Summer Music Games in Cincinnati 2023-07-05

[Jurassic Lancer]

3 minutes ago, GraysonHarris said:

You're on! Ill Venmo you money for a 6-pack if I am wrong. 

Ditto

[saxfreq1128]

11 minutes ago, GraysonHarris said:

I think its an undeniable fact, regardless of how people spin it. It's inevitable. 

please stop jinxing BD 😭 they’ve never won before and this is their only shot. BAC has won like 21 times already 

[squarepush]

18 minutes ago, jwillis35 said:

It's not quite like that but it could be in some cases. 

Content: How is the book constructed? What is the demand like? Is the book constructed musically with effective use of all sections (snares, tenors, basses, pit, etc)? That kind of thing. So it isn't just demand. 

Achievement is more how are the performers mastering what has been given. 

In the case of Boston's percussion score it is difficult to know what the judge is thinking. Are they thinking:

• I don't love the content just yet, there is more you can do with the writing to bring out the musicality or demand or the section features or groupings, yet I love how the members are performing. 
• Or are they thinking the total book is not demanding enough for these performers.

 

It is unlikely the later is the case because as long as the field battery and pit are not playing perfectly then you can't say the demand is not there. In this scenario the content score should be higher than achievement -- that is if you only think about it in terms of demand. 

But if the judge is thinking about more than demand and also thinking about how well the parts are written musically and logically for the show and how the snares, tenors, basses, and pit are coordinated into that total content then they are most likely saying "I like what you have composed for the section but it's not to the level it needs to be, but boy those performers are playing at a high level." In this case the judge wishes to reward the performers while making a note to the content designers about issues in the construction of the book. So there can be a see-saw effect here in scoring that better conveys where the improvements need to be -- according to this particular judge. 

 

Thank you for such a detailed response! 

[squarepush]

33 minutes ago, saxfreq1128 said:

Make more mistakes lol

I’m joking but I’m not … 

They’re like “say sike 🔪 ” after a really good transition or run lol

[Penny]

50 minutes ago, GraysonHarris said:

Tight tonight between the top 3!  Their all going to be 2 pointed (minimum) by BD come finals night. 

*They're 

[Tim K]

35 minutes ago, GraysonHarris said:

Tight tonight between the top 3!  Their all going to be 2 pointed (minimum) by BD come finals night. 

A quick check on DCX shows that Blue Devils have won ten titles since 2003. Of those ten titles, only 2014 had a two point spread between first and second place. In 2014 people were predicting “Felliniesque” would be one of Blue Devils’ most memorable shows, not that the show needs work as we’ve been hearing about BD  this year. As someone who has seen a strong BAC live twice, the conclusion I am drawing is Bloo has to be very good this year, Crown is stronger than many of us thought, and BD may have a fight on its hands.

[GraysonHarris]

5 minutes ago, Penny said:

*They're 

Correct

[GraysonHarris]

6 minutes ago, Tim K said:

A quick check on DCX shows that Blue Devils have won ten titles since 2003. Of those ten titles, only 2014 had a two point spread between first and second place. In 2014 people were predicting “Felliniesque” would be one of Blue Devils’ most memorable shows, not that the show needs work as we’ve been hearing about BD  this year. As someone who has seen a strong BAC live twice, the conclusion I am drawing is Bloo has to be very good this year, Crown is stronger than many of us thought, and BD may have a fight on its hands.

Great! I am still sticking to opinion on the matter though 🙂

[Jeff Ream]

2 hours ago, ECJ94 said:

Boston over-acheiving their book in percussion??

 

3rd in content, but 1st in acheivement??

Cont - 7.9

Achv - 8.1

 

yeah that was a head scratcher.

[gbass598]

1 hour ago, jwillis35 said:

It's not quite like that but it could be in some cases. 

Content: How is the book constructed? What is the demand like? Is the book constructed musically with effective use of all sections (snares, tenors, basses, pit, etc)? That kind of thing. So it isn't just demand. 

Achievement is more how are the performers mastering what has been given. 

In the case of Boston's percussion score it is difficult to know what the judge is thinking. Are they thinking:

• I don't love the content just yet, there is more you can do with the writing to bring out the musicality or demand or the section features or groupings, yet I love how the members are performing. 
• Or are they thinking the total book is not demanding enough for these performers.

 

It is unlikely the later is the case because as long as the field battery and pit are not playing perfectly then you can't say the demand is not there. In this scenario the content score should be higher than achievement -- that is if you only think about it in terms of demand. 

But if the judge is thinking about more than demand and also thinking about how well the parts are written musically and logically for the show and how the snares, tenors, basses, and pit are coordinated into that total content then they are most likely saying "I like what you have composed for the section but it's not to the level it needs to be, but boy those performers are playing at a high level." In this case the judge wishes to reward the performers while making a note to the content designers about issues in the construction of the book. So there can be a see-saw effect here in scoring that better conveys where the improvements need to be -- according to this particular judge. 

 

My quick thoughts after being at the show regarding the scoring.

From the stands, I felt Crown was the cleanest but their tuning is hidden by the brass quite a bit. There were time they were just pounding those drums I couldn't hear it over the hornline.

Boston tunes higher with more clarity in comparison to the brass. I heard every note the snareline played including the dirty ones. Tenor and bass lines were phenomenal. Snares do have some clarity issues. it should get better but the stuff I heard ticks on were the easy stuff. They still won achievement tonight because their music is flat out harder to play.

Bluecoats are similar to Crown. Battery tuning blends in with the horns quite a bit. I also felt like I heard a lot more dirt from the battery than Crown or Boston. First show jitters.

In regards to the content scores. Bluecoats and Crown have more layers in their music. They have levels of sensitivity and touch to their playing. Mike Jackson's Broken City lines in WGI are masters of this concept better than anyone I've ever seen. Tom Rarick has a good bit of sensitivity in his battery writing as well. Boston has 1 on switch when it comes to their battery writing. it's that old east coast Thom Hannum sound quality where you dig into the drum even at low stick heights. Combine that with the amount of notes they play and even lower dynamic levels can sound like a bull in a china shop. There is just a lack of expression in their playing that can be expressed more musically.

Don't take this as a criticism of Boston's playing as I would love for my own students to be able to produce that sound when called for but I've been around the block in high school band circles enough to know if my high school kids did drum like that I would get beaten down by musical comments by high school judges about our lack of dynamics and expression.

The musical approaches Boston takes is a night and day difference from they way Crown and Bluecoats approach it.