Administrative notes.
Important dates:
No band rehearsal March 14, Spring concert is April 14 at Brookfield High School
Community Concert = we usually give a concert outside at a school or a senior’s residence. We are looking for suggestions, with the idea that our community concert would be on April 11 (our last rehearsal prior to the concert). Please forwards suggestions to Sheila or Kathryn.
Other:
If you do not have one, lease purchase Traditions of Excellence Book 2, which we use as a support and a supplement. We also play tunes from Broadway Favourites. Both can be ordered through St John’s Music – ask for the 10% discount as a member of ONHB.
Please bring shoes or slippers for rehearsals during the winter months and leave your boots at the door.
Please check off the attendance sheet. If you know that you will be away, please make an A under the date. This helps the conductor and the clinicians.
On the next attendance sheet, there will be a column at the right of the page that you can check if you are willing to share your email with others in the band.
Angela mentioned ear plugs (especially for those sitting in front of the trumpets). If you are interested in an professional level model (around $300) you can contact Angela for a reference. However, she said she felt that plugs you could buy at etyplugs.com provided sufficient protection. Price for these were around $25.
Music:
We started with our favourite warm up – the Concert B Flat – playing the scale. Then we divided into groups, each group playing one of the first five notes of the scale, and with Sheila conducting, played Ode To Joy, thus demonstrating the value of knowing your scales, as in many pieces of music, consecutive notes of a scale will show up. Knowing the fingering makes it easy to read the music and play. If you have not learned to play various scales without looking at the music, it was suggested that you start with one note, and add a note every day.
We then played through our new pieces, sight reading.
Hymn to Freedom, by Oscar Peterson, is written in a “Gospel Style Swing” which is a little different than jazz swing. The piece has a lot of rapidly changing dynamics. The listening link (listed below) has a choir on the recording, but in our case, different instruments will be taking the place of voice.
The Willow Tree
The Best of Queen – needs to have energy, especially doing the stomping/clapping at the beginning. The “We are the Champions” section in our version has some different timing that you may be used to – so watch timing and listen to the link.
After break, Angela conducted us through Bazaar, which we did NOT play at 152! But we should be getting there. Rhythms are critical here – needs to have that Middle Eastern feel. Percussion is critical in many places where they are the only ones playing. We did speed it up on the next play through but still not to 152.
Salute to Louis Armstrong. – Some band members had played this a few years ago in intermediate evening band. Transition from bar 13 (end of what a wonderful World) to Dixieland swing at bar 15 (When the Saints) requires attention. Although the tempo at 63 (Hello Dolly) is at the same tempo as St Louis Blues before it, we played it faster as Angela felt it needed more energy, then going back to the previous tempo at Bar 87. Watch the rit , 3 bars before the end.
Clinics will start next week.
Next week, we will be working on Bazaar, The Willow Tree and Best of Queen.
Here are the listening links: 1. Hymn to Freedom. https://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/media-player.jsp?&type=audio&productID=10759013
2. Best of Queen. https://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/media-player.jsp?&type=audio&productID=2476683
2. The Willow Tree. https://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/media-player.jsp?&type=audio&productID=10910764
3. Bazaar. https://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/media-player.jsp?&type=audio&productID=10790908
4. Salute to Louis Armstrong. https://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/mediaplayer.jsp?&type=audio&productID=2476687
