Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Sound! Euphonium
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11429 |
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Episode 4
I think the level of improvement over just one week was a bit too much to buy, but otherwise it was a nice episode. I was afraid that Sensei was going to just let them flail on their own until they rose to a level that was worth his time, so it was great to see him actually teaching this time. Why did Kousaka have to drag her all the way out there to just say one line? She could have said that where they met up, no one was around. No wonder Kumiko thought she was planning to kill her. 
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Via_01
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Why do you think so? None of them were bad at playing, they just lacked the necessary practice to play as part of a group, which can be corrected by 7 full days of playing the same song over and over again. And of course, as Taki said, they didn't play flawlessly, and there were many things that needed polishing, but they managed to play as an ensemble, at least. It's believable improvement for 1 week. |
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Alan45
 Village Elder Posts: 9875 Location: Virginia |
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Gina Szanboti wrote:
But why (aside from plot purposes) would he have waited this long. He should have been providing this level of training from the day he introduced himself. If they were good enough to not need the training he could have determined that by observing. The big confrontation was unnecessary. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11429 |
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We must've listened to different performances then. They had many more problems than just not playing as a group. They were off-key, missing notes, and just generally sounding like kids who'd been playing their instruments for about a month total. This week they sounded better than any high school band I've heard, though I haven't listened to competition level h.s. bands. I'm sure that's not unattainable for high schoolers, just not in one week.
I kind of thought so too, but I guess he wanted them to be aware that something was at stake and hoped having them hear for themselves how bad they were would light a fire under them. And maybe show them they needed his help so they wouldn't resent everything he said. |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 9875 Location: Virginia |
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@Gina Szanboti
That makes sense, sort of. The big confrontation works well as drama. However, if he seriously wanted them to compete at a national level before the first years graduate he shouldn't have passed up any time for training. I'm still a bit weirded out at the idea of music being a form of competition. They should be competing against themselves for the ability to play in public. Does the US even have national level high school band competitions? |
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Via_01
Posts: 551 |
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My guess is that he wanted to see if they were able to practice by themselves, as they declared their goal was the nationals (the seniors teaching the new student and such things). It clearly didn't work, so he took it upon himself to direct every single practice session. It's his first time in the job, after all, and even though he seems calm, he's probably not sure of how to do things either, and just goes with what feels best at the moment.
I insist that many of those problems were because of lack of practice on that particular piece rather than being bad players. Being off key, missing notes and so forth are problems that CAN come up from not knowing the piece or not having listened to it before. Plus, the piece itself is not hard, but also not one you can just read and play perfectly. Besides, most members that were playing during ep. 4 had been playing for a few years. We know that Kumiko started in elementary school, and her band, while being in middle school, was still pretty good. Yet she still made mistakes the first time they played. So yeah, lack of practice. You can be pretty good at playing and still mess up if you haven't properly practiced a song. And this I say from my experience of being in a high school band. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11429 |
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Yes, lots of them. Both marching band and concert band, as well as jazz. 
I was in both marching band and concert band as well, and I'm still not convinced. For pete's sake, we saw at least two students who were still trying to figure out how to get their instruments to make sounds somewhere close to the desired range! I just don't believe they could have gone from that to what we heard at the end in just one week.
Gods, this has brought back this hideous memory of some sort of inter-school ensemble I was picked for where 2 or 3 students from all the regional schools were sent to form a concert band. I think we got two days to play together before an evening concert. I still have no idea why they sent me, and I ended up playing 3 different instruments, only one of which I'd played before. I was an absolute disaster, but somehow managed to fake my way through it without passing out. Most of the kids could sight-read the music we were given and because they were proficient musicians, I suppose the whole thing wasn't too painful for the audience, but I feel ill just remembering it. I would have killed for a week of practice! But even then, it wouldn't have been enough. -_- |
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Darkmagick
Subscriber Posts: 466 |
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I noticed that during the ensemble scene, several of the kids were standing at the back, not playing, including Hazuki. So I assumed that all the beginners who were just starting to learn how to play were not participating in the "can we participate in the festival" ensemble. |
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Shinraisei
Posts: 18 |
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As a former band musician, you can't *completely* ascertain the level of your band playing in the first day, then decide to fix it there. He needed to observe them, and (honestly) put some of them in their place, and reorient them. Especially since they said their goal was to go to Nationals and that one trombonist or trumpet player spoke as if they were all playing at a great level already and it didn't matter. (I've known people like that. They can be great players, but not know how to play as a section or ensemble). As he was new on the first day, his options were limited. He could have just gone running out of the gates and hit them with a crash course, but he could've run the risk of losing members (and what with the plot line that most of the then-first years quit, it's possible that this event is a known fact among staff). It's not necessarily a bad idea, but it's just not a good one in this situation. I've also found that not playing together in a long time (ie. summer break, or in this case, the period between the end of the previous school year in March and April), your band's skills will be all over the place at first, and depending on how the senior batch was like, it could be that the 3rd years from last year were far better as a group than the 2nd years (current 3rd years). We do know that the current batch of 2nd years at the "lazy" group left over from the 'revolt' last year, and it could explain a lot.
