Making Music
Whether you’re in band, orchestra, or chorus, or if you jam with friends in your garage, this is your thread.
Date: December 19, 2009
Categories: Things We like
Saturday, 20 April 2024
Life, the universe, pies, hot-pink bunnies, world domination, and everything
Whether you’re in band, orchestra, or chorus, or if you jam with friends in your garage, this is your thread.
Date: December 19, 2009
Categories: Things We like
New thread!
I’m in my school band and I play the clarinet, but I also like to sing and stuff – I was in the choir up until last year, and played piano until I was too lazy to practice. I guess that’s it, unless you count the year I played recorder in kindergarten-3rd grade.
First post?
Yay! Thanks, Gapas!
You’re quite welcome. But for future reference, if not for the thanks, the post would have been zapped. For one thing, “first post” posts almost never are. If you can’t resist asking, at least take the opportunity to add something to the conversation.
Thank you, Lady Bunniful!
I’m a flautist in a school band with three others who play the wonderful instrument that is the flute. One of them is rather useless, and another one can only come on Wednesdays, which is a shame because she’s the best. There’s three clarinets, three alto saxes, one tenor sax, five or six trumpets, one keyboard, and I forgot how many drummers.
My flute’s name is Alanna, and she’s a silver-plated, closed-hole Barrington with offset G keys.
Flutes are so awesome, but I like clarinets and saxes too.
Funny that you name your flute, my clarinet’s name is Lydia. (This is the first time I’ve told anyone though, hee, hee.) I dunno why, she just acts like a Lydia to me.
Your band is SMALL. Our school band has around 130 people, I think. Not that small bands are bad, though. They have their pros and cons, as do big bands although with a rather large band like ours you need someone who can control us rowdy children. Luckily my director is up to the task. The most popular instruments are alto sax, trumpet, and clarinet at my school, although funnily enough at my old school flute was the big thing for girls, and trombones the big thing for boys. I think a lot of it at the elementary-middle school level depends on what your friends are playing. At least, that’s how a lot of my friends chose in the beginning, but since I joined in the middle (Most of the kids start playing in 4th grade) I felt quite hopeless at first, although I’m proud to say I’ve been keeping up quite well even though I’m not first chair material or anything. (Obviously.)
/end rant/
Sorry, that was longer than I expected.
Wow. There’s more kids in your school band then there were at [snip].
GAPAs, EOSSMA is Eastern Oregon Small Schools Music Association, which I don’t think is snip-worthy.
I named my guitar Nighthawk and my trombone Trom-dent.
I forgot to mention that there is also one keyboard and one baritone in my band.
2 – Nope, I snatched it.. *coughPoPocough*
But on a musically related note, our band recently played Eighth Candle at our concert. Has anyone heard of it? It’s a high school level-college song (I can’t remember which) but it was really hard yet very fun. Although there was one point during our concert when my best friend (Who happens to be the chair right below me, so we get to share music, sit next to each other, etc.) had a nervous giggling breakdown when she noticed our whole row was air playing. Twas funny. You could only hear the first chair.
Grr. Not first post.
Anyway, SFTDP, but I play the viola in my school orchestra. There are only 2 violas in our class (although there’s a couple in the other class). There were three, but one of them is moving to New Jersey over winter break
I play cello for the Civic Youth, and I also sing in a small, non-serious band that my friends and I made. For lack of a garage, we practice on my third floor, and it drives everyone nuts. xD
As it happens, the band that I’m in had practice today! I learned the part for a new song.
What kind of band? What do you do in it?
Rock-ish band. Mostly, we just slack off. But when we do play, we play…stuff. We have two covers of HIM ready for normal playing, and one Nightwish one that we started and forgot. There’re two songs of our own, one played normally, one learned yesterday. We are weird.
I play violin. Not in an orchestra or anything, but I play. Although not at the moment, right now my arm’s still in a cast.
You all name your instruments too? I didn’t think anyone else did that! My friends and I have this ridiculous elaborate family tree worked out for our instruments. My alto sax, Cairo Phoenix, is married to my friend D’s flute Flutey-Tuttie, and her other flute Rosalita is married to N’s trumpet Woodrow. G’s trombone Randy Raoul is married to M’s flute Juanita. My oboe Vann is married to B’s trumpet Crestina. A’s clarinet Jesus (pronounced the Spanish way) is married to a (fictional) contraalto flute named Bertrise. Um, not to mention our convoluted family tree for how we’re all related. I think band brings out the weird side in all of us.
Our school has two bands and a percussion ensemble. One of the bands is the freshman band, and the other has all the sophomores, juniors, and seniors. We’re currently beginning to work on our extremely challenging repertoire for Festival/Contest in the spring. It’s all college-grade music: Chester, Slava, and other pieces whose names I can’t call to mind right now. They’re really great pieces, but extremely challenging for someone (me) who just switched instruments at the beginning of the year.
I didn’t know that anyone else named their instruments either! I thought I was the only one on the planet who did that, but now I’m hearing all these posts ’bout your instruments names…should have known I would have found something like that on MB. Wow, you do have quite a family tree!
Also, I’m married to N, and D is our kid, and she’s married to M… it’s quite a family tree, yes.
YES! My cello’s name is Bella, and my guitar’s name is Moonshoes.
I play the oboe. Her name is Finicky, because she won’t play when I need her to.
Alanna can be like that sometimes.
I LOVE YOU GAPAS!!! Who suggested this? Much thanks.
I have yet to name my trombone…*feels like an outsider*
Trombones rule! Saxophones..are extremely garralous.
Take that, Keiffer/SudoRandom
Hm. I don’t usually name my instruments, but my electric bass is named Jackson, or Jack the Ripper for more hardcore songs.
By the way, Sudo, your picture is in the [ City Name ] News ( NOT the [ City Name ] Journal ) at the All-City concert, and you’re holding your electric bass thingie! Hmm. If I posted the link to the website, that might be too specific…let’s see if I can get something more neutral. *fails*
I play the flute. Actually, I’m getting a new flute, hopefully soon (I’ve been saying I’m getting a new flute for two months now). It’s going to probably be a Yamaha and will definitely be an intermediate flute. I’m in symphonic band (All the freshmen, some sophomores and juniors, and one senior who is also in wind ensemble and exceptionally good.) Wind ensemble is the better band, and at the last concert the flutes got these wicked solos where they did chromatics up and down and I was amazed at how good they were. I’m also in pep band and marching band. In marching band, we always seem to be competing against huge bands, but what really ties our band together is that we have so much energy and love what we’re doing. This other band was doing their song for us before a parade, and they didn’t look like they were having any fun at all.
I also play the piano and acoustic guitar.
Music is amazing.
