Composer/Musician Reacts to Bluecoats - Tilt (2014 DCI) (REACTION!!!)

Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on Bluecoats - Tilt
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[@charliemarsh2957]

Fun fact: the brass pitch sound effect was recorded twice throughout the season, once at the beginning and once towards the end because after the large improvement of the brass section throughout the season the original recording it didn't sound like them so they had to record it again. I personally love brass pitch shift every single time I watch it (Ive prob watched the show 20+ times).

[@samsignorelli]

In any other year, this would've won....but they ran up against Blue Devils and their record high score of 99.650. Still, 2nd place to BD is NOT bad.

[@GarrettMayfield]

Dude! Thanks for the shout out, I played marimba for this show. It was a blast and the music was both fun and challenging.

[@CriticalReactions]

Excellent job! And dude, fun and challenging is the best kind of music. It really keeps the drive up to perfect the part(s) and keep practicing.

[@thomashelm6931]

Well done! Great show! We can hear ya!

[@danielqcallahan]

I was a pit guy too. I always told people, “we may not march, but we have 4x more music to learn than people that march do.”

[@CriticalReactions]

Exactly! I was always just as exhausted doing pit as I was doing trumpet on the field.

[@shadycrescent9369]

I love looking at the score from afar and you see the brass, you know some good notes and then just a black blob where the pit and drumline are.

[@steamedbryce]

Hornline: Half notes Pit: 32nd note runs As a brass player

[@lizzieturbett7444]

as a former band geek i LOVE that you sprinkle in some DCI content every once in a while!!!!! edit: can i add one suggestion for DCI reactions? could we have small-Bryan & big-video screen rather than big-Bryan and small-video? squinting to see the visuals was kind of distracting, sorry!

[@steinblitz1506]

He does it mostly for copy right precautions

[@CriticalReactions]

I've actually been tinkering with my recording setup to smoothly go between those two ideas. I don't know when I'll start using it for videos (or even how I'll implement it) but yeah, these DCI shows really need the show to take up more space. Lemme know if you want the link to this video. I didn't add it in the description since this show has a difficult time staying available on KZbin.

[@squillz8310]

@@CriticalReactions EMC Productions has a pretty cool reaction layout. It's about 60% the video and 40% his camera. May be a nice place to find some inspiration

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

Very much outside my comfort zone of usual music, but it's a bit like watching masters in a field you know nothing about... you can still appreciate the talent and precision even if you don't know the nuts-and-bolts of how it's working. It's equally fascinating hearing someone who DOES know about it explain it so well.

[@SmolFenFen]

It's magical seeing it live. You're missing just how powerful they sound in person. Like literally vibrates your chest with solid walls of sound. That and when it gets quiet bc they're facing away from the crowd you miss the ethereal reverb echoing around the stadium.

[@richardragusa9093]

His facial expression between 12:49 and 13:20 was Priceless. I had the same look when I first saw this show at the movie cinema and then at Finals.

[@progperljungman8218]

That is some high class entertainment! Boarders to unbelievable (literally!) Saw my first one the other week and what might satisfy me the most is the high compositional standard. Very inventive and tasteful as musical pieces in themselves (at least two out of two that I've heard).

[@CriticalReactions]

100% agree. Marching bands, especially DCI, are highly entertaining, if nothing else than for the sheer talent and precision put into the performances. On the topic of composition though, I feel a bit weird talking about the that since the songs typically aren't written by the groups. For instance, this show consisted of 4 songs composed by 3 different people: Uffe's Woodshop by Tyondai Braxton, to wALk Or ruN in wEst harlem by Andy Akiho, The Hymn of Acxiom by Vienna Teng, and Platinum Rows by Tyondai Braxton. Not to mention that we're hearing a new arrangement of those tracks for this specific configuration of instruments too. That's why I typically talk about the performance itself rather than what makes the music interesting. But I do agree that the compositions chosen, the way the work together, and the arrangements all sound phenomenal and it's crazy just how well they tend to fit these separate songs together into a thematic whole.

[@progperljungman8218]

@@CriticalReactions OK. Well I'm not surprised the pieces weren't originally written for them. Then it's a matter of really great choices and amazing arrangement work!

