triplefunk Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 I had this thought last night about how Drum Features are used in shows. and when ever I hear Drum Feature, the first thing that comes to my mind is Phantom. For some reason, I don't know why, but Phantom comes to my head. My question is, which is better to use, Long or short. Exp: Phantom 2004, was a rather lengthy drum feature, and to me, made it lose some of its edge. compare that to Phantom 2006, was shorter, and in my opinion, worked a heck of a lot better than if it would have been longer. I think having a longer drum break, kind of breaks the mood that the music has set. With the shorter drum feature, you don't lose the edge of the music, yet you get to focus on the drums and their difficulty, and when they are done, you haven't lost any of the "emotion" of the music. does that make sense? sorry if it doesn't, but go ahead and vote and of course, discuss! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 As a drummer, I really miss the longer, throw-down drum breaks. Honestly, though, they don't have a place on the score sheets - if they break the mood, GE goes down, and that's worth 4x more than percussion performance. :( Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddschultz Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 I don't mind the longer "drum features" if they're written well, but some just seem to go absolutely no place. I mean, if you it has a melody as some point, or some structure, then cool. Take for example the Cadets 2000 "drum feature" it was hip and cool, impressive because it was written well, had a form, and obviously has somewhere it was going. Now if it is long for the sake of having each section of the percussion program have a "break" then I think it's wrong. I would prefer though some sort of feature that involves the horns being incorporated and lots of pit melodies, i.e. La Danza Pasilla from Scouts 1995. I guess that's a really long way for me to say I don't care as long as their designed well, and played well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jofus Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Scouts 05 street fight was sweet and so was 2006's "invocation." Both of them were pretty long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BozzlyB Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 The best drum solos ever written IMO were the artistic masterpieces of Tom Float in the 80's and 1990. He did some pretty sick stuff with VK too in the 90's before they folded. No other solo's come close to those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rai-mello Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 To me, it really depends on the style/show the corps is doing. I prefer long, but not too long. I chose shorter because I don't like long. Hopefully someone will understand me. But back to my first point, if it's a jazz song or something big band-ish, I'd like a long feature as long as it kept with the feel. If it's something classical, like Phantom Regiment, the short drum break is good. Especially Phantom's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PR_ducky Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Have to go with what fits the show. 87 cadets did appalachian spring. a long drum break doesn't make sense there. most BD jazz shows seem to call for it. Long is fine as long as it fits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydrodrill Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 As a drummer, I really miss the longer, throw-down drum breaks. Honestly, though, they don't have a place on the score sheets - if they break the mood, GE goes down, and that's worth 4x more than percussion performance. :(Mike I agree with you Mike.....Im in the drumline also and in my day "yes Im an ole timer" you looked foward to hearing and watching a kicka-- drumline do there stuff......In todays DC the lines are SO talented that they SHOULD throw-down and play .....to me winning isnt everything....its all about the people in the stands.....Id rather have hundreds of people watching practice and warmups smiling and having a great time while the drumline is laying down a groove.......BUT getting back to todays drumlines.........PLAY A DRUM SOLO....... with the talent today, I could just imagine what youse guys and gals can come up with ; ))))))))) Good luck all in 2007 and I will be watching Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravedodger Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 most BD jazz shows seem to call for it.Long is fine as long as it fits Trivia: 91 BD's feature started very long and was shortened substantially at about half way through tour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddschultz Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 I agree with you Mike.....Im in the drumline also and in my day "yes Im an ole timer" you looked foward to hearing and watching a kicka-- drumline do there stuff......In todays DC the lines are SO talented that they SHOULD throw-down and play .....to me winning isnt everything....its all about the people in the stands.....Id rather have hundreds of people watching practice and warmups smiling and having a great time while the drumline is laying down a groove.......BUT getting back to todays drumlines.........PLAY A DRUM SOLO....... with the talent today, I could just imagine what youse guys and gals can come up with ; ))))))))) Good luck all in 2007 and I will be watching Rick I think in some cases today, people play it "safe" for clarity reasons, even though as you pointed out the talent is there. But if they play it safe, then we can win more! and isn't that truly what it's all about, winning more. Ok, sarcasm off. But I agree with you, with the talent of today-and I am not saying that talent is something new to DCI-but with so many talented kids trying out and being exposed, I think there should be more beef on some of the writing, especially in some of the "upper level" groups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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