As some of you may know, I play the piano and the organ, and I tinker around with a ukulele, tin whistle, and electric guitar. And I really want to build myself a harpsichord.
Aww, that’s so nice, Goldendoodle! *warm fuzzy feelings* I wish OUR band had that harmony. Well, the saxophones do. But no one else.
My dream is to play the Charlie Brown theme song with an entire band. Sigh…I hope I will get to someday.
Well, the saxophones have a bit too much harmony. And the trombones have like, negative harmony with everyone else.
We’re going to play Bohemian Rhapsody in band!
My school’s band gets to play the randomest things (i.e. Indiana Jones theme song, Pirates of the Caribbean theme song… the band teacher seems to have a theme going), and a couple years ago when I was in middle school, the high school got to play Bohemian Rhapsody. They got a guy who wasn’t even in band class but played the guitar really well to do the guitar solo.
My brother plays the trumpet, as do all of his friends, so they were all standing in a line together, and once they had played the tune of “Be-elzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me…” they all simultaneously lowered their trumpets and started headbanging with their hair flying around as the guitar solo started. It was HILARIOUS.
That’s awesome! My school’s band played Pirates of the Caribbean my senior year. I wish they’d gotten to play Bohemian Rhapsody or Indiana Jones.
I’m a music major at a pretty good conservatory, if I do say so myself, which I do, and I play violin. Currently working on Bach B minor partita and Bruch scottish fantasy.
I make music!
I’m working on the Bach Double Violin Concerto, first violin’s part, second movement. It’s loverly, and always fun to play with my teacher.
16.1- LUCKY! Maybe Fishy and I could convince our band teacher to let us play that…
…Huh. I just realized that I haven’t named my flute. It would probably be something like Maribeth or Isabella, though.
What we did is find a song that she completely and utterly hated, taught it to everyone in band, and then played it nonstop until she agreed to bring in the music if we stopped. Our methods are crude, but effective.
Cat’s Eye – we played those too!
SudoRandom – we do NOT have negative harmony!! Julian’s just quiet. The FLUTES have negative harmony, that’s who! Because no one can hear them. Also, you torture Ms. Sears with that song.
Well, I beg to differ. Do we ever lock the flutes out of the band room? No. But do the flutes help us lock the trombones out of the room?
Well, one of them does.
11- Saxophones are not garrulous! You’re just jealous because you can’t annoy the band teacher into letting us play decent songs. Like Bohemian Rhapsody. Ha.
I could if I let you teach me how to play “Rock it To the Max Mr. Sax!” And technically, saxophones THEMSELVES aren’t garralous, JEGS are. (Sudo, Keiffer, Gustav, Pseudo.)
Harrumph. Fine. Pseudo and I will teach you the song. But we can’t play it until Ms. Sears copies Bohemian Rhapsody! She threatened to not bring it in! (And what the cake does JEGS mean?)
I play in the Junior band at our school. I play clarinet, and my clarinet doesn’t have a name. (Wish I could think something up.) In our band, the flutes and clarinets are consistently drowned out, except when they get to play with little or no background noise.
Shweet. I’m in MidState band, top level for 7th-9th grade. Three days of rehearsals, then performance. It’s in January, and I can’t wait, this is going to be my first ever time playing in a band!
Um… I don’t think that I got my email wrong… my gravatar is currently very odd.
Yes, I noticed that. You might want to check your gravatar account, something could be wrong with it if you accidentally changed something on there and you’re sure you haven’t been typing your e-mail address in wrong.
I think something is wrong with gravatar, because I’m certain I’m typing my email right….
Yes, your email is the same as before.
Huh.
*putters of to check on gravatar account*
Is my new gravatar showing up now? If not, then I don’t know what’s wrong with it…
Sorry it’s still showing up as that yellow square figure on the blue background…
Meh.
What it should actually be is a close-up on a couple of ornaments on a tree. Huh.
I have a psychotic orchestra/music teacher. He spends most of our practices listening to the sound of his own voice.
Oh my. That’s just like my old one. He loved my friend one year, actually, more like worshipped, then the next year he called her the biggest disappointment in the room. Go figure. I learned more in the six months with this new band director than I learned in two years with the old one.
27) My old teacher was like that.
RIght now I’m in the band with my flute, and have recently been promoted to 3rd chair! *victory dance*
I don’t really have a name for my flute, because I’m afriad I’ll get too attached to it and then I’ll lose it like I did with my other one.
I’m also in the choir, which is funn.
Congratulations on getting moved up! I’m last chair. It’s only out of four though.
I’m 9th out of 20 or so.
My band actually doesn’t have the whole 1st chair, 2nd chair, etc. thing.
Chairs are actually a good form of motivation to me, especially when it comes to practicing…but at the same time, sometimes the whole system seems a little too competitive, (Kids in the 5th grade band have the “chair” system!) especially since it means you have to have “tests” where you play on your own for the director which is always pretty nerve racking, even though I s’ppose it’s good experience.
The chair system isn’t really that great, but it is kinda motivating.
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to sit in the back with the trombones, and be able to see the backs of the whole band….
Yeah. The whole motivation thing is one of the main reasons that I like it, especially since it forces you to learn the scales in and out and other things like that where otherwise I might not bother with or take as much time with.
JEGS =
J = SudoRandom,
E = Keiffer,
G = Gustav,
S = Pseudonym.
The first letters of all of your names.
It describes the saxophone section! *feels smart*
The flute section in my band is CCKK
19.1- Ha! That is great! XD
Today our band played in front of our entire grade.
We played:
“The Best of the Beatles” (She’s Got a Ticket to Ride, Hey Jude, & Get Back)
“Tequila”
and “Holiday Cheers” (the usual holiday song medley… :???:)
In other news, I have decided that my flute’s name is Alexander.
My flute is just Flutey. People wonder why I coddle it and apologize when I hit it on the music stand (by accident), but they would too if they were holding a thousand dollar instrument. I should really give it a real name.
Flutey is a real name!
I apologize to Alanna too.
The song is “Rock it to the Max Mr. Sax”, and I don’t know the notes for flute, but on sax it’s
D E D G
D E D G
D E D G G G E G x3
D E G B♭ B♭ G
D E G B♭ B♭ G
D E D G G G E G
((That’s what I know. The whole thing is with the octave key, saxophonists.))
And it’s swung.
30–Lucky Daisy*Chain! We have never done any Beatles songs.
I used to play flute, but that was before I learned that Silver Lining does not have the mental capacity and/or discipline to play an instrument. On the other hand, I am in chorus and enjoy singing very much. Our chorus is quite good, though I generally really dislike the songs we sing. They’re mostly spirituals that have good harmony. I’m an alto.
