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Sound! Euphonium (Season 1 & 2) (TV).


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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:19 pm Reply with quote
meiam wrote:
It take thousands of hours of dedication and innate talent to get good at an instrument, some kid have been doing that since they were like 3-4. For a bunch of student who don't really take this seriously from a school without a strong music section to make it to the national in one year is beyond ridiculous.

This has been my major gripe with this show as well. I could accept a two-cour presentation with them not making it in the first year (cour), but improving enough that they could be competitive in the second year (cour). But the idea that a concert band could be nationally competitive with kids who have never played an instrument or read music before is ridiculous.

That said, I still enjoy this show for the characterizations, and to listen to Sakurai-sama.

@Alan - Orchestras have string sections, and bands do not. From experience the parts the violins usually play are largely covered by the clarinets. I presume the lower-range string parts for viola and cello are covered by oboes and bassoons, but I never played either of those.
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HaruhiToy



Joined: 15 Apr 2008
Posts: 4118
PostPosted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:41 pm Reply with quote
yuna49 wrote:
But the idea that a concert band could be nationally competitive with kids who have never played an instrument or read music before is ridiculous.

I never achieved any reasonable level of proficiency with any musical instrument, but the progress made this last episode does seem far fetched to me as a lay viewer. All they showed the band member doing were very basic and elementary exercises for a week and then suddenly they can improve that much.

Well if they could do that, it seems they ought to be competition ready in a couple of months.

On the other hand I understand that the music club isn't supposed to be a music class. Although the older players and the senpai do provide instruction I thought the members were supposed to develop their expertise elsewhere and bring it to the club. If that is the case it seems that the most proficient performers ought to be able to carry their sections.
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Alan45
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Joined: 25 Aug 2010
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Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 9:03 pm Reply with quote
@Yuna49
That makes sense. I suppose my next question would be why. That is, why would an institution such as a school decide to organize a band instead of an orchestra? Presumably the school would also have people interested in strings. For that matter why, historically, were bands organized on the basis of exclusion of an entire type of instrument?
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xifeng.hu
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Joined: 18 Dec 2014
Posts: 103
Location: Oahu,Hawaii
PostPosted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 10:01 pm Reply with quote
Alan45 wrote:
@xifeng.hu
How did they get you interested in joining a band if you did not already play an instrument?

I got interested in music when we learned recorder in grade school. The only music programs in the middle school were Ukulele and band. I already had a bad experience with the ukulele so I chose band instead.
Also being in band was very helpful for getting a geographic exception into the school there as the high school has a pretty well known band program.
@Yuna49
Actually viola and cello parts are usually covered by the saxes. My brother (who plays sax (alto,tenor,and soprano) always complains how their parts suck when we do orchestral transcriptions.
@Alan45
I believe the reason schools organize bands instead of orchestras is simply due to instrument costs. Strings are way more expensive than most woodwinds and brass (I heard stories about wind players complaining about $300 mouthpieces only to get topped by strings complaining about $1000 bows).
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Vaisaga



Joined: 07 Oct 2011
Posts: 13224
PostPosted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 10:10 pm Reply with quote
Alan45 wrote:
@Yuna49
That makes sense. I suppose my next question would be why. That is, why would an institution such as a school decide to organize a band instead of an orchestra? Presumably the school would also have people interested in strings. For that matter why, historically, were bands organized on the basis of exclusion of an entire type of instrument?


The biggest mistake you're making here is, I think, that the school runs the club at all. School clubs start with a bunch of students getting together and deciding to do something. So it was the founding members that decided to make it a band and not an orchestra.
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Alan45
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Joined: 25 Aug 2010
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Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 8:50 am Reply with quote
@Vaisaga
If we were talking about the literary club or the astronomy club or any of the odder clubs they make anime about, I would agree with you. However, I think the real high profile clubs, including band and sports clubs are school sponsored. The small clubs get a club room and an advisor to keep them out of trouble. The important clubs get facilities and professional coaches.

Just looking at this show, if the band was just student involvement where did all those instruments come from? If prior generations of students brought their own they would have kept them. The advisor, while new, clearly is not just some random teacher picked to watch over them, he has the necessary skills.

