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

Resurgam

Fantastic music. Nothing else to add really. Except that last night's rehearsal was fantastic, can't wait until next Wednesday.

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......