I play flute as well. I’ve been first chair since last year, freshman and sophomore I was 4th. Frosh year we had 20 flutes in the band, but we’re down to maybe 11 now.
Along with band music (we just had our winter concert last week), I also take private lessons and perform a solo once a year for judging. I’ve played Danse des Mirlitons (Dance of the Reed-Flutes, it was in the original Fantasia), Polonaise and Badinare, Sonata VII by Handel (you can’t find recordings anywhere online apart form a version I posted on youtube (was NOT my best time playing it, but the only one I really recorded >.<), and this year I'll probably be playing another Handel arrangement (probably two and another little one put together actually).
I am also learning aka teaching myself to play alto saxophone for jazz band.
I really need to practice both of them…
Also, I have a name for the band my friends and I don't have! Ultraviolet Voodoo. It's from Calculus, to remember this formula, but my friend and just thought it sounded cool. COPYRIGHT US ECT and all.
I play trumpet and piano with a focus on jazz. I’m not very good at either, although I used to be sort of decent at jazz piano before I stopped practicing/having lessons. (Getting back to piano is on my list of stuff to do over break.) My trumpet is named Conway after the mathematician.
Oooh, Dance of the Reed Flutes sounds cool! We played “The Beatles Forever” which was…hmm. “Eleanor Rigby,” “Yesterday,” and, um, “A Hard Day’s Night.” Pseudo is currently watching Help! ( too lazy for italics)
That’s what my band played last year! We also played a highly simplified version of a medley of Green Day songs that got extremely annoying after a while, because it didn’t sound remotely like the recorded version.
I play the clarinet, piano, and started to teach myself the alto sax about two weeks ago. I am currently in a band of about 12 people. Right now I am sad because I can’t play the clarinet or sax for a while due to the oral surgery I had yesterday.
P.S. My mom is our band director. (:
Oh, that’s horrible! *hugs*
I sing and I am starting to play guitar. The first song I can play (crudely) is Hey Jude. Beatles fans plug your ears.
I’m actually a very good singer, however bad I may be with other instruments.
Oh, you sing? I love singing! It’s awesome. what part do you sing?
I’m a first soprano. Sometimes my friends call me opera singer.
I was happy yesterday! Our town has a used book store and we went in there and found a ton of old piano music for a dollar each! They were wonderful! I started going a few of the pieces today. I simply lurve piano! I think I’ve been taking it for 9 years now…..
Ooooh! If only trombone were so popular. *shakes head sadly*
I play trombone.
17 (Lizzie)- What’s it like at a conservatory? Do you take any classes other than music? Do you do anything other than practice? What do you plan to do after you graduate?
~apologies for length of post~
for those who have forgotten, I play the trombone in:
-Symphonic Band (first chair of six) (not as good as Wind Ensemble but there are only three spaces in Wind Ensemble and better than Concert Band)
-Philharmonia (either second or third/bass tbn, depending) (highest level orchestra)
-Jazz Machine (fourth/usually doubling third chair) (competitive jazz band. won at Berklee Jazz Festival last year but I wasn’t in it then)
-Area All-State Band last November (third part first chair- seventh of eight)
-Brass Choir (first trombone part) (most of the school’s brass, goes caroling in November and December)
-private lessons, working on judged solo and other things
and I play the baritone in marching band, although it’s the offseason so I’m practicing fingerings on a trumpet.
I can also play a few chords on guitar and about five notes on clarinet. Wish I could play piano, but lack the time to learn. I used to sing (first soprano, around five years ago- I might drop down to the second part in SSA music now if I had the choice) but I don’t have time for that either.
I’m saving money to buy a serpent so I can learn to play it. (predecessor to the modern brass instrument, it is twisting and several feet long (I’m remembering eightysomething inches straightened) often made of leather-wrapped wood or fiberglass now that we’re in the future, with six finger holes. About the same range as a trombone.)
My trombone doesn’t have a name, but I absolutely adore her. (she’s been described here before. A Stradivarius model 36B from 1976 with superficial damage to the finish.)
Philharmonia and private lessons are probably my favorite of those. Philharmonia plays major works, like Night on Bald Mountain for the Halloween concert, and the overture from Meistersinger of Nurnberg for the winter concert, and we’re learning the finale of the 1812 overture for a February concert. And private lessons are making me actually good.
Oh, and also, I’m in a kind of apathetic band that hasn’t met for around a year. A Technical Difficulty. I write songs and sing and play guitar or trombone, penguini plays guitar or sets up the equipment to record, Potato Chip plays synthesizer or drums on our set of boxes, there are a few others. we’re on youtube? (song is called Apathy and may not be appropriate to those with taste) (I will not be insulted in the least if that is deemed too close to sharing personal info)
40 – Wow, you’re in a lot of bands/musical groups…that’s so cool that you can play so many different instruments. I’ve always wondered what being in a marching band is like, is it very different from a regular band? (I mean, beyond the obvious part about marching…)
I wish I was more musical, and if I had more time I would go back to the piano…such a fun instrument but my schedule is jam packed right now. I would also like to pick up on voice lessons. I love to sing, but I didn’t enjoy singing in my school’s choir. I’m more interested in musicals and things like that, but I need to improve my voice a lot if I want to get serious about doing anything like that…I had a solo last year in the play which was really fun and made me realize how much I like doing musicals.
I’m not good at most of the instruments, though…
Marching band is very different from normal band. For me, at least:
-about half the time is spent on marching and not on music. It was near-impossible for me at first. it’s a varsity sport at my school, with good reason. And the act of marching becomes inseparable from playing. You breathe at the same time you prepare to move, and mark time when you’re standing in place to play.
-A lot of time is spent on breathing. It seems ridiculous. It is justified.
-Marching band is, at my school, much larger than the concert bands. Around 130 people? There’s colorguard too.
-marching band practices for several hours at a time- you need the chops to be able to play that long continuously.
-Never listen to half the percussion (pit), sometimes rely solely on the other half (battery aka drumline), always watch. It demands a lot of attention, you don’t realize how much you listen to percussion.
-There are several people who stay just with your section of the band, telling you specifically how to improve.
-Competitive performances are once or twice a weekend for two months. State championships are the last performance, and perhaps the most important.
Wow, that does sound like an incredibly extreme sport… Thanks for the information, I thought it was really interesting!
Yeah, I was kind of wondering how much time was focused on the marching vs. music. I can only imagine how much stamina it would take to keep going for that long, too.
At my school, people laugh at me when I insist marching band is a sport.
At one point, I was seriously considering an appeal to my principal to make marching band be considered a sport.
At my old high school, marching band was officially a sport. I wasn’t in it, given that I have no coordination, but I thought that was cool.
