I joined my local community band!

[DonO.]

Just had my first rehearsal with them. I really wondered ,since “coming back” to tuba playing about a year and a half ago, if I had what it takes to be in a band. Well, after a 2 hour rehearsal with no breaks, I can say that I do still “have it”, but I was exhausted afterwards! I thought I might post some of the pieces we rehearsed for upcoming Summer concerts: Let the Spirit Soar-Swearingen, Down a Country Lane- Copland, Strike Up the Band- Gershwin arr. Barker, Southern Hymn- Hazo, In the Mood- Garland arr. Lavener, Flight of Valor- Swearingen, Where Eagles Soar- Reineke, Three Ayers from Gloucester- Stuart, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine- Sousa. I’m happy I was able to keep up. We have plenty of bass. I’m one of 3 tuba players, plus we have a guy playing a bass sax that mostly doubles the tubas.

[Mary Ann]

cool! My problem was wondering if I could heft the thing over and over during a rehearsal. That takes more energy than people think about, sometimes. Glad you had a good time!!

[arpthark]

Congrats! Awesome to get back in the swing of things. What were you doing for the last year and a half, tuba-wise?

And, a band with a bass sax! Now that's neat.

[DonO.]

Congrats! Awesome to get back in the swing of things. What were you doing for the last year and a half, tuba-wise?

And, a band with a bass sax! Now that's neat.

During the past year and a half, I was just playing at home “for my own amusement”, trying to get my chops back and my skills back to some semblance of “good”. I tried to be realistic. I knew I would never be as I was when I was in my youth, I just wanted to get to where it would be fun. And one of my goals was to get “good enough” to be in a community band. I was encouraged that in this first rehearsal I could keep up for the most part. There are a couple of technical passages I’m going to have to woodshed this week. One more rehearsal then my first concert with them, in a gazebo in a lovely town square green space. Several more concerts scheduled over the course of the rest of the summer. Since our band represents this entire area of the state, and draws membership likewise, they try to cover a pretty big geographical area with the summer concert series.

And you’re right about the bass sax! I mean, really, if there’s anything cooler, I’d like to know what! On divisi parts, he always takes the top notes, and the three tubas take the low notes, and I have to say it sounds great! I mean, he can put out some sound with that thing. And it’s not just loud, it’s loud AND good, if you know what I mean.

[bloke]

<joke about snooty nomenclatures for bands>

If you really work hard, someday you might be able to quit that band and join a wind ensemble, a wind symphony, or maybe even a wind orchestra.

</joke about snooty nomenclatures for bands>

[The Brute Squad]

You forgot "symphonic wind ensemble."

[bloke]

You forgot "symphonic wind ensemble."

I played in one of those for a couple of years. Before that band director arrived, I played in a band. Had I not graduated in three years, I suppose I would have had another year of experience playing in one of those symphonic wind ensemble things. It seems a shame to me that someone doesn't take all of the band literature/compositions and transcribe them for these various other ensembles, so they could play them too.

Perhaps one of those actually has a specific meaning. I've always thought that 'wind ensemble" sort of meant "a band whereby only one person is playing each part", but it also seems to me that nearly everyone who organizes one of these chickens out and adds extra clarinets and extra other instruments - not believing nor understanding that three really fine clarinetists could actually balance a band, whereby no other part is doubled, and everyone else plays musically and sensitively.

[Mary Ann]

Three clarinets balance a band? O thou of fond wishes! At our 4th of July we had only two clarinets, but also three trumpets, two euphoniums two tubas, two horns, a trombone --- and at the rehearsals the conductor kept saying "we really should have more clarinets because you guys can't be heard." And then the one trombone stormed out of the last rehearsal because the 1st clarinet who always derides the band about intonation before every rehearsal, told him he was sharp. ALL of us would like to see that 1st clarinet drive into a ditch and just stay there a while, and yes he was sharp, but one of the trumpets was flat. The concert actually went quite well except that the conductor got altitude sickness and had a very hard time.

[Three Valves]

It's fun.

You can always count of a few characters to keep things interesting!

[bloke]

If need be, clarinetists can play obnoxiously loud - in all registers/ranges.

[Grumpikins]

Congratulations.

Dont worry about playing every note/passage all the time. It's ok to take a breather. It sounds like the parts are well covered. Just have fun and the the endurance will build up naturally.

When I'm playing with other tubas, I will often sit out certain passages because I feel it makes musical sense to not overpower the ensemble. Also, they're usually younger very enthusiastic players. I would rather take a supportive role than be competitive.

Also, post when and where your concerts are. Who knows, one of us might be able to swing by.

Sent from my SM-S367VL using Tapatalk

[DonO.]

Congratulations.

Dont worry about playing every note/passage all the time. It's ok to take a breather. It sounds like the parts are well covered. Just have fun and the the endurance will build up naturally.

