The wind ensemble brass approach

[Jeff Ream]

after seeing every corps at East, i found only 2 to truly be loud. i agree intonation is key, but intonation WITh volume at the right moments is a drum corps fans dream.

since Cavies 02, i see a trend where everyone is trying more and more tosound like they did, and it's a shame...you can sound good and be loud too

[louderisbetter]

Personally, I cannot separate a "drum corps" sound from a concert sound (or at least, the IDEAL drum corps sound.) Allow me to explain my take on it, hopefully without the creation of a full dissertation on brass pedagogy...

I am primarily an orchestral player, and I will readily admit that orchestral brass playing is often a bit more in-your-face than many modern band/wind ensemble sounds that I've heard (as one of my former teachers called it, "pansy-@ss new age brass playing"). There is more focus on projection (playing in a section of 2 or 3 trumpets, 4 horns, 3 trombones, and a tuba, instead of 6+ trumpets and trombones, 4 tubas, etc.) and many articulations must be more marked or secco to be heard through a full orchestral texture. As a result, many orchestral players have a less "soloistic" or "pleasant" sound than solo or band players, as anyone who has listened to Phil Smith play up close can tell you. Drum corps is similar, in my mind: instead of 3 trumpets playing a little louder to balance with 70 strings and double winds, they may be required to play at a higher dynamic level to balance properly in the context of 72 brass players at a forte-plus. The sound of the instrument at an ensemble forte is much different from that of a solo forte, and it requires greater technical facility to be able to achieve a controlled sound in these instances.

This facility inherently requires control of lower dynamic levels, as well, as players who neglect soft practice rarely develop (subconscious) control of the servomuscles of the lips (and thus, succumb to blatty tone because they lose control of the lips as the dynamics extend higher.) Another sure way to blat well before you've reached your full potential volume is to force (which is how countless middle school students manage to create blatty versions of mezzo-piano "Jingle Bells" and other greatest hits--the blatting being not the product of excessive volume, but of a lack of tone control.)

I have never met a (capable) orchestral player who can put a great sound to the back of the hall by "squeezing", "crunching", or otherwise "forcing" it out... it requires a full, relaxed, flowing release of air without any of the tension or disruption created by tight muscles or air passages (INCLUDING ABS, sopranos!) Arnold Jacobs, while not necessarily counted among the greatest tuba performers of all time, did extensive study into the operation of human breathing, specifically as it applies to brass playing, and there are very few who will deny that the Chicago Symphony brass section of his era (and the entire "Chicago" school of brass playing to follow) represent the sections that could put out the most incredible sound.

I love the Cavaliers sound, but they don't have a Chicago sound... it's too safe, too restrained, and to me, it's like driving a red convertible at 35 mph. Is it right or wrong? Who can say, it's convoluted (out of the top 15 method books on trumpet playing, you'll find as many different opinions on what dynamic to practice at, whether to play the mouthpiece alone or lip buzz or none of the above, whether the abs should be firm, where the tongue strikes the roof of the mouth [or, gods forbid, the teeth], etc.)

But for myself, as my SN unashamedly declares, I'd say I'd prefer to take a spin at 101 mph any day of the week ^0^

[Studio Tan]

"driving a red convertible at 35 mph" is dead on.

[idontwan2know]

Let's not forget the other end of the spectrum either...when was the last time the Cavaliers played a tutti passage at piano without turning backfield to achieve the lower dynamic?

They just seem to play in a very small box....and in that box they sound fantastic. But it's not as compelling as it could be from an audience perspective.

[cire]

surprised noone mentioned

Bb horns vs G

[Loud-is-good]

No doubting the Cavaliers do what they do with absolute precision and near-perfection. I guess it's just a matter of taste. Cavaliers' playing style the last few years reminds me of 95% of Mozart's music- perfect, refined, polished, and oftentimes kinda boring despite all that. Give me an abrasive Mahler symphony any day ^0^ (and I'm not talking bout the one in Regiment's show specifically )

[bluemarlin82]

you guys act like the Cavaliers play "soft" on purpose to keep their sound clean. they're not going to play loud just for the sake of playing loud. why ruin a peice of music like that? and if you guys just want to get your face blown off, maybe you should give up DCI and start watching the BET Classic.

and i agree with the earlier post...mr. bertman is not trying to win, he's trying to educate.

[louderisbetter]

Education isn't limited to a "clean" sound--I daresay my hornline did a fair amount of loud playing, and it didn't hurt me a bit when I got back to the world of college, solo playing, and private lessons. But drum corps is teaching more than brass playing, or we wouldn't spend money and time on it when we could have stayed at home and practiced all summer.

And as far as it goes to imply that drum corps fans want nothing but to have their faces blown off... well, perhaps so. I listen to a woodwind quartet when I want to hear nothing but soft and delicate... and I listen to 72 brass, 19 battery, and 10 pit when I want more loud in my diet. I love the soft too, and the shaping and sensitivity compliment and further beautify the sostenuto fortissimo moments, but they aren't sufficient to stand on their own--same way with the louder, because if I wanted nothing but a constant barrage of loud noise I'd go to the airport and sit on the tarmac for a few hours.

[Piper]

I love power and loudness that can blow my hair back. On the flip side of the coin, I also love ice cream sundea's, but that doesn't mean that I want one every 30 seconds. JMO.

[yellowbusredux]

I like hornilnes that play...music. Dynamics, intonation, emotion, expression. Music. I also like it when they move a lot and play ant the same time. Yeah, that's cool.

No what I don't like? Park and play hornlines (drumline too, and it seems like there is more of that this year). Horlines that sound like a chop shop...beeps and bops and no real melody or music being expressed to the audience.