L Pattern music

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phatbob2007
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L Pattern music

Post by phatbob2007 » Sat Sep 22, 2007 8:10 pm

hey! so i am looking for some really kick butt music for l patterns this coming season for some of my students. i was wondering if any of you had good suggestions i typically ate using marches because they are so standard, so your help would be greatly appreciated, please pm me with your lists and if you have a recording and would like to send it to me that would be great, thanks a lot. ps pm me for my e mail
Benicia High Panther Band c/o 07 ToR Parade 2005
07-Current SJDC section leader / principal horn
07-08 Lincoln High (Stockton) Staff
08-Current Inderkum Music Staff
08-Current Tokay DL Co-Caption Head/ Marching Instructor

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Music

Post by DMJUDGE » Sun Sep 23, 2007 3:32 pm

I tend to like music from film scores. There were many big movies this summer that had great soundtracks. You might want to check out itunes for the main themes. IF you are not going to use a march make sure the routine is reflective of the style of the music AND the style of the baton.
Brennan England
Warner Middle School, Director

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AzhlackDMPiccolo
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Post by AzhlackDMPiccolo » Sun Sep 23, 2007 5:33 pm

MARCHES :-D
Eyes with pride!

"Ability may get you to the top but it takes character to keep you there."
-John Wooden

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Post by ZJH » Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:57 pm

AzhlackDMPiccolo wrote:MARCHES :-D
Amen. That, and I hate hearing the bloody Imperial March 7 times in a competition.
"To think idly is to think for the sake of doing nothing, or to think too much on what one has done and not on what there is to do." - San Manuel Bueno, mártir

phatbob2007
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Post by phatbob2007 » Sun Sep 23, 2007 10:42 pm

yeah i know i hate really overplayed songs like the imperial march and others, but i just feel like there is alot of potential in other music, i just need to find it! yay, anyways thanks for the tip dmjudge i will look into some recent film scores, any other suggestions people?
Benicia High Panther Band c/o 07 ToR Parade 2005
07-Current SJDC section leader / principal horn
07-08 Lincoln High (Stockton) Staff
08-Current Inderkum Music Staff
08-Current Tokay DL Co-Caption Head/ Marching Instructor

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L-Pattern Music

Post by DMJUDGE » Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:59 pm

As another note:

No one that I can remember has used Imperial March for a least 4 years (unlike the onslaught from simi valley in the late 90's)

I like Blue Man Group for audio (hardly any words)

If you are going to use marches try to find a march that you have never heard before. Peacocks marches on parade tape is great, but there are just so many times we can hear the same piece of music without having a complete breakdown.

The most important thing to say is: make your music memorable! Even truly awful music (I can think of some winners) is memorable and helps the judge figure out who you are. If you where the same type of uniform, and spin the same equipment, and use the same type of music, you are easier to forget.
Brennan England
Warner Middle School, Director

mikekimchi
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Marches!

Post by mikekimchi » Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:39 pm

I must agree with my fellow Oiler...Marches are, in my opinion, the best choice for music. Of course, our school of thought comes from the old militaristic style, so take my opinion with your own grain of salt.

Yes, many marches have been overplayed, but remember that Sousa alone published 156 marches (or somewhere around that number). KJ Alford is another grrrrrrrreat composer (Standard of St. George, Great Little Army, Eagle Squadron, etc.). I would say stay away from the marches written solely for the stage.

If you use music other than marches, I'd say just find something with no words (unless your band marches with vocalists...and I've actually heard of that happening).

No matter what type of music you choose, keep in mind that it should relate to you and your routine. Things to keep in mind are tempo, mood, duration, rendition, etc.

