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SCV's show was an epic musical fail.


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Vanguard has been my second favorite corps for 40 years. I have all kinds of SCV swag and donate regularly. All that being said, their show left me cold this year, for some of the reasons in the original post and for others as well.  I think the concept itself WANTED us to feel a bit detached, and the austere props and uniforms helped as well.  I think they also wanted to "win us over" during the program. That never happened for me.  I saw the show many times online, and felt no more connected to it at Finals than I did throughout the season.  I WILL acknowledge the incredible talent by every member on the field as well as how well they performed, and I will never claim they didn't earn their title, but I just didn't care for it.  

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My husband's biggest gripe about not just SCV but almost all shows is that no one finishes a musical thought. Performing mash ups or tiny exerpts or inpressions of a lot of pieces in 11 minutes has become pretty standard.

I watched SCV online once or twice and saw them live twice this season. My first thoughts were yes this show is great from a performance level and will hopefully win but I don't get it. The first time I saw it live I thought they were really good but couldn't connect with the show.

The atmosphere of seeing it live in Indy was completely different and the show sold me. What really grabs me musically is the front ensemble arrangements and the ballad. Otherwise SCV are just great live performers that draw you into the show with their energy. It's the kind of GE that you can't feel by watching or listening to a recording.

Otherwise I do see your point and agree but wouldn't go as far to say it's a fail.

Edited by ThePlanets
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Drum corps has always been criticized for its shortcomings in musicality.  No surprise there.  Regarding @SWriverstone's three criteria, and speaking for myself:

1) Yes, it definitely moved me on the first listen.  SCV's show set a mood, which may be simplistic but is my main way of evaluating art.  On first viewing, my reaction was "There is the champion."  That show took me places... places I can't find the words for.  That's another important criterion for me: is the piece expressing something that words simply cannot?

2) Was haunted by the slow melodic chord progressions in the ballad and was whistling them  (yes, after one listening).

3) Pulse was not as noticeable (except in the dance section).  I'll give you that.  However, there was a definite rhythm and flow to the music.  It took me out of whatever space I was in, and brought me somewhere else... every time I saw/listened to the show.

 

Edited by Ediker
mention OP
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Definitely wouldn't call it a musical fail, but it is probably the 2nd most sterile sounding show in the top 12 this year (with Phantom Regiment being the 1st)

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You should feel most welcome to express your opinion, but it really is just that, no matter how many theories you cite. Plenty of music now considered great was panned by the public and/or the critics upon its first hearing, and plenty of music once admired is now dismissed.

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@SWriverstone,

"I have a BM degree from Juilliard—which doesn't make me more knowledgeable than anyone elseit simply certifies that I'm very knowledgeable about musicand what distinguishes good music from bad music."

So how do the underlined, italicized, and bolded sections of this singular sentence establish anything about you at all, other than you have an (incredibly detailed) opinion of their show?  Every other bolded section of your OP represents further delineation of your opinion.  Based on this and other posts related to SCV 2018, others seem to agree, a lot of others seem to disagree.

I'm sure you'll be providing similar detailed posts on the remainder of the top 12.

Looking forward to them.

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1 hour ago, SWriverstone said:

The. But the emotional underpinnings of any show are the music. You aren't going to be swept to emotional highs by a single high rifle toss or a big two-handed rimshot.. 

 

Scott

 Thats only your opinion, Scott. Which is fine too, of course. But you are in no position ( nor I ) to tell others at a show what the " emotional underpinnings " of a performance are for them. Thats personal in nature. We don't get to make that call for others. Only for ourselves.

 When you watch a Movie, or an Art exhibit, or a Music performance, what reaches you emotionally ( or intellectually ) is personal to you. What touches you emotionally ( or not ) is between you and what you saw/ heard. Others around you might share exactly what you felt " emotionally ". Others, unlike you however, may have felt nothing at all" emotionally ". Neither response, of course, is right or wrong.

 I actually WAS captivated " emotionally " by rifle tosses made by some Corps at Championships, Scott..... as much as, or even more so in some cases, by music passages that may have captivated you more " emotionally " than the high rifle tosses and catches. It would be perhaps presumptuous of me to tell you you should not have been as " emotionally " captivated by a music or brass solo, as a magnificent rifle toss and catch.  But thats not my call. Thats in your personal domain. I would hope you would extend to others as well that what captivates them " emotionally " in Art, Music, Movies, Theatre, etc, is not your call, and is not in your personal domain either, Scott. You know what I'm saying ?

Edited by BRASSO
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1 hour ago, SWriverstone said:

There's a well-known and studied psychological phenomenon called the mere-exposure effect (also called the familiarity principle). It means people develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them. Put more simply, if you listen to lousy music long enough, you'll start thinking it's good. (This isn't opinion—it's fact.) 

It's clear that DCI audiences are suffering from this effect in a big way. Witness what DCI judges considered the pinnacle of shows in 2018 by awarding it a championship (SCV). Now I get that drum corps is more than just music—it's "art" (though I could make a case for why it really isn't, even at the highest levels). Drill, choreography, difficulty, etc. are all part of the activity. But the emotional underpinnings of any show are the music. You aren't going to be swept to emotional highs by a single high rifle toss or a big two-handed rimshot. The music matters—a lot. 

I've spent countless hours of my life studying, listening to, and performing music of all kinds. I have a BM degree from Juilliard—which doesn't make me more knowledgeable than anyone else—it simply certifies that I'm very knowledgeable about music—and what distinguishes good music from bad music. Contrary to popular belief, music isn't "in the ear of the beholder." It's entirely possible to judge it objectively and even place it (roughly) on a universal scale from bad to good. (If you're someone who believes the quality of music is entirely subjective, you're a hypocrite—because you logically must say the same about everything in life—which I'm sure you don't.)