Those were the percussionists. Depending on the piece(s), only one percussionist (the one with the cymbals) or two may be needed. I think one tympanist was playing in the piece itself though the first time. Hazuki was sitting though, I thought, which makes sense because I don't think the tubas come in for a while in that piece if I recall correctly. Generally when you're a tuba player or percussionist, you sit/stand and listen until you hear the bars leading to where you come in. (That's what I did during 35-40-bar rests as a bass clarinet in one piece. We had tried foolishly counting at first and then we figured out that "Ah! There's a lead-in cue from the Saxes and the French horns!" and listened for that) Not sure what your experience in band is, so forgive the comment if it comes off as condescending and you already know all this.
I'm really excited about this series. I can see a lot of events that occurred during my time in band (and probably everyone else's) will be revisited. Aoi's my bet for "Academics vs Band" dilemma. It's a terrible one to be in, especially if your parents never wanted you in band in the first place. And the trumpet section seems to have some section drama brewing. I can see a verbal confrontation with Kousaka and them. To be the enemy of your section is awful. |
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Takigan
Posts: 16 |
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Pay attention to the outdoor lighting after Kumiko and the other girls leave their club activities. In most cases it's close to dusk, and considering this is April that would put the time they get out of club activities as being somewhere between 6 and 7. As most Japanese schools get out around 3 it's safe to say they're spending about 3-4 hours per day in band....not at all unusual for Japanese club activities. This is generally twice as much as American schools spend. That aside, I think the difference in performance in one week has more to do with difference in effort.
Look up Seika Girl's School and Inagakuen on Youtube. These are 2 Japanese HS bands that consistently make it to nationals year after year. I think they'll blow your mind. If Kitauji does make it to nationals, I fully expect them to sound this good by series' end as these 2 bands exemplify the quality of nationals-level Japanese HS bands. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFHmtXKjumg |
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5451 Location: Iscandar |
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Episode 5
Another strong and wonderful episode. I know that this anime has a simplistic, and somewhat slow-moving story, but, like Nick points out, the production values and the little moments between the characters are great. This show is so satisfying to watch. |
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Via_01
Posts: 551 |
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I don't think that's the case. I checked out the scene again, but Hazuki was sitting without her tuba (and I doubt it'd be possible nor recommendable to hide your tuba below your chair when you're supposed to play). I believe this means she's only there to observe, which isn't too uncommon; back when I was in a band, the newbies that still weren't good enough to play with the group sat close to their seniors in order to see how they played. Anyways, episde 5 was pretty good. I didn't recognize the song though... maybe because I never played in a march, or even felt interested to watch. |
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darkchibi07
 Posts: 5480 |
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Interesting enough, Taki-sensei made a good call on having the band play a rather popular Japanese electronica song. That will get them cred points among the audience! 
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CapNatsukiSan
Posts: 12 |
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Let's make it clear: KyoAni is REALLY just showing off by this point: flag and pom-pom cheer-leaders? Oh, Im not complaining.
To half-answer the cynical person's bemoaning that no school band can 'improve' in one week: I was in a high school orchestra and choir, and I can tell you, a week...no...a day of tireless practising means A LOT. If you just jumble up 80 high school kids, who may be all pretty skilled with their instruments, and let them play without ANY sense of an ensemble, they will sound awful. Imagine having 80 singers performing their own songs...at the same time...on the same stage. Don't judge individuals in an ensemble based on the collective performance...teamwork is paramount. Example: My high school orchestra performed Holst's Planets, and I can tell you, I had a panic attack when we had just two weeks to go, our trial sessions sounded goddamn awful: brass (by far the most important with Mars) sounded mushy and off, the strings can't keep up with the ostinatos...its a nightmare, and I can tell you that everyone in the room felt the same. After some quick rescheduling, we had about a dozen hours of sectionals, and a few extra rehearsals, in just a week, we managed to perform much better. The performance a week later went on without a hitch, we sounded like a entirely different ensemble. |
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TRNielson
Posts: 182 |
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Was hoping someone would know what the song they performed was. Thanks! Hopefully a complete cover of it makes it onto the OST whenever it comes out. |
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