At Gwyn’s high school, marching band is PE credit…
27 – *feels completely inadequate*
Today I played all the music that was in my band folder; i.e., every piece of band music I’ve ever received since spring 2008. It took me 87 minutes.
My
arm
was
KILLING
me.
I discovered it is pretty difficult for a weak-armed 13-year-old to hold up a trombone with her left appendage for over an hour.
Practice *more*? it gets better.
I’m surprised it was your arm that was hurting and not your lips. What’s your range/the range of the music you usually play?
Also, does your horn have an F attachment?
Well, my lips started feeling really rubbery, and my sound became like * blows raspberry* but the range of music I usually play – and this is my band music, not books music – is around low B flat – high F. And the high F is the difficult stuff – that we don’t receive often. Mostly in city-run band camp…( which SudoRandom should come to this summer ) and in chamber winds. See, I take private lessons, but also have the band in school, which has really easy music for all the second-years who don’t take lessons.
please forgive me but I think what you are doing is so cute and little. It’s completely unfair, since when I was thirteen I was like that… band music for me usually stays between a low G and high B flat, had a high C once in jazz, had a low D once in orchestra.
Making faces helps your lips feel better after playing high notes. It’s also fun, especially at people. And playing with more air is pretty much the best thing you can do ever.
*confusion* What? And how do you know I’m thirteen…oh yeah.
*makes faces*
*glee*
Alanna’s got a bent key. *sigh* It could have always been bent, because I’ve never had to use that particular lever before. I never, ever drop her.
Does anyone else talk to their instruments several times each day? I even tell Alanna good-night sometimes.
Hahahaha! *imagines Ducky saying good night to flute* No, but I apologize for dropping my trombone. It’s easier to drop than a flute..my trombone has dents on it. *feels ashamed*
Dodecahedron, what exercises do you do when you warm up?
My saxophone has a massive (mysterious, too. I have no idea where it came from) dent in the bell.
Ooh! On the subject of Saxophones, I get to play baritone Saxophone in Chamber Winds, adn everyone says it’ll be as big as me! Hooray for giant instruments!
I bet a bass saxophone would be twice as tall as you.
Ooh, that would be fun!
47.1-
My private lesson teacher has a packet that I usually warm up with:
1. Long tones- all whole notes, slow: starting on a middle B flat, go to A, back to B flat, to A flat, etc. until you reach F. Then, start on F, go to E, F, E flat, etc. until low B flat. Then same B flat until low E. After low E I usually go down chromatically with my trigger until I reach pedal B flat. This should use a lot of air.
2. Articulation: four sixteenth notes, quarter note, four sixteenth notes, quarter note, twelve sixteenth notes, quarter note. Start in varied places to keep from becoming boring. As fast as possible while still sounding good. Vary articulations. I practice this both single and double tongued, because I need to double tongue for some music. Then I do a similar thing but with six sixteenth notes in triplets instead of four for triple tonguing. (I seem to need triple tonguing most if not only for orchestra: it’s been in A Night on Bald Mountain, the 1812 overture, and Jupiter from the Planets)
3. Lip slurs. The ones in the packet are quarter notes: low B flat, middle F, middle B flat, D, middle B flat, F, low B flat in first position. Out to seventh. I usually pick any three or four random notes, or extend the top of the slur to middle F/high A flat/high B flat, or use a slur from marching band instead/in addition to this, because it’s boring.
4. Flexibility: Eight sixteenth notes, middle B flat down to F and back. Eighth note middle B flat, eighth note F, quarter note low B flat. As fast as possible, the last quarter note is actually shorter than that because you’re breathing. Out to seventh position. Also: Twelve sixteenth notes, middle F to low B flat. quarter note F. I usually practice lip shakes/trills on a higher note (high F up to A flat, or D to F, depending how I feel about high notes that day). Those are basically switching as fast as possible. I practice them because they’re in my jazz music.
After this, I’ll either go directly to practicing music or do scales. I need to know all of my major scales, and I try to play them all in two octaves, although it’s sometimes not possible with C flat/B. I am also trying to learn minor scales (scale tones flat: 3 6 7 for natural minor, 3 7 for harmonic minor) and blues scales (for jazz: 1, flat 3, 4, sharp 4, 5, flat 7) and become at least passingly familiar with pentatonics (notes 1 2 3 5 6 of major scale). Obviously, this progresses slowly, because I can’t do it all every day.
My exercises seem a little extreme written out like this, but I use the skills they develop in daily playing, and it’s important to know the basics to playing well so that you can build upon them. I didn’t do this last year, but I wish I had- it makes bands easier.
47.1.1- A baritone saxophone is only like four feet tall…
If you want something impressive, and which is used in band (unlike subcontrabass flute, sorry), try contrabass clarinet. I sit next to our contrabass clarinetist in band, he has to sit on a stool instead of a chair to play, it’s five or six feet long. Also awesome.
48- Those are the electrics with an open body? I wish. I have an acoustic but it hurts my fingers to practice and anyway I don’t have time. penguini has one, it’s /nice./
Does/can anyone else read tenor clef? Because we were sightreading in orchestra today… did not go well. If it’s a tenor trombone they should teach us how to read tenor clef earlier. like, sometime in the first half of high school would’ve been nice? It makes life interesting, at least.
I do long tones too. Also lip slurs. I have no idea what double tongue is ( is that bad? ) I know some scales and I know I should probably work on more…but when I think about it, there are so MANY, and then I get utterly unmotivated. Uggghhh…
It’s not bad if you never need to use it. And it’s not that hard to figure out. Double tonguing is used when you’re playing sixteenth notes at a tempo around or over (it depends on the person) 120 beats per minute and can’t tongue them all normally. After tonguing normally (T at the back of your teeth), then you press somewhere farther back on your tongue to your palate, making a K sound. This alternates. Triple tonguing is either TTK or TKT noises.
There are a lot of scales. I’m playing a solo this April that’s an audition for All-State Band next year, so I need to know them all, so I practice them.
Good luck! What’s the piece?
Thanks!
The piece is called Sonata III, by Benedetto Marcello, arranged by Richard Fote. Another arrangement, for bass trombone instead, is here: youtube.com/watch?v=CKAd79fy-CU It’s similar except most of my solo is an octave higher.
What’s the highest note you have to play?
A natural. During the sixteenth note run of doom* in the first allegro movement, and the peaks of the phrases in the second allegro.
*it’s about two lines worth of sixteenth notes covered by slur marks for phrasing, all on ledger lines above the staff. The worst part is that it’s so high that I can’t practice as often as I want because I can’t reach the notes over sustained periods of time. the highest part goes like this:
ECEFGEFDECEFGEFDECEGAGFEFDFGAGFEFAFDEbGEbDDb
you’re allowed to breathe during the second C in and the third D from the end, although I suspect that cellists playing the original version still play those notes.
