No offense to you Trumpet but I wish the band would play some rah rah upbeat kind of songs instead of Star Wars , Phantom of The Opera , Days of Our Lives . Dull , dull , dull. Just my opinion .
How are they looking this year? We just had band camp. We'll be good. We just got to fix some things. We have between 67 and 70 marchers this year. That's down from last year when we had a little over 80. We're doing "Phantom of the Opera".
I know Gate City and JJ Kelly are doing The Beatles. I think Norton is doing a disney show? I heard Appalachia was doing some rock show.
Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.
No offense to you Trumpet but I wish the band would play some rah rah upbeat kind of songs instead of Star Wars , Phantom of The Opera , Days of Our Lives . Dull , dull , dull. Just my opinion .
Life is a grindstone . Whether it grinds us down or polishes us up , depends on what we are made of .
the pound high school marching band is lookin awesome with all 5 of em. We call our band the dirty dozen.... without 12
I liked the Iron Man better than avg , something with a lil' byte [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
The reason we play stuff like that is because the style of competitions now. These days a band that plays "Phantom of the Opera" has a better chance than a band that plays something that the crowd knows. We really like Phantom of the Opera for our show this year. That's why we haven't been playing stuff the crowd knows. Judges like more classical shows now for some reason. Phantom of the Opera is a marching band classic.
I heard Pound WAS gonna get a new director this year.
I know Coeburn has a new one.
Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.
Yes, Marching Bands are about entertainment, but primarily about education. In most schools, Marching Band is a class, just like chemistry, english, geometry, etc. In most schools, students receive a grade for their performance in Marching Band. A band who always plays pep tunes like Rocky Top, etc. on the field can be compared to a Geometry class who always works on simple addition or a steady diet of only junk food. There is no improvement, growth, or learning going on if there are no challenges presented to the student. Challenges are presented through more difficult literature, such as Phantom of the Opera, Star Wars, etc. These shows, I feel, are a great compromise between the lighter, more popular shows which people know and the deeper more difficult classical works which most people don't know. These works are also responsible for drawing people in to more classical music. Soundtracks did that for me.
In addition to educating the students in the band, I feel the marching band has the purpose of educating its audience. At least those who take time to listen and observe the performance. The audience may be exposed to new music they have not heard before. They might enjoy it or they might not. The point is that they appreciate the hours of hard work that have gone into producing the product they are seeing. Above all though, the band must put their full effort into making whatever their show is, entertaining. This means they must perform their part to the best of their abilities and take pride in what they are presenting. A lazy band without any pride, playing the pep tunes you speak of still would not be entertaining, correct?
Music is a culmination of many disciplines. Music is art - obviously. Music is science - acoustics. Music is history - when was the music composed? - what were the influences upon the composer at the time. Music is math - rhythms are solely based upon mathematical proportions and pitches and harmonies are based upon mathematic formulas. Music is a language - learning to read music is very similar to learning a foreign language, and musical terms are primarily Italian, but also can be French, German, even Russian, or Spanish at times. Music is literature - music can tell a story or may be based upon a literary work. Music (marcing band) is athletic - it's not easy to march at a quick tempo around the field, finding your correct coordinates, controlling your posture, controlling your breathing so that you can play your instrument, making the music sound as smooth as it would be coming from a concert band, seated. Music is anatomy/kinesthetics - truly understanding the process of playing your instrument includes the understanding of how the sound is produced, whether by your lips (as in wind players) or by your arms (as in percussionists and pianists) or by your throat and mouth (as in vocalists).
Let me conclude by stating that I agree with you - that Marching Bands should be entertaining. If they are not, they are not serving purpose. But I also hope you understand my point, that being the educational aspect of the organization and that entertainment can be quality entertainment as well.
And also at the state marching festival, the judges don't like the upbeat music that well. That got us a 3. Plus a few mistakes. You make any of the smallest mistakes there you can forget about a superior.
If you want to impress the judges, then shows such as Phantom of the Opera, Copeland, Latin, Karl Jenkins, Celtic, etc. would be good shows. Only if they are executed well enough.
Not saying you won't get anything with an upbeat show because some judges aren't impressed with the execution. We go to a North Carolina competition every marching season. Different one every season too. When we went to the one at Forbush High School my 10th grade year which is where I met LPDfaninCarolina, Mount Tabor High School did a baseball show. They did songs such as that song about playing centerfield by CCR, and take me out to the ball game, and songs like that. They executed it well and that got them the Grand champion.
Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.
Your point of view was very well stated . Speaking only for myself , at a football game I'm not concerned about musical growth . I want a rousing , blood pumping tune . If I wanted a deeper appreciation of music I would attend an orchestra performance or opera . It is wonderful to give these kids a broad knowledge and appreciation of music but keep that at the competitions not at a ballgame atmosphere . I do not mean to sound disrespectful , it is only my personal opinion and preference.
Life is a grindstone . Whether it grinds us down or polishes us up , depends on what we are made of .
You're not sounding anywhere near disrespectful.
Something that bugs me is when people say marching band is just "walking and blowing your horn". You don't "walk". You march. You have to "blow your horn" right. You have to memorize your music. You march in step. When you're at attention, you don't move. I'm not saying it's hard. It's more than people think.
I'm not saying you've said that.
Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.
Yes, It's great to have people on here that can state their opinions without being disrespectful. The board is here for discussion not arguments. I've enjoyed discussing this topic with you.
My counterpoint to your last post is that since we don't have the culture of symphony orchestras, etc. here in the LPD, we must use the musical ensembles we have to introduce our students to this 'culture.'
It is tough to select a good show for marching band. There are many topics to take into consideration. How many students will I have, what will be the quality of musicians this year, is this music something the director and students can live with (as perfecting this show takes months), is this quality music, does it show off the strengths of our ensemble, does it hide the weaknesses of our ensemble, is the music entertaining? [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]
As you can see, there are several aspects that must be considered in making this choice.
Thanks for the great discussion!
Brasspig
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