Concerts

           Concerts they're the things that you work towards. They are the things that not only show your talents, but they show your flaws. Last night I had a concert with Park City's Symphonic Band and their were definitely some flaws show. The percussion I believe, did really well I didn't hear them do anything wrong. The Percussion owned the night, the rest of the ensemble did relatively well, what I depend on to know what the conductor thinks of the band is just to look at his face. Whether it's during the song or right after you will get a visual confirmation of what he thinks. Right after the last song we played was called Earth Dance he mouth the word "awesome" this is a link to what it sounds like on Youtube. Of course we were not as good as that ensemble, but we tried. I think that out of all the pieces that we played that one went the best. It was a pretty easy song in a rhythmic sense, but the real feat was maintaining tone quality and energy throughout the entire song. I'm sure it would of sounded better if we had more than three rehearsals to look at it, but we didn't have the time.
       
          So, I was not 100% happy with our performance, but the Wind Ensemble did an amazing job last night. The music was incredibly challenging and they maintained tone quality and note definition throughout their performance. Although there were some parts I could tell were extremely hard for them they powered through and made the night enjoyable. So, when preparing for a concert you have to make sure that you can play everything in the piece. If you can't then identify what's giving you trouble and work on that part, it seems pretty self explanatory, but there are lots of people that don't know how to practice and get better at their instrument.  Also It's nice to know what the piece sounds like or even have an accompaniment, so it's good to find the music that you are currently playing with your music group and match the playing of the people playing in the video or mp3 you find. If that's not the sound that the group wants then you can amend that sound to fit what your group wants.

            Also If you do base your playing off another group make sure that you fit into your group and don't over and under play, because the point of an ensemble is to make music as a group and not to be an outlier when you're making music. For example you don't want to recreate the sound exact sound of a band like this...

Dallas Millennial Choir and Orchestra 

                                                 
                                                        If you are in a band like this

Navy Band Brass Quintet

         So, find the sound that you want for your band and make sure that it matches the size and the style that the group wants. Make sure that you know your part and have it down and after all of this you can be ready for the concert.

Finding Your Band

Whether your a trombonist or a flutist, if you want to enjoy your musical experience. You can do this by find a band to play with or making your own. First you're going to have to find a music that you like or a musician you like. I have found a webpage just for this topic. On 4BarsRest It's shows some of the greatest trombonists ever: Joseph Alessi (Classical), Frank Rosolino (jazz), Arthur Pryor (Sousa), Don Lusher (Ballad), Nick Hudson (Classical), Denis Wick (Classical and his name is on one of the most esteemed mutes companies),

Denis Wick Mutes

 Christian Lindberg (Soloist),  Bill Watrous (Big Band),  JJ Johnson (Be-Bop),  and Ian Bousfield (Classical).  Some of my Personal Favorite trombonists are Andy Martin (Jazz), Trombone Shorty (Funk), and Wycliffe Gordon (Jazz). I just jotted down one of Andy Martin's Solo's to learn and play Doxy. I'm  getting better at using a plunger mute, because of this video by Wycliffe Gordon. Lastly I just listen to Trombone Shorty for Fun. Pick which artist you like and make or find a band that fits their style. Make sure you can play their music before make an entire band, so that you can lead the band rather than be failing at the music you made a band for. In my opinion you should try out all the genres to find the one that fits you best. If you're lucky your school might have different band programs or you, your friends or your band director can help you make one.

Musical Opportunities

In my last post I talked about how to change your tone quality from a darker tone to a brighter tone. Today in my post I'm going to talk about not being modest. Of course there is a time and place for modesty, I myself am very modest, but don't let modesty get in the way of what you want to do. For example if there is a band that you have the opportunity to tryout for, don't tell yourself that your not good enough for the band, because you are your biggest critic. Get input from other people before you give up on an opportunity. This applies to all activities, whether it's in debate, football or anything don't let yourself tear down your self-confidence to the point where you give up opportunities. Also in this blogpost I'd like to talk about choosing your trombone. I found a very useful source, Douglas Yeo for this topic and I'd like to talk on it. The author Douglas Yeo talked about selecting your instrument and I agree with his points fully. The questions you have to a ask as a person buying or renting an instrument are what are: What are you using the horn for? How much money do you have to spend? Are you a new player or a professional?  These are some of the most important questions when buying a renting an instrument. For example for the last question, you don't want a boutique trombone that Andy Martin used in Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, because that is a very hard instrument to learn how to play on. It's best to learn on a student-line trombone, because it is specifically made for kids to or even just learners to be able to produce a sound.

Yamaha Student Line Trombone

Custom YSL-891z Trombone

 Student VS  Pro