As we rapidly head towards the conclusion of this year, there are still some gigs and important dates to be aware of: Wingello, xmas carols and the end of year functions. We are playing at all these events and it is vital now that we have reached the next level of playing that we don’t slip backwards with poor attendance. The sign on sheets located on the website are a huge help in letting me know if we are short in any section and it is important that you take the time to fill it out for each gig or ensemble.
As far as uniform goes, we now have, thanks to Tony, our new vests to add to the collection. This gives us a range of options for all weather conditions, cooler occasions we can wear the jackets or vest and jackets, hotter gigs we can wear the vests and ties or no ties as we see fit and for our kids they can now blend in with the senior players at anytime in their vests which I hope will make them feel more welcome at our performances.
Our woodwind ensemble, took its first steps last night playing through some movie themes, next week Jill has kindly offered some new resources that should prove a lot of fun to perform, however in the books we were using the parts are set out in three seperate lines and here is a great way to do a little score reading practice….. if you look at the parts vertically (I.e. bar 1 part A,B,C) you can easily identify whether you are in unison rhythms or making your entry early etc. if it looks the same it must sound the same and this can be a useful tool in developing our ensemble togetherness. That was one of the comments made by our adjudicator a couple of times in the recent contest, that we weren’t quite together at times, this might help us.
Speaking of adjudication , I hope you can take the time to watch ours, the sound of the ensemble isn’t great but the comments are clear, and there are a few things we can pick up on and learn from. Another adjudicator on the same contests, kept referring to “corporate sounds” when describing ensemble playing and it’s quite a good reference, think how you work in a corporate environment, you do your job, you follow the directives and your part adds seamlessly to the overall presentation of the corporation rather than standing out from it…. adding to the overall performance is one of the fundamental roles of band playing…adding, not overtaking not detracting !
Murray