Mr. Wells speaks on the tempo of Cherokee.......

[Former NDNette]

Isn't Mr. Wells in charge of the drum majors? Then ultimately he is at fault for not doing something about it. I once had a priest that directed the choir singing at Midnight Mass. If we started a song and he didn't like the way we did it, he wasn't above stopping us and making us start over. He didn't care if the Church was full and it was standing room only. It was going to be done right.

 

[shovelhead]

If fans are concerned about the tempo of Cherokee, and the tempo is decided by the Indian Spirit and the Twirlers...................why don't fans contact the sponsors for the twirlers and the Indian Spirit? Or the assistant principal in charge of these activities? That should get the message to whom it needs to go to.

Kudos to Mr. Wells and the band for an outstanding job. Kudos to the twirlers, Indian Spirit and their sponsors. Let's just get the message to the persons in charge and positively resolve this! :clap:

If anyone knows who these sponsors are could you please post the information on the Board?

 

[Crazy Indian Fan]

Hmmm....if I remember right Mr. Wells' response is exactly the one he had posted on here last year when fans were complaining. Could it be that he saved in on his computer and reposted the same letter? Could it be he has a blatant disregard for the fans and also the traditions of this school district? I am sorry if I am stepping on anyone's toes, but the way our fight song is played is vitally important to the school district and community. People in other districts always voted that we had the best fans, mascot and fight song and why should anyone try to take this away? If a teacher does not do their job correctly, we replace them. Why should it be different for the band director? I agree with others who say it is wrong to blame it (the wrong tempo) on anyone else. Just play it right and there'd be no problems. Play it faster and louder, drat it!

Squaw, where is Mr. Wells second e-mail response? The only response on this thread was the one from December. Which would be the same letter from last year.

 

[bandkid]

Hmmm....if I remember right Mr. Wells' response is exactly the one he had posted on here last year when fans were complaining. Could it be that he saved in on his computer and reposted the same letter? Could it be he has a blatant disregard for the fans and also the traditions of this school district? I am sorry if I am stepping on anyone's toes, but the way our fight song is played is vitally important to the school district and community. People in other districts always voted that we had the best fans, mascot and fight song and why should anyone try to take this away? If a teacher does not do their job correctly, we replace them. Why should it be different for the band director? I agree with others who say it is wrong to blame it (the wrong tempo) on anyone else. Just play it right and there'd be no problems. Play it faster and louder, drat it!

This isn't a new thread. You may want to look at the date on the first post.

Could it be that the idea of firing the band director for this incident is a blatant overreaction? As I said earlier, it was at a nice tempo and a nice volume at Indian Spirit Tryouts, and the administration almost ignored our traditions and almost had us not play Cherokee more than twice. Mr. Wells, our band director, played a part in stopping that and preserving one of our traditions, something that his job (The one you said he's supposedly not doing.) did not require him to do. Again, I'd be thanking him in this particular instance.

Isn't Mr. Wells in charge of the drum majors? Then ultimately he is at fault for not doing something about it. I once had a priest that directed the choir singing at Midnight Mass. If we started a song and he didn't like the way we did it, he wasn't above stopping us and making us start over. He didn't care if the Church was full and it was standing room only. It was going to be done right.

Again, I think it had more to do with the drum majors than Mr. Wells. Yes, he is ultimately in charge of the drum majors, and he specifically told them not to let the tempo drop below 120 bpm at Indian Spirit Tryouts. He did this in front of the rest of the band, proving that he does listen to the fans and that your e-mails were heard. That's why it was done so well at those tryouts. However, when it actually comes to the pep rallies and football games, the only thing the band directors do is signal when to play Cherokee, what version to play (done by hand signal), and when to play the pop tunes if we've been assigned any. They do not set the tempo at those events. The drum majors have that job. The band directors can tell them what tempo to set before those events, which is what Mr. Wells did, but they do not set them at the events, themselves.

