[Dixielandjazz] Over the shoulder horns - was Clarinet Question

[Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis]

Phil Said -- 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,
_____________________________________________-

Having been the victim of countless military parades BEHIND horses I can 
tell you first hand that where the horses are is a zero consideration.  The 
trombone players primary job is to weave his line around the worst of it and 
I bet you thought that playing music was the reason why military bands had 
trombone players on the front rank.

I suspect that the problems of metallurgy and forming curves in metal, like 
a modern Sousaphone, may have had more of an influence on the shape of the 
large horns.  The first Sousaphones pointed straight up and didn't curve 
forward like the modern ones.

If the placement of troops was a consideration in the direction of bells 
then all other instruments would have rear facing bells.  A trumpet or 
trombone could be reversed.

Modern corps style bands solve the problem of instrument volume by marching 
and facing sideways always facing the crowd.

Military music in parades is not and as far as I know ever has been for the 
amusement of the troops but for the effect it has on the people who line the 
route.

A parade is basically not fun for the people marching in it.  If it hadn't 
been required by my job and if I wasn't paid for it I would have absolutely 
never been in a parade.  Community parades invariably are long and up and 
down hills. Sometimes the military band is the only unit on foot so there is 
no consideration how long the parade is or even if there is any people on 
most of the route.

There are two parades that I can remember vividly.  The first parade I was 
ever in I was playing bass drum and it was 5 miles long.  There were very 
few people at this parade on almost all of the route which was up and down 
countless hills.  The second was long, hot and actually moved through fields 
with people coming out of their houses wondering what the hell was going on. 
The 25 or 30 people at the firehouse liked it though.  Another of my 
favorites was a 4th of July parade that was two miles long and uphill almost 
the whole way.  Oh and did I say these parades are always HOT.
Larry Walton
StL
 ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "philwilking" <philwilking at bellsouth.net>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2007 4:47 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Clarinet Question


> >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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