If Tour Of Champions-Oklahoma showed us anything Tuesday, it's that the hornlines this year are giving us one of the best seasons of the decade. It seems this year that 3-4 corps could really be gunning for the coveted Jim Ott High Brass Award at the DCI World Championships in Indianapolis in August. With faster notes, higher registers, and lower body movement being considered -- let's dive into some of the best brass sections of 2017.

Carolina Crown

In our new rankings page, CrownBRASS has led in the caption two out of four weeks, splitting with Bluecoats. Oddly enough, they've been projected to score over 20 by the time finals rolls around. The reason for this anomaly is the projected rate of increase used in the formula and the scoring spikes seen from the judges at this point in the season. At Tour of Champions-Oklahoma, Crown gave a pure clinic in how you should sound when blending voices. The introduction alone with the toss-back between the trumpets and mellophones showed that Carolina Crown was ready to play last night. The corps has topped out with a 17.5, the highest score of the season so far in the brass caption. It'll be exciting to see how much better this corps can get by finals week.

Blue Devils

This year's show was certainly written for this brassline's skillset. The opener shows just how good these performers are visually AND musically. In the triangle set for the first hit, the brass never stops moving its feet it seems. Watch closely to catch all of the choreography throughout the hit. After a ridiculously fast solo, the entire hornline starts really flexing its technique muscles in "Flight of the Bumblebee." The entire movement is a professional display of double-tonguing technique, fast fingers, and meticulous timing -- each time the melody switches from one section to another it has to be perfectly timed to sound correct. Needless to say, the ballad soloists are merely a representation of this corps' talent.

Santa Clara Vanguard

One thing that is really pushing SCV to a higher level this year is their brassline. Yes, it makes up about half of the drum corps, but this year Vanguard's brass is doing it right. What's really impressive about this year's show is the skill with which the brass moves in its drill while also playing one of its hardest books I've heard. The way the brass plays through some of the more odd rhythmic passages shows its experience and confidence in this older hornline. Huge shout-out to the baritone soloist in the ballad for having an buttery smooth, dark, tone quality. As the corps cleans the double-tonguing part on the props on the 45-yard line, paired with the battery's notes, it will really start to shine and show off this hornline's talent.

Bluecoats

What makes the Bluecoats brass stand out this year more than most is its usage of the prop and how it subtly, and not-so-subtly, skyrockets the difficulty of its show. The hornline's performance environment is simply more challenging than most other corps this year because of the fact that there is a giant prop in the middle of the field with thick black theater-curtains draped over it. Aurally, this creates a whole new approach to listening responsibilities because you must match tone quality and timing with the members on the other side of the prop while not being able to see or hear past it. The corps is also working with a vertical demand with literally splitting the different sections of the brass by 8 or so feet of height. It'll be exciting to watch this show become more developed as this blue corps heads into regionals and makes the final changes to their show up until finals.

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