[@steinblitz1506]

Hey thanks man, I'm so glad you checked it out! This show is a fan-favorite, pretty much anyone you ask within the community will agree this show was phenomenal all around.

[@steinblitz1506]

Man they really did the pit dirty 😅

[@therealjoeconstantino]

The Bluecoats are innovators and they push the envelope. This show is in my top three of all time. I'm amazed every time I watch it. While the Blue Devils outscored them this year, I think the Bluecoats deserved the win.

[@Bloop9604]

I remembered being SO shocked by thr scoring.

[@steinblitz1506]

The brass pitch effect is legal, but there are some upcoming rule propositions that could make it illegal, and it is pre recorded and edited!

[@CriticalReactions]

That's interesting. I don't keep up with DCI quite as much as I used to but it is good to see them adapting to the times and revising the rules to ensure everyone is on equal footing and that the competitions remain skill based rather than gimmick based -- despite how mind bending and effective this 'gimmick' was 😅

[@steinblitz1506]

@@CriticalReactions it is my favorite use of electronics in DCI. Pretty ingenious.

[@sunshinepurple1043]

I'm old school drum corps. The fact it's recorded is disappointing Sign of the times I guess.

[@brothaNblue]

@@sunshinepurple1043 how do you play a pitch bend like that live?

[@brianjungen4059]

@@brothaNblue lips and half valve.

[@MovableFormula]

PLEASE react to Santa Clara Vanguard 2018 'Babylon'

[@damienrodriguez94]

You need more DCI reactions!

[@CriticalReactions]

I don't disagree :)

[@chiefonesie428]

You should react to the show Babylon by Santa Clara Vanguard from 2018, great musicianship.

[@burdrchitect1680]

SCV 2000

[@jayphyre9729]

Hot take: The only part about babylon thats actually enjoyable is the ballad

[@ayolotl4830]

@@jayphyre9729 While I respect your opinion, I must disagree. The only part I found close to unenjoyable was the little segment after the opener before the ballad. The opener is pretty good, and the end of the closer was so fucking cool when everything came together. The break dancing was... different, but a pretty nice touch creatively. The show is more than just the ballad is what I'm saying.

[@rawhidelamp]

Worth noting that there is a 15 year old in the snareline that year

[@wowdude8710]

The rule on the backing track stuff is as long as someone is physically playing the backing track it's okay. So if they have somebody in the pit hit a synth pad or something similar and it plays as a result of that then it's okay

[@CriticalReactions]

That's the kind of info I was looking for. I'm personally not fond of that rule but I understand it can be difficult to create a ruling that is fair and not overly complicated. I believe digital instruments playing samples should be ok but what separates a sample from something like this? Is it a length based rule? So I guess just allowing everything (as long as it isn't the whole song 😂) is the best way to go about it from a ruling perspective.

[@griffin8er845]

@@CriticalReactions usually anything that provides tempo in recording is not allowed. A good example is the countdown in Carolina Crown’s show this year (2022). Each number has to be pressed because recordings can’t provide a clear tempo. Another rule is that any instrument sound effect that supports the full ensemble isn’t allowed. An example would be like a tuba patch on a synth while the full brass is playing a huge chord. The patch needs to clearly be synthetic (sine wave bass for example). Note: DCI rule book is not publicly available so I am going off of BOA rules

[@MichaelNaydeck]

Tilt changed DCI. Blue Devils may have won but this show turned DCI on it's head. The Pit was great, but it was not nearly as amazing as what was happening elsewhere. This is one of the top 5 DCI shows ever created. Thanks for showing it.

[@thenerfnerd6659]

Some would say it tilted dci on it's head

[@mux3044]

something about that chord at 12:57 my god.. incredible

[@-5249]

You can watch marimba headcams. Like Babylon 2018s. It is amazing

[@TheMetatron333]

So damn tight literally glorious

[@benpoulos7015]

you should react to Carolina Crown 2012 For the Common Good

[@Calib3r357]

You should check out Santa Clara Vanguard's 2018 show "Babylon". By far one of my all-time favorite shows

[@Dsksea]

Could you do The Glowing Man by Swans one of these days?? If you’re interested of course. I always thought that was a pretty intriguing song.

[@thewhorocks515]

Intriguing is putting it lightly lol. Bryan definitely should check out one of Swans newer epics at some point. Perhaps when Special Selections opens up again. It might break him lol but it would at least be an experience and I'd be very interested in what Bryan would have to say about it.

