cowtown Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 loud works well live on a recording, not so much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Just to make sure no urban legend develops here... there has never been an instance in competitive drum corps where "loud for the sake of loud" was accepted as good with no other preconditions. While the phrase "loud is good" is attributed to Jim Ott (for whom the DCI high brass award is named), neither DCI nor Ott himself ever condoned loudness with no other quality considerations. Back in the day, it was understood to mean that within the context of a well taught, full DCI hornline, something special could be created by tapping the full dynamic range those musicians could produce. That said, the standards for quality have evolved over time. So has the language used to describe them. In fact, just a few years after Ott passed away, the approach to brass dynamics, tone quality and balance in DCI had changed so much that it was no longer politically correct to use the "loud is good" catch phrase. It even became trendy to take that quote out of context (as you have), as if objecting to it proved you cared about quality musicianship in ways your peers did not. to some fans, loud for the sake of loud IS good. it has little to do with scores and more with preference. With modern show design, corps don't reach that RMFL level more than maybe 2/3 times in a show now, whereas in the old days, at least 2/3 times a tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenoris4Jazz Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 some of the loudest moments of 46 years of fandom have come with Bb horns that were played well, in tune and not overblown. And then some were the scouts which had a little bit of everything Exactly....when those Bb horns are played in tune with proper support, pushing a bunch of air, and the chords are balanced, the cumulative impact is more than loud enough to impress. loud for the sake of loud isn't good. that's what DCI has become...and I applaud it I'm not talking about loud for the sake of loud... I'm talking about loud where loud is REQUIRED, not suggested. Listen to the final chord of Georgia SOA 1980. That's a perfectly balanced chord, it's just played at fffff instead of fff. I watched/listened to every one of the top 15 corps this year 4 times, once live at the Ga Dome and then all three shows of finals week. Maybe once did I hear a horn line play what I would consider ffff, and no one touched fffff. And you can't tell me there weren't moments where it called for it. Read the link I posted a week ago. The G bugles had more dynamics to their sound and they projected better. Listen to the Caballeros alumni corps... those people aren't half the musicians that Crown/BD/Cadets are, but they sound like all three hornlines put together. Maybe I just prefer the days when part of the allure of the brass line was how powerful it felt and sounded. I only heard that once this year: Crown's closer. You used to hear it once or twice from every corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I still get lots of power from brass lines.today. I know BD parted my hair this summer as did Crown. But i honestly disagree that a lot of the stuff today calls for RMFL like it used to. you refer to 80 SOA...well, with the rules then, the gun had gone off so performance judging was over. Just blow baby blow! It was all about GE. Different time, different system now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Bluecoats and Cadets sound amazing... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I still get lots of power from brass lines.today. I know BD parted my hair this summer as did Crown. But i honestly disagree that a lot of the stuff today calls for RMFL like it used to. you refer to 80 SOA...well, with the rules then, the gun had gone off so performance judging was over. Just blow baby blow! It was all about GE. Different time, different system now Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenoris4Jazz Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 I still get lots of power from brass lines.today. I know BD parted my hair this summer as did Crown. But i honestly disagree that a lot of the stuff today calls for RMFL like it used to. you refer to 80 SOA...well, with the rules then, the gun had gone off so performance judging was over. Just blow baby blow! It was all about GE. Different time, different system now It was the opener, not the closer I was referring to. And it is a different system now, and one I just don't like. The entire judging guide rewards all the elements I used to ignore in a show. Guess it just boils down to the fact that I don't like the way the activity works these days. They've basically shut all the high school kids out of it, they've made it so expensive that most kids can't afford it, and the shows require too much "thought" to enjoy. I'll leave it to you guys who can tolerate it. I'm out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Few years back I was told that the "secret" to SoAs power of the Georgia volume was also which chords were written. To my ear the notes played were not that high in pitch which helped the horn players to get more volume. Played a version of Georgia at the time which was "a nod to Ott" (written on the chart) and know the Baris were not pitched that high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 to some fans, loud for the sake of loud IS good. I doubt that. Every fan I have met who was discerning enough to express a preference for a loud/good moment has also been discerning enough to cringe at a loud/not good moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumManTx Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Edits on the shows are absolutely seamless. Almost missed them in BKs show until I watched an original on YouTube. Speaking of that show. Wow, I hope they keep moving in the direction they took in 2014. It's absolutely fantastic. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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