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