[@dallinlee3998]

You should react to a marimba cam!!! I don't play in pit, but I have grown to love the instruments in pit. Another youtuber I watch is a professional marimba player and he reacts to marimba cams. I would recomend reacting to scv 2018 "Babylon" marimba cam, it is so good. Also the ful show is just amazing, so if you can't react to the marimba part, react to the full show. React to more DCI please, it does not get the support it deserves!!!! Thanks for reacting to it as much as you have. Thanks for the great vid keep up the good content.

[@CriticalReactions]

That's an awesome idea. I'll have to look into them!

[@doritobandito_1323]

@@CriticalReactions this one's a vibraphone cam, one of my favorite videos to watch kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKGkc6OOf7KJqdU

[@shocknerth]

5:45 This percussion feature gives me chills every time, I don't think there's any other feature that beats it.

[@steelbase7803]

I know this is a month old, but you really shpuld react to 'babylon' from scv in 2018. The different styles in the movements, the ballad (and horn snap), the trumpet note, the mellophone sustain, the dissonant opener, its my personal favorite show musically

[@CriticalReactions]

More DCI is always on my mind. I'll keep SCV 2018 show in mind.

[@borj_1967]

BLOOOOOOOOOOO!

[@lisakruse8848]

BLOOOOOOOOO💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

[@BRUXXUS]

Absolutely one of my favorite shows of all time! :D

[@jimmyhalsey6677]

It's very very rare to get a pit cam on these shows. I watch these like crazy and I've only ever seen a handful

[@imawizard227]

Now do Session 44👀

[@squillz8310]

I think this is a recording of the live broadcast, and not the video edited and released after finals. I believe that's why they didn't show the Pit, whomever was coordinating the camera shots just never called to one of the cameras focused on the Pit. It is a shame that they didn't get any limelight.

[@CriticalReactions]

Agreed, it is a shame. The pit is just as much a part of the band as the drum and brass sections but they seem to always be forgotten.

[@squillz8310]

@@CriticalReactions The full multicams are usually better when it comes to showing all parts of the production. But you're right that in general they're glossed over pretty often

[@squillz8310]

@@CriticalReactions Also, a tip if you plan on reacting to some DCI shows in the future. Vic Firth uploads some full (rehearsal) runthroughs of DCI shows and their videos are focused heavily on the percussion. So the drumline and front ensemble get much more camera time than the hornline and guard. I feel like those videos would appeal a lot more to you :)

[@ludgatecircus15]

I teared up my first time. Then I found recordings of the middle music, called Hymn of Acxiom, by Virginia Teng. You will lose it when you hear her and rewatch Tilt. Magical. Thank you Bloo.

[@cab1stborn]

Laying down and playing can actually be pretty hard. I do it sometimes when I need to work on my air support playing flute.

[@joshuapfeifer642]

Pit never gets much love in the videos

[@m1stertim]

oh hey, i was there... where'd you get the DCI video? it's so hard to find decent footage aside from their officially distributed blu-rays like it's 2005 and physical media is still a thing.

[@CriticalReactions]

I wish I could tell ya but I promised I wouldn't give the link out since this particular show has had issues staying online. I will tell ya that the Bluecoats have the best bakery though. Their bakery from 2014 was a little tilt but delivered fantastic muffins. 😉

[@TheMetatron333]

You’re kinda right the pit is doing work !!!

[@ayolotl4830]

Carolina Crown 2017 is a good show

[@EuphAsta]

Speaking of something going wrong he should watch Carolina Crown 2014 forsure forsure

[@veot.2869]

I believe this is the high camera angle video version. That is why there are so few pit section shots. However you may be able to find or buy that version!! (Sorry, man. That doesn't help your video!)

[@deanvombrack2028]

Get the F-out you do Drum Corps too. I just got done listening to your prog reactions. Did DC for 7 years in the ‘70’s. You got me, I’m gonna subscribe!

[@CriticalReactions]

To be fair, I looked into doing Drum Corps after doing marching band for a few years. I think I had the chops for it at the time but DC is a full time commitment for the season (as you probably know 😅) and I had a job and college and a social life so I ended up not even auditioning, sadly.

