[Dixielandjazz] (no subject)

[dwlit at cpcug.org]

We played a gig once where one of the bands was a 17-piece Civil War brass
band. Wonderfully mellow. They played from books of arrangements done for
regimental bands that included pop tunes of the day for dances. I helped
Elrod carry his horn collection to his truck, and was surprised at how
light and fragile the horns were...

--Sheik

> AFAIK the theory for the design was to have the band in front so the
> music could be heard by the marching troops in the parade. There were
> a whole family of horns from trumpet/cornet size to Eb tuba invented
> by Allen Dodworth in the 1830s and later made by Adolphe Sax. More
> info at http://www.dodworth.org/ ( the generic term became Saxhorn.)
>
> The other major reason for the design was to have instruments that
> could be carried on the shoulder while playing and marching. It was
> not until many years later that the "Helicon" design (recalled from
> the ancient Romans) was developed for both marching and horse mounted
> bands. The Sousaphone and a few rare production Helicon Tubas are the
> only survivors of that idea today.
>
>   I don't think "road apples" were much of a issue - nothing in the
> brass/military band books I have mentions anything about this - but
> maybe the authors were being polite. "Stuff" in the roads was quite
> common in those days - I doubt it was enough of a problem to base an
> entire class of instruments and marching band on!
>
> BTW, musicians in most of the world's armies did not normally march
> directly into a heated battle (Pipers, Fifers, Buglers and Drummers
> were the exceptions) so having the band at the front of a parade or
> column was not considered a hazard for the musicians. I have read
> about some being hit by snipers, but the musicians were (and still
> are) often called to duty as stretcher bearers during and after
> battle (and that is much more dangerous.)
>
> Dave Richoux
>
> On Sep 17, 2007, at 2:47 PM, philwilking wrote:
>
>>> From what I can see in old pictures, those instruments were not
>>> built with
>> some idea of musical virtue, but rather as a practical solution to
>> a problem.
>> If you want a band to play marches for the troops, and you have a
>> lot of horses and mules in the parade (officers, wagons, and
>> artillery), then you need to put the band in front to let them
>> concentrate on the music instead of the footing. But if the
>> instruments project forward, the men will not hear them, therefore
>> the "over-the-shoulder" horns. I know this is plausible, but is it
>> the truth?
>>
>> PHIL WILKING
>>
>> Those who would exchange freedom for
>> security deserve neither freedom nor security.
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Richoux"
>> <tubaman at tubatoast.com>
>>>
>>> Having owned and played some of those "over-the-shoulder" style
>>> horns, I know why they were obsolete and out of general use long
>>> before the pre-jazz era.
>>>
>>
>
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