TESTPIECE TRYOUT - Hayward's Theatre

What a great evening at the Hayward Theatre, thanks Professor Bateman for arranging the event. This weeks rehearsal certainly produced a much improved recording than the one from Saturday night so the idea of playing in a different environment certainly worked.

Band Suggestions 2014

Greetings everyone,

If you have any suggestions for the band for 2014 and beyond please let me know littleportbrass@gmail.com

Cheers

Andrew

BAND BLOG - COMING BACK TO LIFE

After a year off I am pleased to announce that the Littleport Brass Band Blog is now active again.

Please feel free to comment on any forthcoming posts, if you have the urge to become an author please contact myself or Shaun to assist.

Happy reading.....

Regards

Andrew

KEEPING YOUR LIP IN

Hi everyone, it has been a while since a post has been submitted so please feel free to comment:

Players in second section and below rarely find time to practice their instrument outside rehearsal. "too busy", "can't rehearse at home" etc these are all valid reasons however you don't need much time everyday to make a difference. Playing for 5 minutes a day on long notes can boost your note production and strengthen your lip. When you start playing at rehearsal you will find the benefit even from playing a small amount between these valuable practice sessions. Try increasing your range by practicing a scale, moving one note up every week, it will enhance your playing a great deal.

The band is heading for 1st section, the pieces will get harder so it will benefit the band and players if practice outside rehearsal can be maintained.

If you can find any time between rehearsals I am sure you will be pleased with yourself for putting in the extra effort.

Another idea is to go to the bandroom, there are no distractions, you can't do anything else but practice so you can really get some quality practice in.

The band is sounding great and the Folkestone Test Piece is coming along, any practice achieved outside rehearsals will be a valuable bonus.

Thanks for listening, again please feel free to comment

Andrew

QUOTE TO REMEMBER: "tuning is everything" - John Berryman

Contest Focus

Contest Focus is difficult in my opinion, playing in a brass band as a hobby has it's own draw backs, you don't get paid, you rely on 20+ other players to put in the effort and attend rehearsals as well as yourself. Playing is not an everyday affair for most second section bands, would you be expected to turn up once a week and perform at a high standard for your day job, do you think the results would be consistently good, probably not, so why do we beat ourselves up about contests? I personally like the challenge, it gets the players of the band playing regularly which must be good for the overall output, it is team building and rewarding when things go right on the day, it is also good to know where you sit in the scheme of things, as a player and a band.

Contest focus can be difficult to obtain, if you have nothing to aim for then what is the point some might say, well there is always something to aim for: staying in the section, going for the section above, whipping the competition, grabbing the trophy or just trying to be the best you can at the time. Take your pick and you have then obtained Contest Focus.

That's Entertainment

Three words . . . . Venezuelan Brass Ensemble. I read about this group of brass players here and knew I had to find out more. So I checked out youtube and found this. I urge you to watch this and not be amazed at the playing, but, more so, without a smile on your face. I couldn't stop grinning when I watched this clip. And neither could the exceptional musicians performing (yes, performing, not simply playing) the music. To see players on stage and clearly enjoying themselves is truly refreshing.

They have an CD available and I so nearly purchased it from iTunes. But didn't, because I would be missing out on the whole experience of the Ensemble; yes, technically they are superb (check out some of their other videos), but I would be missing their joy and exhuberance of playing; and the audience reaction.

This got me thinking; do brass bands take themselves too seriously? I'm not saying that we should go on stage, particularly at a contest, grinning like Cheshire cats. But, we are still performing to an audience, whether it's in Stevenage at the Areas, or Hunstanton bandstand in the summer. I now see where Nigel is coming from when he tells us to enjoy performing on the contest stage, let alone when playing concerts. Afterall, we have spent several months working hard on a 12 minute piece of music; don't we deserve to savour the moment . . . and enjoy it?

You can find out more about the Venezuelan Brass Ensemble, and the fascinating 'Music as a social program of the Venezuelan State', which nuture this talent here. And enjoy another version of Leonard Bernstein's 'Mambo' from West Side Story here, just watch the audience and performers' interaction without smiling.

AGM 2011

Greetings, a massive thanks to everyone who attended the AGM last week, it was a good turnout compared to previous years.

The first Committee Meeting of the season is the 10th February so if anyone has any views or comments please contact myself or a member of the Committee.

Looking forward to a busy and profitable 2011