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Brass Clicking Sounds?


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(I couldn't find a very good place to put this)

I was watching a video of SCV practicing marching one day (I can't find the video again. I think it was 2014), and before they stepped off, they raised their horns up, which caused a clicking noise (akin to someone wearing a ring or something and clacking it around on the instrument. That's the best way I could describe it). The contras did it too, but it sounded like a bunch of real-life Transformers (it was super cool!). How do they do this?

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I believe they loose the valve pads or something to that affect. They're not the only horn line to do this.

What is the point of this? To hear the timing of the horns up?

I definitely know the video in question. I was wondering myself what could be so loose on those instruments to clunk around like that.

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It's more for an intimidation/bada** effect. Really just to show off how in unison the horns up is, to give a sound with the visual.

Not just intimidation. It can be used as a sound and finger technique to practice valve movement unison amoung the players when on air only. But yes, it has also can be used to add that certain "snap" to go along with the visual.

Edited by drumcorpsfever
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We put hair ties on the 3rd valve slides. They click when they snap back. Not sure what the big horns do.

Couldn't you just hold the 3rd valve and snap it up so the slide collides with the base? And could the hair tie cause some warping on the ring? Edited by DawsonBurnes
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So when I was auditioning for vanguard, I remember that the way they hold their horns in the carry forces the ring finger to be pretty far into the third valve slide ring. When you go to the horns up position, the ring finger slides out of the ring to a more normal position, but when you do this, the valve extends a bit due to the geometry of the hand as its rotating. The snap is the sound of the third valve slide returning to the base position.

I may be wrong, but I remember that being a thing on the trumpets.

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It might be the popping the valves. Many hold at carry with the valves compressed, pop your right hand to playing position with the horns up

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