• FAQ  • Search  • Memberlist  • Usergroups   • Register   • Profile  • Log in to check your private messages  • Log in 

Drum & Bugle Corps, how do they do it??



 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    trumpetherald.com Forum Index -> High Range Development
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
limits_unknown
Regular Member


Joined: 10 Nov 2001
Posts: 93

PostPosted: Mon Jun 03, 2002 10:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been listening to a lot of recordings from the Blue Devils and some others, and I just dont understand how it's humanly possible to march around like that for 11+ minutes and still be able to pound out double/triple high whatevers. What's the secret? I heard that the "sopranos" only play when they have a really high part and just rest their chops whenever they need to for the next high note(s). I can't even hit anywhere near these notes while standing still, much less while marching.

[ This Message was edited by: limits_unknown on 2002-06-05 02:07 ]
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail MSN Messenger
chrislb98
Regular Member


Joined: 30 May 2002
Posts: 43
Location: NOVA/DC area

PostPosted: Tue Jun 04, 2002 10:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think you mean drum corp rather than pro marching band. These guys pay money to do this for the summer and they're all younger than 22 or so.

First of all they do lots of physical conditioning like runnning so the marching takes as little toll on the playing as possible. As far as the range goes it really doesn't go that insanely high, maybe up to a high G a few times. If you are good at hitting that in practice and are in good shape, it's not that hard to blast a few of these out on the field while marching.

I've heard that also, that they will sit out or stagger the parts to play the high stuff. I've also heard that they write drill so that if someone needs to sit out they'll be in the back so the judges won't see them. Don't know if this is true or not but it makes sense. They also seem to get lots of rest since there's lots of drum breaks and stuff.

Now for a real challenge, try a college marching band where you literally run around on the field and then play. And you play for 4 hours, not 11 minutes. Plus everything is arranged so the trumpets play continuously. Then try and hit those notes!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail AIM Address
trumpeterb
Veteran Member


Joined: 13 May 2002
Posts: 236
Location: Western Pennsylvania

PostPosted: Tue Jun 04, 2002 10:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree that conditioning has a lot to do with it. Drum Corps is not just something to do over the summer, it becomes a lifestyle over the summer. These groups practice from morning to night, and travel from place to place, many times sleeping on hard wood floors in area high school gyms, to perform their shows. The members of these DCI corps are in terrific shape, as their art is a very physically demanding one. I like to call them brass athletes. I am sure that after a full summer of this type of conditioning, those high notes are no more troubling than the middle range ones. Marching style also has a lot to do with how they can play and move. If you watch them march, their lower bodies do the moving, and their upper bodies are relatively still. This is achieved through the "roll step" technique they use. Notice that their marching style is much different from the "big 10" or "showband" style that many high school/college band still use...i.e. high step, feet completely off of the ground. This type of step can sometimes be more "jarring" to the playing mechanism, whereas the roll step is a much smoother step and doesn't jar the mouth as much. Anyway, as a high school marching band director, that is my two cents. GO BLUE DEVILS!!!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Blue Devil
Veteran Member


Joined: 04 Jan 2002
Posts: 171
Location: Chicago, IL

PostPosted: Tue Jun 04, 2002 11:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been a drup corps fan for about 17 years now, and you can probably tell by my username what my favorite corps is - so I couldn't help join in the conversation. I talked to a soprano player that marched in one of my favorite all time shows (1986 Blue Devils: Buddy Rich's Channel One Suite, Maynard's Conquistador, and Chick Corea's Spanish Fantasy). She said that they structure their soprano section a little different than the norm. They use a structure like: 1st scream, 2nd scream, 1st soprano and 2nd soprano (I'm not making these first two terms up, those are what she used - she played 1st soprano in the 1986 show). This structure might help explain how they handle some of their endurance issues.