If it were any other song, I would bet that Mr. Wells would stop us if we did not play it correctly, but this is PN-G, and noone stops Cherokee at any time for anything under the sun. That's why we've never skipped the Marching I every time we go over the limit for halftime performances, regardless of which band's fault it is. Imagine how people would be complaining if he had stopped us in the middle of Cherokee.

 

[NONS81]

You say it sounded good for tryouts - inside! Outside is a different story - I doesn't sound right and we want it fixed, end of story. I can promise you that the people at the opposite end of the stadium do not know when to stand and when to clap and can't clape withe tempo becaus they can't hear the dang song!!! We look like a bunch of people that have no idea what they are doing.

I want to say we have the Best Band in Texas and this is a small request in my opinion.

 

[bandkid]

You say it sounded good for tryouts - inside! Outside is a different story - I doesn't sound right and we want it fixed, end of story. I can promise you that the people at the opposite end of the stadium do not know when to stand and when to clap and can't clape withe tempo becaus they can't hear the dang song!!! We look like a bunch of people that have no idea what they are doing.

I want to say we have the Best Band in Texas and this is a small request in my opinion.

Yes, it did sound good inside. It was also fast. Tempo doesn't change with a move from inside to outside. Again, it had more to do with the drum majors than the band directors at the pep rally. Cherokee was played at a good tempo at Indian Spirit Tryouts.

As I also said earlier, the brass and percussion sections will be growing next year. This will give the band a nice, loud sound, providing that everyone doesn't fail. This, too, was a problem for the volume at the pep rally. With Indian Spirit Tryouts, we had around twenty inelligible members. At this pep rally, we had around fifty inelligible members. That's a third of the band. That doesn't effect tempo, either, but it does effect volume.

 

[IBLEEDPURPLE]

For the record, I just want to say that I support Mr. Wells, I support PN-G High school and I support the band. I love what Mr. Wells has done for the band. I respect his dedication and I also respect the hard work he has put forth in building the hard work ethic that is displayed by each and every member of the band. The amount work that all of these young men and ladies put in to the halftime performances, as well as their practice in perfecting their sound and musical capabilities are truly inspiring. It is hard work to learn how to read music, much less play a musical instrument, add marching while doing that and perfecting a marching routine that is viewed each and every Friday night by no less than 5000 fans. You want to speak about talent? My hat goes out to these kids. What they are doing is truly remarkable. Could you imagine PN-G football without the halftime performance, without the marching I, without the band..... without Cherokee? :crazy: It wouldn't be PN-G football.

Now, with that being said..... I will stand on any rooftop I can and shout as loud as my voice will shout to every person that will listen to me that I think that CHEROKEE IS BEING PLAYED TOO SLOW!!!! Period. I do not buy into the hogwash that the tempo is played slower so the Indian Spirit and twirlers can efficiently do their routines. The twirlers, Indian Spirit and Indianette Officers have been doing their routines since the song was conceived. Watch the clips on YouTube, the difference in tempo during the last two years is noticeably slower. The crowd consistently claps faster than the song is played each and every football game. It is certainly not because people in Port Neches and Groves have no rhythm. It's because we have all been clapping to this song for the last 50 years. And the tempo currently being played is not the tempo it has been played for years past.

I know things change. Yes, uniforms change, pom pom's change, things go out of style, stadiums are enlarged and people come and go. Life goes on..... but this school and football program were built on those three words erected on that glorious brand new press box...Honor..Pride...Tradition. And to me, keeping the tradition of hearing our fight song played the same way as our mothers, fathers, grand fathers and grand mothers heard it (while standing) is part of the "tradition" that makes PN-G and our program the school that is often imitated.... yet never duplicated.

 

[IndianFan]

I don't but the 'things change' reasoning either. Imagine if UT, A&M, or any school began playing their fight songs more slowly. There's no good reason or point in doing that. The same would be said at any school, any level.

