ducttapedgerbil Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 Back when I marched ('82-'84) Freelancers had 6 French Horns, 6 Flugels, and 4 Mellophones. Multi-instrument middle horn lines sound A LOT better than an all Mellophone line; with the different timbres it sounds thicker but then when you need some Mellophone to come through it's all good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrshowfan Posted October 9, 2002 Share Posted October 9, 2002 I was just listening to Madison 1980 (12:20) and '81 (12:30) today. Beautiful scoring for the last minute of the show. The cascading part in Ice Castles is awesome. You can hear 3 mid parts. Mello, alto (or flugel) , and french horn. It is one of the few arrangements that you can hear these individual parts. Bring em back!! Sly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSGMUSIC Posted October 11, 2002 Share Posted October 11, 2002 As primarily a Midrange player - the Midrange section is often closest to my heart and ears (although sometimes the Midrange players in corps I have taught have been less than happy about my 'love' for the section!) Being a Skyliner, and having had the pleasure of learning from Hy Dreitzer, and in my junior corps days being taught by Skyliners Ernie Fesler and Tommy Martin, I LOVE the total Midrange sound - including French Horns. Played French Horn when Hy brought them back to Skyliners in 82 and 83 - it was hard to initially play it well, but we got better at it to win High Brass in 1982 and be in the running in 1983, so we could not have been TOO bad. Some of us had to play what we called the old "submarine" French horns - your arms had to be out to . . . .here . . . . to play it! The French horn just gives the Midrange section THAT sound. Of course, they might not be appropriate for every musical style, but I would love to see more of them back. I LOVE to arrange for French Horns when possible, and certainly wrote for French Horns in England with Conquest Alliance (had a few real French Horn Players) and Anchormen (especially when we did our Robin Hood Show - one baritone player and one mellophone player converted.) Do NOT love Flugel horns, as I personally think they are out-powered by the Mellophone and French Horn instruments overall. However, flugels and altos can contribute and create a specific sound that a horn line may be looking for. I just never thought they projected enough for my own personal taste in midrange sound/balance/blend. You don't necessarily need someone with French Horn training per se - just someone who wants to learn, etc. Fewer corps are probably using them due to availability, cost, and members who may not be comfortable on the horns. But I keep hoping we'll get 'em back one day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemey Posted October 11, 2002 Share Posted October 11, 2002 As primarily a Midrange player - the Midrange section is often closest to my heart and ears (although sometimes the Midrange players in corps I have taught have been less than happy about my 'love' for the section!) Doreen...you know we love you... I'd love to learn how to play FH... I played it in HS, but haven't seen one in Drum Corps to try and play. It could be interesting.. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSGMUSIC Posted October 24, 2002 Share Posted October 24, 2002 I think I have one in my basement . . . or we may still have some of the old "submarines" laying around . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerriDitt57 Posted October 28, 2002 Share Posted October 28, 2002 I'm not sure some of you are aware of this, but SCV has been marching 6 french horns and 4 mellos since 2001. IMO, it just makes the alto line harder to hear. Of course - only 10 people in a big hornline like that! Should be more like 6 and 6. Back in the day, SCV had 4 mellos and 8 FH in a hornline of 62. No problem hearing them. my last year of juniors (1978) we had 4 mellos and 8 frenchies in a 58 member brass line. I thought we were midvoice heavy but heck, that was ok by me! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strutta Posted December 1, 2002 Share Posted December 1, 2002 What if the lower soprano parts (in the staff, or lower) were played on altos or flugels? Keep the mellos seperate. Sops used only for lead and second parts? any thoughts? In '81 & '82 (at least) the 27th Lancers used Flugel Horns for 2nd Soprano and Alto Horns for 3rd Soprano. They also used Mellophones and French Horns for the middle voices and I believe Baritone, Euphonium and Contrabass for the bottom. They also used a Trombonium for the low brass solo in 'Niner Two' both years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banger3b Posted December 1, 2002 Share Posted December 1, 2002 So the question is: Will we be seeing French Horns back in the Renegades horn line? i've already seen them...... ^0^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banger3b Posted December 1, 2002 Share Posted December 1, 2002 As far as french horns go....I always assumed they were impossible to play with todays drill style (run....bounce....run.....bounce). i agree with this theory........ i would guess that most french horn players prefer NOT to play a drum corps 'french horn'. it probably doesn't compare to the real thing. but mostly i think they care about their chops. probably the hardest brass instrument to play IMO. i know i can't play the darn thing! :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerriDitt57 Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 As far as french horns go....I always assumed they were impossible to play with todays drill style (run....bounce....run.....bounce). i agree with this theory........ i would guess that most french horn players prefer NOT to play a drum corps 'french horn'. it probably doesn't compare to the real thing. but mostly i think they care about their chops. probably the hardest brass instrument to play IMO. i know i can't play the darn thing! :P Exactly, Rich. I never knew mellophone could be 1.) so fun 2.) so easy to play. want to see someone try to pry this even this DEG out of my paws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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