Also, while I never marched in a drum corps (although I had opportunities, that working during the summer to make money for college thing got in the way), I have friends that did. I also have some friends who were performance majors (with pretty decent ranges) who have played on the soprano bugle. They said that the fact that the bugles are pitched in 'G' helps a lot with the range. They said that they could really scream on them, without much effort at all.

Can anyone who has tried a soprano bugle add anything to the fact that the 'G' pitch actually does make it easier to play in the upper register? I've always kind of wondered after my friends made that statement.

Mike Trzesniak
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
chrislb98
Regular Member


Joined: 30 May 2002
Posts: 43
Location: NOVA/DC area

PostPosted: Tue Jun 04, 2002 12:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The bugle won't play higher any easier, it's still all in your lips and air. Some people may be able to play higher on them cause of the larger bore, but generally they are not as high quality as a Bb trumpet so it may actually be harder. They are pitched a minor 3rd lower than a trumpet so if you play a G on them it comes out as an E would on a Bb trumpet.

So when they wanna hit what we're used to hearing as a high G they need to actually play a double Bb (this is what I meant in my first post). But it's just a double Bb on paper, it's still a G on trumpet or a concert F. This is why some soprano players brag about double C's but they are really only getting up to a double A on a trumpet (though some do get up to a trumpet's double C, or their double Eb, listen to some madison scouts like 96, or 83).

I'm also a big fan of the blue devils, I was just listening to that 86 show earlier today in my car. I don't actually march in a corp but I have many friends that do and I love going to shows every summer.

Chris
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail AIM Address
trjeam
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 06 Nov 2001
Posts: 2072
Location: Edgewood, Maryland

PostPosted: Tue Jun 04, 2002 6:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a friend that was a member of the a drum corps. the crossmen he couldn't do it this year because of the financial situation. But anyways he always tells me these stories about how much they train physically wise, musically wise everything wise they train to be as close to perfection as you can get. This is their life for the summer. They don't know about anything else.

this summer he came back from drum corps with a high G aka double G range and I asked him how did you develope your range? and he said that he would do lip slurs for hours with the lead guys. At first i was like yeah right you do lip slurs for hours. But then I actually went to one of their camps. And man he wasnt playing around. Drum Corps lead sopranos are no joke they train like crazy just to get the high notes. Know I'm not saying that drum corps made him a good trumpeter I'm just saying that it made his range higher. Technique wise he wasn't all that good. And his tone wasn't all that good either. And his attitude towards school band wasn't good at all and his attitude towards trumpet playing wasn't good at all either. Anyways I'm still a huge drum corps fan but it ruined his life. I'll never march drum corps. I rather just stay humble then to get a big head.


Oh and a little advice don't ever call a bugle corps a marching band or don't ever even compare a drum corps to a marching band to a person that marched drum corps because they will lecture you like crazy.
_________________
George Ayala

http://trumpeter.cjb.net
Trumpet Resource Site

[ This Message was edited by: trjeam on 2002-06-04 21:35 ]
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address MSN Messenger
limits_unknown
Regular Member


Joined: 10 Nov 2001
Posts: 93

PostPosted: Tue Jun 04, 2002 11:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Did that guy/girl's(dont remember) technicality, musicality, tone actually get worse or just stay in the same poor shape as before?

As for lip slurs, what are you refering to? do you mean going from C to C sluring all the open-valved notes in between? (like c-g-c-e-g-c really fast) I'm trying to figure out some ways to work up my range and flexibility this summer. My high school is playing a spanish piece that calls for a lip trill on a high B, which I personally think is rediculous for a high school band... but I have no say in it.

By the way, did you notice I changed all the pro marching band stuff to drum & bugle corps? hehe

and Blue Devils are my favorites too, mostly because they have the best brass section and they're always playing unnecisarily high... which is cool
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail MSN Messenger
Blue Devil
Veteran Member


Joined: 04 Jan 2002
Posts: 171
Location: Chicago, IL

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2002 8:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As long as we're talking drum corps and Blue Devils and high range...

