LOUGHBOROUGH

Just wanted to say a BIG congratulations to everybody for all the hard work and commitment over the past few weeks, also want to thank Nigel B for his time and effort (which must have been quite frustrating at times).

Now to the Areas in 2011 - we must start believing in ourselves - we can do it! I for one am looking forward to it.

'I Shall Rise Again'

As you may have read in the comments from the previous post, 'Resurgam' by Eric Ball has been selected as the 2nd Section test piece for the Areas 2011.

Putting my initial reaction aside, I've heard the piece (admittedly only once so far so I haven't made my mind up about liking it), but it is going to be a stern test for the band. Okay, it may not be full of semi-quaver runs, clashing chords, complicated percussion parts etc., but it, as Howard rightly said in an earlier comment, it will test warm of sound, muscianship and intonation.

I've done a bit of background searching about 'Resurgam', and, not surprisingly as it sounds very 'hymn-like' in places, it's origin seems steeped in religious undertones, allowing the listener to contemplate the fact that what may appear to be pain and loss is often gain and victory in a spiritual sense. Even from death, 'I shall rise again'.'

To give some indication of how difficult it is likely to be, it was used as the test piece for the British Open in 1950, so played by Championship Section bands of the day. Despite usually being put off brass music such as this mainly down to it's age, I'm looking forward to working on this. I can only seeing it improving the band, particularly with our intonation.

I found the picture of Eric Ball here

Something old, something new.....

After lots of speculation on some brass band forums, the 2011 area test pieces are announced later this month. Although we have no choice but to play whatever piece that is chosen by the selection panel, in an ideal world, what would you like have as the 2nd Section test? A blast from the past, a brass band classic from yesteryear? A contemporary piece written by an up-and-coming composer? Any specific composers whose music you would like to play? What style or type of music do you think suits our band?

2010 SUMMER ENGAGEMENTS - A BIG THANKYOU

Hi everyone, well thats it for another year, a summer filled with engagements, old ones new ones, it has been fun. A big thankyou goes out to everyone who has contributed through this busy time. One of the hardest jobs through the summer is trying to fill the spaces where holidays have played a disruptive part, with some running around and word of mouth deps have been available which has been a big relief, helping the band to produce quality concerts, thanks for all the help.

One thing that stands out is that the band has improved over the summer, March Park's concert was a cracking concert with the band producing a great sound, this together with Nigel's superb music choice really elevated the band, this must be good for all involved.

So that's it for another summer, I personally have had a very enjoyable time over this period, even "Serenade" has become a favourite of mine (haha) now we go into the next part of the year, an exciting time with the slow build up to the areas in March 2011.

Well done again to you all for working hard through this busy summer to make it a success, hope you all enjoyed it

Mr Chairman

Twice in one year

....we're banding at the seaside. As well as this coming Sunday's concert in Sunny Hunny, we're also making the journey to Folkstone in the Autumn for the contest.

I've heard several of us asking exactly when it is in October (myself included), so I've just checked on t'internet and it's October 16th. Mark the date on your calendars folks, because it will be a grand day out.

Punching above our weight

Blimey, I must have got my blogging mojo back! Two posts in as many days!

An enjoyable rehearsal last night, with almost a full band. With a couple of trombones, five on the front row, we did some solid work on some of the music for our remaining summer gigs. (I can't get bloomin' 'Matchmaker' out of my head today though!)

For me though, the best part of the evening was having a blow through 'Purcell Variations' by Kenneth Downie, a potential piece for Folkstone. Undoubtedly the hardest piece we've looked at (certainly since I've been in the band), I thought we had a good go at it. Think back to the first time we blew through 'Kingdom of Dragons'; a lot of us were probably thinking 'we're never going to get this contest ready in time' (I know I was). And look what we achieved at the Areas. If we do decide to play this in October (we've got 'Cross Patonce' by Goff Richards to try next week), I'm certain we'll give a good account of ourselves. It's the type of piece that suits the band, like the aforementioned 'Kingdon of Dragons' and 'The Dark Side of the Moon'. Even from this first run through, the majority seemed to be enjoying it.

I've already touched on 'Purcell Variations' relative difficulty. As Nigel said last night, it's a First Section test piece. And as he also said, there is every possibility that we can go up to the First Section after next springs Area contest. So, what are your thoughts on us playing this level music now? Should we play it (relatively) safe with music relative to our Section, or should we be ambitious and 'punch above our weight'?

If anyone wants to listen to 'Purcell Variations' do a Youtube search, there's a recording of Black Dyke playing it - superb music!

Hitting those high notes

Long time no post. I thought I'd try to get things moving again on the blog, but please, if anyone else wants to be an author on this blog, let me know. I'm sure there's many band members with interesting and valuable topics they would like to put forward and have discussed.

Anyway, I would like some help despite being able to (occasionally) hit the high notes (top D) in Donegal Bay, I am struggling big time. So, does anyone have any advice on specific practice/exercises I can do to help me get higher? Is it a mouthpiece related thing? I do a lot of lip building and flexibility exercises (I have John Ridgeon's 'How Brass Players Do It'), which help to a degree; will these help with high notes?

Any words of help and wisdom will be hugely appreciated.

Great concert, shame about the football!

Last Sunday saw the band perform it's first concert of the year, in the grounds of the wonderfully picturesque Oxburgh Hall. It was an extremely hot June afternoon under the gazebo, with no hint of a cooling breeze. Given the temperature, the band played fantastically well, giving our appreciative audience performances of music new to our reportoire, which all went down very well. The soloists all did cracking jobs (especially Steve, depping on Euphonium), the front row switching to trumpets for a ripping rendition of 'All Night Long' was a refreshing change, as were the two Queen numbers. And a big thank you to the deps who helped us out.

The band received some great feedback afterwards from the audience, and I think we can take positives from this performance and build on them throughout the series of summer concerts. And I personally would like to play at Oxburgh Hall next year, I think it's a lovely location (even though it is 'out in the sticks' a bit - said from someone who lived in Manea for years!).

Sutton Prom next, a different beast entirely though.....

It's All In The Arrangement

I have a confession to make. One that I'm not particularly ashamed of, but one that I never thought I would make. I like playing 'My Fair Lady'. No, that's not correct. I really like playing 'My Fair Lady'. There, I've said it!

Throughout my banding life, I've never been a fan of suites from shows and films, particuarly those from a bygone era; shows that many would deem classics (and having not seen them, who am I to disagree?). But our audiences like to hear them, and that's all that matters.

I've been thinking about why I've taken a shine to this one, and it's down to the arrangement. As simple as that. We've played a few Alan Fernie arrangements and compositions ('Ticket to Ride' and 'Alpine Lullaby' spring to mind), and I like these too. I can't put my finger on what he does to make them good to play. Maybe it's the clever touches (I love the cornet 'wedding bell' effect towards the start of 'My Fair Lady'). It could be that the individual parts seem to be interesting to play (well, the 1st baritone part is). Maybe he has a knack of making relatively old music sound fresh and not twee. Whatever it is, I like it. I may not be saying this in a few months time after playing it throughout the summer, but somehow I think I will.

Now, I wonder if Alan Fernie has done an arrangement of music from one of my all time films (yes, I know I'm about to contradict most of what I've just said), 'The Wizard of Oz'....?

Video won't kill this radio 'star'

If you want to hear me no doubt embarrass myself on air again, I'm on BBC Radio Cambs this Tuesday (16th) between 2 and 3pm. I'll be plugging the band too :-D

Enn-ger-land

So, who's watching the footy?

