Hrothgar15 Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 (edited) Loved '99. An underappreciated show for sure! Doesn't get much better than this. https://vimeo.com/74852173 Edited August 19, 2015 by Hrothgar15 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brichtimp Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 It's funny that Cadets 2014 which was deemed such an easier show medaled and this one didn't. Lessons to be learned or do they just keep doing what they're doing and let the chips fall where they may? 2014 didn't have the sustained blizzard of notes rammed by brass and percussion that 2015 had (Shosty vs Copland); but within the context of musical phrasing, precision exposure and field coverage, 2014 was deceptively difficult; and without the dubious cheese, I will always think of the 2014 Cadets as a silver level ensemble. I will never think of the 2015 Cadets as a 4th place ensemble....ridiculous. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frachel Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 Being a trumpet major that plays French horn as well I was used to playing different keyed instruments. They all have their quirks and sweet spots. G horns were just unique in their overtone series and have that truly unique sound especially live. Not sure if audio tapes ever captured it well. Personally I like the G soprano and contra sound better. I just wished everyone would truly do any key. C and D trumpets etc. I was going to say something similar - I don't think its much different than when I have to pull out the C trumpet having not been on it for 1/2 a year or more - I'm slighly out of tune and it takes some getting used again. Same with the Eb or any different keyed instrument. I have no doubt if you put a modern line like Crown on well-made G's, with the quality of instruction they get and their skill level, they'd be just as in tune and musical as they are now on the Bb's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 I've made a point of studying the old DCI recap sheets to develop a statistical model (don't ask!) As I understand it from written history and anecdotes, music analysis back in '72-'73 was a separate subcaption to brass execution and was added to the average of the two bugle scores. Just like today, MA was how difficult/demanding the book was to play. In '73, MA was only worth 5 points, execution was worth 15, for a total bugle score of 20. In '74, MA was bumped up to 10 points and total bugle score was 25. If you find and read the history of Argonne, you'll find they had one of the best brass instructors/arrangers in the activity (Sandra Opie, HOF'er). They took high brass awards for VFW nationals in '70 and '71. In '72, Argonne finished 1st in MA and Bugles overall at Prelims (they scored a perfect 5.0 in MA). The fell back to 4th in Bugles overall at Finals, but still finished 1st in MA. In '73, they finished 2nd in MA at Finals to SCV, despite being 6th in execution, which gave them the 2nd place score overall in bugles. But the real story, like HockeyDad was saying, was their Prelims performance. Going on 25th out of 48 corps, they finished 1st on both bugle execution sheets, 3rd in MA, and 1st overall on bugles. They also finished 17th in marching, 22nd in percussion, and 14th in GE, good enough for 11th place. Their horn books were YEARS ahead of their time and it forced DCI to change the way they judged horns going forward. This is a great explanation. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 I was going to say something similar - I don't think its much different than when I have to pull out the C trumpet having not been on it for 1/2 a year or more - I'm slighly out of tune and it takes some getting used again. Same with the Eb or any different keyed instrument. I have no doubt if you put a modern line like Crown on well-made G's, with the quality of instruction they get and their skill level, they'd be just as in tune and musical as they are now on the Bb's. That may very well be true. I think the biggest difference we've seen since the switch to Bb instruments is the instructional pedagogy has definitely improved, as has the build quality of the instruments. Way back in the 70s and 80s, the instruments were not made to the same standard as a current set, and the instructional philosophy and pedagogy was different. That also leaves out the skill level of members coming in. Without wanting to go too far down the "more talented/less talented" member rabbit hole, would certainly appear that the skill level of members coming into drum corps is different now than it was back in the tick era. Less local kids needing something in the summer/kids being forced into corps, more music college level music majors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Doesn't get much better than this. https://vimeo.com/74852173 Hardest drill I've ever marched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 How exactly was Brass rated at that time? Or more properly, how were "Bugles" rated, since that's how From The Pressbox lists that caption? I see that despite finishing eleventh overall in Finals, the Rebels were second in Bugles. But Bugles #1 and #2, whose scores are averaged to account for half of that caption's total, only had them in sixth and fifth place, respectively. It's in "Music Analysis" that they're ranked second, which is enough to pull their overall rating for the caption to second. Nowadays Musical Analysis takes into account both brass and percussion, right? But to judge from the way From the Pressbox lists it, back then it was part of the Bugles caption. Is that right, or am I just misunderstanding the sheet? As far as I recall... MA was part of the bugle caption. In 73 the percussion category had a separate Difficulty caption as a corrollary. Eventually that became the PA caption to align with the brass MA.The old VFW sheets had difficulty as a separate buildup number on the tic sheet...my (rapidly fading) memory of 71 says that there were 17 points for ticks and 3 buildup for the difficulty subcaption. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xandandl Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 As far as I recall... MA was part of the bugle caption. In 73 the percussion category had a separate Difficulty caption as a corrollary. Eventually that became the PA caption to align with the brass MA.The old VFW sheets had difficulty as a separate buildup number on the tic sheet...my (rapidly fading) memory of 71 says that there were 17 points for ticks and 3 buildup for the difficulty subcaption. That's the way I remember it 45 years ago in another century. You may also have to explain to some of the younger posters and more recent fans of the activity that VFW and American Legion national and state championships were but the usual times corps from other regions ever faced each other outside of near home, local leagues, called circuits. Major contests like World Open, CYO Nationals, US Open, etc. used the score sheets from either the VFW contest manual or the American Legion contest manual. I believe it was VFW who gave us the concepts of "General Effect," "total show," and "build-up." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfrontz Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Convinced me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowtown Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Using a mello to ‘prove’ most difficult show will never work for me; mellos are the easy, wimpy version of French horns… Many music books now seem easier due to drill demands... then factor in the composition of current corps and what they achieve versus the members they have access to...then the amount of acceptable dirt today, the way guards are designed etc I’d guess the most difficult shows were late 80’s early 90s, sort of a transition phase in design and memberships Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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