Sounds of Music C

[Bogoradwee]

At reigonals I had a steel drum, but I wasn't able to get the full required range on it, so I added a set of 3 chimes for the notes I needed. The event supervisor didn't know what he was doing, and we managed to get 1st place. Will this be allowed at state level?

probably not. those are considered two separate instruments.

I agree that it probably wouldn't be allowed, but let's back up a second. You built a steel drum?! /applaud

[AlphaTauri]

Chalker, I realize that you guys at Nationals are probably buried under clarifications, but a fellow competitor and I sent in Sounds of Music clarifications about a month ago and neither of us have received answers. Both our questions were along the lines of "what exactly counts as alteration or disassembly of the instrument?", for example a two-part marimba where the two pieces are separately wheeled through the door but lined up next to each other to play, or one where folding legs are bent up a bit to fit it through a doorway.

Part of the reason we added the rule about no alterations or dis-assembly is that this event is often conducted in specialized music practice rooms, which often aren't very big.

Interestingly enough, I have never seen Sounds held in practice rooms - it's always been a series of classrooms.

[popdrops]

I have two questions
1. Are a pan flute and a regular (sideways) flute considered as "two different instruments"?
2. Is there a rule saying that we can't reuse instruments from last year?
Thanks!!

[zyzzyva98]

1. I suppose they could be, but you would be losing a lot of points in the creativity section of the rubric (part I). (Also keep in mind they'd have to be different ranges)

2. Not specifically within the SoM rules, but that would probably be breaking one of the general sportsmanship rules. Will that stop teams from doing it? Probably not.

[buzzbuzz]

1. I suppose they could be, but you would be losing a lot of points in the creativity section of the rubric (part I). (Also keep in mind they'd have to be different ranges)

2. Not specifically within the SoM rules, but that would probably be breaking one of the general sportsmanship rules. Will that stop teams from doing it? Probably not.

Actually, General Rule 7 states that one or more of the 15 current team members must have constructed all devices. It does not prohibit using a device from previous years as long as it was built by a current team member.

[zyzzyva98]

That rule could easily be interpreted as "it must be built in the current year". Either way, it kinda violates the code of ethics: "Student participants are expected to compete in tournament events with honest effort to follow the rules and the spirit of the competition." Reusing an instrument from a previous year isn't exactly in the spirit of the competition.

Of course, you're going to be seeing lots of instruments you probably saw last year because there's no real way to enforce any sort of rule about this matter anyway. This doesn't mean you can't put together a new instrument, follow the spirit of the rules, and win easily. And that's much more satisfying.

[chalker]

Chalker, I realize that you guys at Nationals are probably buried under clarifications, but a fellow competitor and I sent in Sounds of Music clarifications about a month ago and neither of us have received answers. Both our questions were along the lines of "what exactly counts as alteration or disassembly of the instrument?", for example a two-part marimba where the two pieces are separately wheeled through the door but lined up next to each other to play, or one where folding legs are bent up a bit to fit it through a doorway.

I've seen those questions and provided my suggested answers. I suspect the delay is due to the fact that other members of the committee might have provided conflicting answers. Absent an official response, I'd suggest you err on the side of assuming the instrument needs to be the same configuration as it was prior to coming through the door.

[AlphaTauri]

Chalker, I realize that you guys at Nationals are probably buried under clarifications, but a fellow competitor and I sent in Sounds of Music clarifications about a month ago and neither of us have received answers. Both our questions were along the lines of "what exactly counts as alteration or disassembly of the instrument?", for example a two-part marimba where the two pieces are separately wheeled through the door but lined up next to each other to play, or one where folding legs are bent up a bit to fit it through a doorway.

I've seen those questions and provided my suggested answers. I suspect the delay is due to the fact that other members of the committee might have provided conflicting answers. Absent an official response, I'd suggest you err on the side of assuming the instrument needs to be the same configuration as it was prior to coming through the door.

Thank you for the quick response, Chalker. Just wanted to make sure that our questions hadn't fallen into some micro-black hole caused by too many clarifications flooding Nationals at once. That being said...I'm now debating whether to email my Regional tournament directly or wait for the national clarification.