So on to SCV's show: I've watched it several times. Not dozens or hundreds of times—because remember the mere-exposure effect? I'm not going to destroy my judgement by watching it every day for the entire summer (like the corps members and staff do). The first criterion for great music is that—on the first listen—it moves you. If it doesn't, then it could easily be argued the music has failed. Some might argue that it's not just the music in drum corps that should move you, but the collective experience of music, drill, and choreography. Fair enough. But nobody would argue that the music has a far greater impact on a show's general effect than either drill or choreography. And drill and choreography don't even come close to having the emotional impact of music.

I watched SCV's show with an open heart and mind. I love SCV! I always have. And I give every show the benefit of the doubt because I want to be moved emotionally. When I watch a drum corps show, I want to have tears in my eyes. I don't give a flip about how cleanly a difficult move is executed. It's interesting, but that will never move me to tears. (That's a bit like trying to be moved to tears by a brilliantly-designed coffeepot—it ain't gonna happen.) While watching (and listening) to SCV's show, I paid attention. I focused on the melody (or absence of it), the harmonies, the transitions, the tempo changes—I sat back and let it wash over me without judgement.

It left me cold and feeling completely flat.

After hearing it the first time, I thought "Okay, I'm just not familiar with it." (There's that principle again!) So I watched/listened again. And again. And in what is a testament to the absolute sterility of the show's music, familiarity didn't help at all. Every time I listened to SCV's show, it was just as pointless and unemotional as the previous listening. Here's what I noticed, repeatedly:

There were no discernable, memorable melodies in the show—and by melodies, I mean a sustained melodic line lasting at least 8 bars (at the same tempo) that very clearly moves from point A to point B in an emotional arc. (Think of just about any Beatles song, any Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, or any Beethoven symphony.) Even after repeated views, I couldn't sing along with 2 bars of this show (and I have a good ear for remembering melodies).

There was no sense of a grounded tempo anywhere in the show—by this, I mean a chance to get into a groove—to feel the pulse of the music and actually have a chance to tap your foot or rock gently along with it. Tempo changes were so frequent they suggested a kind of musical schizophrenia—arrangements driven entirely by the drill and perceived difficulty.

NOTE: Even some of the most brilliant, avante-garde compositions in music history hold to a steady tempo for at least 16-32 bars—I'm thinking of pieces like Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps or Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra orJohn Cage's Third Construction.

There was no overall sense of continuity—no feeling of going on a journey from the beginning of the show to the logical conclusion. Despite the flowery descriptions creative staff come up with to justify their shows, SCV's show was quite literally like a long series of 1- or 2-second cuts in a video, each one jarring, seemingly designed to be as abrupt as possible.

This was, plain and simple, an epic musical fail. (And therefore, a fail of a show—in spite of winning.)

Some of you reading this will think I just don't get it. Okay—I'll humor you: I get cubist paintings. I get architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright. And I get music by Steve Reich, Igor Stravinsky, Vincent Persichetti, John Cage, and countless other "challenging" composers. I have a very sophisticated musical ear. My favorite composer is Charles Ives—I've listened to his Concord Sonata hundreds of times—and every time I hear something I didn't hear before. (And trust me—Ives' Concord Sonata is light years ahead of any DCI show in sophistication.)

Some of you will think I'm just an old fart who doesn't understand current music. At this I just shake my head and laugh: have you noticed that people still love The Beatles, Beethoven, Mississippi John Hurt, and Joni Mitchell? This music isn't any less relevant and popular today than it was 25 or 100 years ago.

When it comes to music, you can't get rid of the fundamental elements that make music great without destroying it:

1. It moves you emotionally on the FIRST listen.
2. It is memorable—you can actually hum or sing some of it after one hearing—and ALL of it after several hearings.
3. It has a steady, consistent pulse that you can slip into and feel—in a sustained way—while you listen.

SCV's show had NONE of these qualities on the first hearing (or second, third, or fourth). which is why I call it an epic fail.

What disturbs me even more than SCV performing this show (who has a long history of connecting emotionally with audiences through great music) is the fact that DCI judges apparently reward this "music" that is devoid of any characteristics of good music. Yes, I know—they're judging more than the music (I already acknowledged this), but the judging community has lost its way. Clearly judges are more focused on difficulty (in the form of chaotic, disjointed shows packed with tempo changes and 32nd-note runs) than they are on emotionally connecting with audiences.

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In many ways, I guess we've gotten what we deserve. It's widely acknowledged that young people today have an average attention span of seconds. Maybe show designers are catering to this? Maybe we—as an American species—have lost the ability to focus on something more than 10 seconds without needing an abrupt change? Listen to pop music today and it's clear that it exists on a level far lower in intelligence than it ever has in the past (just look at all the hit songs about nothing more than partying). Even the Academy Awards have officially decided movie audiences are dumb–they've created a new Oscar for "Best Popular Film."  (Because a popular film can't be intelligent or have depth.)

If anyone out there disagrees with my premise that SCV's show was a musical fail (and I'm sure hundreds or thousands do), feel free to explain (hopefully in more than single-syllable words) why you think it was great. Tell me how this show moved you emotionally. And as proof, record yourself singing some part of SCV's show and post the MP3 here. :-) (Corps members and staff who performed/arranged the show aren't allowed–your impartial judgement is long gone).

Scott

To use a movie quote,

"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!!!"

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"If it sounds good, it IS good." -Duke Ellington.

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