When I'm playing with other tubas, I will often sit out certain passages because I feel it makes musical sense to not overpower the ensemble. Also, they're usually younger very enthusiastic players. I would rather take a supportive role than be competitive.

Also, post when and where your concerts are. Who knows, one of us might be able to swing by.

Sent from my SM-S367VL using Tapatalk

Thank you!

The remainder of the summer concert series for the Northwest Pennsylvania Concert band is as follows:

Wed. July 19, Meadville PA- Diamond Park 7 PM
Mon. July 24, Erie, PA- Ostro Apartments 7 PM
Wed. August 9, Linesville, PA- Little League Field 7 PM
Wed. August 16, Erie, PA- Frontier Park 7 PM
Tues. August 22, Meadville, PA- Crawford County Fair, 5:45 PM (3 community bands combined)

Would love to meet you in person Grumpikins! Hope you can make one. The Erie ones would be closest for you.

[MikeS]

It’s wonderful that you have concerts almost every weekend. I hope you have a great time, Don.

In my experience the toughest place to play in a lot of community bands is third trombone. On your left is someone in their 80’s with a .485” bore peashooter and a 12C. They are playing third because they have not been able to hit F above middle C for at least a decade. While I’m sure they once had a good idea where fifth position was, now not so much.

On your right is a twenty-something recent ex-college marching band player with a double-Thayer bazooka and at least a Schilke 60. Their greatest ambition seems to be letting the world know they can play a pedal Dflat at ffff. They take the last note of every phrase down one (or two) octaves.

When called to sub in this situation the most important thing to keep in mind is that, despite the aforementioned foibles, they are both likely to be really nice folk. Deep breathing helps relaxation and, since I’m playing bass trombone, that’s already covered.

[MikeS]

Oops, sorry, duplicate.

[bloke]

The Walgreens across the street from the church where the closest to me community band rehearses seems to be getting robbed at least once a week now over in Memphis. I enjoy visiting with them and playing rehearsals that aren't immediately before concerts with them, but maybe it's time to think about quitting doing that.

[WC8KCY]

If need be, clarinetists can play obnoxiously loud - in all registers/ranges.

...especially clarinetists who also play the tuba.

I've "gotten the hand" more than once whilst at the helm of the licorice stick.

[bloke]

When sitting in with a tuba SECTION in a band, I have to remember that I've one-of (two/three/four/five) and it's not just "me and that bari-sax lady, over there".

That having been said (and not to be a snoot, but a realist) tuba section piannissimi and fortissimi are neither consistently (and are rarely) adequate, so I find myself compensating during the loudest passages and taceting during the softest passages.

[arpthark]

Good luck on the concert today, @DonO. !

How did the one last Wednesday go?

[DonO.]

Good luck on the concert today, @DonO. !

How did the one last Wednesday go?

I thought it went quite well but I was exhausted afterwards! Thank goodness there are four tuba players to take up the slack. Next to the last piece was the classic Armed Forces Medley, where veterans of each branch get to stand up. I’ll bet most people here have played it. It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be at the speeds we we going- not the oom pah parts but the intros to each one are tricky. Fun fact- we added “Sempre Supra”, the official music for the Space Force. Has that even existed long enough for there to be veterans? And the last song was one I wasn’t familiar wasn’t previously familiar with- “The Midnight Fire Alarm”. That thing goes at a breakneck speed and changes keys a whole bunch of times. Lots of things to trip you up. And I was so tired I was getting sloppy so I laid out some I must admit. It didn’t help matters that the percussionist operating the klaxon was right behind me!

I need to work on my endurance. The mind is willing but the body is weak.

[arpthark]

Good luck on the concert today, @DonO. !

How did the one last Wednesday go?

I thought it went quite well but I was exhausted afterwards! Thank goodness there are four tuba players to take up the slack. Next to the last piece was the classic Armed Forces Medley, where veterans of each branch get to stand up. I’ll bet most people here have played it. It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be at the speeds we we going- not the oom pah parts but the intros to each one are tricky. Fun fact- we added “Sempre Supra”, the official music for the Space Force. Has that even existed long enough for there to be veterans? And the last song was one I wasn’t familiar wasn’t previously familiar with- “The Midnight Fire Alarm”. That thing goes at a breakneck speed and changes keys a whole bunch of times. Lots of things to trip you up. And I was so tired I was getting sloppy so I laid out some I must admit. It didn’t help matters that the percussionist operating the klaxon was right behind me!

I need to work on my endurance. The mind is willing but the body is weak.

One of the composers/arrangers of Semper Supra is a trombonist in the Coast Guard Band. He has actually redone the entire Armed Forces Medley to include Semper Supra as one of the medley tunes. It's a great arrangement, made especially for the CG Band, so it's pretty tough. My own band has some ties to the CG Band so we are also playing it this summer concert series. It is quite a bit more involved than that old chestnut medley that everybody has played 50 times before!