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Most complicated brass book


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Obligatory mention of '97 Cadets

Not only a TON of notes, but also rhythmically very complicated, performed while running at breakneck speed

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Do yourself a big favor and go farther back than the last few years....Star of Indiana 1991 comes to mind right off..the mello book specifically.Keep in mind that a complicated book is far more than just "ramming notes." You also have to consider how the various parts weave together. 88 BD has some of those moments as well.

Playing as many notes as fast as you can is difficult...but it's not necessarily complicated....the 2 terms are actually very different.

Yes, yes, yes...a thousand times YES!! Thank you, BDsop. Technical brilliance, as initially impressive though it may be, becomes little more than "busy work" after a while. Just as in the case of a skater who might fill his routine with nothing but triple and quadruple axels. After a while, one tends to yawn and say "Ok...that's nice. What ELSE can you do???"

Edited by HornTeacher
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PR 2004... that book is NUTS! Runs happening over totally different runs on syncopated rhythms. So much fun to listen to. Very talented hornline!

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It's funny, as technically demanding as major portions of Crown's shows have been over the past few years, I have a real hard time, other than from some of the articulated portions, saying that they're up there, if we look at the vast history of the activity.

First, let's consider equipment. Corps today are on Bb/F horns, with music written in keys that are suitable for playing techinical passages with more ease.

Second, let's consider how much of the program is actually technically demanding.

Third, let's go back, and look at what many hornlines did from both a techinical and musical standpoint when they had a piston/rotor horn, or only 2 valves, or 3 valves, but on G instruments.

I would easily put Star 91, Star 93, BD 1993, 27th in 82, and BD 1999 as more demanding based on finger techinicality, chord structures, time signatures, and the types of horns being used.

Not to take anything away from Crown the past few years, but there are many tricks that are used to make sure that it works.

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93 BD had some really interesting and intricate multi-meter brass stuff going on, if you want to go back that far.

'91 and '93 Devils are both on my iPod most-played list. Great horn books, some of the best ever

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93 BD had some really interesting and intricate multi-meter brass stuff going on, if you want to go back that far.

Yes. I remember hearing a podcast with Wayne Downey not too long ago (I believe it was Marching Roundtable), saying that 1993 was the show he was most proud of. He said (paraphrasing) that the corps REALLY struggled early on in the season with the crazy Don Ellis time signatures - even playing them, let alone marching to them. He said from where they came from to where they ended up made this the show that he was most proud of.

That says a lot, considering all of the success BD has had over the years, and that they came in 4th that year.

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