I liked the piece. I can’t believe you have to play the ECE..etc. sequence in sixteenth notes, though. I would get become SO frustrated if I had to do that .. I think I will go practice now. o-O
Does anyone here like to play acoustic/eclectic guitar? I do.
Electric bass.
Cool! I have a Ibanz acoustic-eclectic guitar with a full seized fretboard, cut-away and a small body.
I’m pretending I understood every single word of that. Play along.
My bass isn’t full size… If I got another, I’d get a full size with more than four strings.
47.1.1.1 – Rejected, SR.
Bass saxophones are HUGE. Like, was taller than me.
Have you ever seen a sub-contrabass flute? I haven’t, but I’ve seen pictures. They’re about six feet tall.
is right!!!!!!
I play the cello. It’s awesome!
Two of my cousins play the cello. It is kind of funny though, because my one cousin is really short and his cello is taller than him. : P
My Grandma played the cello in school but then quit because it was to heavy to carry home. (She had to walk home for around three miles)
I found a cheap Irish tin whistle in my room today and have now printed out a fingering chart. It’s really easy and fun to play, but I keep using C flute fingerings, which doesn’t work very well on an instrument with six holes.
I’m going to get a new viola in a one-inch bigger size. And this might sound weird, but I kind of don’t want to give my current viola up, and replace it with a “stranger.”
We’re going to start learning about chamber music in orchestra, so today a string quartet came to our class to demonstrate for us. It was pretty cool.
Anyone else know the Lacrimosa? I haven’t played the trumpet in AGES, and Miskavage just asked me to play it for a concert tomorrow… Ugh. At least I only have two notes.
-A
We’re playing “Bohemian Rhapsody” in band! *glee* Trombone has a really cool part!!! Well, I do. Julian has second trombone, which is more boring. But he asked for it, so he can just deal with the boring-ness.
It’s really unfair, you know that right? The saxophonists were the ones who wanted to play it, and you got the melody!!!! Then Gustav (spelled?) has the caking tenor sax. I’ll go continue this on the Rants an “Plaints thread. Bye, all!
Well, the trombones Hardly Ever get the melody, so we deserve it for this one song…and you have the melody too, so why are you complaining??!
I am a trombone in my school band and the trombones always get a couple measures of melody.
You’re a trombone?! I didn’t know trombones could talk type.
So is Magnolia.
The saxophones might play Bohemian Rhapsody better with less rests, actually. Whenever there’s a rest, we all stop and sing along, and then can’t get back on our saxophones in time…
I play piano but I don’t play in band or orchestra in school. Just plain old Chorus.
I play piano too…today I spent an hour working on one movement of a sonatina I’ve been playing for ages and I still can’t play it well enough at the right tempo. Argh. *smacks Clementi over the head with computer keyboard*
Oh, I remember Clementi sonatinas….*shudders*
I can play the second part of Heart and Soul, and Ode to Joy, and Mary Had a Little Lamb. But I’ve seen the stuff Pseudonym’s piano teacher forces her to play. The Beatles stuff is alright, but there’s way too much classical.
*helps Pseudonym smack Clementi over the head with things*
I’m doing one of those. Opus 36, Number 2. I have the first movement down, but I CANNOT get the second one memorized. At least the recital’s not until February 13.
Ohh. Clementi sonatinas. I played two movements out of one a while back. It was kinda fun.
Right now I’m learning Doctor Gradus, which is Debussy’s parody of Clementi.
Currently my favourite composers to play are Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, and Burgmuler.
I play some classical duets but they’re not difficult.
The dude who wants to sell me a flute is coming to my school sometime this week!! I feel so extraordinarily happy because I won’t be playing a flute that has a dent in it from my clumsy days.
If you have a band class, what do you do if there’s a sub? My class just uses it as a study hall in which one can be rather loud and use whatever tehnologies one has but is not supposed to posess at school. Fun times. I was just wondering because when I was in middle school, we had a gust conductor, and that never went over well, because the sub never conducted the way my teacher did.
Well, most of the time the sub knows almost nothing about teaching band and is just there to supervise, and A (clarinet) of F (sax) will do the rest. Occasionally we’ll get a sub who actually knows what they’re doing.
Our band department has two band teachers, so if our normal teacher is out (that’s almost never), the other teacher takes over. But I don’t like her style of conducting… Which stinks, because I’ll have her next year.
Today, in band, I named my saxophone. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis Bundy the Second.
Silico, for short.
That’s a beautiful name. Or at least I think it would be if I could pronounce it…
You named your sax after a lung disease ?
I named mine Canbe Liberty Selmer. Canbe from the Phantom Tollbooth and Liberty Selmer because that’s what brand he is.
Of course I named it after a lung disease. Why wouldn’t I name it after a lung disease?
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis Bundy the Second.
Why Bundy? The Second?
Pronunciation: Noo-mo-no-ultra-mike-ro-scopic-sil-ih-co-volcano-cone-ee-oh-sis.
By the way, I was reading my daily ‘word of the day’ email, and it mentioned pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. (I managed to misspell that, despite copying from Keiffer, and discovered that my computer knows that word. I was ready to be sad if it didn’t, but I’m happy now.
My saxophone is named Ellie. Because I was looking at my saxophone, and the name Ellie randomly popped into my head, and it seemed like a good name.
HELP URGENTLY NEEDED
Recently, after playing a lot my left hand will hurt a little, but now after I practiced just a little it hurts like crazy when I try to lay it flat. It’s never hurt this much before, even after playing for half an hour! Am I doing something wrong?
Are there any other flute-playing MBers who can help me?
A lot of practicing can do that to you. Don’t worry about it, unless it hurts for an extended period of time (a week or longer). It will probably go away in the next two days.
How often do you play and how long have you been playing for? If you’re new to the instrument, I would imagine it might hurt after playing for a long time. I don’t really remember if it hurt when I started out…
I haven’t been practicing any more than usual, and I’ve been playing for almost three years, which is why this worries me.
For the first few weeks I played oboe, it hurt my hands to hold it for too long. The hand position is closer together and more cramped than on an alto saxophone. I’m used to it now, though I still can’t hold an embouchure for more than half an hour, forty-five minutes tops.
This past weekend I learned that I could hold an embouchure for about 1 1/2 hours straight if I didn’t think about my lips, just the music.
I’m sorry; I can’t help. It sounds like you hurt the wrist some other way, and playing aggravated it, but I can’t explain it’s suddenly hurting more.
And I don’t play the flute.
Again, sorry I can’t be much help.