Band, like baseball, since it appears outside the school can be the public face of the school. Since many Japanese high schools are private they need that to recruit students. In this case, I suspect the advisor was hired specifically because the prior year's band fell apart and it reflects badly on the school.
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Bradster



Joined: 09 Sep 2008
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Sun May 03, 2015 7:16 pm Reply with quote
Alan45 wrote:
I've been meaning to ask.

For those of you with band experience, how does one come to play the euphonium or other band instruments the general public has never heard of?? For that matter even with those instruments the public was aware of, most could not be identified by non musical people. I would assume that most students sufficiently musical as to try out for band would already have an intended instrument.


I grew up in a school district that had a strong music program, and we actually had a concert band come around to my elementary school and perform for us as an ensemble, and then the director presented each of the instrument sections. I think my mom (French Horn player when she was younger) steered me towards the baritone though...

(So yeah, as someone who learned how to play his horn during the summer before 5th grade, took lessons, practiced at home periodically, played in the high school concert band which practiced for an hour every day, and was still only average in the state concert band contests... I'll be more than a little angry if they have a mere after-school club even get close..)
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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Tue May 05, 2015 12:37 pm Reply with quote
Episode 5:

I'm glad to seespoiler[ Kitauji doing well so far in the competition. With all the practice and building up, I think they are living up to expectations given the feedback from the audience.]

And also, my favorite parts from this week's episode is the interactions between Kumiko/Kousaka. The two has this odd chemistry that I find it interesting to watch. I want to know more spoiler[about Kousaka's past though especially with some of her responses this episode relating to their teacher.]

So it also seems like spoiler[Rikka] is a powerhouse competition so far. I wonder what other rivals they will face this season?
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Keichitsu0305





PostPosted: Tue May 05, 2015 2:43 pm Reply with quote
Ep 5:

I really want to know why Kousaka spoiler[is so invested in Taki-sensei] since they barely talk to each other. My guess is that spoiler[he was a musician that she admired or something. Really hoping its not something petty like a crush.]

The interaction she had with Kumiko was awkward but glad to know she doesn't mind interacting with Kumiko after all. On a technical side, I liked the use of blurs in the background during the night scene; it added depth and rich atmosphere for their conversation. I wonder how much of it was drawn and what amount of photography was used.

Favorite scenes were spoiler[Kousaka playing the trumpet to calm the band] and learning a little more about Asuka and Haruka.
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xifeng.hu
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Joined: 18 Dec 2014
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PostPosted: Tue May 05, 2015 2:52 pm Reply with quote
Nice episode. Brings me back to my days in marching band in high school spoiler[The part where they had to perform between the top bands and they were losing confidence reminded me of my first marching festival. Our band was the top in the state back in the 90's and was one of the big 3 public school band programs at the time. We had the last performance after the current top marching band in the state and we had to deal with our feelings like they did.] The first error I have seen in the anime I can easily recognize: The clarinets appear to be wearing full gloves. When I was in marching band we only used gloves for the Tournament of Roses parade but we had to cut off the finger tips so we could cover the holes of our clarinets. I suppose you could use full gloves if you had a skin-tight perfect fit but the likely hood of that is slim to none.

I'm not sure if this is accurate but I always suspected Japanese band programs did both marching and concert bands with the same group. Japanese marching bands tend to be around 50-60 people opposed to the 100+ bands in the U.S.

spoiler[I like how they got the "8 to the 5" step size right. To be honest, it isn't that important in marching (field/show or parade) since you have to adjust step size depending on what your doing (the inside of a turn will take much smaller steps than the outside to keep the line straight). Also "line dressing" or using peripheral vision is much more important in marching (both field/show and parade).]

I wonder if they're going to do a marching competition. I believe that the Japanese marching season is in the spring opposed to the fall like in the U.S. (In the U.S. marching, with the exclusion of DCI, coincides with the football season).
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Shikiari



Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Posts: 462
Location: Wales
PostPosted: Tue May 05, 2015 3:24 pm Reply with quote
Episode 5

Man, what a great episode. Kumiko is just so cute the way shespoiler[ frets about not having grown and then especially when she sees Asuka's bust]. Well she's just cute in general, but anyway...

