Klarinet Archive - Posting 000008.txt from 1997/05

From: Roger Shilcock <roger.shilcock@-----.uk>
Subj: Re: marching bands
Date: Thu, 1 May 1997 14:16:02 -0400

On Wed, 30 Apr 1997 MattP69@-----.com wrote:

> Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 10:01:16 -0400 (EDT)
> From: MattP69@-----.com
> Reply-To: klarinet@-----.us
> To: klarinet@-----.us
> Subject: Re: marching bands
>
> Marching Bands are an american tradition. They are wonderful to watch but a
> pain in the rear to be in. I went To Calvert Hall College High School (
> don't ask why there is college in the name it is a high school) and was in
> the marching band for fours years. And I was always thankful whmarching
> season was over and it was time to start doing conert music indoors. First
> there is memorization which often just lessens the wuality of the music.
> Now let me explain. When you have a high school and even college bands.
> Trying to get the entire band to playthe dynamics, the expressions and
> articulations as a group is quite a challenge when they are looking directly
> at the music. But then take away the music and then apply movment and drill
> routines for the people to focus on too. The Dynamics articulation etc are
> often lost. They are sacrificed to playing the right notes and marching. I
> remeber times when I would getmy entire clarinet section of about 15 out of
> 120 to get a song down memorized with the expressions and articulation etc
> and then we get on the field they forget all the little things we worked on
> inside and just pla the notes. I say something and they try to do the
> expressions and then I see them out of step or moving late etc. So in
> marching band you really do sacrifice some of the quality of the music in my
> opinion.
>
> Now the problems with the instruments is a story we all know. But I have an
> interesting story about this. My sophmore year back in the winter of 93 I
> believe. The marching band was asked to perform at the grand opening of the
> new mall down the street. Well it was about 30 degrees and a windy. We were
> outside for at least 2 and half hours. I saw one trumpet player tear some of
> the skin off his lip when we finished one song. What happened is the spit
> froze his lip to the metal mouthpiece and when we finished a song we were
> supposd to snap the instrument away from our mouths and return them to a rest
> position. Well when he did this he didn't realize his lip was frozen to the
> mouthpiece and he torn a little skin off his lip. When I returned back to
> school. half of the clarinet section could not disassemble our clarinets.
> The extreme weather made the joints sieze up and freeze together It was a
> nitemare the entire day.
>
> But the thrill of marching band is undeniable. Every two years the Calvert
> hall marching band goes to disney world and performs at epoct center and the
> magic kindom. Now my senior year. April of 95 we had a number with a
> dixland group in it that I was the clarinetist in. We would actually stop
> the entire marching band and we'd fall out to the front of the crowd and play
> with the band accompanying. Now Im telling you that was a extremely huge
> thrill to be standing in front of literally 8-10 thousand screaming people
> and performing. But it sure is a lot of work and nothing but problems
>
> I remeber my years in marching band foundly but I am not looking forward to
> doing it again nin college next year when I have to do it as a requirement
> for my major.
>
> //@-----. P=l=sik
>
"..forget all the little things ... " (or similar) - doesn't anybody have
a PENCIL in these bands, for G--'s sake????
Roger Shilcock
{british and just beginning to be glad of it]