Vocals...

[Alabaster Box]

The ONLY time I've ever seen amplified singers used in a show in a way that worked.....was East Lake High School out of Florida a couple years ago. I saw them at a competition, and their show was based on an opera, but I don't remember the name. They had like 3 or 4 kids from their school's choral program who sang during parts of the show, but the singing blended in so well with the band. I think they sung some stuff in latin and it was mostly pretty low-key...almost like ambiance music. It was beautiful, and I've never seen anything like it since. Has anyone else seen this show?

I guess that's really not answering the OP's question so I'll say this: IF a corps could reproduce that effect I don't care if they use vocals and I don't care who composes them. Although, that would be pretty incredible if Eric Whitacre composed an a cappella section for a corps. His vocal stuff completely blows his wind ensemble stuff away.

The problem I've seen with vocals (amped) in drum corps is that the activity hasn't figured out how to incorporate them into the show in a way that is non-glaring. Normally when I hear amped vocalists I just find it grating to listen to, because really vocalists aren't going to sound that great amplified out in a huge stadium in the first place. It just seems like the acoustics of the venue make singers stick out from what's going on and, in my mind, makes the singing distracting from what's going on.

[manedible]

Personally, I like vocals in shows. The last few years with the cadets have been well done in my opinion. I sing in the chorus and I play bone/euphonium. I think that music is something which should be limited, unless it is just impractical such as marching flutes (sorry WW players!). And I also agree that most people with a college music degree would probably know enough to write a vocal accompaniment.

[Alabaster Box]

Personally, I like vocals in shows. The last few years with the cadets have been well done in my opinion. I sing in the chorus and I play bone/euphonium. I think that music is something which should be limited, unless it is just impractical such as marching flutes (sorry WW players!). And I also agree that most people with a college music degree would probably know enough to write a vocal accompaniment.

Not trying to start an argument here...

But I would tend to disagree. For my tastes, anyway. To me, when I've heard drum corps' do vocals they seem to kind of "jump off the field" at me. It's like sitting down to enjoy sushi and then someone dumps a bottle of Louisiana hot sauce all over your eel roll. Ew!

But that's just my tastes, and I'm not not a singer/vocalist by any means. It's not so much that the vocals themselves that I think are bad, just the way the blends into the show. I don't mind a little spice but I'd much rather have a dab of wasabi on my sushi, please!

[ChicagoFan]

Why does a vocal arranger have to write the vocals? If the brass arranger has any decent training he should know how to write for any ensemble. How does it make garbage? You know 99.99999% of people with music degrees had to learn Choral pedagogy right?

I'm going to disagree with most of what you said.

1. A brass arranger would not necessarily understand the choral idiom to an extent that would allow him to create a successful and satisfying choral arrangement. Voicing, intonation, sound production, etc. are quite different among the two disciplines and knowledge of one does not necessarily transfer to the other. My skills as a musician are actually strongest in the choral field and I would in no way feel competent to write brass arrangements. Sure, I could come up with a simple, straightroward transcription of the source material and if that's what you're describing, fine. But otherwise, good brass writing and/or choral writing require specialized skills that move beyond merely re-writing the parts.

2. I don't know where you went to school, but I've never heard of anyone, save vocal majors and those in music education with an emphasis on choral music, having to take choral pedagogy. It certainly was not a requirement for instrumentalists when I was in school, nor is it a part of the curriculum at the university where I now teach.

3. Finally, choral pedagogy and choral arranging/composition are two very different disciplines. Pedagogy refers to teaching methodology and, therefore, would have little bearing on a person's ability to actually compose or arrange music.

Edited September 23, 2006 by ChicagoFan

[MikeD]

If vocals are going to be in the show, you need to have a vocal arranger write the parts, vocal instructors teach the parts, and actual vocalist members sing the parts. Anything less is terrible. Of course this should all be in collaboration with the horn and drum staff, just like good visual and music books are written together but by people who specialize in one particular area. But having horn guys write and teach horn players vocal parts just makes a garbage concept even worse.

Lots of composers and arrangers are adept at both vocal and instrumental works.