BigW Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 (edited) Two things: 1: 1993. BD and Scouts did 'Strawberry Soup', and I enjoyed, and still enjoy how both organizations made the piece their own and looked at it from their individual corps personalities and perspectives. 2: British Brass Bands use what's known as a "test" piece. It's listed far in advance for that given competition and for each class, and it MUST be included somewhere in the performance. The original version of BK's 'Trittico' was composed as one of these pieces and is still used a lot as one. Vaughan Williams' 'English Folk Song Suite' for you Two-Seven fans, was also I think composed as the test piece for the 1935 British National Championship. The test piece concept works well for the Brass Bands for a lot of reasons... but for corps, GAH, no, not the way shows are designed and conceived today. I can tell you sitting through the North American Brass Band Championship back circa 1984 that listening to each group perform the test piece was a fascinating experience. Test pieces are very deliberately arranged to expose EVERY section of the band in awkward/challenging ways at least once so you can really discern the strengths and weaknesses of every competitor. Wanna know how good the E Flat Tubas are, you'll find out in their feature or a spot where they're playing exposed under something else. You also find out the level of musicality each band has, or doesn't. Pretty easy to pick the eventual winners and placement actually, though there have been instances where the band that wins the test section loses the overall contest. One instance... I do recommend going to Dailymotion and searching for 'Trittico' and you'll find the 2005 Test piece winner, Merum-Roermond performing the piece. Good listen if you like Brass Bands. Oh WOW, after listening to that... if it doesn't auto move you to it, search 'Brass Band Überretsch' for their performance. You can hear a LOT of differences and more clarity...a very, very good band! Edited May 11, 2018 by BigW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liahona Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 11 hours ago, Tim K said: A lot depends on the arrangement and whether I like the arrangement. I also don’t want to hear a corps play a signature piece of another corps. For example: don’t play “Danny Boy” and attempt to do the classic drill unless you’re 27th. Do any corps actually play signature pieces in a show anymore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liahona Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 4 hours ago, skevinp said: I wish it happened less often but I'm not sure there is any realistic way to prevent it. I still remember 2003 when two finalist corps played Malagueña and neither were the Madison Scouts. Ahem...or 2002 when Madison Scouts played CONQUEST and Boston was nowhere to be found.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Liahona said: Do any corps actually play signature pieces in a show anymore? A few years back, Scouts played You’ll never walk alone in their show. It was 2013, their 75th Anniversary. The Band of Brothers show. Edited May 11, 2018 by Terri Schehr 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePlanets Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 I don't mind it as a DCI fan but I think it's a risk for corps to compete with older shows or better corps doing it the same year. Last year the special seemed to be Kalideoscope of mathematics and while it's a great piece none of them lived up to BK 2014 and it was a little disappointing for me. I probably would have liked crossmen 17 a lot more if not for BK 14. I am never opposed to any corps ever doing Malaguena, Malaga, or Caravan...but I have my favorites of each of those and I think there is a likelihood of loosing creativity points for using those pieces. I love hymn of axciom but I don't think bluecoats 2014 will be outdone. But overall I think there are pieces that just work on the field Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 7 hours ago, Liahona said: Ahem...or 2002 when Madison Scouts played CONQUEST and Boston was nowhere to be found.... Boston was found 8 places higher 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ftwdrummer Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 9 hours ago, Liahona said: Do any corps actually play signature pieces in a show anymore? Boston played Conquest in the show as recently as 2014/2015. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liahona Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, ftwdrummer said: Boston played Conquest in the show as recently as 2014/2015. I really enjoy the recent encore arrangement... Edited May 12, 2018 by Liahona Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted May 12, 2018 Author Share Posted May 12, 2018 18 hours ago, HockeyDad said: Yes. Every year Dan A. picks a song each corps must play. First up for 2018 - Crown Imperial March There's at least 1 piece that's going to be duplicated this year, so you may have a point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted May 12, 2018 Author Share Posted May 12, 2018 10 hours ago, Liahona said: Do any corps actually play signature pieces in a show anymore? I think it is more something becomes a signature piece after the season has passed. aka Bluecoats and the Boxer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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