If you were at the mass band practice last week, or you've been part of this concert before, you'll know that it is somewhat of an overwhelming experience to play together with so many other musicians. Even finding a seat and a stand in that large group is a challenge, let alone hearing what's going on and adapting to different conductors. When we're in an overwhelming situation, we focus on our own survival first, and think about the big picture later.
Here's a bit of context to help with that bigger picture. The Community Band (here's their website) is made up of adults and youth from the Dufferin area. The band provides a forum for adults to pursue the concert band experience. Many communities have bands such as this; consider seeking one out (or starting one!) after you finish high school.
A major goal of our local Community Band is to "to provide adult mentorship for our youth in their study of music", per their website. This is done both by including younger players in the Band, and by arranging an annual concert with elementary and high school bands. Although there is no admission fee for the concert on Thursday, voluntary donations will be matched by the Community Band (up to $500), and will go to support music programs at the participating elementary schools. And the experience of the rehearsal and concert also supplies opportunities for individual mentoring.
OK, what does this mean for us? First things first: make sure you are as comfortable as you can, with a chair and a stand for yourself or to share. Make sure you can see the conductor, and they can see you. The usual stuff, magnified in significance by the size of the mass band.
I took a little survey last Tuesday of the students sitting near me at rehearsal, asking them for advice on how to survive the strangeness of the mass band experience. Here are some of their suggestions:
the audience doesn't know the piece by heart, so they won't know if you make a mistake
if you do make one, stop if you have to, don't panic and come back in when you can
if you get lost, listen to what the more experienced players are doing
don't worry if you have to drop out for a moment
Now that you have a bigger picture of the Youth Concert and some advice on surviving and thriving there, I have one final suggestion, which is that you embrace this concert as a singular event. There won't be too many times in your life when you get to play in such a large group. And singular events create opportunities.
If I were to draw a Venn diagram of the Youth Concert, it would be a bunch of little circles representing the various individual bands, all surrounded by a larger circle representing concert band musicians in the Dufferin area. Kind of a boring visual, and possibly an illegal use of a Venn diagram, but you get the picture: we all have concert band musicianship in common. So, if you sit down next to a stranger, reach out across that commonality, and strike up a conversation. Could be the start of making beautiful music together.
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.
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.
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.
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*).
*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.
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".
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 MakingMusic for the Joy of It, by Stephanie Judy