Cream crackered

After my last blog post (which really got those who read this stuff discussing serious things about the band) about sports mentality etc., just to show I'm not paying the whole work ethic stuff lip service, I've spent all weekend (bar a few hours at Soham carnival today) studying. I want to be a McGuire Programme course instructor and on Wednesday, I'm off to 4 days of assessment, evaluation and exams. It's not easy, but, you know, life's about choice, and I'm prepared to put in whatever effort is needed. Totally self-indulgent post, but there is a message in there somewhere......

The Sport Of Banding

Sports mentality. What does this mean? What is 'having a sports mentality'? Take Tiger Woods. He didn't become the greatest golfer in the world purely with natural talent. Now, I'm sure that he has bags of natural talent, but everyday, he would go out and practise hitting shots with a sand wedge. He knew that in the high pressure environment of a championship match, he may mis-hit the ball into a bunker. But because he had spent hours practising, he knew that he would still be able to hit the ball out of the bunker.

To me, 'having a sports mentality' is playing to win rather than playing not to lose. Just like Tiger Woods with him practising bunker shots just in case. As you know, I'm on a speech recovery programme. As well as dealing with the physical blocking of stammering, I have had to development a sports mentality in order to improve my speech. I have a set of tools and techniques to help me, and I practise, practise, practise using these tools and techniques with family, friends, others on the speech programme and work colleagues (these are all comfort zones to me), so that when I enter a challenging, pressurised speaking situation, I know that my speech will hold up and I won't have a bad experience. I play to win.

What's this got to do with banding? Think about it. It has everything to do with banding. If we want to improve our playing both individually and as a team (our band), we need to practise. Practise in our 'comfort zones', such as in the band room on a Wednesday night, in our homes. Even at your workplace like I do. By doing this, when we play to a concert audience, we know that we can play the music. When we walk out on a contest stage, a pressurised situation, we know that we have put the hard work in beforehand and know that, despite the nerves, our own playing and that of the band will hold up.

We all know that we need to practise playing to get better. It's the same for those who play a sport. You only improve if you put in that extra time. But have you thought about it before as developing a different mentality. Think of it as getting good at the aport of banding.

You may see where I'm coming from with this and agree, or you may think it's a load of nonsense. To me, adopting a sports mentality is probably the biggest factor that has helped me get to where I am with recovering from my stammer. Plus I spent most of last week in Cork on a McGuire Programme speech course, which provided the inspiration for this blog post.

Last NIghts Rehearsal - trumpets, singing and weeds

Well what can I say, a weird rehearsal last night I thought, the summer programme is coming on and pieces like Silverado are getting better however there is a lot of work to be done. The band seems to have a good rehearsal one week and a bad one the next week, 4th place at Stevenage seems a long time ago now. The numbers were down last night so that always has an impact on the band, with the trombone section not actually existing and empty seats it is difficult to produce a balanced band.

The highlights of the night for me were, the front row bringing out the trumpets for "All Night Long", keep squeezing and the high notes will come. Richard suddenly singing for no apparent reason (what was he on?) but the best moment was: Tom going outside to spray the weeds round the bandroom (thats what its like I guess in a fast paced band like ours)

No rehearsal next week so its time to do some homework, yes homework. I have actually taken my folder home to look at, should hear an improvement by the next rehearsal - fingers crossed.

Trombone Player Crisis Point

Hey, time is ticking away nicely, days turning into weeks into months etc.. still we have no trombone section, whats going on!! It is time for everyone to think hard. ask around and see if there are any trom players lurking in the shadows. Please, please lets try, I so want to play Officer Krupke at Sutton (my own selfishness of course)

just in case you forgot what one looks like, please have a look at the picture (Shaun are you auditioning for the section)

C'mon guys keep blogging, you never know you might like it!!

PONTINS RECRUITMENT

Hey, great response in enthusiasm for Pontins, looks like we can expext another dose of superb accomodation, big seagulls and welsh weather, bring it on, if anyone has ideas for trombones please let me know.

practice

good practice tonight,really enjoyed it.thanks nigel b.

