Youth Concert Pieces

Hello Everyone,

Here's a post looking at the three high school pieces we're preparing for the Community Band/Youth Concert on Thursday, April 5.  These three pieces are quite complementary perhaps partly because they have some factors in common.  Two of them are written by the same composer/arranger, and two of them are based on maritime work songs, known as sea shanties.  But what do the other two have in common?

Tales of Sea and Sail
You'll remember composer Larry Neeck, who also wrote Saxes Will Rock!, which we played last semester.

This piece is a medley of several sea shanties (or chanties).  These were songs sung by ships' crews in the 1800's.  They sang while working together to load/unload, haul on ropes, and pump out bilges, etc.  Singing together helped maintain a rhythm while working.  Wikipedia explains:  "Shanty repertoire borrowed from the contemporary popular music enjoyed by sailors, including minstrel music, popular marches, and land-based folk songs, which were adapted to suit musical forms matching the various labor tasks required to operate a sailing ship. Such tasks, which usually required a coordinated group effort in either a pulling or pushing action, included weighing anchor and setting sail."  Seems like a fitting metaphor for the group effort of the Youth Concert!


Tales of Sea and Sail contains excerpts from the following sea shanties:  "A Roving", "Blow The Man Down", "Rio Grande", "Shenandoah", "Drunken Sailor", and "Santy Anna."


I couldn't find any examples of this piece on YouTube.  Here is a partial version (up to bar 157), from the publisher's webpage.

Ravensgate
Here's a link to the bio of composer Carl Strommen.  This is a link to the professional version of Ravensgate, on the publishers webpage.

And here are some versions by school bands:





Ahhhhhh.  Smell that sea air!!!

Under an Irish Sky
This medley, arranged by Larry Neeck, contains two Irish traditional folk tunes:  Slane (also the name of a village in County Meath, Ireland which is the site of a large annual rock festival) and Brian Boru's March.

Here's the publisher's partial version of the piece (up to bar 97).

And here's a version by a middle school band.

West Side Story Payment is due this week

A quick and gentle reminder for those who have committed to the field trip to see West Side Story and dine at the Mandarin in Toronto.  Final payment  of $60 is due on Tuesday March 20.  Please make out cheques to Orangeville District Secondary School.

Some tickets may still be available, if you haven't already signed up.  Talk to Mr McIlwain if you'd like to attend.

image by djwudi, from Flickr

Wicked

image by WxMom, from Flickr

Once upon a time, there was a man named L. Frank Baum.  He was an American journalist, actor, salesman and chicken fancier, but most significantly for us, he was an author of children's stories.  His best known work is the series of novels set in the land of Oz, beginning with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900.

image from LibraryThing

This book has had a profound effect on popular culture, spawning sequels, plays and films, influencing fashion, language and the American psyche.  Am I over-reaching to state that we all have experience of some aspect of Baum's creation?

image from LibraryThing

The writer Gregory Maguire was also inspired by the world that Baum created, and by the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland.  Maguire has written four novels set in Oz.  These stories provide an alternate viewpoint of the incidents described in Baum's books, focussing on the witches.

The Broadway musical, Wicked, was based on the first of Maguire's novels, Wicked:  the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.  Music and lyrics are by Stephen Schwartz (who also wrote the lyrics for the movies Pochahontas, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and both music and lyrics for The Prince of Egypt).  The musical tells the life story of the Wicked Witch of the West, whose name, Elphaba, is an amalgam of the initials of L. Frank Baum.

The Wikipedia entry for Wicked (musical), contains some interesting factoids.  For example, as an homage to Harold Arlen, the composer of the movie The Wizard of Oz, Schwartz used the first seven notes of "Over the Rainbow" as part of a recurring theme throughout the score, including in the song "Defying Gravity".  As well, you may already know that two songs from Wicked have been covered on the tv show Glee:  "Defying Gravity" and "For Good."

And now, let's turn to the arrangement of Wicked songs that we're playing.  According to his entry in Wikipedia, the arranger, Michael Sweeney, is a full time employee of music publisher Hal Leonard, where he is Director of Band Publications.  Like many of the composers and arrangers whose works we are playing, Sweeney is a former public school music teacher.  He's composed/arranged over 500 publications (including one called "When Drummers Take Over the World", a prospect both delightful and frightening to contemplate*).

Here's a link to the Music from Wicked audio file on the publisher's webpage, played by professional musicians.

Here's a version by a middle school band.

*Edited to clarify that I make this joke as a member of the support group Parents of Percussionists, and also to add in this link to a performance of the awesome "When Drummers Take Over the World."

Reference
Murphy, B. (2000). L. Frank Baum. Dictionary Of World Biography: The 19th Century, 1-3.

