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bigpeteb

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Sep 23, 2007 14:02

At the rehearsal retreat yesterday, I went from section to section listening in and offering advice where appropriate. In particular I commented on the National Anthem, which usually comes out very march-y and not flowing at all, which leads to some oddly emphasized words: gleaming, streaming, rockets. I offered to conduct one of the sections to ( Read more... )

Comments 6

lizzie September 23 2007, 19:28:23 UTC

I beg to differ. After having been in marching band for 3 years in high school, I can tell you that there *are* different volumes in marching band. It depends upon what music is played, of course- your typical stands-music, like "You can call me Al," "Superman," fight songs, etc. are all played loudly because they're meant to pump up the crowd. But when the marching band is on the field, that's an actual musical performance and there are definitely varying degrees of intensity, loudness, softness, crescendos, etc. Even in the mediocre high school bands, there is expression and style. The conductor does both the beat and expression. The way the marching band conductor conveys the expressions are different from a choir conductor, but they're present. Watch a DCI competition and it's glaringly obvious.

bigpeteb September 23 2007, 21:06:41 UTC

You make a fair point; there's DCI competitions on ESPN this week, so I'll record that and hold my comments until after I've watched it.

lizzie September 23 2007, 21:53:33 UTC

:-) DCI is amazing.

bigpeteb September 26 2007, 03:59:09 UTC

Well, I watched the DCI competitions on ESPN. It's really impressive to watch them march around the field with such precision. I'm glad I watched it.

However, it didn't change my thoughts on the conducting. From the perspective of a singer, I would find that kind of conducting robotic and unexpressive, and I would respond by singing it as such. I don't mean that as a dig against marching band; it's just the way it is to me. Marching band plays on a field where the speed of sound is a real issue; they need to be conducted that way in order to play together. Singers don't normally sing where they can't all hear each other, so keeping time is much less of an issue. I've seen choral conductors who don't keep time at all; they only give direction on expression ( ... )

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