Repetitive strain injury is a possibility. Sometimes technique is a contributing factor; for example, the way you hold your hand might be placing extra stress somewhere else. Posture and other health factors can also play a part. There are exercises to strengthen supporting muscles and relieve the stress. If RSI is the problem, it’s likely to recur and possibly get worse over time. You should talk to your teacher.
RSI is common among musicians, many of whom mistakenly believe it’s just something they have to put up with. The fact that symptoms tend to come and go makes it that much easier to ignore — until the problem becomes chronic and much harder to treat.
Well, it was fine today at band practice, so maybe it’ll be fine.
I need to name my clarinet! Any suggestions? (My mouthpiece is a Babbit and the rest of it is a Buffet. I like my clarinet. It needs a name!)
Anthony.
Bubfet.
No, thank you.
It’s a girl, btw.
Beatrice?
Bubbles, Delilah, Melody Malandybuck…..
Delilah! Meow, meow, meow!
Mandy, Molly, Millie, Zoe, Annie, or Betsy.
I’ve just practiced “Bohemian Rhapsody” on the trombone, and the trombone part OWNS! Take that, saxophone section!
I just imagined Princess Peach ( in my avatar ) playing the trombone. Ha.
Today the front row as almost empty, except for me and one clarinet. I just realized how small my band is.
Ahem, Princess _M. You should be mad that they chopped of the middle of the song, instead of bragging that you have the better part. I bet if they hadn’t chopped off the middle, we would have had a better part, too. So there.
Nope. Trombone parts own. At least in the kind of music YOU like…
By the way, I was going to say something, but now I forgot what it is. DARN.
Oh yeah. Are me and Dodecahedron really the only two trombonists on the blog??
I think there was some bubble person too. Unless that’s you with a new name.
There is somebody called Bubbles (En doesn’t post too often though), and Princess Magnolia used to be called Bubblebabe, so that’s probably what you’re thinking of.
Bubblebabe would be her, then. Oh well.
I can’t believe they cut of the climax! It’s like… a sin!
Have I mentioned that the 1812 overture is the most epic thing to play EVER with a full orchestra? I am shaking for at least ten minutes after, and I have to catch my breath. Words are not enough to describe it.
…you can go back to arguing about which part of Bohemian Rhapsody is the best now…
I’m considering getting a piccolo, and I have a lot of questions. Can one use flute sheet music for a piccolo, and vice versa, are flute and piccolo fingerings the same or similar, how low can you go on a piccolo (ooh, that rhymed), which kind should I get, can the thinness of piccolo cause hand injuries, is a piccolo harder to play than a flute, and am I asking too many questions?
Woah. Okay, let’s break this down.
1) Yes, it’s in the same key, but if it’s with your band, there might be a specific piccolo part.
2) You can go down to low D (below the staff) and maybe C if you have that little roller key at the end.
3) DO NOT GET PRELUDE! The first year I played it, I borrowed it, a Gemeinhardt (I love that company…). But then I bought one, a Prelude. That instrument is CAKE. It’s always out of tune! I dislike it, I don’t even really play it anymore, but that’s also because of other reasons, which I don’t want to get into. I don’t know about other brands, but Gemeinhardt is really really really really really really really really really good. I have my mom’s flute from when she was in high school, and it might as well be brand new. What a beautiful instrument… It’s solid silver, all of it. I LOVE it, it just needs to be tuned up. ACK I’M OFF TOPIC!
4) Nope. A little cramp here and there, that’s it.
5) Piccolos are easier to play then flutes, in my opinion. Your hands don’t have to stretch as much. The only thing is that you have to change your embouchure, and the high notes are hard to get to, but I can get up to a high F, and sometimes a G.
6) Nope!
I would try to rent one for a year or so first before purchasing it. Make sure you like it.
Funny story, my friend bought a saxophone God knows when, and never picked it up. She meant to get lessons, but never did. So she just had this sax in her closet. Now she’s selling it. Whatever…
I happen to love playing the piccolo, the sound is wonderful. It’s also not the best instrument to play with a headache.
To add to what kind of piccolo to get, Gemeinhardt’s are EXPENSIVE. I would LOVE to have one… Also, you can get a full metal one, a metal and wood (or plasticky stuff), or a full wood one. The latter doesn’t have a lip plate, I tried one once, it was weird to play. It’s also shriller.
You should talk to someone who knows about piccolos before buying it, don’t go on my advice.
Hmm. I don’t mean don’t listen to me, just make sure that you talk to someone who knows more than me, and get a couple opinions.
I wasn’t planning on getting wood – too expensive and reqiures too much special care for me. I’ll ask the guy who fixed my flute if he knows any piccolo players.
Yep, it’s Bill, who I have had since I was 6 years old and he was one day old.
My mom has no idea what the realistic price range for a musical instrument, and therefore I’m going to get a used plastic body, silver-plated headjoint Bundy that costs $200, and she’s going to order it online, which I don’t like, especially for a used instrument, though Alanna came from the same place that I’m probably going to get the piccolo from, and she’s not bad, but then again, she was new, so maybe I can convince her (my mom, not Alanna. ) to get a new one for $50 more than the used one.
Good news, all!
I got into second chair band junior district band!
I got my folder on Thursday!
For those who don’t know, Junior district is a really prestigious audition band (And orchestra, which I was in last year).
‘Twould be amazing if anyone else got in. I can’t say the district (Because then you could find me). Did anyone audition?
Sorry, I didn’t audition, but congratulations! That is great news!
My friend did!! Her name is September and she knows me! Ahhah! ( Well, if it’s the same district. ) This year I have History Day on the concert day, and last year I didn’t make it in. But congrats!
And, by the way, September did make it in. She plays the violin.
GET SEPTEMBER TO FIND ENCELADUS AND SAY THAT SHE KNOWS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS SUDORANDOM AND THAT ENCELADUS SHOULD GIVE HER HIS EMAIL AND THEN SHE’LL GIVE IT TO YOU AND YOU’LL GIVE IT TO ME!
Or else.
I got my new flute! En is a Jupiter. Open hole, solid silver head, and silver plated body and foot. En plays beautifully, and feels so good compared to my old flute. Normally by now I would have chosen at least a gender for my flute, if not a name, but I’m really stumped. My last flute was a girl, but my new flute seems so much stronger. We have a concert tomorrow, so I’ll see how I do with en in front of an audience to choose the gender.
I’m going to my first large group contest on Tuesday! I don’t really know what to expect. Do y’all have any words of wisdom about competition?
Offset G? Split E?
If your flute is open hole, its keys are probably in a straight line, like mine. If not, the the two keys around that key that makes the A flat and not a G are offset.
I have no clue what split E means.
