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Post by helenagamecock on Nov 19, 2023 20:22:58 GMT -6
I see it listed on YouTube videos but don’t recognize the tune. Can someone explain the term and history
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Post by King_Gamecock on Nov 20, 2023 8:08:04 GMT -6
I see it listed on YouTube videos but don’t recognize the tune. Can someone explain the term and history It’s a modified spelling of “ditty.” Basically it’s a short, fun piece played by a section. Trombones used to play the Mickey Mouse Club theme, 20j’s played the theme from The Munsters a long time ago. There were many of them but I have no idea what is played today. |
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Post by Whup Em All on Nov 20, 2023 9:14:05 GMT -6
Ditties are usually played by a single section of the band during 4th quarter. Sometimes, a few sections will be involved. This year, there appears to be both a woodwind ditty (Tequila) and a full brass ditty (Creep). Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, a couple of friends and I arranged a song from a TV commercial that was played by a thrown-together combo. (Most players were recruited that morning.) This is rare though. Usually, a section learns a ditty early on and plays it throughout the year. Some sections, notably the trumpets, bones, and 20-Js, will play several.
Ditties are almost always arranged by students, usually within the same section. Occasionally someone will arrange a serious piece, but that's rare. Usually, they're simple recognizable tunes played for fun -- or for showing off (ahem, trumpets) -- and pull from pop cultural influences like TV, movies, and video games.
Some of my favorites over the years:
Saxes: Peter Gunn, Sesame Street, The Partridge Family, Get Smart, I Feel Good
Trumpets: The Jetsons, Mario Bros., A Mis Abuelos, Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Trombones: Mickey Mouse, Sexual Healing, Buzz Buzz Buzz, Low Rider
20-Js: The Munsters, 1812 Overture, Conan the Barbarian, VeggieTales
Front Ensemble: Istanbul (not Constantinople)
(There have been many, many more, and I'm almost certainly leaving out some other great ones.)
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Post by leeroy on Nov 20, 2023 9:37:13 GMT -6
Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen has been the trombone sections song all year.
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Post by Whup Em All on Nov 20, 2023 9:59:15 GMT -6
Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen has been the trombone sections song all year. I knew I was forgetting one... |
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Post by lafalot on Nov 21, 2023 10:23:20 GMT -6
Once, just once, in 1982, the mellophones played "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square". (by Manhattan Transfer) It was at the Troy game, and I conducted it. We had never had a ditty until then, so for the big reveal, I snuck out and put on a tux to conduct it, and pulled a baton from my sleeve and everything (I already had the tux rented for A Cappella Choir Christmas concerts, lol). It was a glorious time...
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Post by lafalot on Nov 21, 2023 10:25:19 GMT -6
Also, I think I remember that the trumpets at one time did the Family Guy theme.
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Post by Whup Em All on Nov 21, 2023 11:46:27 GMT -6
Also, I think I remember that the trumpets at one time did the Family Guy theme. They did! I forgot about that one. That was in the early 2000s. |
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