louielouie Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 very poor. narration = cheeze <**> soloist = playing in middle range very ragged. <**> <**> brass parts = mostly just hits brass line = tired. equals....... will be great by july . b**bs b**bs will be tired by august. get the soloist some lessons. LL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ciabattadm Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 very poor.narration = cheeze <**> soloist = playing in middle range very ragged. <**> <**> brass parts = mostly just hits brass line = tired. equals....... will be great by july . b**bs b**bs will be tired by august. get the soloist some lessons. LL w/Stp: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supersop Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 very poor.narration = cheeze <**> soloist = playing in middle range very ragged. <**> <**> brass parts = mostly just hits brass line = tired. equals....... will be great by july . b**bs b**bs will be tired by august. get the soloist some lessons. LL I can agree with most of what you said .. but part of the style of music is for the solo to be ragged. There used to be quite a bit more stylistic freedom in drum corps past when it came to interpretation. I fear that the majority of new age drum corps enthusiasts are so used to sterile, straight tone, emotionless solo work (that goes for full hornline as well) ... they forget that there's more than just THAT style of playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contra love Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 I don't actually have a problem with it at all. Sure they could play some music and then stop playing music when it's over and yes, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, and it's not like people and corps shouldn't do that. So, I think I can understand when people say they hate the narration or the arrangement or whatever other design issues there are. It's just not your cup of tea, and that is entirely fine with me. But I have pretty much always heard people supporting the kids who march there, even if the design team is going crazy. In 05 and 06 DCPers were pretty much always on the side of the kids, and always saying that the kids were doing great and it's the design they hated. In this thread, numerous people have ragged on the soloist, the brass line, or the narrators. So you don't like what they are playing, cool. But please don't kick the performers. They're just doing something they love. On a side note, a lot of people have said something along the lines of, "if you have to use narration to explain the show/make me feel a certain emotion, your design team failed." I find this to be a horrible argument. A corps can't use narration or other long standing story telling devices, but are allowed to use major/minor chords and agressive/soft drill moves to make the audience feel a certain way? Okay, I know it's a musical activity, and that this is the expected way for a corps to convey messages and feelings, but why limit it to just that? We hear a minor/major #th and we know "oh, I should feel this." But what is so wrong about hearing somebody speak through a mike knowing "oh, I should feel this." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cainan Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 I realise that I am a mod and I am supposed to be kinda down the middle on most things but I thought that (the narration) stunk. Great way to ruin a good music book. Just because we CAN use amplified voice in our shows doesn't mean that we MUST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillygwm Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 I realise that I am a mod and I am supposed to be kinda down the middle on most things but I thought that (the narration) stunk. Great way to ruin a good music book. Just because we CAN use amplified voice in our shows doesn't mean that we MUST. I've gotta agree. I was also at Memorial Brass and left very disappointed. Sure there were issues in the horn line, but those are to be expected at this time of year. The music was pretty accessible and could make for an enjoyable show. Perhaps even a winner. However, the narration was way over the top. I say this as someone who has never been fond of amplification in general and narration in particular. Admittedly, sometimes it's done well but in the vast majority of instances, you get a musical imbalance and a ton of cheese. The Cadets '05 show was a great example of how amplification and, indeed, how a SMALL amount of narration can work. The '-7 show is not innovative; I feel like I saw it at the last marching band show I attended. Sorry, but there's way too much talent on the field to need to rely on constructing a narrative story line for your GE score. As an aside, where was the percussion? In past years, this show has showcased each section of the corps but, other than within the context of the show preview, the drum line and pit was nowhere to be found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noduttingoutloud Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 I remember a few years back telling my friend Aaron that his Lincoln Portrait would be much better without the narration. Seems he was all caught up by the fad sweeping classical composition everywhere. I knew that piece wouldn't last. Same thing with Benjie Britten and his Young Person's Guide. They ruined my symphonic experience. I got them back though, I didn't buy their tour shirts Ahh the good ole days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horn_star Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 ...the narration sounds like a class A WGI show... I totally agree. Listening to this made me feel like I was sitting through a long morning of scholastic A prelims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beagus Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 B A N D O, IMO. The brass sounds great. But add in the voice over and it sounds like a practice session. BOA here comes the Cadets Musical Ensemble. I feel sorry for the kids who love the Cadets so much that they want to march this show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdaddy Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 I realise that I am a mod and I am supposed to be kinda down the middle on most things but I thought that (the narration) stunk. Great way to ruin a good music book. Just because we CAN use amplified voice in our shows doesn't mean that we MUST. Good observation - just because they can doesn't mean they have to. Along those lines, does anybody know what other corps are using narration next year? If memory serves only five of the top 23 division 1 corps used amped narration last year (this includes one sentence by BD). For the remaining 18, did narration not fit? Are they trying to appease fans who don't want it? If similar numbers to last year hold for this year, Cadets will clearly be in the minority. Have other corps just realized that they don't "have to"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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