the fight song...

[isubeatle]

Is the band playing it slower this year? both my wife and i noticed it, and i've also talked to a lot of people that say that the crowd has a hard time clapping on time.

maybe it's just me, but the fight song seems slower and it doesn't sound good.

 

[theshadow]

I assume you're talking about pregame.

Simple physics makes it difficult for the crowd to clap together. Add alcohol and an inherent lack of rhythm, and you've got a huge cluster.

"Fanfare" was slowed down at the first couple of games (at the request of the arranger, IIRC), which slowed "Fights" down several clicks. That has been rectified somewhat, but you'll never hear "pep band tempo" or "stands tempo" out on the field.

 

[Flag Guy]

I seem to recall some band members explaining that yes they were because someone pointed out to the band director that the band was playing it faster than how it was written and some subtlties in the music were being lost by playing it faster.


**** them though.. seriously the average spectator isn't going to notice the subtlties... the fight song is about pumping people up, not appealing to the finely tuned ear. I do not like the slower version

 

[aeroclone]

Is the band playing it slower this year? both my wife and i noticed it, and i've also talked to a lot of people that say that the crowd has a hard time clapping on time.

maybe it's just me, but the fight song seems slower and it doesn't sound good.

I don't know if they have changed anything up about it, but I wouldn't be so quick to point the finger at the band. I was a member from 01-05 and I would say calling our crowd rhythmically challenged would be generous.

I would say the crowd tends to speed up as they are clapping until they get far enough ahead that people start to notice that it is off. This could also give you the feeling that the band is going to slow. But from my experience in the stands and in the band, it isn't the band going slowly but the crowd going too fast.

If you pay attention you will notice the crowd does this with more than just the fight song, it happens with music over the PA as well. I've noticed it several times before when they play Zombie Nation.

 

[AirWalke]

No, it's not the crowd, I noticed the band going slower this year, too. I've heard the arranger story, too, but it's a freaking fight song. It's supposed to pump people up, but it's not doing that with a slower tempo. I realize that it shouldn't reach "pep band" tempo on the field, but it's felt even slower than "field band" this year.

 

[isubeatle]

Aeroclone, not once did i point a finger at the band. I was just asking if it was slower and that if it was, imo it doesn't sound as good.

and i understand that the crowd can never keep a beat, as a drummer myself i drives me nuts.

 

[JJ4ISU]

I sometimes feel bad for the band, that loud music over the PA sort of drowns them out or overshadows them. I think the band is one way that college sports distinguishes itself from pro sports, and I think we're losing some of that...

 

[aeroclone]

Aeroclone, not once did i point a finger at the band. I was just asking if it was slower and that if it was, imo it doesn't sound as good.

and i understand that the crowd can never keep a beat, as a drummer myself i drives me nuts.

Sorry, I was just trying to say that the crowd has always clapped faster than the fight song, then they slow down to compensate part way through, which could give the feeling that the band is going too slow. And I couldn't agree with you more, now that I am out of the band and into the stands, the crowd not being able to keep anything close to a beat drives me nuts.

As for the arranger comments, that is actually true. The Fanfare that is played in the large block in pregame before the fight song has been played faster in years past. It has been slowed down this year to be played more like it was intended. I have heard this first hand from many friends that are still in the band. However, I don't think any effort was made to change the tempo of the fight song. Bug given the seamless transition between songs in the pregame fight song sequence, I can see how a slower fanfare could have a trickle over effect into the other songs.

Of course all of this would only be relevent for pregame and not for music played in the stands.

isubeatle, has this been something you have noticed during the game as well, or is it just during the on field pregame performance? I've only been able to attend one home game in person this season so I haven't had much chance to observe this first hand.

 

[Cypwr]

Is the band playing it slower this year? both my wife and i noticed it, and i've also talked to a lot of people that say that the crowd has a hard time clapping on time.

maybe it's just me, but the fight song seems slower and it doesn't sound good.

We have a band? Since they moved to the North endzone you can not hear what they are playing, a lot of the time the only reason you know they are playing is the sections to the North start clapping.

 

[SuperCy]

After listening to them in the north end zone the other day it seemed that the slowed it down and put a "circus" spin to it. The way the team looked, it seemed fitting.

 

[stvfarmboy]

As far as the crowd being faster than the band, I have definitely noticed this as well. I graduated in 2006 and the last couple of years when I was sitting in the student section, the clapping would be about 2 beats ahead by the end of the fight song. If I tried to actually clap along with the band and follow the music, I got quite a few angry looks from others suggesting that I was the one who couldn't keep a beat.

 

[throwittoblythe]

After listening to them in the north end zone the other day it seemed that the slowed it down and put a "circus" spin to it. The way the team looked, it seemed fitting.

It's called "polka fights." You take the original tune and put it in a new time signature with a polka feel. They have been doing it the last couple of years. I don't mind it, but I think the standard tune is quite a bit more energizing.

 

[theshadow]

Waltz Fights (not Polka Fights) has been around for a long time. It just rarely gets played.