Word: basse
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...dance orchestra to play the missing parts. The stringed additions brought the membership to 45 men. But even by 1929, when there were 60 regular players, improvisation was sometimes necessary. The late Malcolm (Mal) H. Holmes '28, beloved conductor of the band, was pressed into service on a bass drum, although his musical experience had been previously limited to the violin. Leroy Anderson '29, then conductor of the group, and now a widely known composer and arranger, asked Mal to fill in on the drum. "But I don't know anything about the drums," the violinist protested...
While no one complained of such a clamor, there is no doubt that the band, now under G. Wright Briggs '31, has come up with unusual sound provoked b y unusual musicians out of unusual instruments. The best-known of course, is the mammoth bass drum obtained in 1927. That year the band played for the Associated Harvard Club meeting in Philadelphia, and in appreciation, the group told' the band to go out and buy itself a bass drum. It did go out and buy a bass drum. The biggest one in the world, in fact, specially made...
Touchette also brought another member into the band--his young son, who until recently was employed sitting on top of the big bass drum wielding a mammoth beater. The days of socking the huge instrument are almost over, however; the gargantuan hides are in soggy condition, and the entire frame needs overhauling. Estimates of the drum's value have varied. "When I was a freshman," says Novick, "it was worth $6000. The next year they sat $7000. Last year it went up another thousand. Actually, it's closer to $2000, but even then we have to find a cow with...
While the big bass drum stood guard, the Harvard Band surprised both Smith and Cornell this past weekend with twilight concerts. The Band rolled into Smith Friday night while the girls were preoccupied with visiting Yale...
Although the bass drum is too delicate for noise making, Novick hinted that the Band would not be soundless when it rolled into Ithaca. "Perhaps Cornell will appreciate an early morning serenade this Saturday," he remarked. Last year the Band gave Yale a similar free concert in the dark, but, received little gratitude from students or police...