A group of my friends and family have been going to the Finals every year since high school (1989 was the first year that we went). The year that Phantom Regiment tied the Blue Devils (1996), I was able to go down low for the (double) encore. For anyone who hasn't been to the Finals, after every corps has exited the field after the scores, mass playing of America the Beautiful, playoff song for each corps, etc., the winner gets to do an encore concert and their entire show over again. For anyone who is patient enough to stay that long (usually I am the only one in our group who wants to), the stadium clears out about 3/4 of the crowd, and you can pretty much get as close to the field as you want.

In 1996, I was about 10 rows up, on the 50 yard line for the encore. It was very interesting to note the differences in warmup technique by each corps' individual members - Phantom's members (who did a Shastokovich show that year), warmed up with arpeggios and scales etc., while the Blue Devil members played just really high with a lot of shakes...further reason why I like them so much!!

If anyone hasn't heard that Blue Devils' show (it was their gangster show), try and hear a copy of it, if only for the opening chord of the show - hearing this opening chord that's held for 16 or 24 counts or so that close up for me that year, had to be the loudest, live brass playing that I have ever heard...of course the whole corps was in a standstill for the opening - still very impressive!

Mike Trzesniak
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
dwm1129
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 19 Feb 2002
Posts: 1065
Location: ... I'm lost

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2002 9:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Limits:
When I was in highschool to work on my range I developed an endurance range routine that consisted of:
1/2 hour of liptrills as fast as you can between A and B above the staff, sometimes B and C# etc....Playing one minute resting the next so you end up playing a total of 15 minutes and resting 15 minutes.
I then rested for an hour. Then another half hour same as the first except using long tones so 15 minutes of high long tones around the top of range.....playing 15 minutes resting 15 minutes.
At first the long tones were soft because that was as loud as I could play them but gradually they became louder and more roboust.
Try this and when it gets to easy make the lip trills from A to C# or A to E and increase range of the long tones.....I have had seceral of my students try this with great improvment in their endurance and range. Hope this helps.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
jkramb19
Veteran Member


Joined: 16 Mar 2002
Posts: 365

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2002 11:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

do the blue devils have a website where i can listen to their past shows?
_________________
Don't practice until you get it right, practice until you can't get it wrong.

"The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender." Vince Lombardi
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address
Blue Devil
Veteran Member


Joined: 04 Jan 2002
Posts: 171
Location: Chicago, IL

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2002 11:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jkramb19,

The Blue Devils do have quite a few sound clips of past shows at their website: http://www.bluedevils.org - you can find the clips in the "media" section, under "sounds" (and of course of lot of their cds can be purchased here too).

I highly recommend the "Channel One Suite", "La Fiesta", "Listening To You/Overture" (fom their "Tommy" show from The Who), and "Night Streets" clips...although they are all good.

Mike Trzesniak
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
chrislb98
Regular Member


Joined: 30 May 2002
Posts: 43
Location: NOVA/DC area

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2002 12:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you're looking for blue devil shows you can't go wrong with audio galaxy (www.audiogalaxy.com). You can find any show for virtually any corp back to the 70s or so.

I'd also recommend blue devils 89, 92, 94, 97, and 99. Other favorite shows are madison scouts 83, 95, and 96 (I like all these mostly because of their solos/lead playing, very inspirational stuff). The guy in the 83 madison show plays a double C# in the intro and then several loud Ab's during the rest of the song (strawberry soup). If I could only nail those like that during a performance...

Chris
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail AIM Address
ByroTrumpet
Regular Member


Joined: 10 Jul 2002
Posts: 77

PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2002 10:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey,
I have marched in a drum corps and the way they do it is they practice A LOT. A lot of corps practice all day everyday over the summer for 10-12 hrs a day! For the summer, that is all they do... plus the brass staff is usually pretty smart about getting the brass line ready and conditioned for performances.

Byron
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    trumpetherald.com Forum Index -> High Range Development All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group