 

[Former NDNette]

Bandkid, just a suggestion.....print these comments out and bring them to Mr. Wells. Maybe it will get his attention.

 

[squaw]

Bandkid, just a suggestion.....print these comments out and bring them to Mr. Wells. Maybe it will get his attention.

Please, please, do so, Bandkid! Maybe I was harsh sounding, but I believe in people taking responsibility for their own actions and not making excuses or placing blame on others. The Band Director is the person responsible for the band and the buck stops there. I stand behind my statement that "if the Band Director cannot do his job correctly he should be replaced with someone who can--someone who understands the need and desire for Cherokee and Indian spirit".

 

[bandkid]

I happen to know that Mr. Wells keeps an eye on this site. There's no need to print it out. He already knows.

Again, he specifically told the drum majors to keep the tempo at 120+ bpm. Again, this proves that he does listen to the fans and that your e-mails have been heard. 120 bpm is probably the Cherokee tempo that is most commonly thought of, as it is the tempo of the cherokee played on the radio and nearly every recording the school uses is played at 120 bpm.

Here is that recording: http://pngindians.com/multimedia/cherokee.mp3

Cherokee was not slowed down just two years ago. It was slowed down at least in 1999, probably earlier.

For evidence, this is a link to a video from the 1999 Brazosport Playoff Game: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P2zTWegu8 0 (This will have to be pasted in your URL bar.)

This Cherokee was played at approximately 100 bpm, which has been the average speed for all of the years I have been in band. I have a friend who was in band from 2001 to 2005 who also says that this was their average speed. Mr. Wells did not join PN-G until 2006, and received the position of head band director during the summer of 2007, immediately following Mr. Ramos' departure.

Please keep in mind that Mr. Wells is the first steady band director that the high school has had for the last few years. We've been through three different head band directors in the last five years alone, in stark contrast to the records of Albert Long, Karl Waldenphul, and Sam Almany.

 

[IndianFan]

The passion of PNG alumni and fans is sometimes misinterpreted or in some cases even misguided.

I don't think anyone is personally 'blaming' Mr. Wells. By all accounts he's a great band director. Having a position of manager/director/coach/etc has it's pros and cons. This is one of them. The buck begins and stops with him. People are passionate about the fight song and just hope it can be improved some.

Maybe the fact that the band was larger and louder back then made a big difference. I for one think Cherokee sounds much worse when there are not that many bass instruments.

Anyone remember the 70s when the band included a bass guitar player?

 

[bandkid]

The passion of PNG alumni and fans is sometimes misinterpreted or in some cases even misguided.

I don't think anyone is personally 'blaming' Mr. Wells. By all accounts he's a great band director. Having a position of manager/director/coach/etc has it's pros and cons. This is one of them. The buck begins and stops with him. People are passionate about the fight song and just hope it can be improved some.

Maybe the fact that the band was larger and louder back then made a big difference. I for one think Cherokee sounds much worse when there are not that many bass instruments.

Anyone remember the 70s when the band included a bass guitar player?

What?

Yeah, I agree. Cherokee sounds terrible when the loudest voice out there is the woodwinds. No offense, woodwinds, but you just have to have a strong percussion and a strong brass. That's why I'm so glad that the bulk of those new members next year are trumpet and trombone players and drummers. That's what we need most.

 

[NONS81]

Please do not misunderstand my passion for the longing for the "old" Cherokee as anything other than pride!!! I love the band, because I get chills when I hear Cherokee no matter how it is played!!! I am in no way saying that Mr. Wells should be replaced. He does a great job!!! Now that I understand the changes the will be coming next and the grade problem from this year - no worries!!! It will all work itself out - but I still want it faster and louder!!! .

 

[pngfan93]

When I was in band, they preached to us that we would achieve quality before volume. You will never hear a PNG band play as loud as the crap you hear coming from the stands when we play Ozen and Central, but we will always have the better sounding band.