C Fitzgerald Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Is this seriously still an issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galen Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Basically, the bugles are getting passed around from new startup corps to new startup corps. Derby City Knights are using 2-valve G's this season, so there's still an opportunity for people looking to play on bugles to do so. <cheap shill for my corps off> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 (edited) Is there something besides the fact that they are bugles in G? Is it the tone quality,the warmth or lack of, coming from the horn,flexibility, etc. ? I'm just curious. Just to let you know, I'm a strong supporter of the drum corps. tradition,and I think that projecting VOICES with amplifiers,and using WOODWINDS in DCI is ridiculous. I've also been hearing alot of negative things about switching from G bugles to Bb,and F. Besides breaking tradition by changing the key, what is wrong, in your opinion, with the horns themselves? Was this kind of debate also going on when people switched from valve-rotor,and valve-slide, to 2 valve bugles,and then to 3 valve bugles? Every change to the bugle has been difficult for some to accept. After WW I a faction only wanted to allow genuine US military regulation bugles to be played. When the first valve was added, it could not be moved during competition. Corps that moved the valve during those early days were called bugle bands, because they performed music with a diatonic melody. The contrabass was illegal until the 1960's. When the two horizontal valve bugle was adopted at the DCI Rules Congress, a rider was added to state that 3 valves would never be allowed. Many claim and some still believe drum corps died back then. When the 3 valve bugle was first proposed, cheers erupted when it was defeated. Change has never easy in the brass portion of this activity. The arguments about the instruments have been largely trumped by economics. So when present day DCA corps make purchases of brass instruments, it's more about the money than the relative merits of G vs. Bb/F. Edited March 21, 2007 by Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ContraRich77 Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Just for fun, I went to my trumpet lesson with my corps horn. My professor said, "Cool, a new trumpet? Where did you get it?" I told him that it is my corps horn. He said that it looks and sounds like just a trumpet. I want the bugles back, but they are slowly becoming extinct like endangered species. I also read about a corps director that no longer uses rifles because they are "too military." Isn't that the history and tradition of drum corps? Sorry guys, I just felt a little inspired to write. I'm with her. I wouldnt' let a Bb horn hinder a decision to march, and I agree with the fact that they play better in tune and what not than the G's...............but traditionally speaking, I always thought it cool to have G bugles specifically built for our activity, you get the idea. Besides, if you listen to some of the great drum corps in history pre Bb horn, i never heard enough of an intonation problem to warrant a key change just for that reason. Intonation compensation is what being a horn player is all about. Guess that's all I have to add. Carry on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ContraRich77 Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Is this seriously still an issue? Nah.............Bb's have proven themselves musically and economically. This "issue" has officially been downgraded to "simple opinion". True, I prefer G's, but I've always been a drum corps hack and never really dabbled much in the Bb/legitimate music world. But, as I've previously stated, my affinity for the comfort and tradition of the G bugle is not necessarily any kind of knock or aversion to the Bb/F changes. Need a new set of horns and want Bb/F's? Knock yerself out. I actually in a way see it as advantageous as there are a million old G's floating around providing an inexpensive option for startup corps to equip themselves, I dont' really see any losers in this argument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idontwan2know Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Every change to the bugle has been difficult for some to accept. After WW I a faction only wanted to allow genuine US military regulation bugles to be played. When the first valve was added, it could not be moved during competition. Corps that moved the valve during those early days were called bugle bands, because they performed music with a diatonic melody. The contrabass was illegal until the 1960's. When the two horizontal valve bugle was adopted at the DCI Rules Congress, a rider was added to state that 3 valves would never be allowed. Many claim and some still believe drum corps died back then. When the 3 valve bugle was first proposed, cheers erupted when it was defeated. Change has never easy in the brass portion of this activity.The arguments about the instruments have been largely trumped by economics. So when present day DCA corps make purchases of brass instruments, it's more about the money than the relative merits of G vs. Bb/F. "Tradition" as used on DCP actually means, "The way it was when I started marching." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Need a new set of horns and want Bb/F's? Knock yerself out. I actually in a way see it as advantageous as there are a million old G's floating around providing an inexpensive option for startup corps to equip themselves, I dont' really see any losers in this argument. Actually the market isn't that big if you are looking to outfit a whole hornline at one shot. Hanover had a plan to outfit the whole corps in 3 valvers with each voice playing the same manufacturer. Took years of careful money management, searching and just plain luck but they finally did it. I joined at the end of the search and the horns I know of were bought from other Alumni corps or DCI corps that were dumping Gs. To go with what Jeff said about resistance to change. The first horns with valves had a thumbscrew that kept the valve from being used during a show. If you were a horn player you either played the open or the first valve notes the whole show. The judges would inspect the horns to make sure the valves were "locked". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegalEagle50 Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Being a horn player(I played with piston/rotor, two valve and three valve) my first question to you Legal Eagle is: Are you a horn player. currently ~ no. i'm quite happy to be performing in the color guard. :) i have played a 2 valve G in corps, and B-flat's in band (both high school & college). i haven't picked up a horn in ages other than the requisite "can you hold this for a sec?" to help a fellow member out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeM Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Being a horn player(I played with piston/rotor, two valve and three valve) my first question to you Legal Eagle is: Are you a horn player. :feednotroll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brassomaniac Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 (edited) Every change to the bugle has been difficult for some to accept. After WW I a faction only wanted to allow genuine US military regulation bugles to be played. When the first valve was added, it could not be moved during competition. Corps that moved the valve during those early days were called bugle bands, because they performed music with a diatonic melody. The contrabass was illegal until the 1960's. When the two horizontal valve bugle was adopted at the DCI Rules Congress, a rider was added to state that 3 valves would never be allowed. Many claim and some still believe drum corps died back then. When the 3 valve bugle was first proposed, cheers erupted when it was defeated. Change has never easy in the brass portion of this activity.The arguments about the instruments have been largely trumped by economics. So when present day DCA corps make purchases of brass instruments, it's more about the money than the relative merits of G vs. Bb/F. BINGO! Besides the many other reasons we chose Bb; it allowed us to get up and running fast, on a shoe-string budget - yet still able to use quality instruments. Edited March 21, 2007 by brassomaniac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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