[@deanvombrack2028]

I was actually a competitor at the very first DCI finals in 1972. It’s amazing how far DC has come in 50 years. Literally, if you had a heartbeat you could join and they would teach you. Now it’s become “summer school “ for music majors. Not a bad thing. I’m in awe of what these kids are doing now!

[@CriticalReactions]

Not that DC is worse these days, but the idea of taking anyone up sounds like a blast and is a great way to increase the number of people playing music. The current idea of only getting the best of the best in order to win competitions is fine (we've seen some spectacular performances due to that) but I think some of the magic might have been lost.

[@deanvombrack2028]

@@CriticalReactions I would tend to agree … being an old “boomer “, but that’s a discussion for another time. My biggest take away from DC(especially at such a young age” was that we were learning life lessons without even realizing it. The obvious being expanding your musical knowledge but subtle things like learning how to set goals and learning what I takes to achieve them, learning how to get along with all people, discipline…. the list goes on. It set the foundation of the person I became.

[@Bloop9604]

Honestly? I remember seeing this the first time. It was unique and refreshing. I just graduated high school. I also remember the hearing the mellos not being consistent with their 16th note runs. It's somewhere near the last movements. They recovered pretty well. In terms of balance and blending with the rest of their band mates, they are relatively pretty good. I do hear either a trumpet or mellophone sticking out. Phantom (in my opinion) are usually a prime example of balance and blending. Unfortunately I am NOT an expert nor do I have a degree in any music field. But I played piano since age 4 and violin at 5. My ears are musically trained to pick up the frequency of some notes and how crisp the 16th notes can be. I should also probably mention that I am legally blind and deaf...but again, due to my experience and exposure to music, I can pick up on the double tongues and how crisp or sloppy they are, whether tubas, baritones, mellos or trumpets are in tune whether they are sharp or flat. Also, the ending was seamless. It was perfect. You could barely tell that they stopped playing. Never seen them practice on it musically, but I bet it took a LOT of practice to have it as seamless as possible.

[@CriticalReactions]

You're totally right about it being refreshing. I don't think I put it into context but 2014 would have been 8 years after my leaving high school and I had kinda kept in touch with DCI up to that point. If I had heard this when it happened I would have lost my mind. Like you said, there are a couple of issues with sloppy runs and blending but overall it's executed a high level AND it had that twist ending. And yeah, even in the reaction I had a hard time noticing they stopped playing. It was so seamless and effortless. I do envy your ability to hear more nuanced aspects of music though. I'm a composer first so I've been on a journey of adapting my skill set to this live analysis concept but my ears are quite weak in some regards. I'd love to be able to tell an instrument's tuning by ear. I think I have a pretty good ear for rhythmic ideas, though maybe not as good as yours since you mentioned the mellos getting out a sync a bit. I don't recall picking up on that. And you're hearing all of these details while legally deaf? That's incredible. I could be wrong but that means you use a hearing device?

[@Bloop9604]

@@CriticalReactions Yes. I have wore hearing aids since I was 4. My mom told me that I understood music before people could talk. I didn't understand any singing parts when I was little but I guess I was bobbing my head to the beat of the music. Eventually I will need cochlear if I want to continue to hear. But so far I'm doing just fine with hearing aids. Definitely hard for me to read music now. It wasn't easy when I was in high school. I'm so proud of you! I do not know much about being a composer, but I can imagine it being hard. I'm not really good with composing music or anything of the sort. I just don't know enough music theory. 😅 I guess I just get overwhelmed with the many possibilities. I have tried composing a little bit in high school in one of my music classes; safe to say that I gave it my best shot, but it just wasn't for me. 😅 I'm just amazed with composers and how well they can interpret and tell a story through the music. Everyone has their own unique style and their own signature of some sort. The possibilities are endless. 💖

[@CriticalReactions]

That's pretty awesome about your picking up on music from such a young age. It's a shame that reading music is getting more difficult and about your hearing. Wishing you the best regarding those hurdles. As for composition, yeah...overwhelming is a good word. There are a lot of tools available and no rules on how to use them so there is a LOT of freedom in writing. But as with most things it's about starting simple and slowly building up your skillset. However if you gave it an honest shot and determined it wasn't for you then I'd say that's fair too :) Do you do any improv, just grabbing your favorite instrument and make stuff up? To me at least, improv is realtime composition.