A split E mechanism is basically a thing that presses down the second G key when you play a high Eâ™®. Alanna’s the only flute in the band that has one, and she was about $220.
It’s a straight hole, and I have no clue about the E. I’m guessing it’s not a split E, though.
Flutes with inline G keys almost never have a split E, which is just a little thing that pushes down the second G key to make a high E easier to play. (Am I being a know-it-all? If so, I apologize. )
I haven’t played a musical instrument since I was ten (being able to do Frere Jacques with one finger on a piano doesn’t count, at least for me), but I have just become a roadie for the school pep band!!
Which means that I walk around with the band at basketball and football games pretending I belong there and steal pizza and brownies when they are passed around. It also means that I hold Hippolyta’s music for her, because it’s hard to play “On Wisconsin” on the clarinet and hold up a sheet of paper at the same time. It also means that I hang out with Lysander, Hippolyta, and occasionally Peaseblossom right between the clarinets and the trumpets and discuss life and the possibility that we’re drugging each other’s Cokes.
Lysander: “Ah, here comes the groupie.”
Me: “I’m not a groupie, dude, I’m a roadie. Subtle difference.”
L: “Yeah? What is the difference, then?”
M: “Roadies are geekier. And less slutty. Can I have a Skittle?”
L: “No! My Skittles!”
Hippolyta: “You two are so cute when you banter.”
*sigh* Band was… interesting today. We have to play a song from *twitches* twilight . *shudders* It’s actually not that bad, though, at least not for me. See, there’s two flute parts. One is melody with clarinets, I think, and the other one is sort of background. K_ is doing the melody, and I’m doing the other one. K-, who is K_’s older sister, plays the flute most of the time, but she’s doing piano for this one. The other flute player, , is totally useless.
The problem is that the part that K_ is doing has a lot of high Eâ™®s, her flute dosen’t have a split E, and she has trouble with that note. Oddly enough, Alanna has a split E, but there’s no high E in my part; it’s all low notes.
Yes, it’s called Bella’s Lullaby.
Alexander (my flute) has to get fixed….
I hit one of the keys a couple of years ago, and suddenly it’s been overlapping the other key and not letting me play… and some of the keys don’t close all the way… the pads might need to be replaced… (which is EXPENSIVE)
72-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have a question! There are dark spots on Alanna’s headjoint, around the tone holes, and in other places that stay pretty clean. Why might this be happening? I asked the band instructor, and she doesn’t know. I always wrap a cloth around the headjoint when I dry the inside, wipe the fingerprints off the rest when I’m done playing, and I never store the cleaning cloths inside the my flute case.
73- Is your flute silver? If it is, those might be signs of tarnish (which can be fixed by rubbing special clothes over it, or there’s solutions too I think). If it’s not sterling or silver plated brass, it’s probably made of a nickel-silver alloy or brass plated in nickel.
If the spots aren’t too bad/and you think they are tarnish, it’s probably from the oil on your hands, which can stay even when you wipe it off. If you try rubbing at one for 15 min or so it might start to fade without any solutions if it’s not to bad. If not, try a tiny bit of rubbing alcohol and see if that makes it any better. Worth a shot, anyway.
69- New flutes win. I got my current flute my freshman year, for my birthday. It’s solid sterling with a gold-plated mouthpeice, open hole, off-set G, and has the extra B foot joint and high C key (not sure what that’s actually called… when you’re playing C-twice-above-staff it makes it clearer (Nevermind, Wiki says it’s called a Gizmo key, hehe) ). I love my flute. ♥
I should go practice my solo now… contest is in a week (!!!) and my piece needs work and is exhausting x_x It’s a Handel sonata, an allegro, an adagio, and another allegro.
It’s siver plated, and most of the places are physicaly impossible/ extremely difficult to get a fingerprint on, such as around the tone holes and around the mechanisim.
Yes, it’s probably just a little tarnished. Gases in the air can do this, not just fingers. I think it’s sulfur? Look for a silver cleaning cloth, you can get one at a jewelers. If that’s not working, you can bring it to a repair shop and see what they have to say. When I brought mine to get the foot joint tightened, the man said that he could strip it down with chemicals to clean it, replace the pads, etc., for about $100ish. Not a bad price.
Hope you can fix your problem!
I just finished playing my solo for contest. I played “Entr’acte” by Georges Bizet. It was … interesting. I was really nervous before I played, and then afterwards I was going over every little thing I did wrong to my friend. I got an excellent rating, so that’s good. I can’t wait to see the actual critique sheet tomorrow, though, because I want to see every little thing I can improve on for next year. After my solo, I left my Chapstick in the room. My friend went right after me, but did she grab it? Oh, no, she just told me about it after the door had closed. I had the privilege of waiting in the hallway to dash in and get my Chapstick. The duet that I was waiting for had a very long solo. I love band.
Jadestone: Good luck on your solo!
I leave for contest any minute now, as soon as dad gets home. I have a lot of time at where we’re playing because my sister is going earlier in the day than I am. I’m really worried because I started to feel a little sick yesterday, and today I am getting a cold. It’s already halfway to being one x_x This is bad because my solo is 2 straight pages of 16th notes (two movements are allegro, one andante) and I am already very out of breath by the end when I can actually breathe x_x
Uhg. I’m brining a video camera, so if it goes well I might extract the audio and send it to the GAPAs or something. It’s really a pretty piece–a sonata by Georg Friedrich Handel.
Good luck!
You know what would be awesome? A freakin’ MB Orchestra.
YES.
That would be so awesome.
*tries to figure out how it would be possible*
*also tries to figure out how it would be possible, and fails*
Maybe when we’re all grown-up and don’t need parental permission. Then we could just get together arbitrarily and have a random orchestra rehearsal and then concert, after having posted the music pieces on MB for people to download and practice. We could put money together to hire Carnegie Hall…:D
Oh, no! Piano testing today…*dies*
Ok, I suppose it isn’t that bad, I am just super nerves (SP?).
Good luck!
Oh, not nerves, nervous.
I finally decided on a name and gender for my clarinet.
Finally.
Her name is Lala.
*headdesk*
NOT like the Teletubbies character. Like singing. Or lalaland, where I practically live half the time.
*glares at M*
I have a question. Are all bassoonists strange?
I know two bassoonists, both of whom are a bit…off-kelter, and am wondering whether I just happen to know people that are bassoonists and are slightly off-kelter, or if all bassoonists are like this.
You mean, like, crazy, or you mean really unique?
One probably has to be rather strange to choose to play the bassoon.
Yes, most certainly not as normal, sane and average as us.