The interaction betweenspoiler[ Kumiko and Kōsaka] was wonderful. You never quite know if they spoiler[were school friends previously or not, but at least Kumiko] is putting in the effort to try and talk to her. Talking about that scene, when spoiler[Kōsaka flicked her hair back]... just wow.

The band performs spoiler[extremely well with each for the small amount of time they've actually been practicing and it looks like they're definitely going to reach the nationals at this rate.] I really liked their SunFes uniforms far better than the competition too.

I've been finding a few nice pieces of art for the show and I came across this particular one that I know any KumikoxKōsaka fans will like... Enjoy!

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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Tue May 05, 2015 9:11 pm Reply with quote
Hum this episode felt a good grade bellow the other one, still entertaining, but meh. First part with physical was entirely pointless if amusing. The training was interesting, but again nothing much happened really.

I did quite enjoyed Kousaka and Kumiko conversation, although I really really hope that it doesn't turn out that Kosaka has a crush on the teacher and you get forbidden love and wargggg, maybe if they developed it over time in subtle way, but as far as I can tell we haven't yet seen the two of them even exchange word. Maybe he's a relative (step brother)?

Meeting with the former classmate was pretty interesting, her answer felt very childish with wanting a new start, but in a very believable way, helped define her character quite a bit. It does seems like they'll push the "friend and nothing more we swear, wink wink" route with Kou x Kumi.

Then Kosaka playing the trumpet was: 1) Already done in an earlier episode 2) A huge jerk move for the other contestant that are playing at the moment, that could really mess them up. Then obviously they were amazing and impressed people, cause 1 month of semi hard work > years of very hard work, we all know that's how it work. I guess we haven't seen the outcome (is it even rated?) but hopefully they won't win...
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HaruhiToy



Joined: 15 Apr 2008
Posts: 4118
PostPosted: Tue May 05, 2015 10:02 pm Reply with quote
Did we see the xylophone before? It seems like the marching band had instruments in it the regular band didn't.

So it comes out that the prior year they didn't start practicing marching until the day before the show? What a disaster that must have been.

As it is it seems that this ensemble is gaining expertise far faster than would be possible in real life. But it is still fun to watch.

Quote:
Then Kosaka playing the trumpet was: 1) Already done in an earlier episode 2) A huge jerk move for the other contestant that are playing at the moment, that could really mess them up.

The prior band was already finished or far away. It was breaking the rules but it was obviously necessary to break the panic that was setting in so I would give her a pass for it.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15434
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2015 12:09 am Reply with quote
Episode 5

Felt like there was a lot in this one. First, rolling back to the discussion of whether there is any yuri under tones, I think that there may very well be, Kumiko seems to focus quite a bit on Kousaka at moments. I said last weeks that KyoAni don't exactly have a big track record, but then I remembered that Free is filled with homosexual tones. Kumiko's reactions to Kousaka compared to indifference to their teacher or the other guy make it not so subtle.

Kousaka clearly has some further connection with their teacher, it could be spoiler[taken as a crush so far], but no real evidence yet. My guess is that spoiler[Kousaka may have actually picked the school because she knew he would be in it, so she is asking what others think because she already knew him]. Also of note was Asuka, I had already noted that she may have been spoiler[far better for the role of president, and it was something the other members thought too, but she apparently did not want the role].

Kumiko decided against spoiler[meeting with her old bandmates because she felt that it would ruin her resolve]. Similarly it was a great moment when the spoiler[band began to panic only for Kousaka being able to break the tension], she had a good idea.

Actually I think that I saw Gou and Haruka in one of the other bands. I have seen it before in other KyoAni shows that it is not odd to see characters who look oddly like characters from other series.


Last edited by DuskyPredator on Wed Jun 10, 2015 6:21 am; edited 1 time in total
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Keichitsu0305





PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2015 12:33 am Reply with quote
DuskyPredator wrote:
Episode 5
Actually I think that I saw Gou and Haruka in one of the other bands. I have seen it before in other KyoAni shows that it is not odd to see characters who look oddly like characters from other series.

Well since I like a challenge, I rewatched the episode and the closest I found were these two:


On the plus side, KyoAni are great with background characters; almost every other person were distinguishable.
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