Re-hash of an old complaint...

[liebot]

OK, for everyone with trumpets and tubas two questions.

1) Whadda ya call the horns in between?

2) Does anyone play bugle in you Drum & Bugle Corps?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

1) Mellophones and Baritones

2) No.

I think the mellophone argument is fairly relevant - if your justification of calling them sopranos and contras is because it makes sense to call them by their ensemble voicings, then why aren't mellophones called altos? If the tradition of calling them by their ensemble voicings was so important, then why weren't mellophones called altos all along?

Why do people call them trumpets now? Because back when they were Soprano Bugles in the key of G, the distinction was made so strongly. People would state "No, this is not a trumpet, this is a G Bugle" and then go on to explain how trumpets were different (most people got the explanation that trumpets were in a different key - Bb). So when people switched over to Bb horns, that differentiation stuck - corps still on Gs talked about how they weren't on trumpets like those corps on Bb were.

The fact is, the differentiation of the horns wasn't primarily made between the two activities (marching band and drum corps) but between the actually instruments that were played. If for some reason you brought a Bb Soprano bugle (for the sake of argument) to an audition camp, people would call them trumpets - not because they could be used in marching band and marching bands played Bbs, but because the defining difference (in most people's minds) was the key of the instrument.

Edited August 20, 2005 by TTitans909

[JimF-LowBari]

1) Mellophones and Baritones

2) No.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Finally an answer - thanks...

I think the mellophone argument is fairly relevant - if your justification of calling them sopranos and contras is because it makes sense to call them by their ensemble voicings, then why aren't mellophones called altos?  If the tradition of calling them by their ensemble voicings was so important, then why weren't mellophones called altos all along?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Though part of the reason why the mid voice is not called by the voicing name is because there were different types of horns. When I marched we had a combo of French horns and mellophones. And the parts for these horns were different. IOW the Frenchies didn't play what the Mellies played.