well".. they say "did you hear that brass run" or "remember when the guard did those amazingly high rifle tosses in unison". I think this whole "theme" stuff has gone too far and is trying to turn the activity into something far more intellectual than it is. I know Les Mis like the back of my hand, but if all I watched was SCV last year and never saw Les Mis, I wouldn't know what they were tyring to convey as far as a story goes. I'd have different emotional responses to certain parts of the music, drill and guard, but at the end would I know it was the story of a student and an inmate on the run with his adopted daughter who falls in love with one of the guys in the revolution? No.. But #### I remember that drill move where the circles intersect with each other and then join as one or the lone soloist with the corps behind the scenery. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I think the number of people who come away from a show thinking about or even knowing there was a "theme" are a small minority. Nobody I watch shows with says things like "that conveyed a great love story" or "that told the story of spartacus so well".. they say "did you hear that brass run" or "remember when the guard did those amazingly high rifle tosses in unison". I think this whole "theme" stuff has gone too far and is trying to turn the activity into something far more intellectual than it is. I know Les Mis like the back of my hand, but if all I watched was SCV last year and never saw Les Mis, I wouldn't know what they were tyring to convey as far as a story goes. I'd have different emotional responses to certain parts of the music, drill and guard, but at the end would I know it was the story of a student and an inmate on the run with his adopted daughter who falls in love with one of the guys in the revolution? No.. But #### I remember that drill move where the circles intersect with each other and then join as one or the lone soloist with the corps behind the scenery. I totally agree...TOTALLY! thats why when someone nit picks a theme to death, quoting something from the original, the meaning of some deep dark place the author came from or a movement, I kind of chuckle a bit. I mentioned this before, even designers will take the flavor of something and then take creative licence with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Music is powerful. Words are powerful. Music and words together can create very powerful and emotional moments! Sounds like a a narrated opening sequence to a corps' show. "Performing their 2015 program 'Music Speaks To Me'.. Drum Corps International proudly presents....." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Let us introduce you to "Emo Boy" from Cadets' 2007 production.... In terms of Crown's 2013 show, the Glass segments were what they were (though non-DCI people I know who've seen it said, uniformly, "it seems amateurish" - what's ironic when done by professionals in a theatre/opera setting seemed out of place done by college kids on a football field; take that for what it's worth). That's a good point, but to be kind of blunt you can say that about any drum corps if you want to be cynical. I know plenty of pro symphony players and pro jazz musicians who think drum corps is the most stupid waste of time and money imaginable as far as music goes. Pretty much anything, even Blue Devils at their best/most jazziest times, seem goofy and amateurish in comparison to pros. I get what you're saying, though, about what may or may not seem like an "appropriate" programming choice for a specific idiom. One thing that is weird, to me, is that often narration is being done by members who are proficient as marching musicians, and not really as public speakers. Like all things some corps pull it off well and some don't, and in general any design choice is drum corps is hit or miss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 It made for a better show, so they used it, and used it well. IMO, of course, and apparently the Crown design team's collective opinion too. Sounds like a a narrated opening sequence to a corps' show. "Performing their 2015 program 'Music Speaks To Me'.. Drum Corps International proudly presents....." If a dozen people ( DCI judges ) like a Corps utilization of narration in a show, it really doesn't matter what anybody else thinks. Since last year's DCI champion utilized significant narration in last year's winning show, can we expect more narration from more Corps in their shows this season from last season ? If a lead duck goes into the water, and apparently likes the water... will the other ducks follow ? You tell me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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