Einstein On The Beach Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 I'm not sure there are any good college marching bands . . . certainly not one that can stand up to the experience the top few drum corps offer. If I'm wrong, sorry. Just . . . Virtually every college marching band I've seen has looked and sounded terrible, live and on television. Don't apologize, you're right haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TickleMeElmo Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 (edited) making more what? terrible music?because you're probably right.. ~>conner I think John Mayer is rather good, compared to the other artists we hear today. But, to each his own. Edited January 3, 2007 by TickleMeElmo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geluf Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 I'm not sure there are any good college marching bands . . . certainly not one that can stand up to the experience the top few drum corps offer There ARE good college bands. You're just trying to judge them on drum corps criteria. There is a major difference between the showband style of college and the corps style of DCI and most high schools. And that is most definately on purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake_the_hydra Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 There ARE good college bands. You're just trying to judge them on drum corps criteria.There is a major difference between the showband style of college and the corps style of DCI and most high schools. And that is most definately on purpose. Well . . . I'm not expecting them to be good at acting like robots, or to dance real cool with drum speak, or to run around playing resphigi while making crosses. But I WOULD expect them to not sound like a traffic jam (unless it was intentional because of the show design B) ) and have straight lines or something. Most of them seem to fail miserably at these tasks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKBari Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Well . . . I'm not expecting them to be good at acting like robots, or to dance real cool with drum speak, or to run around playing resphigi while making crosses.But I WOULD expect them to not sound like a traffic jam (unless it was intentional because of the show design B) ) and have straight lines or something. Most of them seem to fail miserably at these tasks. Well considering most of them only practice for a couple of hours a day and have to learn 2-3 shows plus a pre-game show, many of them are doing the best they can. As for the straight lines, I saw way too many corps at the Atlanta regionals that had that same problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake_the_hydra Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Well considering most of them only practice for a couple of hours a day and have to learn 2-3 shows plus a pre-game show, many of them are doing the best they can.As for the straight lines, I saw way too many corps at the Atlanta regionals that had that same problem. And a lot of them aren't doing the best they can- I'm in a college marching band that could be much better if some simple changes were made to rehearsal procedure, etc (and no, I'm not talking about making it like drum corps . . . that's not what it's supposed to be . . . but that doesn't mean it's okay to sound awful all season and never address it). I respect what they do (I'm in one! I know! I understand), and school spirit is great, I just don't think that college marching band should factor in very heavily to where you go to get a music education degree, especially if you have drum corps experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKBari Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 (edited) And a lot of them aren't doing the best they can- I'm in a college marching band that could be much better if some simple changes were made to rehearsal procedure, etc (and no, I'm not talking about making it like drum corps . . . that's not what it's supposed to be . . . but that doesn't mean it's okay to sound awful all season and never address it). And therein lies the problem. Many colleges treat marching band like a red-headed step child. They think if it's not symphonic band, jazz band, or orchestra, it is literally beneath them. They only have a marching band because they have to have something out there to play at the football games. And then you have the members themselves, where some of them are on the field because the department requires them to be out there for a year or it gives them an easy P.E. credit. I respect what they do (I'm in one! I know! I understand), and school spirit is great, I just don't think that college marching band should factor in very heavily to where you go to get a music education degree, especially if you have drum corps experience. And for the many that don't even come near a drum corps, marching band should figure into the equation. If you plan on becoming a high school band director, there's a 99.9999% chance that you're going to have to put a marching band on the field. And if you're in a college that has a wishy-washy approach to marching band, there's a possibility of you teaching those same techniques to the kids at whatever high school you end up at. (Unless you're at a school with a big budget and can hire a staff of techs) Edited January 3, 2007 by EKBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake_the_hydra Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 And therein lies the problem. Many colleges treat marching band like a red-headed step child. They think if it's not symphonic band, jazz band, or orchestra, it is literally beneath them. They only have a marching band because they have to have something out there to play at the football games. And then you have the members themselves, where some of them are on the field because the department requires them to be out there for a year or it gives them an easy P.E. credit. then I guess what people don't understand is that you should always approach your instrument with the intention of making good sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKBari Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 then I guess what people don't understand is that you should always approach your instrument with the intention of making good sounds. "Good sounds" is such relative term. What you think of as good may sound like finger nails on a chalkboard to others. But in an ensemble like marching band, you have music majors and non-music majors, who may or may not be as dilligent as you and I in our pursuit of tonal perfection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake_the_hydra Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 "Good sounds" is such relative term. What you think of as good may sound like finger nails on a chalkboard to others. Not when it comes to the playing of instruments. With some obvious exceptions, saxophones should sound like saxophones, baritones should sound like baritones, etc, etc. I have a hard time believing that a fellow music major would call the CSO's playing "nails on a chalk board." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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