A few Sousa suggestions, common and not so common (I was once one of the biggest Sousa geeks around):
- The Gladiator
- The Beau Ideal
- Rifle Regiment
- Nobles of the Mystic Shrine
- Semper Fidelis
- Marquette University
- Hands Across the Sea
- Ancient and Honorable Artillery
- Solid Men to the Front
- Gallant Seventh
- La Flor de Sevilla
- Sound Off
- The Picadore
- Stars and Stripes Forever
- From Maine to Oregon (personal favorite L-Pattern march)

Marches by other great composers:
- Army of the Nile (Kenneth J Alford)
- Arromanches (A E Kelly)
- Washington Greys (C S Grafulla)
- National Emblem (Bagley)
- Bravura (Charles Duble)

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Re: Marches!

Post by ZJH » Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:46 pm

mikekimchi wrote:If you use music other than marches, I'd say just find something with no words (unless your band marches with vocalists...and I've actually heard of that happening).
Well regardless of whether or not your program does that, there is a penalty incurred for having music with words for competition in both the NCBA and Peacock's.
"To think idly is to think for the sake of doing nothing, or to think too much on what one has done and not on what there is to do." - San Manuel Bueno, mártir

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words in music

Post by DMJUDGE » Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:50 pm

I can not speak for NCBA but it is a penalty to have words in your music for peacock's competitions. However, if there are very few words in the song, it is possible to easily take them out.

As a side note, my favorite free music editor is call audacity. You can download it off the web, and you can change keys as well as tempo. You can even change the tempo and keep the notes the same pitch.

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Post by ZJH » Wed Sep 26, 2007 9:44 pm

Audacity is a great program! I used it for all my music and some music I helped edit for my friends who were competing as well. You can speed down cool marches that are just a little too fast, cut out repeats, or completely just splice your own music together. It's a beautiful thing.

And just as a point of clarity, the NCBA DOES penalize competitors for using music that has words in it. I believe it is either a 1- or 3-point penalty, but there is definitely a penalty.
"To think idly is to think for the sake of doing nothing, or to think too much on what one has done and not on what there is to do." - San Manuel Bueno, mártir

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Post by Blindman » Mon Oct 15, 2007 11:09 pm

Personally, any song (without lyrics) that you could use to augment the presentation of your routine is perfect. If you can do that with a march, then cool. I always used music from video games, especially the Final Fantasy series... the two songs I used the most were:

"Legendary Beast" from Final Fantasy VIII
"Skirmish of the Silver Dragon" from Final Fantasy IX

Plus, I seem to like the "dark" stuff hahaha...

- Erik G.

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Post by DMJUDGE » Tue Oct 16, 2007 6:49 am

I agree to a point with the last point. Remember that there are many programs that you can get that will take out the lyrics in music. I myself can think of many examples of music that had no words presented, but was still innapropriate. The song tequila comes to mind as well as multiple instrumental versions of hip hop music.
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Post by ZJH » Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:10 am

I definitely agree with DMJUDGE, as some music is totally uncharacteristic of what the actual competition scenario is. Simulating a parade with signals everything, stuff like jazz or dancing music would not be appropriate. I saw it happen up in Northern California at a competition once, where a competitor was using some really abstract jazz with no clear beat, thus causing his entire performance to suffer. Needless to say, he got the point that the music was not appropriate for this type of performance.
"To think idly is to think for the sake of doing nothing, or to think too much on what one has done and not on what there is to do." - San Manuel Bueno, mártir

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Post by Chaporch » Tue Oct 16, 2007 12:04 pm

interesting discussions . . . I find it odd though that marches are not required for L and I pattern comps. They were when I competed. Of course that was about 100 years ago.

One thing to be careful of (seriously!), if you choose to edit any music, be sure you obtain the rights to do so!

Hope everyone has fun this year!

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Post by DMJUDGE » Tue Oct 16, 2007 12:11 pm

Oh how I have tried! I think that all competitors should use marches, unfortunately, that would deter many students from the circuit. Being that the number of parade bands are fewer and fewer each year, we are seeing the same trend in the solo competitions. Last year we made a huge leap in numbers of performers and I would like to see it again this year. However, when there are fewer bands that require a spinning drum major there are fewer of them interested in competing solo. Sad.....but true.
Brennan England
Warner Middle School, Director

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