[computergeek3]

Does anyone know where to find a disc (9" diameter) of any (reasonably) malleable metal such as copper/aluminum etc. for a trombone? I have experimented with an aluminum cone, but that didn't work so well...

[chalker]

Does anyone know where to find a disc (9" diameter) of any (reasonably) malleable metal such as copper/aluminum etc. for a trombone? I have experimented with an aluminum cone, but that didn't work so well...

You can typically buy square sheets of aluminum of varying thicknesses at Home Depot or Lowes. You could get one of those and cut it into a circle with tin snips.

[fleet130]

Does anyone know where to find a disc (9" diameter) of any (reasonably) malleable metal such as copper/aluminum etc. for a trombone?

I have seen at least 2 trombones where the "horn" was made from a single piece of sheet copper. I don't have many details on the construction, but, they started by "drafting" a 2-dimensional pattern for the approximate shape of the horn, rolling it into a 3-dimensional shape, fastening the edges of the seam together (I think one used rivets and the other was soldered.) and then "hammering" the horn into final shape on an anvil. I believe they both used copper flashing from Home Depot.

The horn that was riveted had a missing rivet about 1/3 of the way up from the throat of the horn. This single hole, approximately 1/8 in in diameter was very detrimental to the sound quality and volume produced by the trombone. Plugging the hole with some chewing gun (really!) brought out the full brass sound you would expect from that type of instrument.

[Pity]

That rule could easily be interpreted as "it must be built in the current year". Either way, it kinda violates the code of ethics: "Student participants are expected to compete in tournament events with honest effort to follow the rules and the spirit of the competition." Reusing an instrument from a previous year isn't exactly in the spirit of the competition.

Of course, you're going to be seeing lots of instruments you probably saw last year because there's no real way to enforce any sort of rule about this matter anyway. This doesn't mean you can't put together a new instrument, follow the spirit of the rules, and win easily. And that's much more satisfying.

At my school, I feel like this rule (or guideline, I guess) is kind of ignored for financial and practical reasons. For my team, if a student made an instrument last year, than it is okay to reuse it this year so long as he/she revises it to fit the newer rules and revises some significant part of it; after all, there are always things to do to improve an existing instrument like perfecting the tuning or making more notes within the allowable range. Plus, it seems a little bit unreasonable to make an entirely new instrument when one has already spent months of time and substantial funds on a former one.

[hscmom]

1. I suppose they could be, but you would be losing a lot of points in the creativity section of the rubric (part I). (Also keep in mind they'd have to be different ranges)

2. Not specifically within the SoM rules, but that would probably be breaking one of the general sportsmanship rules. Will that stop teams from doing it? Probably not.

Here's what we did...

The same two girls that did SOM last year wanted to do it again this year. We decided that it was against the spririt of the rules to reuse last year's instruments as they were. However, we really LIKED one of the instruments. So, she took that instrument apart, kept the parts that were good, scrapped the bad parts and did a lot of design work to make a much improved (but similar) instrument. The other girl had a nice sounding instrument with good intonation, but she wanted to make something totally different, so she started from scratch (and just finished about four days ago -- whew!). So, we now have an instrument that is 100% new and another that is probably 70% new (since it incorporates some parts from last year). We all agree that this is the spirit of the rule here... And, looking back, they put in more hours this year making these instruments than they did last year.

If I were a judge last year and this year for SOM, I would look down on instruments that are the same as last year. I'd like to see at least some modifications.

[fsimpro]

Hello,

Do you guys have any ideas for a replacement for bow rosin? I've got a pretty good violin-like thing going, but since we can't use commercial parts, what other substances will work to make the hair sticky?

Thanks!

[seraph_wings]

Hi - I'm new to the Sounds of Music thing, so forgive me if I'm being stupid. I'm an oboist, and I was thinking of rigging up a recorder with a reed, since that's what I know best. The thing is that an oboe reed is based on a staple, which I guess may or may not be permissible? Anyone know for sure? And if it isn't, any ideas on how I should switch it up?