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Electronics 2015 - Good and Bad


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One thing I has found to be true, don't ever sit low on the 35 yard line...

If only the venues would not sell those seats, or only at a vast discount.

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So that we can avoid something like Cadets 07 :tounge2:

Well, the solution ought to be, do it live but do it well.

Almost everybody loved Crown's "Space Oddity" vocal performance at the top of last year's show.

And while the amount and type of spoken content in Cadets' show last year annoyed many people, the live speaker was widely agreed to be excellent--so much so that people kept insisting he was actually lip syncing.

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So should a show win if they have an electronics fail? What if Bluecoats found themselves in first place at semis then had a fail for finals?

As a big fan of "Kinetic Noise", I say absolutely. Judges should rate what's on the field that night, not what was "supposed" to be there.

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As a big fan of "Kinetic Noise", I say absolutely. Judges should rate what's on the field that night, not what was "supposed" to be there.

I completely agree with you. Although, how should holes in the drill be judged? Should corps be negatively affected or should it have no negative because people are "supposed" to be there? I watched some videos from Saturday. Blue Knights (or was it SCV?) that had 3-4 holes in the drill that bothered me the entire time since it affected multiple moments.

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I definitely agree that many synth parts are challenging. My own example of the button-press being next to no achievement related to triggering sampled voice, for which the timing is rarely as critical as musical tones. And certainly the Bluecoats' use of electronics is extremely effective, and likely require special techniques on the part of the synth player that go well beyond the norm.

That said, I'm skeptical that synth players face timing issues any more challenging than what any other corps members confront (especially the guard who are literally waving a flag to emphasize their timing or lack thereof), except probably in the Bluecoats' show. And the technique they are asked to display--in my observation of many, not all corps--generally pales in comparison to other members of the pit. #notallcorps of course. This is no diss on the synth players, who are clearly very talented. Just that the designers are not featuring their skills in the same way they do more traditional instruments.

Teal Sound's guitar player is another good example of an electronic instrument being used well. That guy was very talented and I felt the guitar was extremely well utilized for a large portion of the show in their last full year IIRC.

well....

they have to line up a sound that can come out of speakers several feet in front of them with the sounds made behind them on the field, and they have to also be aware of the fact that pressing the button isn't instant sound, there's also a very small space between "push" and "sound". While most of today's modern ensembles can't take a #### without Dr Beat guiding them through, you can't use the good Doctor during a show, so a tempo may push or pull in the heat of the moment. so basically for them, they have to separate fly #### from pepper on the fly in respect to timing.

yeah not hard at all

:ninja:

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I completely agree with you. Although, how should holes in the drill be judged? Should corps be negatively affected or should it have no negative because people are "supposed" to be there? I watched some videos from Saturday. Blue Knights (or was it SCV?) that had 3-4 holes in the drill that bothered me the entire time since it affected multiple moments.

if they maintain the forms and intervals, it shouldn't be huge. an electronics failure or balance issue can be far more deadly to the overall picture

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if they maintain the forms and intervals, it shouldn't be huge. an electronics failure or balance issue can be far more deadly to the overall picture

I agree and maybe it's better as a separate subject. It was just one case that I thought of where there's a negative effect for the fans (incomplete drill moves) but it's not a negative on the sheets. It's just ignored in the judging community.

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again..lol..what decade in time did adults not get judged for the shows they wrote.

I think there was a thread a while back where many asked the same thing or stated that adults have always been part of the equation.

Actually, corps members have served as music arrangers in the past. You do not see that anymore, though. Adult design/instructional staffs have generally increased in quantity, variety and cost over time.

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Actually, corps members have served as music arrangers in the past. You do not see that anymore, though. Adult design/instructional staffs have generally increased in quantity, variety and cost over time.

yes you are right in a few places musically (although it's not been my experience at all ). Also right you dont see it now and never visually

Edited by GUARDLING
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Corps are getting credit for electronics but not taking a hit when they blow them, this is wrong…

' Not sure about this Cowtown. Troopers had a 'tronics issue with their mic'd singer in Atlanta, and it just might have hurt their score.

Its a good question to know the answer to, one way or the other. My sense is that if a solo is messed up.. either playing an instrument, or an electronics issue, it won't matter... the solo did not work in either case, so I'm not sure a judge can give credit for an intended element in the show not being executed as expected, and planned. Otherwise, what would be the sense of taking a risk of playing a real instrument, if the use of singing (for one example ) has only an upside, but no risk downside ? Heck if this was the case, a Corps theoretically could just ditch all the brass solos, brass ensembles playing, and just do singing solos and narration solos and dancing solos and what not.

Edited by BRASSO
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