Martybucs Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 1) Mommy, please make the bad man stop.2) Pay attention to what MiniSopGuy and Dave Seip have posted. This is the accurate info on the technical differences...way too many myths and oversimplifications have grown up and most of them are almost totally untrue. 3) About kissing your horn after watching a G line's warmup....I'm guessing the line you watched just wasn't that good. If you had walked in front of Star's horn arc in the late 80s/early 90s, or any of the other many wonderful hornlines that played G horns you would have wanted to kiss their horns. Quality sound is a product of the player, not the equipment. Some equipment makes it easier than others, but good is good and bad is bad and both have been done on instruments of all keys. There are plenty of bands(and a few drum corps) that produce some truly cringe-worthy sounds on beautiful Bb "musical instruments". I was gonna make that argument. You beat me. There's an old story. Those of us that live in the North/NorthEast are familiar with the migration of Canadian geese and know they fly in a V pattern across the sky, but did you ever notice that one leg of the V is always longer than the other? Do you know why that is?...... More geese. Do you know why one hornline may sound better or be louder than another? Take your pick: More Players More talent Better instructors The Moon, Mar, Jupiter, and Saturn happen to be in conjunction at that time. You're drunk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 More instructors on the DCI side yelling "Quit playing so #### loud!"? ^0^ :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahamay Oton Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 So why is it harder to play horns in one pitch (G), as opposed to playing in two pitches (Bb, F)? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahamay Oton Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Bb's are musical instruments. Thank you captain obvious. Good musicians make good music. The key of the instrument is of little consequence. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PR_ducky Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Well not sure about the overblowing argument on the G horns. I know when I marched (and to some degree today) Regiment had a more powerful hornline than many other corps for 2 reasons. Their emphasis on low brass which really provides the thunder, and the fact that Regiment usually has a larger hornline than anyone else. In the 80s when most corps were marching 60-64 horns, Regiment was marching 70, and now I believe since they went to 12-14 tubas, they march between 72-74. The emphasis when I marched was always on quality over volume, we just happened to produce alot of volume as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 Well not sure about the overblowing argument on the G horns. Well if you picked that up from me, I need to explain better. Easier to overblow the piston/rotor horns, which were a different breed o' cat as opposed to the 2/3 valve horns. Too bad I had a 19 year gap in between my P/R and all valve experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penn State Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 I don't doubt what you guys say on the Bb vs G thing. But if there is really no difference, volume should be the same, etc. I have a question.The sheer wall of sound you used to get on 2 valve G's just doesn't seem to be there now. I discussed this with my wife earlier who is no DC expert but I was dating her way back when I marched and she agrees with me. And there are some great lush sounds being produced now so I'm not denegrating current horn lines. But the oh #### that's loud is missing. So is the difference just the emphasis on control now? And yeah I'm probably going deaf but I still don't think that is all of it. :P Is it possible that brass instructors are taking a different approach to teaching and playing the horns? If you took any current jr corps and put them on G bugles I'm not so sure they wouldn't much louder. imho....I prefer playing on Bb horns, I do however miss the sound of the g bugle lines. I just feel today's horn lines and techs have an overly obsessive worry about playing too loud and not souding 'pretty' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martybucs Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 (edited) So why is it harder to play horns in one pitch (G), as opposed to playing in two pitches (Bb, F)? :) This would be different for each player, so there is no "one" answer. Part of the problem with playing a G bugle in corps and then a Bb trumpet is ear training, because the sounds, (pitch), of the named notes are different. After a short while that problem usually resolves itself for most players. Horns in higher pitches sometimes have more feedback or resistance and that can be a problem for some players. Most C trumpets take considerably more finesse than a comparable Bb model, even from the same manufacturer, but I wouldn't say that one is "harder" to play than the other. Once you reach a certain proficiency on a brass instrument, (acceptable tone, range, and endurance), then I don't think the description, "harder to play", is accurate in describing the difficulty in switching between keys of instruments. IMO it is more of getting used to the difference in the way the horn sounds and plays. Most people can adapt very quickly, especially with more experience making the switch. Most players only have to know which horn it is that they'll be playing and their "ear" is there. Musicality is another aspect which greatly affects the sound of the hornline and really isn't too related to the key of the horn. However, how a hornline approaches interpreting or playing the music on a given instrument may have an effect on the presentation of the music. (e.g. how one would play in the upper register on the lead part of a jazz lick on a Bb trumpet would be totally different and would obviously sound different than how one would approach playing in the same register on a Bb/A Piccolo trumpet on a classical style piece of music. You could play either horn, in either style, but it just wouldn't sound right.) Edited February 3, 2007 by Martybucs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
year1buick Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 (edited) I have, and always will prefer the sound of the G Bugles. Without being able to give a specific reason, they produce the sound I associate with Drum Corps. The Bflats just don't sound the same to me. At the same time, I think the move to any key instruments was a good decision for a few reasons. Kids can bring their own horns to camps, kids can audition on their own horns and so on. Personally it never mattered to me as the 2 valve Baris and Euphs I played at regiment were the only valved instruments I ever played (I play trombone) To be honest, I am glad I got out before the 3 valves got into the activity, wouldn't have known what to do with it LOL Heh--that's exactly what I had to deal with. I'd never played a valved instrument prior to auditioning for Sky Ryders. (I played trombone too...) I just wrote the valve combinations on the sheet music and tried to figure it out as fast as possible. Switching to 3 valves (at Regiment) wasn't too bad, but it did occasionally cause me more confusion. I never really (completely) got used to the switch from playing a bass clef, Bb instrument to those treble clef, G bugles. It was like trying to learn a different language-- whenever the staff would ask for a particular a note (during arc) I still, instinctively, first thought of it terms of slide positions, etc. I always had to make a quick mental recalculation of what it was they were asking for. It was never, really, second nature for me, as it had been the trombone. [Edit:corrected technical goof--thanks, monoemono] Edited February 3, 2007 by year1buick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monoemono Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 Heh--that's exactly what I had to deal with. I'd never played a valved instrument prior to auditioning for Sky Ryders. (I played trombone too...) ... I never really (completely) got used to the switch from playing a bass clef, C instrument to those treble clef, G bugles. Trombone is a Bb non-transposing instrument, not a C instrument. :P b**bs ^0^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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