ARE ALL BASSOONISTS STRANGE *falls on the floor laughing*
My stand partner Paperclip has names for our bassonists. “The Most Interesting Bassoonist In the World” is really, really good at math and plays piano and clarinet. He doesn’t talk much, but he’s a really good pianist and friends with everyone in my friend group pretty much. Also, he was in robotics in the sixth grade with me. He was really good at programming… and I was not. “Big Brother” plays piano, bass, flute, and also conducts the pep band and stars in the musical and is in advanced jazz and Battle of the Books and student government. He basically rules the band and randomly says random stuff that makes everyone laugh. Even in math class. One time he didn’t bring his bassoon because it was in the shop, and the shop was closed. His punishment was to sit in the bassoon section Doing Nothing for the whole class. It was the perfect punishment.
Big Brother: “Percussionists, I was watching you all and you’re not watching me!”
Me, to Paperclip: “Big Brother is watching…”
Also, the bassoon section of two people can beat the seven-person flute section so badly it’s funny. Both sections had an eighth note run for around four or five measures in “Ghosts of the Taman Negara” (I feel slightly silly naming my songs because they’re probably so insanely easy compared to what everyone else here is playing) and the band director had both sections play it. All you could hear was bassoons, with random notes and frantic excuses from the flute players somewhere underneath.
ARE ALL BASSOON PLAYERS STRANGE
*more insane laughter*
They’re not strange. Really. I just…
*more laughing*
The Most Interesting Bassoonist in the World and Big Brother are perfectly normal bassoonists, they’re just… bassoonists. Perfectly not off-kelter. On-kelter? Hmm.
Like Princess Magnolia said, really really unique.
GUITAR LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!
…Yeah. *drools over (but not on) guitar*
I am currently writing a song for NON on the piano, without knowing how to write music or how to play the piano. Yet somehow I’ve already worked in violin, even though I don’t know any chords.
Cool things we’re playing in band camp:
“Grease!” medley
“Star Wars/Raiders March”
A “Hollywood Memories” thing that includes the Star Trek theme song!!!
I also like the Thunderer and Rhapsody in Blue, even though they’re much more boring.
I like Thunderer, but Rhapsody in Blue, not so much.
Hey…what happened to my comment? Well, whatever.
I love getting new music ridiculously much. ( grammar? )
A B A C# A D A E A F# A G# A A A
A G# A F# A E A D A C# A B A A A
I’m posting here only to ask why no one likes this thread. SFTQP.
There are, um, not a lot of people here, are there?
I just learned to play the melody AND harmony of La Folia (A. Corelli) on my violin simultaneously. It’s really hard, but also fun. Except I keep misreading the music and missing chords, since I have to flick back and forth between two pieces.
Fun!
Ooh, I love La Folia!
When people ask me whether I play an instrument, I get to say “saxophone and oboe and violin and also English horn.” It’s fun, because it’s never the response they’re expecting.
Ghost thread… Ooohh, creepy.
We’re playing An Original Suite by Gordon Jacob… It’s evil, especially the last movement. It’s been the cause for tears several times already. :p
In Tri-M, we’re getting a bunch of people together to perform a song from Harry Potter, though. It’ll be faaaaaaaaahbulous!
Let me add to this post:
We’re playing Sleigh Bells too. It’s such an awesome song. Oh, also, I hate sixteenth note runs. And fifthlets. Cinqlets? Fifthtuplets? *sigh*
Fifthlets?
Hmm, perhaps a 2011 version would help revive this thread. Why is it so dead? I would think people would always have lots to talk about when it comes to making music.
Gotta go record my scales now.
I’m in chorus. It’s fun. I’ll be in a musical soons, Beauty and the Beast! I’m excited. I don’t think I’ll do choir next semester, though, because then we’re doing a pop show, and anyway, I want to do a math supplement that semester.
I know a lot of you are in band. It sounds like the people there are awesome! Personally, though, I wouldn’t enjoy it at all because it sounds really chaotic (I hate any kind of chaos caused by humans; it terrifies me; I can hardly stand the hallways), and I doubt I’d like any of the songs. It would be nice to be in a class with all band kids, though–band kids who didn’t already know each other, anyway. That would be fun.
Band is more than a group- it’s your life.
Out of curiosity, why don’t you think you’d like the music? It’s not pop music or anything; those things only make appearances as pep music. Look up October and/or Equus by Eric Whitacre, Blue Shades and/or An American Elegy by Frank Ticheli, and Mannin Veen by Haydn Wood.
KINGFISHERS CATCH FIRE BY JOHN MACKEY
LISTEN TO THE SECOND MOVEMENT ONLINE
MY FAVORITE PIECE WRITTEN FOR BAND EVER
We really should get a new one of these threads.
But until then:
In jazz combo today, my band director announced that we would be playing transcriptions from the Miles Davis Quintet, specifically the chart “Freddie Freeloader”. I was really excited. Then he put me on the trumpet solo for its simplicity (the clarinet and trumpet were each playing a chorus from this solo, as well.) I decided that I am going to listen to the recording and then play a section of the Coltrane solo. One chorus. It’s only twelve bars, how hard can it be? Anyway, chances are I’ll end up playing the Davis solo (his style is really short and detached which makes it easier to play the notes than, say, COLTRANE which is why the band director didn’t put anyone on Coltrane’s solo. But I’d like to try to sort of attempt the Coltrane solo, just for the fun of it, because I just don’t want to play Miles Davis solos unless I’ve got some sort of mute, which is the whole point of Miles Davis trumpet solos. So I shall attempt the Coltrane solos.
My tenor sax has a name. Her name is Meghan. It’s a long story. Also, apparently my name is now Penelope, but that is a different story.
Glee should sing the theme to Star Wars.
My parents want to know when my next pop song will come along. I’ve written a few of okay quality so the actual songwriting process isn’t too hard, but could someone give me an idea or a first line please? I play the keyboard if that helps. Thank. n_n
How about “Mamihlapinatapai”? https://musefanpage.com/blog/?p=13998#comment-485024
Oh my gosh my last post on here is from the eighth grade.
Three years later, I think I can say I’m a little better at tey whole music thing, if only marginally. I went to this cool fine arts camp up in michigan and learned a lot there.
My friend made a small video game demo thing and I thought it was cute so I wrote a song for it. I use Famitracker for 8-bit stuff, but I’m still waiting to regain use of my laptop for the bass sounds, because pure famitracker chip sound doesn’t produce very good bass, or at least none that I can procure. I understand that 8bit tracker-emulator things aren’t technically the purest chiptune, as the purest chiptune would involve physically programming a chip to produce noises, and i currently do not even possess the skills to code my way out of a paper bag. However, it’s much better than the compressor I was previously using.
Does anyone have any experience with chiptunes? What do you do for bass things? What about other electronically synthesized forms of music?