Narration

[Matt_S]

Reading the thread on Cadets 2007 gave me a thought: an off-topic thought to be sure, so I wanted a new thread to discuss it. Think about every instance of narration in drum corps used so far (by narration, I'm specifically omitting singing, a la Crown '04 and Bluecoats '05). They've all been original creations, either texts written by the show designers or recognizable phrases placed in a fabricated musical setting. These instances have alternatively been lauded by some, rejected by others, but I think few would claim that drum corps has been as effective as it could be in the area of spoken voice.

So to use spoken word more effectively, why not use some of the material that's out there alredy? When amplified voice was first introduced, many people talked about Copland's Lincoln Portrait, and the possibility of bringing that to the field. While too trite for some, there are many other truly moving pieces that make use of voice, sampled or otherwise. John Adams' Common Tones in Simple Time was mentioned in the Cadets 2007 thread. Other pieces that spring immediately to mind are Adams' On the Transmigration of Souls (which, admittedly, would almost certainly not translate to the field) and Harmonium, which has been performed on the field, but only the Wild Nights section. Imagine the rest of this piece, with the Dickinson poetry included. For those familiar with Steve Reich's Different Trains, think about how that piece uses voice. Each statement is transcribed, both rythmically and by pitch, onto the bars of Reich's piece. It's a very musical presentation, the music and voice are cohesive in a way that drum corps hasn't yet been able to achieve with amped voice. Instead of making up text every time we wish to pair music and voice, why not arrange some of the pieces and text already out there?

[bawker]

Instead of making up text every time we wish to pair music and voice, why not arrange some of the pieces and text already out there?

(saving thread and sending to show designers for 2008 season)

I'm not sure why we haven't seen this yet; maybe some of the more creative types here can explain why....with this vast new amount of material we can cover...we rely on extremely pedestrian presentation so far.

In most cases above, the work is already mostly done for the arranger and designer: it can't be a question of how to bend it to fit the field, can it?

[Meaghatron]

Because narration is so new to drum corps, the corps that choose to use narration have to experiment with it. What happens now is that it usually takes an entire season to realize whether or not it worked. When you only have 3 corps a year using it (and even then only one really uses tons of it), then it will take a long time to learn how to use it effectively. I believe that once one corps does it and it works, then more corps will follow suit.

Until then, everything is trial and error. Maybe a corps or two will try your approach next season, and then we will see if that works effectively or not. But if it "fails," the question becomes: if nothing seems to be working effectively after so many years, do you just abandon your approach?

[MikeD]

So to use spoken word more effectively, why not use some of the material that's out there alredy?

That's what the Cascades did with the Airborne Symphony show, one of my faves.

[Tom Brace]

Did I read correctly that The Cadets are using individuals who have spent very little time rehearsing with the corps, who are not professional voice talent, reading each evening?

If what I understand to be true is so....it's going to be a long summer for The Cadets.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. And I so much want to be wrong on this.

[kdaddy]

Instead of making up text every time we wish to pair music and voice, why not arrange some of the pieces and text already out there?

But in the cases of Boston 04, Cadets 07 (haven't heard the narration, but I'm making an assumption) and probably others, the text that was made up didn't exactly fit with some pre-existing written material. Those corps weren't re-inventing the wheel, per se; they were writing what fit their show.

Though I'm pretty squarely against the extended use of narration (at least based on the evidence I have thusfar), I'd rather see a design team compose text that fit the story they want to tell than allowing a song with already-written text to force their show design.

Edited June 15, 2007 by kdaddy

[dciguy01]

Why not just get rid of it altogether and leave drum corps the way it was before amps ruined it all?

[Meaghatron]

Why not just get rid of it altogether and leave drum corps the way it was before amps ruined it all?

I wouldn't say amps ruined it all, because there have been some awesome shows since 2004.

And I would say that getting rid of narration altogether is a pretty cool idea.

[Matt_S]

Why not just get rid of it altogether and leave drum corps the way it was before amps ruined it all?

I'd prefer to have a thread that doesn't argue the merits of allowing narration at all, but instead argues for the best way that narration could be successfully presented in a drum corps show.

[Huntington Mallets]

I'd prefer to have a thread that doesn't argue the merits of allowing narration at all, but instead argues for the best way that narration could be successfully presented in a drum corps show.

I really think the way for the ending to most be effective would be to change it to what a corps director (I.E. Hop) would say to his corps just before finals. I just see that working from my standpoint