[@Bloop9604]

@@CriticalReactions Improvising isn't my strongest suit either. I was in jazz band 2 when I was a senior in high school. Not a lot of music for Flute, but the director ended up finding one. But hey.....I guess I did okay for a Flute Soloist in jazz band. But improvising musically wise it's a lot of pressure especially if it's live 😂😅

[@Bloop9604]

@Ryandal Gilmore And you're the one that commented about how nobody care about so and so....but here we are. I'm just stating facts about my past. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@brothaNblue]

For WGI, the rule for samples is it must be triggered live by a performing member. It can't give any source of time in relation to what they're playing. In which case every part of that rhythm should be assigned to a different pad. I assume the same can be said about DCI rules.

[@highstimulation2497]

I kinda love that the bluecoats and carolina crown are champs today.

[@DietDrDoge]

Please do the blue devils show from the same year.

[@AlexandriPatris]

There are times when something goes wrong that most people won't notice, but then there are times when EVERYBODY notices. In 2015, Santa Clara Vanguard started with a pianist playing a Bach Invention on the electric piano and the sound system cut out at Finals. I was in the crowd and it was like a gut punch to the audience.

[@CriticalReactions]

Oof, I can't imagine how demoralizing that is to be part of the band and have that happen.

[@AlexandriPatris]

@@CriticalReactions Actually, if anything, it sort of went the other direction. They seemed to redirect whatever anger or grief they were feeling into putting on a better show and the audience was able to sense it. By the end, it seemed like the corps and the audience sort of got into a positive feedback loop with each other.

[@michaelheinen8526]

At the end fans arent boooooing,they are saying BBBBLLLLLLLLLUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@drumcorpslot]

5:14 stank face engage

[@anthonytrivisonnojr]

The brass pitch bend is a sample of bluecoat's brassline being bent by a synthesizer, giving the illusion that the brass is magically pitch bending even though you can tell that it is definitely synthetic.

[@davepeep]

react to mandarins 2018 pleaseeeee

[@kevinstone9638]

Proud BLOOOOOOOO Alumni here 1993.

[@CriticalReactions]

NICE!!! What instrument?

[@kevinstone9638]

@@CriticalReactions Euphonium

[@loganjohnson8010]

Very original thumbnail

[@antonab1]

You should watch future corps la fiesta.

[@samsignorelli]

Nah....watch 84 Blue Devils (I MIGHT be a tad biased....since i was IN that corps)

[@antonab1]

I wish i could have seen that. I wasnt in the drum corps scene till 88.

[@samsignorelli]

@@antonab1 Here ya go. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bajKiH99Ztygqq8

[@ZakhadWOW]

it isnt the cameraman's fault - it is 100% solely the fault of an incredibly stupid/narrowfocused director, in choosing which streams to focus/broadcast

[@Brian-rj1un]

Bluecoats should have won that year

[@DietDrDoge]

As much as I want to say this. I have to say blue devils had a better performance that was more tied together than the blue coats. Though tilt is so memorable I still have to give it to blue devils

[@drummersnare6276]

They don’t film the pit as much because they’re just standing there and there’s not much to look at visually

[@CriticalReactions]

It's true that they don't move around much but there is usually a lot to look at visually unless the arranger did the pit dirty and didn't give them anything interesting to do. I speak as a former pit player :)

[@MiningSkullz36]

If you want to hear something crazy try listening to Carolina Crown 2011 or 2012 (take your pick😉) And if you want to hear the worlds cleanest warmup check this out - kzbin.info/www/bejne/apbcdGN4bN-hl7c

[@MiningSkullz36]

2012 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2mxnoWHbp5glbs 2011 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/nIXEfKWZh9mXZ6s

[@joshdeland3664]

This is very late but in case you haven't seen it, here's a video of just the pit by itself from this show kzbin.info/www/bejne/haWVqaZ3drKobdE

[@CriticalReactions]

Thanks! As a former pit player I appreciate getting to see what they're doing.

[@charliemarsh2957]

can you go on do not disturb on discord when you are recording i keep alt+tabbing to my discord lmao.

[@CriticalReactions]

I usually remember but there is the odd day where I forget. 😅