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Re: Enjoying Contests (long)

To: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Enjoying Contests (long)
From: Cameron Mabon <cmabon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 01:24:26 +0100 (BST)
In-reply-to: <Pine.OSF.3.95.980510121515.16623A-100000@sable.ox.ac.uk>
Priority: low
Reply-to: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On Sun, 10 May 1998, Howard wrote:

> 1)  Does the fact that the modern brass band has survived much better than
> any other format of brass ensemble really mean that it is MUSICALLY the
> best possible combination of brass instruments?  Could it perhaps
> (the horror, the horror) be merely a reasonably well-balanced ensemble
> which has reached its superior status for other social and economic
> reasons...

Agreed. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter why the brass band has 
evolved. The fact is that it has, and that it is now so well established 
that, in my opinion, no other alternative (i.e. no other evolutionary 
"strategy" in the biologist's lingo) can be more successful in the long 
term. (Whether that is musically "right" or "wrong" is not important). 
Only a change in environment (e.g. the way the majority of people think 
about having french horns in brass bands) could knock the current brass 
band from its evolutionary top spot.

It is worth mentioning that in biology, the outcome of an evolutionary 
contest is generally easy to determine - a mutant with bigger claws 
and/or bigger body size would generally beat a smaller, less well 
endowed opponent. It is only my opinion that bands with french horns 
would be no better than standard bands that enables me to draw the 
analogy between evolutionary stability and brass bands. (I must have too 
much time on my hands...)

> 2) Does the fact that the brass band is accepted to be the "evolutionarily
> superior" or even "best" option of the brass ensembles which have so far
> been attempted make it wrong for composers and/or bands to continue
> experimenting?  Not every combination of instrumentation has been tried
> yet, and there might be one which works better.  This would not in any way
> threaten the stability of the current lineup if it actually is the best,
> so what's the harm in trying?

That is a good point. I would say in response that many of the 
alternatives have been tried at some point, and they have been found to 
be inferior to the current set-up. However, the practical difficulties 
of including french horns in brass bands (or trying other novel 
instrumentations) are a big obstacle, when it is very easy to continue 
with the same instrumentation. In the evolutionary metaphor, random 
mutations do occur in nature, but they are very rare. Mutations that 
confer advantages are even more rare. For those mutations to become 
fixed in the population is yet more rare, and dependant on the 
environment, not to mention the other genes in the organism concerned.

Cameron

-- 
  Cameron Mabon (International Idiot)	   cmabon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Piano, cornet and duck-call
  Fundamental Brass	       http://users.ox.ac.uk/~newc0349/fun
  City of Oxford Band     http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/~cmabon/COSB.html

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References:
- Re: Enjoying Contests (long)
  - From: Howard Peacock

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