Band Social Feb. 21 and Redlands March

This semester's Band Social will take place after the rehearsal next Tuesday, from 5:00 to approx. 8:30 pm.  Organized by the Band Executive, this social time will give us all a chance to welcome new band members and get to know each other better.  Pizza will be served for dinner, and we'll watch the movie August Rush, all for $4.00.

image by rob_rob2001, from Flickr

I couldn't find any videos for the piece Redlands March.  But here is a link to the publisher's page, with an audio version played by pro's.

The composer is Steve Hodges.  He has written more than 100 pieces for concert bands and his music has been used for programming on TBS and ESPN.  He is a public school music director.

The publisher describes Redlands March:

A dynamic introduction leads to a stirring trumpet duet that opens this regal march by Steve Hodges. Everyone is involved in the melodic content throughout the piece and they will enjoy the unique treatment of the standard march trio and 'dogfight' sections.

Dogfight?  Trio?  Time to consult Wikipedia.  The entry for March (music) explains:

Marches frequently have a penultimate dogfight strain in which two groups of instruments (high/low, woodwind/brass, etc.) alternate in a statement/response format. In most traditional American marches, there are three strains. The third strain is referred to as the "trio".

Getting to Carnegie Hall

The semester changeover means that some students have finished up their music classes for the term, and some will be just starting them.   This leads to a different practice routine than you've been having for the first semester.  Maybe this is a good time to freshen up your practicing.  Here are a few tidbits that might inspire you.

• According to one theory, it takes 21 days for a new habit to take hold.  That means, if you decide that you're going to practice every day, it will take 21 days of remembering to practice and doing so, before this habit becomes, well, habitual.  So, the first 21 days of practicing will require the most effort to remember and do, after that, your practice routine will seem natural to you.  Here's an opposing view of this theory.
• Mastery of a skill comes after 10,000 hours of practice.  If you practice for 1 hour a day, that would be 27 years worth of practice.  If you practice for 20 hours a week, you'll achieve 10,000 hours in ten years.  Make of that what you will.  Bottom line, the more practice, the better.  Classroom and band playing time will count toward your 10,000 hours.

10,000 hours starts now!  (Image by sierraromeo, from Flickr)

Two elements of successful development of good habits:  accountability and support.  These are a cornerstone of groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, and Weight Watchers.  For instance, in Weight Watchers, participants keep a log of how much they eat and exercise and attend a weekly weigh-in to keep track of their progress at losing weight.  They meet as a group to celebrate progress, and support each other during the difficult time of weight loss.  How does that apply to us? 

Some thoughts on accountability and support:

• How will we know when we've reached 10,000 hours of practice (aside from the praise being heaped upon us by our music teacher, and audiences everywhere)?  Practice log, baby.  And not just to keep track of the amount of time you've put in, but also to record what you've been working on; how it's going; any questions you might have for your teacher or section-mates, and maybe even to plan what you'll work on next.  So grab a cool notebook, start a spreadsheet, or download an app (such as Just Practice! for Apple devices) and become accountable to yourself.
• We had a great example of the rewards of practice and group accountability before Christmas when the sax section showed us how well they'd memorized Saxes Will Rock.  Very impressive, guys and girl!
• It's easy to bail on a practice by yourself.  Not so easy if you've made an arrangement to practice with someone else.  Consider arranging an informal sectional, or cross-band practice section (tuba/flute perhaps).  Maybe at lunchtime or by conference call?
• Would it be fun to arrange an hour where we all committed to practicing at home at the same time?  Would that even be possible?

We'd love to know what you think of these ideas.  Do you have any practice tips that could help your fellow band members?  Any creative suggestions to enhance group accountability/support?  No idea is too crazy...

Meanwhile, as I am woefully far from 10,000 hours, and our next rehearsal is less than a week away on Feb. 7, I'd better stop blogging and go act accountable.  I leave you with this thought:

Practicing is an act of faith.  The practicing that you do now is your down payment for next year and years to come.                 

John Perry, professor of piano, from the book Making Music for the Joy of It, by Stephanie Judy 

Concert Band Christmas Tour

photo by Ian Muttoo, from flickr

 What you need to know for the elementary school tour on Thursday, Dec. 22:

• What to wear:  black pants, socks, and shoes; a Christmassy shirt or top.  Elf/Santa hats are optional.
• Bring your music.
• Bring some money for lunch at McDonald's, or a bag lunch if you prefer.
• Be in the music room by 8:30 am, ready to load the bus with stands and instruments.
• Please lend a hand to the percussionists with loading and unloading.  This will make them happy!

Christmas Concert Fast Facts

image by mag3737, from Flickr

• Call time:  Concert band is performing later in the evening, so you can arrive when your family does, at least by 7pm.
• White shirt, black pants, socks and shoes.
• Bring your music.
• Meet in room 310 for warm-up, tuning, etc.  This is where we'll stay until performance time.
• Be prepared to stay after the show to tidy up stands, chairs and percussion.  Many hands make light work.
• Open invitation to meet up at Dairy Queen after everything is put away.

image by zorbs, from Flickr