It's Good To Type

In these changing times, some people would rather keep in touch with each other via a keyboard, mouse and PC screen. General chit-chat, share amusing thoughts, funny pictures, what they watched on TV. Yep, I'm talking about Facebook.

The band now has it's own Facebook group, kindly set-up by Ryan (thanks Ryan), and there's a link to it on our website. If you are on Facebook already and want to join the band group, drop Ryan an e-mail (via his address on the website) and he'll invite you to join (Ryan, please correct me if this is wrong). As with this blog, it's there for band members and supporters. Enjoy!

SUTTON PROM EXTRA REHEARSALS

Hi everyone, what do you think about having extra rehearsals for Sutton Prom? It is a long night which is always a hard blow, our performance would surely benefit by adding extra work, please let me have your thoughts......

Good Idea

Thanks Shaun for setting this up. It is a good idea and another way for band members to communicate to each other. As for the moth it attacked us on the back row and I am pretty sure it was Adrian's wallet that it came from !!

Ain't Got That Swing!

I was inspired to write this post after watching the TV coverage of the Election last night, particularly the iconic Swingometer (although somewhat disappointedly replaced by something that wouldn't look out of place in a chemistry laboratory, and given the name 'Flo'). I mentioned in my post yesterday about 'Porgy & Bess' and the need to swing (and this isn't a criticism of anyone, I need to loosen up myself). This got me thinking about brass bands playing this type of music.

I'm sure it's not just our band that maybe feels a little awkward adding swing to music that requires this particular style of playing. Is it because, as individuals, we don't listen to this type of music in our own time, so we can't 'feel' the swing rhythm at band? (I'm not saying we should all add swing style music to our playlists at home or in the car, I'll be sticking with my 80's hairspray rock!)

Could it be the brass band image? 'Brass bands play marches, overtures and hymns, and nothing else'. We know that's far from the truth, with film soundtracks and pop music arrangements liberally included in our concert reportoires. But the mentality that we're a brass band and not, say, a big band could be influencing us.

Or it may simply be down to us not playing enough swingy, funky, jazzy, call it what you like, music. After all, practise makes perfect.

The morning after....

Last night, I briefly mentioned the creation this blog at practise. Not too sure that everyone had heard of a blog, but I've followed this up with an e-mail today, so fingers crossed. But, we have three followers and an additional author already! Happy days!

Last night's rehearsal focused on American themed music in preparation for the Sutton Prom. Have to say, that despite not usually being my 'thing', I really liked the 'Porgy & Bess' selection. We just need to get into 'that swing' a bit more perhaps?

Amusing episodes from last night.....heavy breathing coming from the front row inbetween off-beat quavers and the innocent moth that tried to find it's way up Sue's trousers, then distracted the horn section, before meeting it's demise under Adrian's shoe!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Littleport Brass Blog!

I didn't want to patronise anyone by writing the definition of a 'blog', but if you do want to know, good old Wikipedia can help you out.

Unfortunately for you, as I set up the blog, I'm the default author. Now, this is the first blog I've set up, and, despite reading a number of other blogs (mostly beer related ;-) ), I'd prefer this to not be Shaun's blog. Mr. Keene and I had a chat about this while waiting for the recent St. George's Day parade in Ely to start, and thought this would be good forum for band members to post thoughts, comments, musings (you get the idea) about practise nights (perhaps reflecting on some of Nigel's amusing descriptions on how flat the band is sounding), our music, concerts, contests and really anything else you can think of. Another way to further build on the already great team spirit within the band.

Anyone can comment on blog posts (I've currently set the blog up so you don't have to have a Blogger account set up. But if you do want to be a post author (I'm sure you all do or will in time), you will need to set up an account, and then I can add you to the list of blog authors.

Anyways, enough of me. I've no idea if this blog is going to go anywhere, fingers crossed it will though. Over to you...