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Cavalier dominance 2000-Present


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he does have a point. they really do have their horns down a lot compared to the cadets

look at 02 06 cavies and 05 and 06 cadets. those horns are at a carry pretty frequently compared to the cadets

You know, I've been thinking about bringing this same thing up myself for a while, but just never really did it. Reason number 1 is that i dont have proof, since I havent watched the dvd's with a stopwatch, and probably wont anytime soon...but this is something (in my perception) that I have noticed.

Take the stretching box thingy from the 06 show as an example - almost 45 seconds of no playing (horns or drums), and very easy tempo marching (or Standing Fast) in some cases. People hailed this as a brilliant move, and noone really cared that there was very little demand for long periods of time - as compared to the cadets who got hammered by most for having a drum feature where the brass didnt play for 2 minutes, even though they were doing some insane things. Now before anyone calls this a knock on the cavies, let me say it is quite the opposite...their design team is insanely good at programming shows to allow enough breaks, enough horns down, etc... to allow them to perform at the level they do. Noone cared in that segment that they werent really playing or marching, because it fit the show (sort of), and just looked darn cool. I remember sitting in the stands at semis and being amazed and disgusted at the same time. I was amazed because i knew i was looking at the champion, based on how well designed and clean the show was, but disgusted at how transparent the show was to me...the predictable effects, long breaks, fast marching with easy lines, small steps with hard parts, breaks for the horn players at just the right time, long pit breaks with simple dances that got the crowd going, and musical phrases for the hornline just long enough to receive credit, but too short to really tire them out.

Again, this is not meant to be a rant (though i see that it is). In reality its what I think is the reason for their success. The staff knows that more is not always better, in fact they know how to do exactly enough. As others have mentioned, most top corps are reluctant to follow their model, and until they do, or find something that works better (which I admittedly am hoping for), the cavaliers will continue their dominance.

-Nick

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Work smarter, not harder.

Lol...after several years in a corps with a different theory I have to partially agree... :)

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You know, I've been thinking about bringing this same thing up myself for a while, but just never really did it. Reason number 1 is that i dont have proof, since I havent watched the dvd's with a stopwatch, and probably wont anytime soon...but this is something (in my perception) that I have noticed.

Take the stretching box thingy from the 06 show as an example - almost 45 seconds of no playing (horns or drums), and very easy tempo marching (or Standing Fast) in some cases. People hailed this as a brilliant move, and noone really cared that there was very little demand for long periods of time - as compared to the cadets who got hammered by most for having a drum feature where the brass didnt play for 2 minutes, even though they were doing some insane things. Now before anyone calls this a knock on the cavies, let me say it is quite the opposite...their design team is insanely good at programming shows to allow enough breaks, enough horns down, etc... to allow them to perform at the level they do. Noone cared in that segment that they werent really playing or marching, because it fit the show (sort of), and just looked darn cool. I remember sitting in the stands at semis and being amazed and disgusted at the same time. I was amazed because i knew i was looking at the champion, based on how well designed and clean the show was, but disgusted at how transparent the show was to me...the predictable effects, long breaks, fast marching with easy lines, small steps with hard parts, breaks for the horn players at just the right time, long pit breaks with simple dances that got the crowd going, and musical phrases for the hornline just long enough to receive credit, but too short to really tire them out.

Again, this is not meant to be a rant (though i see that it is). In reality its what I think is the reason for their success. The staff knows that more is not always better, in fact they know how to do exactly enough. As others have mentioned, most top corps are reluctant to follow their model, and until they do, or find something that works better (which I admittedly am hoping for), the cavaliers will continue their dominance.

-Nick

My feelings exactly, though I wouldn't say I was disgusted, yet I will agree with the predictability of it all.

Work smarter, not harder.

What if you did both! :P That's a monster corps there.

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You know, I've been thinking about bringing this same thing up myself for a while, but just never really did it. Reason number 1 is that i dont have proof, since I havent watched the dvd's with a stopwatch, and probably wont anytime soon...but this is something (in my perception) that I have noticed.

Take the stretching box thingy from the 06 show as an example - almost 45 seconds of no playing (horns or drums), and very easy tempo marching (or Standing Fast) in some cases. People hailed this as a brilliant move, and noone really cared that there was very little demand for long periods of time - as compared to the cadets who got hammered by most for having a drum feature where the brass didnt play for 2 minutes, even though they were doing some insane things. Now before anyone calls this a knock on the cavies, let me say it is quite the opposite...their design team is insanely good at programming shows to allow enough breaks, enough horns down, etc... to allow them to perform at the level they do. Noone cared in that segment that they werent really playing or marching, because it fit the show (sort of), and just looked darn cool. I remember sitting in the stands at semis and being amazed and disgusted at the same time. I was amazed because i knew i was looking at the champion, based on how well designed and clean the show was, but disgusted at how transparent the show was to me...the predictable effects, long breaks, fast marching with easy lines, small steps with hard parts, breaks for the horn players at just the right time, long pit breaks with simple dances that got the crowd going, and musical phrases for the hornline just long enough to receive credit, but too short to really tire them out.

Again, this is not meant to be a rant (though i see that it is). In reality its what I think is the reason for their success. The staff knows that more is not always better, in fact they know how to do exactly enough. As others have mentioned, most top corps are reluctant to follow their model, and until they do, or find something that works better (which I admittedly am hoping for), the cavaliers will continue their dominance.

-Nick

That must have taken a long time to type.

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DCI score sheets reward creative visual design more than ever.

The Cavaliers have had the best visually designed shows out there among all the Corps.

It's no more complicated than that.

Edited by X DM
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That must have taken a long time to type.

bout 5minutes....it was already in my head

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