Remember this coming week is March break and there is no rehearsal on Thursday afternoon.
This Week’s Rehearsal
New music was distributed for Summertime. This music is more intricate with more sophisticated harmonies than the version we used last week.
Using our Broadway Favorites, we started our rehearsal with Get Me to the Church on Time which is in cut time. Angela started gradually increasing the tempo, instructing us to focus initially on the rhythms and notes. Once we have mastered these, practise at a slower tempo focusing on articulation and dynamics. Next we worked on The Sweetheart Tree, taking it slightly faster (quarter note=120) than its marked tempo.Next, using Tradition of Excellence, we played line 87 as a four part round, then played line 99 which is in the key of concert A♭. We next played the scale of concert D♭ in preparation for The Happy Wanderer, also in the key of D♭ and in cut time. We are working toward a metronome marking of half note=112 for this piece.
We then played the new arrangement of Summertime. With its syncopated rhythms, it is important to count. Note that the listening link below is to a truncated recording.
Finally we worked on Fanfare for the Common Man, using line 88 and line 143 in Tradition of Excellence to become more familiar with the rhythms and understand the difference between two sixteenth notes followed by an eighth note, and eighth note triplets. Next Rehearsal
From Angela: Over the break, please try to practise all the tricky bits, counting the rhythms carefully. Then enjoy yourselves and don’t ‘practise’ a piece, just ‘play’ it…any piece at all that you like. Basses get a chance to play the melody when you do that!
Next rehearsal I am hoping to have sectionals for the first half. Heather will take brass and percussion in Scout hall and Angela will take woodwinds, probably in Banquet Hall. If we have the results of the vote, we will then be running through the concert programme to detect ares that need a little polishing.
New music was distributed for Summertime. This music is more intricate with more sophisticated harmonies than the version we used last week.
Using our Broadway Favorites, we started our rehearsal with Get Me to the Church on Time which is in cut time. Angela started gradually increasing the tempo, instructing us to focus initially on the rhythms and notes. Once we have mastered these, practise at a slower tempo focusing on articulation and dynamics. Next we worked on The Sweetheart Tree, taking it slightly faster (quarter note=120) than its marked tempo.Next, using Tradition of Excellence, we played line 87 as a four part round, then played line 99 which is in the key of concert A♭. We next played the scale of concert D♭ in preparation for The Happy Wanderer, also in the key of D♭ and in cut time. We are working toward a metronome marking of half note=112 for this piece.
We then played the new arrangement of Summertime. With its syncopated rhythms, it is important to count. Note that the listening link below is to a truncated recording.
Finally we worked on Fanfare for the Common Man, using line 88 and line 143 in Tradition of Excellence to become more familiar with the rhythms and understand the difference between two sixteenth notes followed by an eighth note, and eighth note triplets. Next Rehearsal
From Angela: Over the break, please try to practise all the tricky bits, counting the rhythms carefully. Then enjoy yourselves and don’t ‘practise’ a piece, just ‘play’ it…any piece at all that you like. Basses get a chance to play the melody when you do that!
Next rehearsal I am hoping to have sectionals for the first half. Heather will take brass and percussion in Scout hall and Angela will take woodwinds, probably in Banquet Hall. If we have the results of the vote, we will then be running through the concert programme to detect ares that need a little polishing.
Administration
Thank you to Angela for the cookies for our break again this week.
Heather Flinn sent along a message that she had just watched a terrific documentary on how film music is composed, arranged and recorded. It contains lots of the music from our John Williams band arrangement and can be watched online at TVO.org. Following is the link for the show: https://tvo.org/video/documentaries/score-a-film-music-documentary
You will be receiving an email asking for your input on which pieces we should play for our end of session concert as well as the repertoire we should use for our community concert. Please reply to Leslie with your preferences.
Important Dates
Thursday March 15: No band rehearsal, March break
Sunday April 15 at about 2:00 at Woodroffe United Church: Our spring concert
Thursday April 19 at 1:30: Community concert at Embassy West Retirement Centre (tentative playlist includes Edelweiss)
Listening Links
Fanfare for the Common Man
The Sweetheart Tree
The Happy Wanderer:
